Gunfreak25
Well-known member
- 1,561
- 620
- 113
- Location
- Yuma, AZ
I can't wait to see pics of the engine swap. I love my hot rod deuce. It has a 455 Olds and Th400 in it. It's not even a smog motor, made in 1970 and taken out of a Delta 88. 350 ponies and over 400lbs of torque. I am running the original 24V Ford Autolite Generator & Regulator out of the original 302ci gas engine. I simply wired in a 24V to 12V converter to keep the Olds ignition 12V. I am quite familiar with the air over hydraulic system so I wanted to keep it. To do this I fabricated a T mount on the left side of the front of the block for the original Military air compressor. Just need to plumb it in for coolant and oil feed.
Good luck! Don't let the naysayers discourage your idea either. It may not be as fuel efficient as a diesel engine, but your going to have a lot more power and higher top end speed. And who knows, if you can exercise some foot discipline and keep it under 45MPH it may just surprise you for being a gasser. The original 302 gassers in the M211 series usually averaged between 5 and 8 on a good day. But come on', these also had single barrel carbs, poor intake setups and the exhaust flow probably wasn't the best. They were also pretty underpowered and you really needed to push them to get moving at first. Most guys are telling me the larger gas engine will increase fuel economy because it doesn't have to work nearly as hard to propel the vehicle. The steep axle gears will also help lessen the load on the Th400, although it's no tinker toy by any means! Only one way to tell! Go for it!
Good luck! Don't let the naysayers discourage your idea either. It may not be as fuel efficient as a diesel engine, but your going to have a lot more power and higher top end speed. And who knows, if you can exercise some foot discipline and keep it under 45MPH it may just surprise you for being a gasser. The original 302 gassers in the M211 series usually averaged between 5 and 8 on a good day. But come on', these also had single barrel carbs, poor intake setups and the exhaust flow probably wasn't the best. They were also pretty underpowered and you really needed to push them to get moving at first. Most guys are telling me the larger gas engine will increase fuel economy because it doesn't have to work nearly as hard to propel the vehicle. The steep axle gears will also help lessen the load on the Th400, although it's no tinker toy by any means! Only one way to tell! Go for it!