SBC in a 68 Firebird

[pbhavasu]

Hello everyone I am swapping a Pontiac 350 with a Chevy 350 in my Firebird (the matching # Pontiac 350 will be rebuilt over time).

Car: 1968 Firebird Convertible
350 2-speed automatic

Can you guys start throwing at me the things that will not transfer over to the Chevy block? I just pulled the pontiac motor and will spend a few days cleaning and painting the compartment. And any other issues I need to deal with.

Examples:

Motor mounts

AC brackets, other brackets

Exhaust


Ect etc etc……………………………………….



Thanks Paul

[ikeyballz]

not too sure, not that in depth as the other guys here.. but i gotta say: WHERES THE PICS!

oh, and welcome to AF

[Morley]

What won't fit the SBC....Engine mounts, transmission and driveshaft...just the little things.

[MrPbody]

Yup. Starter is on the wrong side with the Chevy engine. The exhaust is also different. The battery needs relocated. The ST-300 transmission won't bolt up to the Chevy without an adapter (it's NOT a PowerGlide). Radiator is different, too!

Truth is, you would be better off, if you really intend to restore the original engine, to use a 400 Pontiac. It will bolt right in and blow the doors off the smallblock (it takes a WHOLE LOT of small block Chevy to make 475 lb. ft.). I would upgrade the trans to a TH400, though. The Super Turbine 300 is not well-suited to high performance applications. Unlike PowerGlide, making it shift crisply and live behind "real" power is quite difficult.

For more information about the Pontiac, get Jim Hand's book "How to Build Max-performance Pontiac V8s" by SA Designs. This is the most current study of the ol' Injun. And don't fall for the "You gotta use a Chevy to make it run" line. We have MANY cusomters running traditional Pontiac V8s well into the 10s on 93 octane and completely street legal. How fast does it have to be??

Lastly, at car shows, if you install the Chevy, you'll need to hang with the Camaro crowd, 'cuz the Pontiac guys will "shun" you. Be prepared for an onslaught of challenges to race, too. And with a 350, you'll lose... "The only thing that beats cubic inches is cubic money"

Jim