I have a 2000 chevy Monte Carlo ss, and my new rental came with a (stripped) 350 out of a 74 chevelle. It will obviously take a lot of work, but I was hoping to get some opinions on it. I've never done a swap before, and this one seems like it's gonna be pretty drastic, but I'm down for the challenge and was hoping to see if anyone has done something like this so I could have something to reference. Also was hoping for opinions on axles/transmissions and such really anything someone doing something like this should know. Thank you for your time, I'm excited to hear from you.

 

@Jeffs02rwdSS is a good one to talk on this topic

 

Obviously it's a big project. My first thought is the frame is too wide , cutting the frame shorter would be the easy part. You'd be into making the firewall, moving steering and brake booster and fabrication of many different things.
Honestly if you're set on making one RWD id personally suggest buying a old/retired race car and swapping the body onto the car. You'd have a better suspension and less work in the long run. I've seen these cars being sold recently for $5000-$10,000 quite often. And if you think that's too much id suggest scraping the idea.
I'm definitely not the only one who has done the conversation, "Monte SSV" also has a detailed build and has a wonderful car. I know the "Art Morrison" frame he bought was around $17,000 and can't even fathom how much he's spent.

 

would it be possible to do a fwd 350? I didn't think there was a fwd trans for the 350, but if there is i think eother way it'd be cool

 

Im pretty ignorant on 70s/80s V8s, but Im pretty sure that engine makes well under 200 hp in stock form. Of course a SBC has huge mod potential, but how much $ are you willing to spend on it (on top of the huge cost of the swap) to make it worth saving? Id just hate to see someone dump thousands into a RWD conversion only to still struggle to keep up with a modern, stock SUV.

Reason I ask (especially since you seem OK with front wheel drive) - is you can take a 3800 v6 (which is a direct bolt in for this car if yours didn't come with one already), and have it make 200 hp stock, or 300, 350, 400+ (crank # for apples to apples discussion) easily with a turbo kit. I get it doesn't have the v8 rumble, but if you were thinking about dropping the v8 in stock or near stock, then performance would be just as good and you'd save yourself a year worth of fabrication.

Even if you're dead set on this/any v8, I'd write up your plan / budget to show exactly what you've got to put into the engine for the power you want. I strongly suspect the plan isn't to keep it at 150 hp. But you also want to be honest with yourself about how much the total project will cost before you dive in. Since the whole thing will be a custom deal anyways, maybe just junking this engine and going with a LS might be a better route. Even a basic 5.3 does like double what that older engine does right out of the box.

For starters, can you at least weld well? Again, not trying to be argumentative, but if you have to pay someone to do the fab work, youre going to end up with an absurdly expensive project as good fab labor is over $100/hr.

Id Google search RWD conversion monte carlo and grand prix (same chassis), theres at least a dozen RWD conversions out there (not including race car stuff where the body shell is the only thing left). Id also generically search RWD conversion as some other platforms have some incredible threads thatll help give you ideas. You'll also stumble across a multitude of threads where they just couldn't figure it out and had to scrap the car entirely.

That last part is an important one to think about before starting into something this big for the first time. There's a very real chance that this either turns out a failure and gets sent to the junkyard or sits in the corner collecting dust for eternity.



But back on topic, decision step 1 is do you keep it uni-body or swap to a frame style? The conversion process is very different between the two, but both have been successfully done on this platform.

We'd need more info to give any help here at all. What is the intended use, and how much power do you plan to make? Also auto or manual? Whats the total project budget?

It's absolutely possible (as is anything with enough money), but the bolt pattern is the first problem. An adapter (for both the bolt pattern and internal connection) is entirely possible, but would be custom made. Then you run into the length issue as a SBC is already longer than a LS (which barely fits in the W platform with the shortened LS4 variant) plus you'll have the added adapter. So you'd need to get an overall width measurement to ensure it fits between your stock strut towers (as I presume the whole reason you're asking about FWD is to not have to hack up the car body). Then you'll need a 4L/4T controller to make it shift.

There are off the shelf adapters for the turbo 425 to swap from BOP to Chevy bolt pattern to keep it FWD, but thatll also likely be a ton of hacking as well given the transmission location.

IMO your best bet if you really want a FWD V8 is to just by a LS4 Monte (or LS4 swap yours). The LS4 doesn't have the usual LS markup because they have the oddball FWD bell housing pattern, so they can usually be found for pretty cheap as the market is incredibly small for them.

 

Bumpin96monte has so many valid points, there's nothing I disagree with in his statements. I'm not speaking for him, but I'm sure he'll agree it would be much cheaper to just buy a V8 Monte Carlo SS and just enjoy the car.
To answer one of your questions. A company called "V8 Archie's" does make an adapter to connect the Gen 1 small block to a FWD transmission. If I remember correctly it's was around $1000. They were popular back in the "Fiero" days , but since the LS came out everyone just went that route. Switching to a TH425 would work, but they are becoming a rare commodity.
I do thank Bumpin96monte in telling us that the Gen 1 is actually a longer engine, something I didn't realize.

 

Absolutely agree! If a FWD v8 monte is OK with the OP, its easy to grab a LS4 SS for sub $10k and be done with it.

Of course I can also see the appeal of wanting something unique like yours - RWD performance v8 with the modern monte looks. I just always worry with threads like this if someone tries to jump in to a project like this as their first fab project - a conversion like that takes some serious skill!

Back when L67 swaps were starting to become popular, we lost more than one 5th gens to the crusher on the mymonte forums as people hacked the car up too far beyond their skill level and could never get it back on the road.

The hard part of course is that a lot of it depends on what all gets bolted to the "front end" of the engine.

Flex to water pump on a 305/350 is about 29.5". The same on a LS1 is about 28.75". Not a huge difference, but the reason I bring it up is because when GM went to put a LS in the w body, they spent a lot of money modifying the existing LS into the one off LS4 to fit. They made a unique crank for the LS4 to have a shorter snout, which drives a narrower balancer, and some unique accessories to squeeze everything in there. So, the overall 'length' of the LS4 is even shorter than the LS1 (although I don't recall offhand the length of it) - so Id be very worried about a longer SBC, especially with an adapter plate behind it. Might end up having to pull the engine for belt changes, lol.

Given totalled LS4 w bodies are virtually worthless (as the LS4 isnt sought after by the majority of the modding community), I think someone would be crazy to pass over a bolt in LS4/4T65HD for under $1k to try to make something like the OP's engine fit .

 

I agree about the starting of a project without understanding what exactly needs or is involved. I have one online friend who is currently at that point. Unfortunately I'm sure it going to be sent to the scrap yard. Yes ,I admit having a Rwd conversation and a big V8 makes driving a enjoyable experience. Yes it's fast, but there's plenty more cars that can smoke me.
As fir the "flex to water pump" measurements. I believe your using the (long water pump) which is been used since around 1973. In the Fiero builds it was common practice to use a short pump which was standard from 1955-1972 and also used a different crank pulley which would probably be the same size as a LS if not a fraction smaller.
On my recommendation of getting a race car, I just seen a retired "Cup car" for $10,000 on marketplace. Car wasn't 100% new but had tons of new parts including engine and transmission. Trying to upload the add, not sure if it will work.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/streetlegalstockcars/permalink/1414755559069846/?mibextid=Nif5oz