ok ive decided to convert my 87 t2 to a v8. im using a mopar 383 and a 727 torqueflite 3spd transmission with short tailshaft (pictures to follow) everything will be stock for now until i get some money to upgrade/rebuild the motor to .30 overbore, aluminum components (intake, water pump housing/water pump), cam, etc. stock(factory specs) this motor puts out 290hp and 390 ftlbs of torque on a 2barrel carb. but after reading more up on mopar motors i realized that alot of the older motors were actually rated ALOT lower than they actually were from factory (the infamous 6 pack was rated at 425 but at todays corrected sae hp its more like 575, thats 150 hp stock LESS than from factory) so im not sure what the real numbers are. only factory specs.

so far the only thing i have had to buy that has been a pain in the *** to find was the short tail shaft off of the 727 trans that was used in trucks, the stock one in cars is VERY long and i will take a photo later today or tomorrow and show the difference between the two. and i will need a rear sump oil pan to clear all the stuff in front, but i think im going to fab one myself, if not i can get one for 100 bucks from summitracing.com (the rear sump also came out of a truck)

here are some weights of the stock motor components:
block- ~225lbs (most big blocks weigh that much)
heads- 52 lbs a piece
cast iron intake- either 35 or 45 lbs, (ill check later but its not light)
water pump housing- something like 25 or 30 lbs. aluminum weighs about 10-15lbs less those are the biggest parts. these motors are suppose to weigh ~650lbs

here are some photos:

short tail shaft from a truck (also called heavy duty tailshaft), thats an 18 inch ruler beside it for comparison purposes



motor photos:







questions/comments welcome. will update progress as i go along.

 

Fat block Mopars rule. The 383s were no slouch at all in stock trim!

You might want to find a aluminum intake for the beast. I'm pretty sure the cast iron intake weighs a tad more than what you're thinking. The stock cast iron intake on my Ford 429 weighed 119lbs. THAT bastard was heavy!

Good luck on the swap. I was wondering when someone was going to put some Mopar muscle in one of these cars.

 

weighed it earlier. weighs 38 lbs. so not as bad as some but still pretty heavy.

 

the short one is on the one that is shiny.

 

That is going to be awesome! Are you changing the rear end gear, or staying with the 4.3?

 

for now im keeping the rear end stock, then i have a 8 3/4 (or 9 inch, not sure says the number 9 on the side of it) that ill adapt to put into it. thats for when im going for the high torque/hp numbers. and mostly drag racing. it came out of the same car that the motor and trans did. so whatever rear end a 69 dodge monaco high class had in it, is what i have. and i though the s4 t2 rear end was a 4.1? or is that the n/a..

 

Too bad they don't make a manual tranny for it... Or at least something better than a 3 speed auto.

My brother had a 1972 Challenger with a 3 speed manual on it. You should try to find one of those. That would be bad ***!

 

i can get a shift kit so it "shifts" somewhat like a manual or you can put it in drive and it be like a normal automatic. but thats a possibility down the road.

 

They do make a 4speed manual for them. My brother in law has a 1970 orginal 440 4speed 'Cuda. Freaken makes me jealous he picked it up when he was 19years old from some guy who owned a rinky dink used car lot for like $3800.00 don't even know what that thing goes for now a days. But it stays in the garage and is waiting for a full resto on it. Body is clean and interior is near mint it will be a nice ride when it is all said and done. And it's got the Dana 60 rearend with 4.56gears it is a handful to drive on the streets you can get it sidewards in any gear! Yeah of all the V8's I love Mopars nothing like the sound of a Hemi but that 383 will move that car easily with a little work you will be making some real good horsepower. That 8 3/4 rearend will be fine there's a guy on here Crispeed uses one on his second gen and it runs in the 8's no problems.

 

holy LOL 3 speed with a 4.3 rearend ?
going for drag only ?

 

its a 4.1

 

and could i use the stock t2 oil cooler as a transmission cooler?

 

You could use the oil cooler as a tranny cooler, just make sure to flush it REALLY damn good. That'll be the coldest Torqueflight around!

If it's drag only, the 4.10s will be fine, but that 440 will hate you if you hit the interstate with it.

I'm pretty sure somebody's got to make a bellhousing to mate up a 5 or 6 speed to that puppy.

 

ok ive decided to get it bored out now. im thinking .030 over but i want to turbo it down the road, so whats the most i want to overbore it without messing up the durability of the engine block.

and i found a 5 speed trans that i may get later at keislerauto.com i think they even have a 6 speed.

 

Only bore it as much as you HAVE to. Don't bore it out just because.

