Quote:
Originally Posted by wagonman
Hi. Can anyone tell me how hard it would be to swap a 350-455 engine and trans into a 65 f85 wagon? What mounts to use and the like? I think mt 330 is stuck . I will know more in a week after the cylinders soak.
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First, the 330 is not an early Rocket. That person is thinking of the 303. The 330 is a small block Olds. The 350 is absolutely externally identical and bolts in place. 99.9% of the people couldn't tell the difference. Use the existing 65 motor mounts.
The 455 is only slightly different. The big block has a taller deck height, but all the bolt interfaces (bellhousing, motor mount attachment, accessory brackets) are the same. Again, use the 65 330 motor mounts. DO NOT get 455 mounts. These are unique to the 69-72 A-body cars. You will need correct big block exhaust manifolds or headers, but the 455 is externally identical to the 400 used in the 65 442s.
The one difference is that all 68-up Olds motors use a different crank flange bolt pattern, so you'll need the flywheel for the later motor. The other problem is that Olds did not drill the hole for the pilot bearing on motors that were bolted to automatics. You'll need to find an M/T engine or use a conversion bearing available from the Olds specialty houses to retain your manual trans. Oh, and a big block will want a bigger radiator.