308 in a 53 Jet?

Splitwindow

Can you swap a 308 into a '53 jet easily? Or is the engine longer than a 202 with different mounting points? Would it mate up to the tranny?

SuperDave

It's been done so you will hear from those "in the know" I do know that the Hornet HydraMatic has a different and larger bell housing than the jet. I have  a jet HdraMatic transmission on the bench and it won't fit a Hornet engine.

dwardo99

My uncle raced one in the early-mid 60s. He also drove it as his every day car. I still have the engine. What I can tell you from talking to him is that he said the engine extended far enough back that "he could change the rear plugs inside the car". That may be an exaggeration but I know he told me he made a fiberglass cover for the rear of the engine/transmission that was bolted on from inside the car. I know he ran a standard Hornet hydramatic that he destroyed frequently and he said he used a 4:10 rear and 16-inch wheels from a Hudson pickup. He said it never spun the wheels but jumped off the line so fast the V8 cars were catching up near the finish line but almost never caught him. He had some trophies and said it was running in the 15s. He had 3 exhaust pipes on it but I don't know how he ran them under the car. I do remember it but I was too young to observe the details. 

Jon, I know I still owe you the article about him. He's been gone almost 2 years now and it's high time I got to that. 

LHudson

I did some research into this swap. Some of the guys used the firewall out of a Wasp. It made things look factory. Rudy B. ran a Hornet Jet. He is on here from time to time. I have pics of his Jet. I can't find them in all this digital garbage. The pic of the one at the Nationals had a much modified firewall. There were some good threads on the old forum about the Hornet Jet.  LHud

Kdancy

Wonder where the 308 jet race car is now that was sold from the Don Garlits collection and wound up on EBay and was sold. Seem to remember the new owner sold the Hudson drivetrain and was going to put a Chevy in--

53jetman

Here are some pictures of Sloan McCauley's 308 engined Jet

Nevada Hudson

There was an article in the WTN about 1970 or 1971 about the factory Hornet Jet.

Glowplug

Sloans Jet was bought by John Williams of Tenn. engine drive line sold on eBay. V6 installed.