The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 265 into a 51

can anybody give me some pointers on putting a early v8 in a ad truck.i want to keep the original gearbox and closed drive line.what starter and flywheel should i use?
thanks for any help
cheers jonathan

You need an early V8 truck bellhousing, flywheel and starter and convert to twelve volts.

If you have the original 265V8's 1955-56 exhaust manifolds I believe you won't have any clearance trouble with the steering box. At least that's what I read on here in the past. Also I believe you can fudge that steering box outboard a bit for some extra clearance. I'm sure someone will be along here to clarify.

the engine conversion is a job for this fall!iam converting to 12v at the moment.it will take me months to get all the parts and build the engine.thanks for the input
jonathan

You can use the 55 chev v8 manifolds. The dump upwards slightly and then exit down a dump forward on drivers side and rear on passenger side. Normally you have to offset the engine about 1-1/2 inches to passenger side to make it work. I don't think it is a good idea to offset
the steering box and heat-bend the pitman arm. 55 Chev manifolds will still require some offset but maybe not more than an inch or so.

Those real early V-8 motors are front mount instead of side mount. If you are thinking you'll use one of the common V-8 type side mount crossmembers its not going to work.

If you swap the bellhousing crossmember for one from a '54 or '55 1st that early V-8 truck type bellhousing will easily bolt up. Otherwise you are going to need to adapt the bellhousing to a crossmember designed for a different type of mounting.

Since all the smallblock engines have the same dimensions, why would you choose a 265? Those engines were pretty puny when they were new, and 50 years of use certainly hasn't improved them. The engine mount bolt holes and bellhousing pattern are shared by all the small blocks, so why not use a 305, or even a 350? If you can locate an early V-8 bellhousing with the side mounts, and a pickup-type front horseshoe mount, the adapting will be fairly simple. The 51 never had a V-8 option, so there will be some clearance issues regardless of which engine you use. It doesn't make sense to use an antique engine when newer, more powerful ones are available.
Jerry

In reading Jon's post he isn't clear which small block engine, just an early V8. I do agree with most here that given the choice I'd choose something with more muscle than a 265 or 283. Also Jon, if you haven't yet found the engine you will find those early engines are pretty scarce now days.
However if that's all you got, that's all you got.
Good luck buddy... send pictures...

Oh, Duh... I didn't read the topic well, 265 into a 51. Well Jon, I suppose you could always bore it out a bit.