For god's sake.....Sometimes you have to "Run what you brung!!!".....

I don't know what it is, but I think sometimes people think something is cooler if it's hard to do. I never went to that school. I was always taught to take the path of least resistance. At least when it came to working on cars. I say this because of several conversations I've had with people the last few weeks. Hot August Nights was just here so I got to talk to more people than usual about the projects their working on or considering buying. One guy was considering buying a '57 T-Bird. It was in good condition and had the 292 Y-Block V8 backed by a 3-speed manual trans. It had a Hurst shifter on the floor which a previous owner had added way back in the '70's. Otherwise it was all there. I thought it was kind of cool, as most of the '55-57 T-Birds I had seen over the years were automatics. He asked me what it would take to convert it to an automatic. Groan. "More trouble than it's worth." I said. I explained how Fords all had different bellhousing bolt-patterns, and that finding a correct Ford-o-Matic that would bolt up to a '55-57 292 / 312 V8 would be very hard, as would finding the other pieces-shift linkage,crossmember, rear trans mount, neutral safety switch, etc.  I suggested that if he wanted an automatic '55-57 T-Bird, that he just look for another car-as I said almost every other one I had ever seen had a slushbox, including several at this year's HAN auction!!  "So it's possible." he said. Ugh! Manned space flight is possible, but's it's not cheap or easy! Another guy who was looking at a '62 Gran Prix asked me a similar question. This car had the 389 / "Slim Jim" Hydramatic automatic trans combo. He asked me how hard it would be to install a TH400. "Impossible" I said. "Unless you look for a '65 and later model and get the engine and transmission together regardless if it was a 389,400,421 / 428 or 455. " I explained that up until 1963 Pontiacs had the starter mounted on the bellhousing. In 1964 they started mounting the starter on the engine block. I told him about a guy I knew who swapped a TH400 into a pre-'63 Pontiac-and then discovered that he had nowhere to mount the starter.  I further explained that some late '63 blocks had the pad to mount the starter machined in to the block, so you could tap the block and then use a later trans and starter behind those. However-if his 1962 model had the original engine-it would not have this pad machined into the block, and there would be no where to mount the starter. I said I didn't like the "Slim Jims" because they wouldn't shift above about half-throttle, and perhaps he should consider converting it to a 4-speed, as it would be more feasible than changing the engine and transmission, and the 4-speed would make it more desirable even if it wasn't original. I pointed out that in Buff magazines and on the internet, a lot of companies offered the pedals, clutch linkage,bellhousing etc to convert the '59-63 Pontiacs to stick. I pointed out that used Muncie 4-speeds could be bought off the internet for as little as $500, and that Summit sold brand new Richmond T10s for about $1,500. "Could a good machine shop put the starter mounting pad on my block?"  NOOO!!!!  There's no material on the block to machine!! If you want to upgrade the tranny-you have to do the stick conversion, or find a later 389 / 400 / TH400 from a '65 and later car. Those are your only choices." "Unless your really lucky and a previous owner put a '64-66 389 in the car." "You'll have the factory machined pad to mount the starter on the block, but that also means your motor is not numbers-matching to the car." "You've got a real "Catch 22" there pal."  "There must be some other way."  ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!  "I just gave you your only two choices!!"  Still another guy was looking at a 1990 Rally Sport Camaro. It had a throttle-body injected 305 backed by a T5 5-speed manual. Chevrolet sold a ton of these from 1989-92 as they were several thousand cheaper than the Z/28 / IROC-Z. He asked me how hard it would be to convert it to Tuned Port Injection. "Too hard and too expensive". I said. He would need the whole system, the mass airflow sensor and the wiring harness, which you'd have to pirate from a TPI car. However, the LB9 and L98 TPI engines are valuable, and most junkyards want to sell the whole engine for a pretty penny to people restoring '85-91 Corvettes and IROC-Z's and T/A's, and won't let you just take the intake manifold and injectors. Further-I said-"Edelbrock makes a Performer manifold and matching cam for TBI engines that would really "Wake up" the 305. And Rally Sport Camaros had 3.08:1 gears. 3.73:1s would be an easy swap that would give a stunning improvement in acceleration through the first 4 gears, and that since 5th is overdrive, it wouldn't hurt highway cruising rpm. These simple mods would give him a huge performance increase-enough to easily outrun a stock Tuned Port Model.  Also if he wanted to swap in a 350-the TBI manifold and throttle body would adequately feed a 350. Like talking to the wall. He thanked me and decided to start searching for a complete TPI system for sale.....Good luck with that.  The last guy had bought a nice '73 Duster that had been very well maintained. It had a 318 with a 3-speed manual. He inquired about converting it to a 340 / 4-speed. "That's do-able, but probably too expensive." I said. "The reason is the 340 was only used from 1968-73 and are pretty rare, and thus pricey."  I suggested he go to a junkyard and find a Dodge Dakota with the 318 "Magnum" engine and a 5-speed stick and get the engine and tranny. Edelbrock makes manifolds to run a carburator on '92 and later "Magnum" engines. Hurst makes aftermarket shifters for these trannys. You might have to shorten the driveshaft and adapt the Dakota rear trans mount to the transmission crossmember, but that's not too hard.  I pointed out that the 318 Magnum / 5-speed combo would probably have better performance than a stock 340 / 4-speed, and would have better drivability and fuel economy. I also suggested a 360 Magnum out of a Dodge Truck or Jeep Grand Cherokee, in front of his stock 3-speed. I also suggested he sell his pristine Duster for a profit and look for a 340 model. Nope. He's searching for a used 340. I wish him luck, I just don't think he's going to find a deal on a running or at least rebuildable 340. Maybe I'm wrong, and he will find a deal. Like Jimmy the Greek used to say-"The race may not always be to the swift or the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet."  Take the path of least resistance-you'll be much happier. Mastermind