motor swap info

[55dude]

dudes, i have a 61' apache with a 235/3spd and want to install a 250/? combo. what do i need for the swap? i have a 63' chevy truck that had a 250 in it can i use the motor mounts or ? the 235 is going into a 54' suburban. thanks

[60-66 Nut]

55dude, it depends on what trans you want to put behind the 250. The 63 engine mounts should work fine, just drill the holes and bolt them where you want them. The problem is the bell housing/transmission mounting. If your'e putting an automatic trans, then you can just buy or build a crossmember to put at the back of the trans. But if you want to go back with a standard, there may be some issues. The 235 bell housing will not bolt to the 250. The 63 bellhousing will bolt into the 61, but the clutch linkage will not swap. The 61 uses a hydraulic clutch with the slave cylinder bolted to the right hand side of the bell housing, and the 63 uses mechanical linkage on the left hand side. You can either re-locate the slave cylinder to the left side and make a bracket for it, or you can probably rob all the mechanical linkage from the 63. A 60-62 V8 bell housing would make it a bolt-in, but good luck finding one of those.

60-66 Nut

[55dude]

Originally Posted by 60-66 Nut

55dude, it depends on what trans you want to put behind the 250. The 63 engine mounts should work fine, just drill the holes and bolt them where you want them. The problem is the bell housing/transmission mounting. If your'e putting an automatic trans, then you can just buy or build a crossmember to put at the back of the trans. But if you want to go back with a standard, there may be some issues. The 235 bell housing will not bolt to the 250. The 63 bellhousing will bolt into the 61, but the clutch linkage will not swap. The 61 uses a hydraulic clutch with the slave cylinder bolted to the right hand side of the bell housing, and the 63 uses mechanical linkage on the left hand side. You can either re-locate the slave cylinder to the left side and make a bracket for it, or you can probably rob all the mechanical linkage from the 63. A 60-62 V8 bell housing would make it a bolt-in, but good luck finding one of those.

60-66 Nut

i figured that i would be building a trans mount just want a no-hassle bolt in on the motor. would i be better off mounting the 63' motor mounts,the frame side to the 61' frame or is the frame different because of the torsion bar setup for the front suspension? the reason i was asking is 63'-66''s are the only years i have worked with for motor swaps and all the 60'-62's i've owned were 235's with 3spd's and that was the way they stayed (were talking 20+ years ago) that way. at .29 cents a gallon all i had was big block chevelle's with 4:11's and actually drove them! these days i dread just having to move my 70'ss chevelle convertable up and down the driveway, costs me $5.00 buck just to move it. thanks guys!

[60-66 Nut]

The 60-62 frame dimensions are pretty much the same as the 63-66 frames up at the front, they get wider under the cab. The 63 engine brackets should fit pretty good. I've never actually did it myself, but I had a 60 parts truck that someone had put a 230 or 250 six in. Looked like all they did was drill some holes and bolt in the 63-72 engine-to-frame brackets, and the 63-72 bell housing was bolted in place of the 60-62 housing. Their clutch linkage fabrication was not pretty, but it was functional.

60-66 Nut

[slepysal]

My 60 has a 250 in it if you need any pics let me know.

[old Chevy guy]

I have a 61 apache and along time ago I put in a 283 w a 4 speed truck tranny. the moter mount brackets from the 63 will work. I used the bell from a newer truck 63 and up. Im not possitive but I think the bell from a 67-72 standard shift may even be the same.63 to 66 for sure will bolt into the same mount points then I bolted the mounts to the moter and bolted it in to the bell and marked where to drill the holes and pulled it out again. your old 3 speed will bolt back in and then you can use your same driveshaft. You may be able to remount your slave cylynder but I used pedals and all the linkage from a newer truck 63-66 they swap right in just plug the hole in the clutch master cylinder to keep the fluid in. youl have to cut a hole in the firewall for the rod to go thru.Its not hard when you know what to do ,when I did it I was clueless and went thru a lot of trial and error before I finally got it figured out. Ill check this thread out again if you have any more questions just ask.