[joe_padavano]

I've been following this thread for a while now. While I agree that the car should be kept stock, it isn't my car so my opinion is meaningless. I think the main thing here is for the OP to understand the magnitude of work involved with a swap. From the photos, it appears that the original drivetrain is simply a V8 and transaxle turned around. What immediately comes to mind is a Corvair drivetrain. You can get adapters to bolt an SBC or BOP engine to a Corvair transaxle. V8 Vair swaps flip the transaxle around, but if you keep it in the stock orientation (transaxle in front, engine behind), the engine would be in the same place as the stock Cord. A Buick 3800 V6 might make for a tidy package. The Audi transaxle is also popular for mid engine swaps. I don't know how hard it is to turn it around to run the engine behind it, however. Same goes for the transaxles in the Chrysler Concorde. Do some junkyard investigating. If you can keep the mods pretty much bolt-on, and retain all the original parts, the next owner can put the car back to stock if desired. No harm, no foul.

As for front suspension, consider the C4 Corvette. Look closely at the uprights for the front and back. It looks like they both take the same wheel bearing package, but the rears are configured to accept a driveshaft. I'll bet you can put the rear bearings in the front uprights and get a FWD setup that steers. Failing that, consider the S-10 spindles. These are configured for either 2WD or 4WD by swapping the hub assembly.

[Frankinforesthill]

After reading all the do this, don't do that.
I have but one question.
If you add all that speed and power to the front end------
Will the back half be able to keep up?

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by Frankinforesthill

After reading all the do this, don't do that.
I have but one question.
If you add all that speed and power to the front end------
Will the back half be able to keep up?

I don't know... but he'll really be in trouble if the rear tries to pass the front!

[Jerrycord]

Originally Posted by John long

I understand Jerry. I am a street rodder and truly appreciate taking a piece of history and making it practical to use. I had the opportunity to build back the bottom 12-14 inches of a rusty Graham Hollywood 20 years ago for a customer. I really enjoyed working on it. That is how I knew it was the same body as the Cord. I personally believe making it rear wheel drive will be the way to go.

By the way, I will be 67 next month so I hope I didn't step on your toes. I always built cars no one else would tackle but as I get older, a 5-6 year project is not as enticing as it used to be. However you proceed, I hope you will keep us posted on your progress.,,,,,,(we really like pictures)

John L

hello again john,thanks for your comments and belive me you did'nt step on my toes at all.i picked you to respond to as you're one of the more moderate voices on this site.i've had some experiance with full restorations,did a 55 bel air convertiible 12 yrs. ago, brought it back to #1 condition, no mickey mouse anywhere. the only area not original was the mill,trans and disc brakes , my cousin built up a corvette 350 block using the best components[he builds and races funny cars at the epping n. h. dragstrip] i had him keep the top end stock appearing so it would look original, the turbo 350 was built by fred brown racing and it ran strong considering the limitations of the top end. my cousin will perform the swap on my cord as he can also build a new stubframe i told him i would do all the research thats why i picked this site.the cord drivetrain requires constant and expensive repairs, it will be converted to gm fwd, i'll post pics as soon as my wife shows me how. again thanks everybody, jerrycord

[MARTINSR]

He hates me.

Brian

[oldBodyman]

jerrycord,
" my cousin will perform the swap on my cord as he can also build a new stubframe i told him i would do all the research thats why i picked this site."

have him check into a Chevy Colorado pick-up as a donor for this. They did/do make them with 4, 5, 6, and V8 engines 2WD/4WD. Disc brakes, rack&pinion steering, IFS, torsion bars and sway bars for any engine/vehicle weight. Whole lot easier than starting from scratch and the parts will be available for years to come.

The Colorado is laid-out a lot better than an S-10, cleaner, easier to use and newer.

Good luck with it, post some pics.

[Jerrycord]

Originally Posted by oldBodyman

jerrycord,
" my cousin will perform the swap on my cord as he can also build a new stubframe i told him i would do all the research thats why i picked this site."

have him check into a Chevy Colorado pick-up as a donor for this. They did/do make them with 4, 5, 6, and V8 engines 2WD/4WD. Disc brakes, rack&pinion steering, IFS, torsion bars and sway bars for any engine/vehicle weight. Whole lot easier than starting from scratch and the parts will be available for years to come.

The Colorado is laid-out a lot better than an S-10, cleaner, easier to use and newer.

Good luck with it, post some pics.

oldbodyman, thanks for the info,we will defenitly check this idea of yours out,thanks again for the tip, jerrycord

[Jerrycord]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

He hates me.

Brian

brian, i hope i did'nt somehow step on your toes,belive me i'll listen to all the advice i can get,jerrycord

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Jerrycord

brian, i hope i did'nt somehow step on your toes,belive me i'll listen to all the advice i can get,jerrycord

No problem at all Jerry, I honestly thought you were mad at what I was saying. No it's all cool.

Brian

[John long]

Good to see Jerry doesn't hate you even if the rest of us do.

[MARTINSR]

Don't expect to come over my house to BS in the garage with a beer.

Brian

[John long]

LOL Man, I sure wish I could. Would it not be cool if we could all decide to go to the same cruise and get together with a cold one?

John L

[MARTINSR]

Yep but on the same respect it will hit me often how amazing the net is. To think of how easy it is to chat with people thousands of miles away. It's more about FINDING these people than chatting, the phone did that over a hundred years ago. But for FINDING the people, that is the cool part.

That will have to be good enough for us until Apple starts selling a teleporter.

Brian

[Jerrycord]

Originally Posted by joe_padavano

I've been following this thread for a while now. While I agree that the car should be kept stock, it isn't my car so my opinion is meaningless. I think the main thing here is for the OP to understand the magnitude of work involved with a swap. From the photos, it appears that the original drivetrain is simply a V8 and transaxle turned around. What immediately comes to mind is a Corvair drivetrain. You can get adapters to bolt an SBC or BOP engine to a Corvair transaxle. V8 Vair swaps flip the transaxle around, but if you keep it in the stock orientation (transaxle in front, engine behind), the engine would be in the same place as the stock Cord. A Buick 3800 V6 might make for a tidy package. The Audi transaxle is also popular for mid engine swaps. I don't know how hard it is to turn it around to run the engine behind it, however. Same goes for the transaxles in the Chrysler Concorde. Do some junkyard investigating. If you can keep the mods pretty much bolt-on, and retain all the original parts, the next owner can put the car back to stock if desired. No harm, no foul.

As for front suspension, consider the C4 Corvette. Look closely at the uprights for the front and back. It looks like they both take the same wheel bearing package, but the rears are configured to accept a driveshaft. I'll bet you can put the rear bearings in the front uprights and get a FWD setup that steers. Failing that, consider the S-10 spindles. These are configured for either 2WD or 4WD by swapping the hub assembly.

hi joe,thanks for the info,it's really appreciated,i try to personally respond to as many of you as i can. i am leaning towards an olds toro fwd unit as it's already been done,there's a beautifully done cord in indiana using this drivetrain and that's what sold me! if i could find and talk to him it would make this project simpler,but i'm going to make it happen! again thanks joe and everbody out there! jerrycord

[Jerrycord]

to brian martin sr,john long,sam&everybody,this is my first attempt at sending pictures,the 1st pic should be my "55"chev. bel air taken in "01"after a 2 yr restoration,next is my 1st look in the garage in n.h.where i bought the cord,the rest are taken at my cousin's shop. Note the brazed casting repair in the fwd,these cars are famous for losing wheels amongst other major problems which is why i'm doing the engine swap. thanks again brian,jerrycord