253/308, trimatic transplant?

[Marishka]

253/308, trimatic transplant?
Im sure this has been covered before but i want some fresh
Input.

Is it possible to put a holden v8 , trimatic auto
Into a bedford van that has a standard red 6
Without cutting the original cross member mounts off and repositioning??

Any input would be much appreciated.

Cheers marty

[MaTTe]

Having never done the conversion I can only speculate..
The holden/chev motors can be made to use the same engine mounts, however doing so would put the V8s at a considerably high point in the body which would require more cutting.
I believe some vans have been done this way, you'd need to search thru some of the galleries to find appropriate pics.
My 350 is set further back than Dano's 327, possibly his 350 also (memory is a little fuzzy) so I have to make do with alternate mounts, not sure if his are standard. Have a look thru his gallery and you may be pleasantly surprised.

[Marishka]

Cheers for the info MaTTe,
So would that mean the motor would need to be higher
So the low part of sump clears the crossmember?
Couldnt the engine mounts that bolt to the motor be modified so the
Crossmember 6 cyl mounts stays intact?

Ive got no problem welding new crossmember mounts on but i didnt want the dramas
With engineers certificates and trying to find
The right measurements for the exact placement.

Cheers marty

[hammondo]

Ive got no problem welding new crossmember mounts on but i didnt want the dramas
With engineers certificates and trying to find
The right measurements for the exact placement.

Marty, you will need to engineer it either way, when I did it I moved them back, never would have cleared the thermofans on the radiator. My engineer would be happy with them moved so long as welding is good. Also the HQ v8 sump needs to be back too from memory. Mine had AC as well so couldn't put fans on front of radiator. I think it was 80mm back from memory. Check my old thread I think it was in there the exact measurement.

I will mention for the record, get a turbo pattern motor and run a T700, overdrive is awesome.

[Marishka]

Cool, thanx Greg.
Im going to get the new blue van and the green/white poptop
Both converted to 308, auto,
Im gettin too old for changing manual gears n cant handle lack of power .

Any info regarding measurements and other problems i may encounter will be very much appreciated.

Cheers marty.

P.s. Pictures of your latest hotrod build,
Please, im hanging to see it Greg

[Dano]

mty i can take some pics & measurements tomorrow for you of std mounts for chev but not sure of width of holden, but you can compare when available....

[Marishka]

Cool Dano,
350 chev engines might be the go then,
I want carby models though as i dont like injection n computers.
That way if they break down i can fix em,

Cheers Marty

[Sammy]

I can't really comment on a 308/trimatic other than to say the timatic is probably shorter if anything than whats below, but I have recently measured my Bedford - 202/tri, from trimatic crossmember bolt holes to the front of the engine mount on the crossmember, it was 1130-1150mm

so then I measured the 304/T700 from the same point with both commodore mounts on it aswell as HQ mounts....

vn mounts = 1030mm
hq mounts = 1080mm

so even if you slotted the 304 in with hq mounts your gearbox is still going to want to go back about 2 inchs to meet up with the standard 202/tri crossmember locations.

that said there are slots in the gearbox crossmember so theres probably enough in it to maybe give you 1/2 to 1 inch but then you'll still need to get the motor mounts back another inch or the gearbox crossmember forward .... I have no idea where this will make the motor sit height wise either.

please note all this is just my tinkerings with tape measures and such, no actual in the car stuff (but i'm itching to do it when I get the van home!!)

[Bas / NZ]

Ok Interesting, but at the end of the day, if you want something to bolt straight in you keep what you have, If you want to change, a few alterations, eg new cross-member etc is no big deal and is straight forward..
In Oz you have  the 202 fitted from factory so with out changes to the front mounts go for the 253 or 308 will bolt straight up the rear box cross-member is so straight forward on a Bedford.

[kimbosound]

I would go the Chev option having had both a 253 and and a chev option in previous Beddys.....you can get engine mount adaptor plates so the Chev will bolt straight onto your holden 6cyl mounts....if you run a turbo 350/400 auto.....you will need to modify the transmission cross member or relocate about 3 inches back from the standard position.....i did a 6cyl to chev 400ci on a gravel driveway with a busted knee cap on my own.....easy peasy.....