A Body RB Swaps

[Kory]

Big block A body swaps are getting easier with new headers, mounts, etc. coming on the market. Carb clearence and cooling continue to be tuff; anyone been there done that and share the how tos.

[goldduster]

you can get conversion mounts from Shumacher Creative Services. you probably will have to give up your power steering and power brakes.
you also have to get a big block transmission

[DartGT66]

That's no big deal. I did my first one in '81, and that was a 383 to a '65 Valiant. A big block A-body is a good combo with enough power.

[Elwenil]

Lets not forget the "Elephant Ear" mounts for big blocks. I have run these on the street, and to be honest, with a healthy cammed engine, you won't notice the change in vibration. You do have to play with the tranny mount, or you risk cracking the tailshaft housing on your tranny. These things are a snap to install, and really helped our 383 Duster hook up. Just taking the slack out of the drivetrain movement made a world of difference.
~Elwenil~ ~.\|/.~

[PRO]

The real drawback to a BB in an A-body for the street is the braking and handling. Even w/disc's these cars aren't very aggressive braker's; I always like to have more brake than needed,not just enough to get it stopped,if you add rear disc you'll have more than adequate brakes,youll definitely need an adjustable proportioning valve. Handling though is a little harder to solve,sway bars help but tend to limit chassis reaction in drag racing,Koni adjustable shocks help too, but the real problem is most guys run 318 or /6 torsion bars which allow too much body roll,I think the real cause is too much weight in front of the control arms,it tends to make it "PLOW" thru the turns when pushed hard, if a guy moved the motor back 3" it makes a world of difference. As far as carb clearence i used a stock 383 dual four intake(1964)and ported the sharp bend in the runner and added 2" open spacers with a 2 1/2" element and I could shut the hood no problem(73 Duster).As far as cooling goes I totally scored in this dept,I bought a John Deere tractor radiator, its a five row and the rows are staggered not in a line like car rad.s so as too force the air to contact every inch of each row and its made out of brass and copper which is a superior conductor of heat,remember tractors have no vehicle speed to rely on to create airflow. It did weigh about 15 lbs more but was really simple to mount,to give you an idea how well it cooled I would stage at the dragstrip w/the temp at 160* by the time I crossed the finish line it read 150*,it actually cools so well it drops temp under full throttle and this is in 100* temp. I only paid $60 for it at a rad shop apparently some farmer never came back for it.Hope this helps....PRO....

[River]

schumacher's tri-y header, along with their mounts, clear PS and PB, and in my case, a weiand dual plane intake, 1" spacer, and holley carb cleared the stock hood, although the air cleaner was a 2"

[Marc]

I found only minor problems with my 440 "A" body swap. I used 2" CPPA underchassis headers and Mancini elephant ears and in it went. The problems were the headers would (a) make the spark plug boots blow through due to lack of space and (b) melting/destroying/ruining all starters within 6 months each. Try to change the starter with 2" CPPA's!!!! I also run power brakes - I used the booster and bracket assembly out of a 1968 340S Cuda - although I'm sure lots of other applications fit.
Try a 440 "J" body. I did one years and years ago and it was alot easier than I thought - once I found out what to use, of course!
I have lots of pics for 440 "A" bodies if interested.
MoPar To Ya!!!

[DartGT66]

CPPA 2" headers are a curse. I could stand them only one year before going to fenderwells, but if changing plugwires is part of the hobby they are the way to go. The Schumacher headers look really promising for moderate BB swaps, for big power go with fenderwells.

[SJS440]

Marc,
Your e-mail address was not listed. I am interested in any pics you could e-mail about the RB in an A-body. I am just getting started with my 73 Moon Roof Duster.
Thanks for any pics you could e-mail.
SJS440@aol.com

[River]

SJS, i'll have my pics back on monday of the schumacher's in the car, so i'll send a few along when i get em scanned, and i'll also, AT LAST, measure up that rad for ya LOL i did find out that to get the headers to fit right and the engine level, i had to shim up the driver side about a half inch, and now the oil pump clears the k-member, so i didnt have to notch it like the mount instructions said...something to think about.

one question for yall though...what PS brackets fit on the alum. MP water pump housing? 68 and earlier? i'm having trouble finding ones, so i may just order a resto kit for it.

[SJS440]

I have heard from alot of people that have had to shim the motor when they use Schumachers mounts. Is this true for everybody out there? Also River can you refresh my memory as to which headers you are running?
Thanks,
SJS440

[This message has been edited by SJS440 (edited January 15, 2000).]

[River]

i have the schumacher tri-y headers. then just a dual 2 1/2" system with thrush 25" long turbos exit before the tires.i finally took it for a little test drive today. whew. i cant believe how much power this thing has. no PS pump yet, and i just leveled the front tires so i could move it around, so i couldnt beat on it at all. but the 9" wide bf's go up in smoke at more than half throttle, and i can't get my pro-matic shifter adjusted properly. the tires are new, but they're only to hold me over till i move the springs and stuff. by that ride i can say that radials are definitely not the way to go here and i DEFINITELY have to move the springs and wheelwells. i'll keep ya updated as i try things with it

[River]

sjs, my rad has a 1 3/4" top opening on the pass. side, and a 1 3/4" bottom opening on the driver side, and the actual core measures 23" wide X 16 1/2" high. and like i said, all the mounting holes in the rad-frame are on the fan side, so i made small flat plates from 16 gauge sheet metal and tacked them to the front side of the rad. they lined up with the oval holes farther out from the real threaded holes. i think my plates were like 3" wide X 10" high. i did leave the original brackets on the rad in case i need to make a shroud, i have a place to bolt it. im not sure of the actual application, but i know its a full size ford truck. im sure you could find a match to these measurements in a junkyard. the one i have, new, cost 173....much cheaper than the custom ones. hope this helps ya out oh, im working on getting all my pics up, it'll be a little while though.