I did a thing involving an iconic car

In reply to gearheadmb :

Yes.

Use a Stage 3.1415 turbo with a 5/6 Race Cam. Put on some coiled overs for the right stance, roll the fenders, add some bumb steer brackets, too. Swap in a manuel transmission, a lightweight flywheel, a "full racing clutch" and weld the diff. Then get some huge subs for the back. Mount a racing harness to the floor with unknown fasteners.

Did I cover all of the potential idiocy? I feel like I missed something.

Knurled. said:

Had to stop reading when an overbore was tauted as a performance mod, and saw 3/4 race cam used honestly...

I think, in extreme cases with a lot of sonic checking, some blocks like the Chevy 235 could take insane overbores, gaining a not immaterial amount of additional displacement.  I think it also helps open up different piston options from more popular engines, so that compression ratios and piston types are more flexible.  "3/4 race cam" is at best slang, to me, and pretty meaningless without a lot more context.

In reply to Patrick :

I asked about the B-body chassis as I think it might be an avenue to improved front suspension geometer, general frame stiffness, and better brakes all around.  I don't know a lot about the frame under these cars but I assume everything made by anyone from this era to be a bit lacking.  

It would also come with some flavor of small block V8 and a four speed automatic (that probably needs to be rebuilt because reverse is dead or dying) which may or may not be of interest to you.  The Atlas seems kind of cool but also not inexpensive to really improve on.  An Eaton M90 blower might be a nice way to change things up and it would probably sound interesting... And I doubt there's any kit to create that combination on the market today, if there ever was.

I did look online for b chassis swaps because i do have my impala sitting here, but the car is too solid and original to do anything to that requires cutting anything.  If the frame is anything like my 54, it’s built like a tank, but i stripped that down to the rails and did new everything 

i want to just keep it simple here.  Bolt on some discs and a power booster/dual mc, replace some bushings, bolt on some giant sway bars, find stock looking 15” wheels that take the stock hubcaps.  An LS swap makes the most sense for simple, because I can do it in my sleep, but I would really love to mess with an atlas.  Aside of oil pan fabrication, it’s the same concept.  Build a fuel tank and system, make a stand alone harness, stick a 4L65e behind it, tune the pcm and go.  Everything but the pan needs done for the v8 anyway 

In reply to Patrick :

I know someone who is one of the very few people remaining who knows how to set up one of those old Hydramatics to work right.

He helped us convert a '55 Olds to a Quadrajet while keeping the Hydramatic's linkage, which is instrumental in its operation.  It was a real kludge and literally required most of a machine shop to make the linkage with the correct ratios and arc motions.

I don't know where that car is now... the owner sold it and bought a '40 Cadillac, which also had a Hydramatic, but the old version before they put a blocker clutch (cannot think of correct name) in the system, so shifting to reverse required a momentary shift to a different gear otherwise it would grind and not engage, and I still have vivid enough memories of NOT getting that car into Reverse that the PNDLR shift pattern still gives me mild PTSD

(fugue state fades off)

Anyway.  A lto of those "4200"s had a 285hp rating.  There is a kind of beauty in that given that the top engine for the '57 was the 283 "Fuelie" that made roughly the same power rating.

Ignore net vs. gross horsepower, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!

Cool car. Post-holiday bump for you. 

In reply to Knurled. :

I’m heavily leaning toward atlas with turbo and overdrive.  However, there are others in line first.  With the test stand i’ll be able to build stuff and make it run so there will be lots less down time for swap wiring

In reply to Patrick :

Atlas with turbo and overdrive sounds really, really cool.

I wonder if one could do something to the valve cover to make it look like cast aluminum...

Super cool. Following.

epic barn find man!

Little update.  Peeled back the cocoon and dropped a battery in.  Pulled distibutor cap to clean the wasp nests out of the terminals.  Poins look perfect.  Wire from coil to points fell apart.  Hit key and car cranks very well.  Tomorrow I plan to make a wire for the points and pop some new plug wires on and find my starting fluid.  

