Clipperet

I bought a 403 infront of a 350 in a 64 Cutlass. Went back to the 330 in it and found an 86 Firebird without motor or tranny. Now the fun begins.
403 has Performer intake and cam. I am planning on a 750 edelbrock carb. Have a Spohn torque arm for it and hope to put 3.43(?) posi in the rear. I have the shaker breather and scoop to mod in as well. I hope to have some fun with this car. Lots of info on this site so I have no questions for now, just open to comments.

watajob

iTrader: (29)

IIRC, those are "windowed blocks". Cranks like to go "boom" in thise.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Here is a Hotrod article on how to build up a 403. They installed a girdle to strengthen the windowed main webs.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/eng...e/viewall.html

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

Subscribed.

I put an Olds 350 in an 87 Formula once. I loved it. I suggest using second gen Firebird 403 motor mounts setup. You can buy them new from places like year one and classic industries.

I used stock Olds big block manifolds, MAYBE you can mod some 2nd gen headers, I don't remember.

Are you going auto or stick transmission?

A 3.42 rear axle is easy to find. Most, if not all, V6 cars came with them. You can use a 98-02 4th gen Zexel Torsen posi unit and rear discs to spruce it up. Heck, if your car was a V6 car from the factory you might already have 3.42's in it.

Please take lots of pictures. I didn't and I really regret it now.

Good luck!

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Just keep in mind that the Zexel Torsen unit is designed for 28 spline axles, and the 86s still had 26 spline. To use that Zexel you'll need some new axles, or grab some from a late model 3rdg gen that somebody is parting out.

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

Yep, I always forget about that hahahhahha. Its been a while since I had an older 3rd gen. All of my junk is 28 spline.

I would go ahead and just buy a set of high strength replacement axle shafts from Summit. They're cheap and work well with the Zexel Torsen unit.

Thanks for the catch, Jim85IROC!

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

I took a similar route when I upgraded my IROC diff. I picked up some Moser 28 spline shafts and an SLP take-out Zexel posi back in the early 2000s when they were reselling the Zexels that they pulled from the SS/Firehawk cars for $99.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I did that way back in the early 90's. At the time I had Moser custom cut a set of 28 spline axles and I bought an Auburn carrier for the 7.625 inch ring gear.

KrisW

iTrader: (5)

Classic Industries part no. C269503, about 145 bucks.

It comes with the shells that bolt to the block for a Pontiac or Olds V8, and a set of flat plates that let you adjust the position (forward or back) of the motor mounts on the block.

Clipperet

Been a long time since this started but the 86 is gone to the Exhaust shop... finally! The project has grown some. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for my wife) I didn't have the time to do this for myself. Fast Frankie in Cole Camp, Mo. has done all the heavy lifting on this. My contribution has been to add to the work scope every few months.
I'll post the mods for the engine swap in about a month from now. The little things were the time killers.
It now boasts an 02 TA rear end with 4.10 gears.
I drove it! Felt good but since there was no exhaust system, I didn't really feel like pressing the noise ordinance issue.
Headliner finally disintegrated from sitting outside so long so I guess I'll do some interior work after all. Planned on just driving it as is. Oh well. All that will continue on the rides thread.