hi, i am new here. i researched alot of your threads on v8 swaps and found my situation unclear. i have a 66 327 motor and th400 trans. i also have a 91 v6/auto rs camaro. i believe the current motor is a 3.1 and i have no idea of the model trans. i want to stay carbed, i am not looking to be fancy, just functional. i know i ll need motor mounts and trans support if i have to use my trans and not the currently installed one. is there a thread on what im going to need to do this swap? maybe a process? is this even reasonably possible? i am looking for an in-expensive route of course. any ideas or comments are welcome. thanks

 

what heads are on the 327? do they have accessory holes? if not you won't be able to mount things like your alternator, ps pump, etc. It's a very doable swap, the v6 tranny wont work with the v8. You can buy v8 mounts for the engine and a swap crossmember for the th400. If you don't care about emissions or anything its a pretty simple swap. There are all sorts of threads about this kinda thing around so if ya do a search I'm sure all your questions will be answered

 

no it does not have acc holes. i looked into a saginaw ps pump mount already, it does have alt mounts im just not sure if my alt will work in this car. emmsions are not a big concern of mine.

 

Inexpensive is not in your future for this swap.

Just for the Turbo 400 alone, you will need to buy a swap crossmember and torque arm adapter, about 400 dollars worth. Then you will need to buy a new driveshaft yoke because the 400 is different than the one you have. Then you will need to pay to have your driveshaft length changed and balanced.

You can use normal V8 motor mounts for 80's Camaro and Firebirds, they bolt right in, that's the end of your easiness. None of your accessories will bolt to your heads; you may get by if you find some 1960's brackets, but you are losing your simple, practical angle with each new move you make.

Simple in a third gen with a small block chevy would equal your short block, some LG4/TPI heads from the junkyard, with 1.94 or 2.02 valves installed, a low profile intake, 650 carb, big cap HEI from the mid seventies, and either a Turbo 350 trans with a 9" tailshaft and a B&M torque arm adapter, or a used but good 700R4 so that you don't have to ever deal with crossmember and torque converter issues.

 

so you're saying its much cheaper and easier to drop this setup into a 79 maibu already setup for a v8? it was my back up plan

 

more than likely you will still encounter many of the same problems, but it would definately be less work if it were already set up for the v8. Especially if it were set up for the 400.

 

well the malibu has a 350 with a th350. tranny is good but motor is a little limp.on this i was thinking on removing all the a/c components so all i would have to do is add the brackets for p/s. in all easiness maybe my 327 in front the th350 already in there would be a good combo. this 327 is just too nice of a motor to go to waste. theni maybe able to sell the 350 for a couple bucks.

 

why not sell the 327 to someone who actually wants one and build the 350 up?

 

Keep your 327, get your hands on a more modern set of 'bracket ready' cylinder heads, find a serpentine setup, and enjoy your ride. I, as well as a few other members, are offering full serpentine setup's. Good luck....

 

I have a 327 in a 89rs that had a 2.8 v6. As mentioned above, sell the origional heads to someone looking to do a restoration and get another set of heads with acc. holes, A t-350 trans mount and torque arm from Spohn.
You can get a t-350 with a 9" tailshaft and use the stock drive shaft. You will make more power for the same money with a 350 ci. but the 327 makes for a nice ride. It's not the fastest thing out there but is plenty fast enough for me. ( 13.40 in the 1/4 on street tires ) Hey i'm 63 how much power do I need !! Good luck on your swap.

 

it would be easier to swap the 327 into the malibu, or any g-body of that generation. (carb engine to carb engine, v8 to v8, etc.) The Malibu is a nice car and before you jump into this swap read the sticky 1,589 times like I did. I sold a near finished el camino to do a 350/700r4 swap into my 92 camaro 3.1L and i'm not going to lie there are times i miss my elco... and there have been moments so far (in the early stages of the swap) that I have wanted to rip my hair out!!!

 

I have been finding with my V8 swap, what you think should be cheap isnt and what shouldnt be isnt that bad, I am almost done the mechanical part of the swap and am over 4000 already, mind you I put alot of chrome and Hipro parts on.and went with the 5 speed

 

i changed my mind. im selling my original project with the 327 in it. its a 71 nova 327/375 with a th400 tranny and a ton of parts ifanyone wants it. i should be putting up a classified ad soon. thanks for all the info everyone. very informitive.