350 in a 1982 jetta

[DaHeimer]

I have recently aquired a 350 and was contemplating putting it into a 1982 jetta 4 door any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Chad82]

I've never heard of that swap before. I assume it would be a completely custom job with a lot of fab work. You up for the work?

[J-Ri]

I was going to put a 350 in a 96 Beretta (bigger than a jetta), and it would barely fit, and that was after doing the following:
-Lowering the brake master cylinder and converting to hydroboost
-Cuting a large portion of the firewall/floorpan out to make room for the transmission
-Relocating the radiator and battery to the rear of the vehicle
-Removing the HVAC system
-Fabricating a frame/suspension to support the weight of the V8 (although you could chop the front end out of an S-10 or similar vehicle in a salvage yard but there's still lots of fabricating to connect it to the unibody of the jetta)
-Since it obviously won't fit in transversely, you need a manual transmission (not enough room for A/T), driveshaft and rear axle out of something RWD (again, probably an S-10, Caprice, etc.)
-The rear has to be reinforced for the axle, and the middle has to be reinforced because FWD cars are designed to be pulled by the front wheels, not pushed by the rear.
-The front wheels are about centered under the engine, which means very little weight on the rear, which means very poor handling if you're accelerating.

I don't want to discourage you from doing this, but you need to know what you're up against. If you end up doing it, I'd love to see some pictures of it.

[Chad82]

unless hes hard up on a 350, i believe 302s are substantially smaller exterior dimensions and have a good aftermarket of their own.

[J-Ri]

302 is ford, right?

The GM 305 has dimensions very close to that of a 350, so close you can't tell which engine it is by looking at it.

One possibility if you want a smaller engine would be to trade your 350 for a 262. Swaping the 262 in an S-10 for a 350 is a very common project, so you may be able to find someone who needs a 350 and has a 262 to get rid of. The 262 is basically just a 350 with two less cylinders. The bore and stroke are the same, and they even use the same pistons. The bolt holes on the outside should also be the same if both are the same year. They still have tons of power, much more than your could use in 1st or 2nd gear in such a light car. I had an S-10 with the non-vortec 4.3L and it would spin the tires through first and part of second and chirp them going into third.