SUGRUE

I HAVE A 66 425 FROM A TORO AND WANT TO INSTALL IT IN A 79 TRANS AM TO GIVE ITA LITLE PUSH, ANY THING YOU COULD TELL ME WOULD BE HELPFULL, THANKS

rick pilgrim

I can tell you from experience a few things. If your T/A came with a 403 or 307 It's pretty much a bolt in. If not you will need to do some parts hunting. You need to find Olds motor mounts from either one of the Nova clones or F-body cars of that era. Exhaust is best with a set of W-30 manifolds, or find custom headers. Toronado manifolds while being dual exhaust wont allow pipe hookups in the right place. Find either a RWD car 4qt oil pan or aftermarket pan for Cutlas, The Toro pan will fit but in our Camaro it was way to close to the ground. A BPOC pattern Tranny is needed, Unless your crankshaft is machined for a manual trans(very few are, and have not seen one in a Toronado) you will need a automatic. We tried a Turbo 350 and untill we found traction it worked. I ended up with a Turbo 400 automatic from a '70 Delta 88 with a shift kit. You can get a built (performance upgrade) TH350 but make sure it has a improved sprag and it will hold up under 550ftlbs of torque. We had a radiator shop make us a radiator with double(4 row) core, Summit Racing sells some that fit. Alternator/ps/fan we went with aftermarket parts. Stick with the Toronado intake manifold, unless you want a hole in the hood. Edelbrock performer with 2"spacer, Q-jet and 14x3 air cleaner means 4" cowl induction hood. When all done you will have a big smile on your face.
Lastly, A 425 is a 10.25 compression leaded fuel engine. If you run it on pump gas, 92RON, 104+ octane boost X2, and a lead replacement addative is a must. And set your redline at 5200-5400 with a stock oiling system. Mondello Olds has what you need to inprove the oiling system.

Hope this helps,

Rick