62 Valiant v-8 swap

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DennisH

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I'm looking at getting a Valiant and making a bracket car. I found a 62 that looks pretty cool, but I am new to the early A's, so I have some questions.

How difficult would a v-8 swap be? Schumacher mounts, or would a later k-frame bolt in? The 62's never came factory with a v-8, right? what about exhaust, what will my options be?

If the swap is feasible, I will pursue the car and maybe get my project started.

Thanks

Dennis
 
62 and earlier are a completely different car dimensionally from a 63-66. There are others here that have them that might better answer your qeustions, but be prepared to hear that nothing for a 63-up car will work for you. And if you think the 63-66 cars are poorly supported in the aftermarket, well, there's pretty much nothing for 62-down.
 
You will have to lose the heater box, and the cross link might be a problem.

Custom sub frame might be helpful.
 
it has been done-- there is a 1962 with a 360 in it-- (bill crowell) if memory serves --not sure what his fabo name is -- do some searching & he should come up, Lawrence
 
thanks for the replies. Sounds like more than I am capable of right now. I will keep looking for a 63-66.

dennis
 
A 62 Dart was concidered a B-Body wasnt until 63 that the A- body came along and was refered to as the Early A-body.. the early Darts are 1 1/2 inches narrower than the 67 and later dart.. mine was a funtime squeezing a 572ci Indy Maxx motor in mine..

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There is a guy in Salt Lake City who put a 408/904 in a 62 Valiant. He said it wasn't too big of an ordeal. He even put a heater under the dash. I got his number to buy the car but was too late. Anyway, he said if I ever want to put a small block in a early A he'd be happy to assist with advice and experience. I'll try to find his phone number and PM it to you when I find it.
 
DennisH said:
I'm looking at getting a Valiant and making a bracket car. I found a 62 that looks pretty cool, but I am new to the early A's, so I have some questions.

How difficult would a v-8 swap be? Schumacher mounts, or would a later k-frame bolt in? The 62's never came factory with a v-8, right? what about exhaust, what will my options be?

If the swap is feasible, I will pursue the car and maybe get my project started.

Thanks

Dennis
Click to expand...

62 Valiants and Lancers are equal A-Bodies to the 63 to 66's
(With the exception of having to rig up a heater core in them)
All that is needed are the v8 parts you would gather to do the conversion on a 63-66. K-Frames are the same whether a S6 or v8 for early A's. I am slowly in the process of doing this swap on a 62 lancer.
 
the 62 Lancer is an A-Body the 62 Dart is a B-Body. If I remember correctly. Saw a 62 Dart Wagon at Fall Fling and it was BIG. Sweet though.
 
timbolia said:
the 62 Lancer is an A-Body the 62 Dart is a B-Body. If I remember correctly. Saw a 62 Dart Wagon at Fall Fling and it was BIG. Sweet though.
Click to expand...

Correct, 62 Dart is a B-Body and not to BIG :-D
This is my project Dart w/413

62dart.jpg
 
Sweet wagon! I did not mean to offend, it is just big compared to the A-Body wagons. BIG is not always a bad thing
 
warwagons said:
62 Valiants and Lancers are equal A-Bodies to the 63 to 66's
(With the exception of having to rig up a heater core in them)
All that is needed are the v8 parts you would gather to do the conversion on a 63-66. K-Frames are the same whether a S6 or v8 for early A's. I am slowly in the process of doing this swap on a 62 lancer.
Click to expand...
Ditto....the front suspensions (including the K-member) interchange from '62-6 on the A-body with the exception of the drag link. For that you will need the V8 drag link from a '64-6 V8 car. Your other areas of concern will be the firewall and cooling system. If you're going with a small block, I'd use a 904.....the 727 just makes matters worse.
Thanks, Mark
 
My V-200 '62













From Argentina, then I would put more pictures and technical data.

Regards

Jachu.
 
DennisH said:
Thanks for all the info, but I bought a 68 Dart yesterday, which is what I really wanted.

Dennis
Click to expand...

nice when things work out like that in the end. Good luck with your project, how about some pictures?
-Tim
 
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