Engine and transmission Swap

[am4blue]

Ok, please don't take this as criticism. This fandangled interweb can make one's comments sound condescending and downright rude. But first of all, you said a carb is cheaper, can be as efficient, and has more power.

You have a carb in mind? Do you have one already? Can't get any cheaper than free with the TBI setup you already have. I'm assuming you will get a new intake. That's even more money. Then you probably want to get a different distributer. More cash...

Now, far as making more power. I know just enough about carbs to make me dangerous and learn more every day. Mine is probably not setup perfectly. Again, please don't take any offense, but if you are asking about motor mounts to use, what driveshaft mods will be necessary and who would be able to do them, if the trans is controlled by the ECM... how confident would I be in being able to tune a carb to get me more power than the TBI would? You would also probably want to run dual exhaust and maybe even headers to make the motor breathe better and find that extra power. And as far as gas mileage (efficiency) I think the TBI would do a better job than a carb would.

This is totally meant to be friendly constructive criticism. If you like carbs, don't let the truth change your mind (joke) and go with a carb 🙂 But TBI, especially if you already have pretty much everything to get it going, would be very attractive to me. IMO, it would be cheaper, easier, more efficient, and probably make as much power all things concidered. I would yank everything from the truck I would need for it, just in case.

Good luck in the install.

D

 

[84cutspreme]

I have heard rumors of certain Chevy van driveshafts fitting g-body applications with 700r-4's but I just had mine cut, balanced and new u-joint. Cost me under $100. I just finished my Chevy 350 & 700r-4 install on my 84' cutlass. I ended up needing all of the following:
For 700r-4
Camaro Shift Cable & Cable Bracket(on Pan)
Camaro Shift Lever (I have a few if you need it)
700r-4 Crossmember (Bought mine from g-force, also available by jegs, summit & iceman)
TV Cable/Throttle Cable Bracket(I got mine from holley needed #'s 20-121 & 20-95, but depends on carburetor you use)
Obviously shortened driveshaft

For 350
V8 Fan Shroud
V8 Chevy Clamshell Motor Mounts(chassis side) & Malibu or Monte 305 Motor Mounts(motor side) (also need bolts)
Also needed to change fuel line since I was changing from 231 V6 (driver side line to passenger side line)
Chevy Condenser if using A/C along with Chevy A/C lines

 

[1986montecarlols]

Nah dude no criticism at all i am happy that your all voicin your opinions it gives me better ideas of what to do, so actually where do you go to get your drive shaft cut and refigured so it will fit up correctly for $100 i mean what would i tell a shop i need done because i have no clue man. Oh btw i already run a 2 1/4 inch dual exhaust. Yeah i know i have to get an intake, i planned on getting a used carb though from a friend for like 25 bucks though, it works fine

 

[montecarlo-ts]

you need to take it to a drive line shop, you would have to take measurements to give them to cut down to. ive never done it myself so i dont know exactly what you need to keep in mind on the measurement, leaving room for suspension travel or what not. here we have a shop called gary's drive line everyone takes their stuff to. dont know about anywhere else but id look for something like that in the phone book. take measurements after you know what to do then tell them what you need, they'll cut it balance it and it should be good to install

 

[Doober]

You'd be surprised how much you can do with TBI. Are you just dropping the motor in without changing the cam? If so, a carb won't make much difference. Along with buying an intake, carb, and distributor, you'll need a fuel pressure regulator plumbed into the factory fuel system so you don't run over double the required pressure for a carb. It will run like crap and you'll never be able to tune it with ~10-15psi of fuel pressure.

I'd keep the serpentine setup from the Suburban, it's simpler than the v-belt system that I assume is on the Monte. If the throttle body only has one injector as you say, you can take the computer/wiring from the Suburban, and have a drop-in, almost turnkey deal for the motor. The restriction with the stock motor isn't in the throttle body, it's in the heads and cam.

700R4/4L60 only has its lockup controlled by the computer, shifting is controlled by the throttle valve (TV) cable up until the beginning of '93. It's also an electronic speedometer, so you have that to think about.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Ok Guys I need only honest and sincere answers, My friends never done this kind of swap before so we need to know a few things before we do this in a few weeks

First of all as you know i drive a 1986 Monte Carlo LS, with a 4.3 motor V6, and a 200C 3 speed transmission. I am going to put in a Chevy 350 with a 700-R4 transmission. What i need to know is this

Will the driveshaft from either my dads suburban, or my monte carlo work with the 700 R4 set up and still fit correctly with my stock rear end? I mean to say i dont wanna get the swap ready and find out its too big, too long, or too short to fit correctly? So how exactly do I know. Would the Swap be any easier if I just kept my 200C 3 speed and put it with the 350 motor ? Or would this cause the transmission to be too overworked causing it to blow up? I personally would rather have a 4 speed but I am not sure or have a clue how this will work.

