It’s a great feeling to bolt a fresh engine and trans into your project car. Well, we suppose it is since we’re happy to see a used small-block sitting in the front of our ’51 for $15,000 project. It’s not fresh by any means, but when we traded the shell of a ’74 Duster for a used small-block and Turbo 350 trans, the thought of this project wasn’t even on our wish list. We’re not really even sure why we bought a non-running ’74 Duster in the first place. Could be it was rust-free and was only $250, but when we lost our storage, it was traded for a small-block that was easy to stash under a rack of parts.
Fast forward five or six years and lo and behold, we have a project that needs a driveline. We’re sure we’re going to catch a bit of heat over the budget numbers for this engine but it was traded for a car we paid $250 for years ago. We were told it ran, but who knows, you may get the last laugh before this is all over. Before plunking the 350 in the ’51, we thought it would be good to reseal a few gaskets and take a look inside.
The engine is a used 350 Chevy that we had in stock. We were told “it ran when it was pulled out,” so we’re hoping for the best. It took an afternoon just to dig it out. It’s an early ’70s two-bolt block with small heads.
It isn’t a high-performance engine; in fact it has two-bolt mains. Casting numbers put it as a passenger block from the early ’70s with a set of 1.94-inch intake and 1.50-inch exhaust valve heads to match. But it had been rebuilt at some point and wasn’t oozing with grime. In fact, the lifter galley showed no signs of buildup of any sort and everything looked well maintained. (And did you happen to catch the chrome oil pan?) We didn’t even see fit to replace the timing chain and gear, though we probably should have. We knew the trans worked as it was used in a friend’s car for a while. It shifted fair but was a notorious leaker. We hate leaks and felt it best to have a shop take a look at it and replace all the seals. For $125 we received a trans with a clean bill of health, along with simply being clean.
When we first started this project, there was little doubt that this old engine was going to be called into duty. So when we were ordering the frontend kit from Chassis Engineering (CE), they fit the crossmember with the lower engine mounts to accept a small-block Chevy. This option, along with the upper mounts, was an additional $86 and well worth the price.
We were not going to put a used engine in without a fresh set of gaskets and seals. While the pan was off, we took a look at some of the mains and rod bearings. We learned the engine was definitely used, but had also been rebuilt.
The CE engine mount kit is supplied with nicely machined and assembled engine brackets, isolators, and hardware. When we guided the engine and trans assembly into position, the mounts lined right up. At the aft, we were really pleased to see the TH350 come to rest right at the Walton Fabrication crossmember.
With the driveline in place, we’re tipping our budget scale at just over $6,500. Remember, this includes the car as well, so we’re still feeling pretty good about coming in under our $15,000 goal. We were able to cheap out on the driveline (cross our fingers) and the car won’t see paint for years. The goal is to build a fun, smooth driving, reliable family cruiser. We’re not counting our savings yet as we still have some big ticket items coming up and a lot of little things that are sure to add up: tires, glass, interior, radiator, wiring, lighting, etc. … the list goes on. But we’re still having fun.
Project ‘51 for 15K
Parts Cost ’51 Chevy Business Coupe $2,750.00 Chassis Engineering Front suspension $2,052.00 Rear suspension $602.00 Brake lines, valve, etc. $137.00 Walton Fabrication trans crossmember $169.95 Engineered Components Master cylinder brake bracket $130.00 Master cylinder $75.00 Engine and trans (traded for a Duster) $250.00 Energy Suspension trans mount $40.00 Chassis Engineering SB engine mounts $86.00 Gaskets for engine Oil pan, intake, timing $90.00 Trans seal and inspect $125.00 Intake and valve covers (swap meet) $60.00 Grand Total: $ 6,566.95
