JohnnyD
Well-Known Member
Hello all! I'm trying to get my '63 Valiant convertible back on the road. A little history, my Dad bought it for me as my first car. But, after realizing how much work it would need, he decided to get me a '74 Newport and put this one in the barn till we could gather parts to fix it as a father-son project. That day never came for us as he passed away a few years ago. But now, I've got most of what I need (at least I think I do), so I've decided to tackle it as a tribute to him. However, as I've been taking the car apart, I've been noticing things that don't make sense or match up to what I've been reading about V8 swapping early A-Bodies. The previous owner did swap in a 318, but there were a few things my Dad said he didn't do correctly. I was young at the time he found all of this, so I didn't really understand all of what he was saying. And now my memory is shotty. So, I decided I'd let all of you weigh in on this car and my plan to move forward. I'd also like to know why any of this was done, as it helps me better understand things. Here's some of what I've noticed.
1. The center link was not upgraded to a V8 one and rubs the oil pan.
2. The arm from the steering box to the steering linkage on the driver's side (the pitman arm? Please correct me if I'm wrong) looks weird. Almost like it was cut and welded to fit. It's also rubbing on the starter.
3. The K-Member was definitely welded on. I can tell by the messy welds on the top and underside. That's the one that confuses me. No where in my reading for doing an early A V8 swap have I read that you have to weld anything. Why would someone do this?
3. The trans cross member was modified to fit a 727. This kinda made sense, till I read somewhere on this forum that you don't need to do that to fit a 727 in. I'm more confused on that and would like a clear answer.
Here's what I was told. The engine and transmission including the shifter were taken out of a '77 Volare and swapped in. The guy basically built it in his garage. It was running and driving at one point, and I used to drive it around the neighborhood. But over 45 mph the thing would start swerving all over the road and it was hard to keep straight. It also had an overheating issue that we could never figure out.
So my plan is as follows and I'd like to get some feedback on it before I dive too deep. I am taking the engine and transmission out, as the engine had parts robbed off of it and sat open for a number of years and now has rust issues. I have a '65 Barracuda parts car, this is where I'm getting my parts from.
1. Swap in the Barracuda K-Member. I was told it should fit and have measured the bolt-to-bolt centerline on the k-members of both cars and everything seems to line up. I'd like confirmation on this though before I dig in.
2. Swap in the Barracuda V8 centerlink. I might just swap in all the steering components for that matter. But again, I'd like to know if they'd fit, especially the pitman arm (hope I'm getting that term right).
3. Replace the trans cross member if needed. Either with the one from the Barracuda or with another one if there's a way. I'm also open to having one modified.
4. Swapping in the 273 from the Barracuda. It does seem illogical to go from a 318 to a 273, but it's mainly because I wanna run my D-64 dual carb manifold(it looks so cool) and that 273 is a '65 with the correct bolt hole angle.
5. Swapping in the torsion bars from the Barracuda. I was told those are for sure the slant 6 torsion bars still on it. And if I'm swapping K-members I might as well swap the torsion bars too. But will the ones from the Barracuda fit?
How does this all sound? More important, is there a way to do this better? Or am I just waisting my time? Thanks everyone!
1. The center link was not upgraded to a V8 one and rubs the oil pan.
2. The arm from the steering box to the steering linkage on the driver's side (the pitman arm? Please correct me if I'm wrong) looks weird. Almost like it was cut and welded to fit. It's also rubbing on the starter.
3. The K-Member was definitely welded on. I can tell by the messy welds on the top and underside. That's the one that confuses me. No where in my reading for doing an early A V8 swap have I read that you have to weld anything. Why would someone do this?
3. The trans cross member was modified to fit a 727. This kinda made sense, till I read somewhere on this forum that you don't need to do that to fit a 727 in. I'm more confused on that and would like a clear answer.
Here's what I was told. The engine and transmission including the shifter were taken out of a '77 Volare and swapped in. The guy basically built it in his garage. It was running and driving at one point, and I used to drive it around the neighborhood. But over 45 mph the thing would start swerving all over the road and it was hard to keep straight. It also had an overheating issue that we could never figure out.
So my plan is as follows and I'd like to get some feedback on it before I dive too deep. I am taking the engine and transmission out, as the engine had parts robbed off of it and sat open for a number of years and now has rust issues. I have a '65 Barracuda parts car, this is where I'm getting my parts from.
1. Swap in the Barracuda K-Member. I was told it should fit and have measured the bolt-to-bolt centerline on the k-members of both cars and everything seems to line up. I'd like confirmation on this though before I dig in.
2. Swap in the Barracuda V8 centerlink. I might just swap in all the steering components for that matter. But again, I'd like to know if they'd fit, especially the pitman arm (hope I'm getting that term right).
3. Replace the trans cross member if needed. Either with the one from the Barracuda or with another one if there's a way. I'm also open to having one modified.
4. Swapping in the 273 from the Barracuda. It does seem illogical to go from a 318 to a 273, but it's mainly because I wanna run my D-64 dual carb manifold(it looks so cool) and that 273 is a '65 with the correct bolt hole angle.
5. Swapping in the torsion bars from the Barracuda. I was told those are for sure the slant 6 torsion bars still on it. And if I'm swapping K-members I might as well swap the torsion bars too. But will the ones from the Barracuda fit?
How does this all sound? More important, is there a way to do this better? Or am I just waisting my time? Thanks everyone!
