Hope this doesn't show up twice... I previously mentioned working in my grandfathers Chevrolet dealership in my teens (starting at 13). Emailing with my kid about engines this evening, I was reminded about this story: Vernon Opfer was working as a mechanic at Grandpa Spurgeon's dealership when the 55 Chevy and Ford V8s came out. He was in his late teens or early 20s. He had a 1939 Chevy sedan that he and a buddy would pull into drive in restaurants and park as close to a Chevy or Ford V8 as possible. When the conversations got around to how fast the V8s were, Vernie would say "you want to run it"? After they inevitably said "what do you have in the Chevy", Vernie would open the hood and show them the stock 1939 Chevy engine. He said they could usually make an appointment to meet on Brown Road (over by Curtice) in an hour to drag race. Vernie and his buddy would go to his garage, take off 4 bolts and two radiator hose clamps, remove the whole front end, and swap in a 302 GMC, then put the front end back on. Everything bolted right up, and sounded the same. He told me they could do the swap in less than 1/2 hour. Result - meet the V8, blow it's doors off with no one the wiser, and pocket the $20 bet.
The GMC motors are 3" longer than the original Chevy car motors so... getting the GMC to fit without moving the radiator forward would be impossible as the fan blade would be where the radiator core sits. The GMC motors also have a deeper oil pan & the front motor mount is not in the same location as the Chevy car motors....which would require hacking up the front X member & fabricating a front motor mount to get it to fit. The GMC motors also have a different bell crank position for the throttle linkages so..... all the throttle linkages would need to be fabricated & fitted to work properly. No way could you... Remove the front sheetmetal, Remove the car motor , Fabricate front motor mounts, Fabricate the throttle linkage, Install the truck motor Hack the front sheetmetal to move the radiator forward, & then install all the front sheetmetal in " Less than a 1/2 " hour. A nice story to tell when you are hangin' out around the shop but..... obviously Vernie is full of B.S.
When I was 17 and running around in my 54 with 2 one barrels, headers and a cam, there was a guy that had a 56 GMC with a stock 302 inliner with a single 1 barrel carb and he would blow us away like we were standing still. I always wanted to build one of those just to see what I could get out of it. You just can't beat cubic inch....
Would it be possable when ..... ? This means quite a major job wich means many days to get it done and not like a 1/2 hour. Just asking ,would it be posseble to get it done when ; Moving the original engine support a bit foreward and drilling new holes to fit the other engine specifications ? Install an modern electric thinner size radiator so it fits the front parts and side fenders ? Install other trotle linkages like the hotrodders often do and install another tranny (4 speed or 5 speed) to give better space for install of these? Martinius.
I don't know...I think it could be done! All of the fabrication would only be done the first time. Then, the Chev motor would slip right in. Do it a couple of times for practice, and I think it is quite possible. If only I had the money/time for a 302 GMC...but I guess the mild 235 will have to do for now.
I would think if they stuck that l-o-n-g motor in there, why would they ever take it back out? To put a chevy block back in? That's just sick~ ;^)
You will note that nowhere in my post did I claim all of the above was done in a half hour. Would it just be possible that a qualified mechanic, one trying to pull off a big goof on 'those high fallutin 55 drivers could have the 39 Chevy and it's parts, plus both engines and their accessories, plus all necessary modifications, mounts, linkages already in place and ready to pull this off at a moments notice? (Start by reading what I posted again). A bit more background: Vernie was a most excellent mechanic. He was maybe 3 years older than I was at the time. His older brother was the dealership's shop foreman. In the four or five years that I worked with him, he never came across as a story teller, at least any more than any of us embellished things in our early twenties or late teens. For 55+ years, I have never had any reason to doubt the veracity of the above story. I always thought of Vernie as someone, perhaps like Nate, that figured out ways of doing things rather than dwell of all the reasons that they couldn't be done. Not long after the Chevy V8s came out, he had one, and as soon as Duntov's cam came out, he had one in it. This morning, just to double check a story I had never doubted, I emailed the story verbatum to my uncle, who headed Spurgeon Motor Sales, Inc. for 40+ years after my grandfather died. Keep in mind that this was in a town of 2000 residents, and it was pretty easy over the years to recognize the 'story tellers'. His one sentence reply: "That's the story I remember but I never witnessed the actual swap but I do believe it happened."
I am supprised you didn't throw in a reference to little green aliens in space ships to make the story even more believable.
The 1939 Chevy and 1955 Chevy are comparable in weight. The 302 would have more torque, thus be quick off the line, but that 302 has less high rpm hp and that little ole 265 in the '55 would start to reel in the '39 pretty quickly. I don't think Vernies cool ole '39 would blow the doors off the soon to be iconic '55, likely it would be a close race. Nonetheless, swapping engines is about as dishonest as it gets. Hard to take any pride in that. You have presented a cool story though. At the end of the day however history has proven the small block Chevy V-8 is arguably the best motor ever built when it comes to horsepower per dollar.
I could make it fit but then again I'm good at putting big things in tight places, just ask my girlfriend....BIG Tim
Swap your engine for a 302 and your done. You could swap your engine and pay some extra bucks in between if needed , then you have achived your goal. Maybe some guys on this forum or the GMC forum can help you here ? Good luck Martinius.
>Nonetheless, swapping engines is about as dishonest as it gets. Hard to take any pride in that.< I'll admit that it certainly wasn't above board, but expecting honesty in illegal activities sets the bar a bit high. I've always thought it more of a prank or just a challenge to the two kids involved. It certainly couldn't be done more than once or twice before word got around.
Dont understand your goal really in this matter ? Is `nt it a GMC truck you have ? I cant really understand what your goal is in this matter and i dont understand what so ever is dishonest in swapping engines ? If your playing with honest cards on the table and the price is right ? Swapping engines is not illegal at all in the USA , people do that all the time !
Let me break it down for ya. You are setting up a race and the fella asks to see under the hood and you show him, then you agree on the terms of the bet based on what has been disclosed. Ok, at this point the field is set. If you then change any components to something different than what was originally shown / agreed upon it is dishonest. When all is said and done a man is only as good as his word. Seems pretty black and white to me.
Not a lot of race historians here, huh? All the teams cheated, only some got caught. Then there is the "Loose interpretation of the rules". Ever hear of a sneaky Pete NOS system? Ever hear of a sleeper? Why do you think they have claimer motor classes in dirt track races? I have heard of some of the hard core street racers having a whole other identical car to race with, higher HP of course. Expecting people to behave admirably in an illegal activity isn't really realistic. They bet on the race, but they didn't specify no changes to the car. Remember American Graffitti? They uncorked the pipes and did a little tuning on the coupe before the race. If you really expect honesty, don't go racing.
Point taken. The point is taken and i`ll agree. A mans word is a mans word. At the same time i know that these rules for engines sizes where `nt checked the same way they are today. Maybe on the saltflats wich has been a prestige racing track ever sinds i remember. In this matter i was`nt refering to any historicall event or some deals according the story about the mechanic Vernie and his locall racing agreements . But if Vernie did what he did he pulled others peoples nose thats for shore. In fact i ment the GMC Spurgeon actually is overhauling together with his son. I explained myself a bit clumsy maybe and i excuse fore that Martinius. Case closed.
Who's talking about teams? What is being discussed is a small town local grudge match from back in the mid 1950's. Saying, everybody does it and the ends justify the means is more of the same... justifying dishonesty. I can only speak for myself. I'd rather loose and know I was honest, than win and know I cheated in doing so. Lots of racers follow the rules, most of whom expect honesty and do go racing. Lots of people follow the rules, thats they way they live their lives everyday, and they too expect honesty from others.
