Engine tranny question

[Cmillet]

Can anyone tell me if a 1966 chevy 283 will bolt up to my factory original 1950 four speed? Thanks

[mr48chev]

You will need the cast iron V8 bellhousing for that engine. On the fifty you have to slightly modify the stock crossmember under the bellhousing so the motor mounts fit or swap to a 54 Crossmember which it will bolt right on to. The modification is a trim, reshape and weld job. The guy who originally swapped engines in my 48 did a rather crude version of that mod but it worked fine with the late six and then the 283 I had in it.

Big rub on a V8 swap is still the steering box to exhaust manifold interference issue and you have to space the box out about an inch and a half to the outside to cure that. We all have fought that battle since the first Small block Chev V8 was stuck in an AD pickup. There is no magic solution for that, at least at the moment.

[Cmillet]

Thanks for this awesome information! Did it change your location of your floor shifter? Did you add a fan shroud? Does this column mod change the position on the interior also? Does it look ok? Sorry for all the questions.... I have searched for hours and can’t always find my answers.

[mr48chev]

The shifter doesn't move. Hopefully someone will post some photos of how they moved the steering box. It does either shift the wheel to the outside a bit or turn it at a slight angle.

I've been wanting to figure out a steering box fix on these trucks when you do a V8 swap for years but never seem to have the time to pursue it.