.030 over won't make a difference. .040, .060, etc.. .will not make a difference. I would only bore to get more power once I have exhausted every other option and stroked the **** out of it.

 

Cool man! I've got a roller cam (Magnum) 318 that's going into a gutted '87 Sport. I have a Supra turbo 5 speed that will be mated to the 318 via a '93 Dakota V6 bellhousing. I have to thank Toyota and Chrysler for both buying trannys from the same company. The 5 speed is costing a lot more than a 3 speed auto would have, but this car will get driven 40 miles one way to track days, auto crosses, and the drags all at Portland International Raceway.

I have the short block all together with the reground hydraulic roller cam, a Milodon gear drive (used, been on the shelf), stock bore, new rings, reground crank, etc, etc. Next is to have the heads done so I can check the pushrod length, get pushrods, an oil pan and pickup to wrap things up. I haven't been spending much money on the project lately as I'm having a house built and I'm buying some custom wiring and other stuff that I'm adding in.

The chassis work so far has been to replace the blown out dampers and sagging springs with KYB AGXs and RS-R race springs. I have a Turbo II diff and axles to swap in and 17x8 and 17x9" wheels wrapped in 235/45R17 and 255/40R17 Bridgestone S0-3 tires.

BTW, a 6 bbl 440 was rated at 390 hp gross, the standard HP 440 was 375hp in 1968 and went down from there even though the rating didn't change. The HP 440 cars were lucky to get 300 hp to the ground. The 2 bbl 290 hp 383 was probably less than 200 hp to the ground. If I get 300 hp to the ground I'll be happy, but I have N2O on the shelf to make it 400.

 

josh, i keep getting told that the dodge motors are underrated, so thats where i came up with the hp numbers.

and i found some good news.







thats a t56 viper trans with a housing that can bolt up to a bigblock mopar. the trans are rated at 650 hp/tq this made me a happy happy bastard.

that motor is going into a dodge dart btw.

"Forgot to mention, mine is using the viper master cylinder/throughout bearing (Hydraulic), and the camero pressure plate and disk (because of availablity)."

sounds like a winner to me.

i am sticking with the 727 for now.

 

ok i test fitted the motor in the car today, it went well. im happy that it all fit with no huge problems to be seen. i will have to go aftermarket headers unless the motor moves a little when i put the trans in but im not counting on that. this is just a test fit with all the stuff that may interfere with hood on, i think i might, be able to fit it all under the hood without cutting any besides a little bit where the opening on the bottom from the cowl.




soooo close ot the brake booster, this is why i have to go aftermarket headers. no room for stock ones.

 

Looking good Dewayne.

 

Wow, you're serious! I didn't cut the firewall in my car. I should take some new pictures and post them. My manifolds fit, but I hope I can use headers to get a bit more power. You're really going to want that T-56 for yourself. 4.10s with even the tallest tire you can fit under the car will get old really fast.

 

damn right i am i knew the ****** would fit, and it did, to get the exact idea of how much room ill have im going to have (to know if a 440 will fit) im probably going to test fit the motor again only with the trans this time, that way i can get the trans mount made too. 2 birds, one stone.

here is the firewall sealed back up, not the best job but it will work i think.





im probably gonna put the interior back in today, after i get it cleaned out, damn tar and ****.

this is how much i cut out, wanted to be 100 percent sure i had enough room

 

ok here are some update photos. motor and trans together (these are all test fit, trans is stil empty and needs to be rebuilt)





it looks like the carb will fit with little or no modifation to the hood.



how close the starter is to the firewall bottom.



piston size comparison to a normal pop can, bore is 4.25 will be at least 4.28 when im done.



view going back straight to the diff.




and where the end of the trans comes out.



thats all for now.

 

I've got a standard long tailshaft 727 bolted to the 360 I'm using for a mock-up. It looks like it would work fine, but I've got to have an overdrive so I bought the 5 speed.

Did I mention I picked up a GSL-SE for $300? It's supposed to run but smoke. I haven't confirmed this, but other than a dent in the passenger's door and a little one in the LR quarter it's pretty straight and no rust at all. The interior is pretty good, almost nothing is missing off the car. The rear window louver and wiper is all I've found missing. Since this car is a bit smaller I might have to try a 302. I'm no Ford guy, but the 302 fits so nice and the front distributor makes life that much easier.

 

my 383 is front, if it wasnt, id be fucked. and for the fb id say go for 302 or 13bt.

i have the long tail and hosuing, need to sell it but dont know how much i should list it for.

 

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/t...to/index1.html

this makes me happy, with basic bolt ons i get 117 hp increase.