Did not intend to mess with the 235 but my curiosity is getting the better of me.  Plus i was sick of grinding on the Wartburg.

Thanks for the update!

I love seeing old forgotten cars find new life! 

I tried to give it life last week.  New wires, set timing kinda close, new wire to points.  It’s a no go, the original cloth covered wiring is crumbling to dust and I don’t want to burn it to the ground.  Plan now is to put it in line, hopefully by fall we have the other house sold and can move forward on garage expansion 

Almost a year later it's finally inside where i can tinker as diversion is needed.  Here's the ugly side

You still on the atlas power plant train?

Tucked in tight 

believe it or not, i could likely have it on the road under challenge budget, but i think when i go to work on it i'll just spend the $ for the right parts instead of trying to meet the insane task of trying to be under 2k.  This is for me

Norma66-Brent said:

You still on the atlas power plant train?

Nah I don't want to deal with it.  I have more LS engines than vehicles for them right now including 2 of the correct oil pan for this chassis so it'll get an ly6 with ls3 cam(good for ~460-470hp), cam/head work ls1(slightly over 400) or turbo 5.3(throw random number over 600 at the wall)depending on how stuff falls.  I don't want to need a roll bar so the big power turbo is probably not the answer.  I should do the ls1 because it's turn key ready to go with oil pan change.  We'll see what shakes out

Ebay bucks quarterly certificate came today.  $96.56.  So I promptly ordered this

tri fives used front mounts and bellhousing mounts.  To fit a newer engine this is the easy button.  Can I make all this?  Yep.  Should I when it's relatively cheap and bolts in?  Nope.  
 

at some point i'll have to mess with things and start unbolting the 235 and powerglide.  Pretty sure it's a couple wires, a fuel line, a speed cable, a driveshaft, and like 4 bolts. I'm not looking to get on the car and make it run, but when I get the engine and transmission ready it makes sense to bolt them in so they're not taking up real estate on the floor.  I have zero intentions of doing any bodywork beyond shooting the new fenders and apron and installing them and finding a usable grill and bumper.  

In reply to Patrick :

I too love the Atlas Motors I've had. The first ones were 270 horsepower but later ones came with 290 horsepower. 
They were well mannered but once you hit about 3800 they really sang.  Pulling hard right up to red line.   I've seen the turbo version and that is very impressive indeed. Plus it's not a belly button. 
The automatic behind them was not very durable. 130,000 seemed about as far as they'd go.  In spite of proper dealership maintenance.  The good news is it's probably very easy to swap them with a T 5  or 6 speed  manual. Heck you might even be able to put a more robust GM automatic if that's your desire. 

I have no interest in a manual transmission for this one.  It's a factory automatic car and i'll keep it one.  Bench seat column shift auto.  The leader in the clubhouse is the LS1/4L65-e that are currently in my 95 Impala SS.  The engine has one of the comp cams cam and valvetrain kits and runs very strong and the trans has 25k miles on it and a new FTI 3600 stall converter I put in when i put in the ls1.  I'm over the Impala, I've had it for almost 10 years.  I'm cool with pulling the engine and trans and selling it as a roller, the same way I got it.  

I honestly want to bolt a drivetrain in, probably bolt a pre made efi tank in, make some lines, make a harness, and make it as easy as possible to be driving.  I've got front discs to go on and will likely snag a power brake setup to go with a new master since single master cylinders have no place on something i want to drive.  

didn't bodywork anything just sanded down the old primer, hit the spots i went through with some new primer, and sprayed color and clear.  Got the paint from paintscratch.com in 4 spray cans.  Fender took 1.5 cans.  So other fender should take 1.5 leaving me with a can for the splash pan and to hit the rusty spot on the quarter panel.  

Dunno what I like better, this, or the wartburg...