Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum
General Category => Kaiser Forum => Topic started by: checker on June 04, 2017, 12:47:00 PM
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Guys, anybody did or heard about Chevy 4.3L V6 conversion ?
Engine's not too big / heavy, it can produce twice the amount of horsepower than the original powerplant (which is more than enough for the rest of the car - braking & steering and suspension)
They can be matched with a 7R400 tranny.
Let me know if you did or heard about...
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The conversion you are interested in has been done and very successfully. Note the 4.3 is the Vin Z engine with the small oil pan sump. Even so it had to be shifted 1". I have talked to the owner .He is friendly and Knowledgeable
http://www.hotrodhotline.com/feature/guestcolumnists/DavidBrackett/010henryjdave/
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The early buick V6 231 cu. in with a 700r4 fits "Store bought "with no interference. One of our club members in King's Mountain N.C has one. It's beautiful. The oil pan is just right to clear the tie rods.
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Just read a bit about the Buick 231 and surprisingly it somehow relates to Kaiser-Jeep !
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1) There is a Kaiser connection because GM sold the engine and machine tools to Kaiser Jeep. Kaiser used this engine in the 67 and later C101/Commando. When AMC bought out Kaiser Jeep, they wanted to use their own engines, specifically the 232/258 6 cylinder. So they lengthened the vehicle, gave it ugly boxy front sheet metal and it became the C104/AMC Commando. GM got in a bind because they had too many 400+ c.i. V8s when the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo occurred, so GM President Ed Cole (of SBC fame) drove to Kenosha from Detroit in a Buick Special fitted with an old Buick V6 to personally negotiate the repurchase of the engine.
I do have a 68 Commando and I like to tell people it has a Kaiser engine, not a purchased GM engine.
Strangely enough the V6 Commandos had a Turbo 400 automatic as an option.
2) The 700R4 was a Chevy manufactured trans and was used behind SBC engines. I have not seen one with a Chevy/BOP dual bellhousing bolt pattern. The 200R4 was a Buick manufactured trans and does exist in dual bellhousing bolt pattern versions. It is slightly smaller physically and hot rodders claim it might be more durable than the 700R4. There are sheetmetal adapters to use Chevy trans on BOP engines and vise versa, but it is probably better just to use a 200R4 on a Buick V6.
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Regarding a Chevy 4.3L V6 in a 51-55 Kaiser:
Chevy SBC V8s and the 90 degree V6 have spark plugs that point out perpendicular to the side of the engine. So location of the engine in a Kaiser is dependent on the spark plugs on the driver's side clearing the steering box. Several SBC V8 swaps tried to solve this problem by offsetting the engine (the offset referred to in the above comment) . But the 51-55 Kaiser has an X member frame so you are not offsetting the engine so much as you are putting the engine and transmission in on a slant which isn't recoomended.
My solution to the problem was pushing the Chevy V8 ahead so #5 and #7 spark plugs bracketed the steering box. While the Golden Rule is to put the engine as far back and as low in the chassis as possible, this worked out well because the SBC V8 was already lighter than the 226 and actually caused the front end to lift about 1".
Personally, if you are going to all the trouble, I would just use a SBC 305. If you are really dead set on something else, consider a Buick V6. I believe it is possible to use a Chevy 250 6 or an AMC 232/258 but it would require spacing the radiator forward 1" and altering the sheet metal that mounts the hood latch slightly. I got this idea after looking at a 53 Dragon with power steering and saw how the added length was handled.
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I have two 200R4's and they both have the dual bolt pattern.
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Don't count on the dual bolt pattern being gospel. I have 3 200R4s and the 1 from an 1981 Buick Electra is BOP only.
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WOW, all good info from experienced folks, exactly what a Club's Forum is for...
Thanks Guys...lots to think about on my side...
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Tell us what you decide. The choice of engine/trans is just the 1st step.
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Speaking of conversion:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-KAISER-DELUXE-/292176873453?hash=item44071947ed:g:~QwAAOSw8d5ZUAss&vxp=mtr