As for motor mounts, does anyone know for sure that my stock V6 motor mounts will work ok with this 350 motor, i see a lot of yes and no from people? I assume the mounts are like 20 bucks at the store anyway right?



and as far as the cross member goes? do I need his or can i keep my basic v6 one from my car?

again please only answer if you really know, I need to know precisely and get the proper parts before we do this swapping out in a couple of days or weeks weather permitted

 

[84cutspreme]

Well I just finished swapping my 231 3.8 V6 & 200C out of my cutlass. Put in a 350 chevy & 700r-4. The stock driveshaft will need to be cut & balanced, which is pretty cheap($100-150). The 200C crossmember will not work, I bought G-force dual exhaust crossmember ($220) which was one of the more expensive ones. V6 motor & chassis mounts will not work. Any g-body with 305 or 350 will work, malibu's & monte's have the correct chevy V8 mounts. Fan shroud also needs to be changed unless you are going with electric fan(s). Those are basically the only things that need to be changed. Only other thing I changed but it not a complete necessity is the fuel line. My V6 lines came up on driver side since buick V6 had driver side pump. Chevy had passenger side pump, so I bought new feed line from inline tube for $70. I have seen people just put rubber hose extension on driver side line and run under motor, but I would not recommend it. Only other mess about 700r-4 is the shift linkage, I needed a camaro shift cable & cable bracket (on pan) and welded correct length & size bracket onto shifter. Also if it's floor shift you need a detent for the shifter that has the extra detent for low gear. I have heard of people just cutting an extra detent in, but I don't know if this works and I picked up an overdrive shifter cheap. I don't know what you can salvage from your dad's car, but if it is a monte with 700r-4 you should be able to swap over any/all of it. If you have any other questions or elaboration on something I've said, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Ok thanks for the reply man, so basically go the junk yard and get the v8 motor mounts from any monte carlo from that period correct as long as they are v8 ones?

I think im safe on the fuel lines, and im safe on the linkage becuase its a column shifter not a floor shifter which i like anyway.

Now about the crossmember bar, could I just take my dads crossmember bar you think? and use that one rather then have to buy one from some online catalog and have to wait weeks on end?

and 2ndly, ill have to find a shop that refab my drive shaft, would it matter if i take my dads drive shaft in or my drive shaft from the monte carlo? I need to know if you know

and lastly, lets say i say screw taking the drive shaft to the shop to be rafabbed, any chance that I could just hook up my 200C transmission to the 350 Motor, you know switching the bell housing around ? or do you think the drive shaft would still not work?

 

[84cutspreme]

well I am not sure if your dad's driveshaft will fit. If he has a 7.5" rear end as I am assuming you do, and a 700r-4 then it should fit fine. If dad's is a g-body with 700r-4 his crossmember should fit (just want to note that no g-bodies came with 700r-4 to my knowledge, should be 200-4r if it's an overdrive). The 200-4r and 700r-4 are not compatible. 700r-4 is longer so if it's 200-4r driveshaft & crossmember will not fit.

As for the 200C bolting up to the 350, I just wouldn't recommend it. 200C is a weak trans, but it was behind 305's & 307's so it may hold up. If you use the 200C the crossmember & driveshaft you have will work still.

Motor mounts: Any g-body with a chevy V8 will have the mounts you need.

Just double check that your dad's doesn't have the 200-4r trans.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Well im pretty positive that his rear end is the 7.5, and i know that for a fact he has the 700-R4 not the 200 4 r you are speaking of. So are you implying that I can perhaps use my dads driveshaft that goes with his transmission in place of the one going to and from my 200C transmission and try to hook it up to his 700 R 4 transmission ? I mean i doubt id wanna use my drive shaft from the monte carlo, id wanna keep his driveshaft with his transmission. Are you also implying that I might be able to use the 200C cross member as well with his 700R4? Or are you saying that I need to undo his crossmember for use on my car and delete my cross member i am using with the 200C? I just need clarification, I mean if I can get around having to take my drive shaft to some shop and have them fab it up that would be cool but I am not saying I wont if i have to do it. It just seems like the rear ends would be the same and being that they are the only thing that wouldnt match would be perhaps the yolk end going into the transmission, could you clarify this though.

I just googled and got this, most people reccomend the 200 r 4
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=28100 Looking like I will have to have the driveshaft shortened 3 inches though at least according to this thing.