i was just wondering if any of you guys can help me out, i wanna run a small block in my 46,( or maybe a buick nailhead with a hilborn injection set up ) but i would like to keep the 3 speed thats in the car. is this set up even possible without making ridiculous mods? if not , what will bolt up to the 3 speed? any help would be appreciated. i want to keep the 3 speed because im doing a gasser tribute with the car, and i think having the 3 speed on the column would be a great period correct decision. i may even go ahead and run with the stove bolt 6 that is in the car now for a little while, at least until im used to how the car is going to launch.
2 posters
3 speed synchro-mesh tranny tech? help?
sinndustrial- Posts : 24
Join date : 2009-10-29
Location : Newark,OH
Darkside Dave- Admin
- Posts : 1018
Join date : 2009-04-21
Age : 78
Location : Marietta, Ohio
sinndustrial wrote:i was just wondering if any of you guys can help me out, i wanna run a small block in my 46,( or maybe a buick nailhead with a hilborn injection set up ) but i would like to keep the 3 speed thats in the car. is this set up even possible without making ridiculous mods? if not , what will bolt up to the 3 speed? any help would be appreciated. i want to keep the 3 speed because im doing a gasser tribute with the car, and i think having the 3 speed on the column would be a great period correct decision. i may even go ahead and run with the stove bolt 6 that is in the car now for a little while, at least until im used to how the car is going to launch.
Hi sinndustrial,
Is it possible? Yes... Is it practical, probably not. The bell housings on the old 235 six's would fit up to at least the older small block Chevy V8's. You may have to use a different clutch set up. That tranny will have a tough time holding up too. I doubt the old clutch in the '46 can handle a V8 in any decent condition. Another problem is the closed drive line used with the '46. It's a real pain in the ass. Do yourself a big favor, if you're actually going Rat Rod this thing, get the body off the rolling chassis and build up a complete new one using box tube steel, lats model parts from donors and parts yards. If you have the original one Whole and intact, it will serve as a guide to build another rolling chassis that will fit your body. Also you may find that the complete rolling chassis with engine is worth something to people who restore. As a matter of fact, that is probably the case with the whole car. But that's a decision that is completely up to you as it is your car.
If that engine is the original, it does not have insert bearings in the rods. They are made like the piston rods in lawn mower engines. Trying to use that engine for anything other than the slow deliberate care exercised by owners of restored vehicles is just not a good idea. I can guarantee that if you start rodding that thing around it's going to come apart.
Don't get the wrong idea here... I'm not one of those guys that thinks you have to have a completely rebuilt and totally tricked out chassis and drive train. I do believe that you need to find a strong set up with lots of life in it. More than once I have found and used engines that were in good condition with l;ots of life left in them. I usually take the partially apart and do a thorough cleaning and get a new gasket set in them for a fraction of the cost of a total rebuild.. I follow much the same procedure with transmissions and rear ends. Build a chassis does not have to be a $10,000.00 deal either. There are a lot of donor vehicles around to harvest some pretty sophisticated suspension set ups from at a fraction of the cost of the after market stuff out there.
Later Man...
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