SBC into Tempest
 

Hey guys, I got a '68 Tempest that im rebuilding for a school project. I plan on doing my bodywork for the actual school project and install my new engine and tranny this summer. What i have now is a Pontiac 350 w/ a pwerglide. Ive aquired a chevy 400 sb and a TH2004r tranny. Can someone show me an example of the motor mounts ill need for this? Are they just Chevelle mounts? Also, what does it take to make the tranny fit? I have heard that it will drop rite in but I will have to shorten the driveshaft. Hows that sound to you guys?

Thanks alot for any help,
Matt

hey sledneck, most of the guys around this forum frown on chevys in their pontiacs. why not be different, see how much power you can get out of that 350. the 2004r should have a dual bolt pattern and will bolt right up to the pontiac engine. i think you will be pleasantly surprised at the power you can get out of that 350. there is no big and small block pontiac so everything you can put on a 455 you can also put on a 350.

Thanks puddles, i kind of expeced that. I figured since it was just a tempest it wouldnt hurt anything. I got the sbc motor for next to nothting and I wanted to use that in the car while i built the 350. :)

For mount all you will need is the frame and motor mounts from any 68-72 Chevelle as the Lemans and Chevelle share the same chassis. As for the transmission mount all you may have to do is relocate the crossmember, probably move it back some. BUT if you are going to use that 200R4 make SURE your TV cable is hooked up and properly adjusted which includes making sure the geometry is correct. If you don't the trany will never last.

HTH

And FWIW, that's a Super Turbine 300, not a 'glide, that came behind your 350 Pontiac.

Redoing all the mounts, exhaust and electrical for the Chevy will have to again be undone to reinstall the Pontiac. Save all the parts.

Under no conditions, should you be doing this based on the Chevy-oriented propeganda that a Pontiac won't run (absloutely untrue, and there are dozens of guys lining up right now, to remove the doors from any Chevy-powered Poncho with high velocity air flow...). Seems like a lot of work for a temporary home...

Jim

Please Please Please... do not put a Chevy in there....

Sell the chevy to a chevy guy and use the money to score yourself a running 400 pontiac! 400's are plentiful and easy enough to find... just keep your eyes open.. use your poncho 350 heads to bump up the compression!

Just use Chevelle frame stands and your good to go.

Andrew

If I had the time and money i would absolutly use a pontiac motor. This will be my first project car and im just testing the waters. BTW, whats the difference between a powerglide and the super turbine 300 two speeds?

sorry, can't stand to see a chevy go in....

gutless sbc in a Pontiac? geesz Id rather walk
Dude, dont screw up a nice car, stick with the 350 Pontiac motor at least until all the other work is done and then decide on power. The Pontiac 350 is not the hottest deal around but in stock form still has more power than a stock sbc.
ST300 and Powerglide are the same GM design but the st300 is Pontiac only and as it was designed for way more torque and weight than a chevy it has super heavy duty parts including input and output shafts etc. The bellhousing bolt pattern is way different on a Pontiac so it wont bolt up to a chev.

If you want a small block sell the Tempest and buy a Chevelle.

What do you mean the money? Machine work costs exactly the same amount for Pontiacs as it does for chevy. You won't have to change motor mounts so you just saved some money. Sell the 400 chev and you now have the money to pay for your machine work. Gasket set, rings, rod and main bearings would be maybe $50 more than a set for a 400 small block. You are not saving by building a 400sbc. You could save more by building a 350 sbc, but you car would be so much cooler if it have tha Pontiac motor in it. The days of Chevy's being a big advantage over Pontiac motors are over. The parts are out there and it is much better to keep your car all Pontiac. (except for that OD tranny) :)

**** chevy

What Brandi said. :bounce:

I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a brother with a SBC in a 68 Tempest.

Too bad you're not in NM, if you were local, I might trade you for a 69 chevelle I have.
Then if you want a chevy with a SBC you can have one.
And I will keep the Tempest pontiac powered, as it should be. Also nobody will want to slap you for putting an SBC in a classic poncho.


As a side note, weren't most 200r4 trannies dual bolt pattern, and will fit chev or BOP?

If your tempest came with a pontiac V8, the starter and the fuel pump will be on the wrong side for a sbc, you will need to switch fuel line and battery tray, or run a real long cable.

Also, if the sbc is going to be just temporary, a TH350 is a bolt-in replacement for the ST300, you wouldn't have to shorten the driveshaft or move the crossmember.
I had a 350 chevy in my LeMans for seven years. Just don't let anybody look under the hood.

BOO HOO, you cant do that to YOUR car
 

Dont listen to them Matt
Have fun nomatter of what the "PURIST" complain about.
Just remember any IDIOT can restore a car and keep it stock.
It takes a real man to cut one apart and improve on where it was lacking!!

Of course, any imaginless, "me too" geek can put a Chevy motor in a Pontiac, but this is a Pontiac forum, so don't expect us to think that is cool. What's the matter, couldn't deal with the crappy styling of the Camaro, so ya had to buck up a T/A? Besides, who said we were all "PURISTS"? There are many owners here with modified cars that are Pontiac powered and could eat your Pontolet (or is that Port-O-Let?) for breakfast.

Matt, I appreciate your frankness, and am not bashing you. You do what your current budget will allow, just don't get the attitude TA454 has about it.

Thats a good one my attitude.
where do you think my attitude is derived from All the high and mighty "purists" that want to impart their vision on others. and anything to the contrary is simply substandard.
instead of balancing up there on your high horse with the rest of the high and mighty narrow minded "purists"
Just be glad that it is one more car that somebody took the time to keep alive instead of just tossing it in the crusher.

As far as the performance of my car trust me there is several cars on here that i have seen in my rearview mirror. And quite a few that wish they could run with me.
Before you make a blanket statement as to the performance of any individuals car you better research as to what and IF their car can do/has done at the track.

as i can see by your profile you obvously would not know a 10 second car if it was right in front of you.

Have fun with your car And let others have fun with theirs.
younger guys like matt come to boards like these to get the guidance and knowhow to work on these older cars. No wonder the younger rodders are going to the fart can/big stupid wing import side. when you got a bunch of old plicks nit picking everything that they want to do.Just because it is not the way it was done in the good old days.The good old days are over ther is more than your way of doing things.
Instead of bashing the guy for working within his means. try doing what the forum is for and answer the question that was asked.

1. You cast the first stone. You didn't offer any useful advice, only snide comments directed towards anyone who, on a PONTIAC forum, didn't agree with putting a non-Pontiac motor in a Pontiac.
2. If you'd actually read the post, I was bashing you, not Matt, his attitude wasn't smarta$$ like yours is.
3. Your defintion of 'purist' and mine are evidently quite different.
4. Again, this is a PONTIAC forum, which tends to have people who are into PONTIACS like myself, so if you don't like it, go to one of the 1000s of Chevy forums.
5. As for my profile, at least I provide some honest information about myself, instead of hiding behind the typical "non-information" your profile has.
If we're going to base knowledge on what info is in a person's profile, I'd say you don't know squat about anything. Truth is, I'd put my knowledge and experience up against yours anyday.
6. Last, any....what was your word?.....oh yes, IDIOT, can butcher a car, a "real man" works with, and improves on, what is already there. Doing what you did to the car is worse than sending it to the crusher to us true Pontiac fans.