Hot Rod Forum banner

Engen swap with no full car lift?

3K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  hcker2000 
#1 ·
I'm back agine from my winter of hybernation.

My engen is far from ready but I was wondering if it is even posible to swap an engen with out a full car lift? As usual we are talking about my 78 camaro. Swaping the 305 for a 350 and the time frame would be 3 days. 4 days max if I take a day off of work. If it takes longer than that I will have to barrow a car to drive back and forth to work for 3-4 days.
 
#5 ·
Oh there we go I knew I was missing some thing. My grandfather has a 2ton chain hoist so I was thinking of using that but it realy wouldent allow me to move the engen after I lifted it a bit.

Ok so aside from the geting it out of there should I have any problems geting to the shifter linkage or any thing like that? or having enough ground clearance to pivot the engen and tranny out.

Maby the job would just be easyest if I take the front end off and just pull it out the front. I think I could get the engen up and runing with out much money. Carb + cam + headers + bit of exhast to hook it to the existing exhast. Most of the missing parts (distributer, starter, and misc stuff).

Hummm I dont know you think it would be worth it to get the engen in the car so I could drag it on open nights this summer or get the interior redone. Seems like the engen will cost alot less to get into the car than to restore the interior.
 
#6 ·
You can use the chain block.....just roll the car back to get it out of the way. If you are using the same tranny, I suggest leaving it in the car. Undo the tranny bellhousing and torque convertor bolts and leave it there. Tie the tranny up in place with a piece of rope, so it will line up when you drop in the 350. Your same exhaust should work. Distributer and other parts are the same on both motors also.
 
#7 ·
Great to hear!

Maby it is just me but can you reach the all the bolts on the bell housing with out taking the trany out? If it is in fact as simple as you make it sound to leave the trany there then lifting the motor out will be no problem. I don't know how keen I am about trying to reuse the factory headers on my 350. Just so you know I'm shooting for about 400-450 hp out of the 350 I have. People have said that is not to hard to get to.

If you can't tell this will be my first motor swap and am both exited and wary.
 
#8 · (Edited)
When I took my engine out I had to remove a wheel and use the cherry picker from the side. The nose on the camaros are very long.
Put the car up and remove all the bolts you can on the trans, exhaust etc.
You´ll need some means of supporting the trans while the engine is out.
With the distributor out you can get to the trans bolts on the topside.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
If this is your first swap...you chose a good car. A small block swap in a Camaro is about as simple as it gets. You should'nt have any troble fitting the new motor in....., 305, 350and 400 small blocks are all the exact same phisical demensions on the outside...

If your only shooting for about 400 horsepower, you could even play with the 305....they make decent power if you rip off all that emission crap and get your self a set of 1.94 closed chamber heads....with the right intake, carb, and cam...you should easly get the power your looking for...
 
#10 ·
not a bad job..to do in a day...out and back in!!

Disconnect the battery and fuel line the trans kickdown linkage and the accelerator linkage....then you will need to pull your hood, radiator, fan shroud, disconnect the exhaust and the trans from the block, remove the bolts from the torque converter to the fly wheel and put a jack under the trans to hold it in place..now your ready to pry the trans loose from the block. There are a few wires that will need disconnecting and the distributor should come out before lifting the engine out. There are cherry pickers that don't have the engine stand hooked to them and they can be pushed back out of the way with the engine on the hook. Give yourself enough room in the garage to pull the cherry picker back out of the way and hook up your 350 then reverse the process and install it.


Tazz


Rat Rods Rule!
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the words of encouragment. As for the power that is bassed on the fact that I don't have alot of cash to blow. If I can get more than 400 hp out of a 350 and still be able to keep the rebuild cheap then by all meens let me know how :D Oh and I do use this as a daily driver (winter included) but if I have to watch it even more in the winter that is no problem as I can't go past 10-20 mph when the snow is siting on the roads :D

I was thinking of eventualy adding a shot of nos to the engen but if I get more than 400 hp out of it I dont think I'm going to need the nos.
 
#13 ·
WPG juggalo said:
nitrous oxide is great if you know what your doin and how to make it work with the setup you have....but its not exactly a begginer thing...Trust me, 400hp is huge....Your gonna be pinned back so hard, you'll think a F'n mule kicked you into your seat
Thats what I'm looking for ;) One of my friends brothers is a big import fan and I'm gona show him what 400 hp feels like :D

How many hp before a car gets to wild to be used as a daly driver?
 
#14 ·
If you pull the trans out with the engine, get something to plug the backside of the trans so fluid won't pour out when you pick the engine up. Also, keep a big flat drain pan handy in case whatever you plug it with gets knocked out.

I use a chain hoist on a home-made A-frame and roll the car out from under it. I've never tried a crane, but I might someday. An engine tilter (AKA load leveler) can make the job easier no matter which way you pull it. Here's one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42356
 
#18 ·
You should do the swap... it's a good way to get "real familiar" with your car, and you will NEVER get 400 hp out of the 305... the chevy mags have been trying to beef these motors up forever, since every reader has one, but I have never seen even the wildest naturally aspirated street combo make much more than 300 hp. With the right parts selection, a 350 will get you there but even if you don't hit the 400 mark you will still notice an enjoyable difference :)
 
#20 ·
The first engine I ever pulled I used a chain hoist borrowed from a neighbor. I hung it from a metal beam in Dad's shed and the weight of the 390 cid engine bent the edges of the beam slightly, Dad spotted the bend right away and I caught heck for it. So if you use a chain hoist make sure you have it hanging from a strong enough structure to support the weight.

The cherry picker type are excellent for pulling engines as long as you are on a smooth surface. If you use one on a gravel or dirt surface they get awfully hard to move. I use my cherry picker hoist to pull van engines outside but I move the van and not the hoist. Once the engine has been removed from a van I use the loader on a tractor to move the engines.


For most of the engines I pull outside I use the Allis Chalmers (above right) or the John Deere (above left). It is easy, fast and you can move the engine anywhere you want it after it is out. I recommend this method if you are pulling your engine outside and can use somebody's tractor and loader.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top