Chev 350 in 74 Hornet

Unknown

Hi all,



New guy here... I was wondering if anyone here had the scoop on installing a chev 350 in my small bodied AMC Hornet. The car is a 232 inline six, but the power department is very lacking. I'd considered the "stroker" 4.0 option, but the cost is going to be more than I have to spend. I have a good 350 chev and TH700R4 trans in my Caprice. I briefly considered an AMC V-8, but since Car Craft magazine has made a big thing out of late sixties Ramblers, the cost of the needed V-8 conversion parts.. like the V-8 specific front cross member and engine mounting plates... has gone thru the roof to buy.. I've seen the set go for 4 to 5 hundred bucks.... too much for me. The rear was already upgraded to the AMC 20 (12 bolt) from a 68 Javelin in the local junkyard. The front cross member from that car would not work, as it had the "trunnion" suspension. Any tips or pointers on how you may have done it would be great.. pictures would be even better! I was thinking of using 1/8" steel plate on the existing frame mounts, then adding either the "clamshell" mounts (rubber on frame, metal bracket on motor...) or the old style Nova mounts.. (rubber mount on engine, metal bracket on frame..) any ideas? Cheers! Mike

Unknown

Or how bout a 318 Chrysler, if the car's a n automatic you've already got a Torqueflite trans!

Unknown

Steve E. wrote:

Or how bout a 318 Chrysler, if the car's a n automatic you've already got a Torqueflite trans!

That won't work... I think the case is different in the way the starters mount. AMC uses a ford style starter, and of course mopar has it's own starter. I already have a good 350/700R4 combo... I just need to get it installed. Thanks for the reply though Cheers, Mike

Unknown

Have you checked these guys out? I know they do Jeep, but they have alot of good swap info. I have talked with these guys on other 350V8 conversions and they have good information and are helpful. http://www.manoian.net/jeep/350conv.html

Unknown

Yes, there are plenty of jeep sites covering the swap, but unfortunately, the jeep and the car are two different animals. I have a loose six cylinder front crossmember, so tonite I was doing a bit of measuring. Next step is the dummy block and oil pan to figure out how to mate the two. I boutght the old style rubber-on-block mounts, so all I need to do is figure out the connection.. and I have a few good ideas already. I'm going to document and make a book on the subject, I guess, since so many people are doing late 60's rambler conversions. Cheers! Mike

Unknown

74Hornet wrote:

That won't work... I think the case is different in the way the starters mount. AMC uses a ford style starter, and of course mopar has it's own starter. I already have a good 350/700R4 combo... I just need to get it installed. Thanks for the reply though Cheers, Mike

Trust me: I will be following this thread closely

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I am contemplating doing that exact same thing with my 1967 American SW. It is very closely related to your Hornet aside from the Trunnion front end which I have already rebuilt (and installed late AMC disc brakes).

Unknown

Steve E. wrote:

Or how bout a 318 Chrysler, if the car's a n automatic you've already got a Torqueflite trans!

Different bellhousing plus the starter is on the LH side for the 318.

Unknown

ArizonaBear wrote:

Trust me: I will be following this thread closely

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I am contemplating doing that exact same thing with my 1967 American SW. It is very closely related to your Hornet aside from the Trunnion front end which I have already rebuilt (and installed late AMC disc brakes).

Hi, the swap is done and the motor is in... I used 1/4" plate steel for both sides, and used the original twin mounting holes in each factory frame stand to put grade 8 bolts thru. I drilled an additional 3/8" hole towards the rear of the car, on the plates to add an additional bolt to each side. This brings it to a total of three grade 8 bolts per side to fasten the plates with. The plate dimensions I used were 4"x 10" and 5"x 10".... just cut away the extra and round the corners to make it look nice! I also added a 1.5" wide strip across the bottom of the plate to increase stiffness, right under the mounting leg area. It ain't going anywhere.. (and no "diving board" effect either..**LOL**)



I used the "rubber on block" style mounts, and I fabbed up a couple of legs to connect the mounts to the plates. These ended up looking similar to the aftermarket chev V-8 conversion mounts. I moved the motor far enough front to allow me room for the big cap HEI dizzy. I can still run the long style water pump and there was no issues with the radiator.



You can contact me on my regular hotmail addy, and I can supply pictures. Those would better be able to help explain all the little stuff needed and any questions you may have. It is "judderman65@Hotmail.com"



As for exhaust manifolds, I used late 60's truck rams horns... dumps identically R & L, down and towards the rear.. sweet! Steering shaft is very close, but I'll grind a tiny bit on the shaft and the manifold to open the existing gap up from 1/8" to maybe 1/4"... it clears, but I'm going to grind in a bit of extra distance.



The trans fit the tunnel fine... no bashing... I used a rear crossmember from an 80 Concord, and it bolted into the stock location holes, but I had to redrill the mounting tab to work with the TH350 style (two bolt) mount. I'd be happy to share more details with whomever would like to do the swap.



The last bits are to be done in the next 2 days or so.. the driveshaft will need cut to fit, and the headpipes will need bent from the motor to the mufflers... BTW.. did I mention late 80's Fox mustang tailpipes fit nicely? Cheers! Mike