VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 52 Styleline engine swap

Hello everyone I'm new here. I'm from Germany and have a '52 Styleline from my late uncle in Kentucky. I have the following questions and would appreciate any help. My engine is no longer original and as good as broken. I want to swap the straight six for an early 283 V8. I have the original adapter plate from a Powerglide transmission to the 283 engine in order not to have to change the drive train because of the closed cardan shaft. I planned to install these manifolds (William's V8 Exhaust Manifolds with first pipe) to get more space. The Walton Fab motor mount. are unfortunately not available but I would take some from jegs.com. So far the plan and now the questions. Does it fit from the seat of the engine if the original gearbox and cardan shaft remain in it when I build the adapter plate on it? What will be in the way and what else needs to be changed. I've tried to find a lot on the internet, but my English isn't particularly good and I'm in Germany, which doesn't make the search for spare parts any easier. My aunt is still in Kentucky and she can help as interim storage if something has to be sent to Germany. Greetings from Germany from Rainer

Rainer,
Welcome to Chevy Chat. I hope someone will come along with an answer for you. There may not be anyone with experience doing an "old school" swap like you want to do.
Many years ago I knew of a 1950 Bel Air with a 283 V8. I regret that I was not interested enough, at that time, to learn more about how it was done. You might have to stumble through it on your own. Good luck.

Mike

Welcome to the website, Rainer!

I do not know the answers to your questions, but I suspect that it would be easier to drop a 1954+ inline six cylinder into your car than a V8. There are a lot of aftermarket parts available to increase the power of a six cylinder engine that would make it as powerful or more than the 283.

The Stovebolt website has some technical articles about swapping out the older inline engines with newer ones. Although the Stovebolt website focuses on trucks, I would think a lot of the information would apply to your car.

Here is their web page with the technical articles: https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/

I hope this helps. Dean

Hello Rainier67,

There is a good probability that Dean is correct about it being easier to transplant a later 235 inline 6 in there instead of a 283. When installing the v-8 many people have had to cut the firewall out where it meets the toe board to facilitate the larger size of the torque converter housing. With the right set of parts a 235 can be bolted up with 1937 to 1962 running gear. At the least the firewall will have to be modified where the distributor will reside for clearance.

Deans referral to the stove bolt forum is a good one. Someone there will probably have more experience with this project.

Welcome Rainer. I'll move this to a technical forum.