z bar and other common items

[61-63]

This will be a pretty basic question.

I may buy either a '61 or a '62 Biscayne six cylinder car. One is an automatic and one a stick shift. Were I to convert the standard shift car I've already learned that the bellhousings for the 6 cylinder and the 348/409 are different. What about the z bar and z bar brackets? Motor mounts on the cross member? Basically is it a big deal to take a 6 cylinder Biscayne and mount a 348/408 drive train in it? And is there a good book that references doing this? I have copies of "Chevrolet by the numbers 1960-64" and "Muscle Car & Hi-Po Engines - Chevy 349-409" by Brooklands Books.

 

[BSL409]

You will need V8 motor mounts and a bell housing and pivot ball for V8 the Z bar will work

 

[tripower]

The bell crank is the same but you will need both upper and lower clutch rods and you will have to remove the bracket on the frame for the 3-on the tree linkage.

 

[61-63]

Thanks for the responses. More questions will follow but I will wait until I've got one of these cars.

 

[pvs409]

62 6 cylinder clutch linkage and V-8 mounts

All the clutch linkage from a 62 Chevy 6 cylinder car will work on a V-8 62.
I have purchased at least 2 sets of 6 cylinder linkage and its all the same for a V-8 62 chevy. A friend stripped some cars, and I compared it to my inventory of V-8 linkage,including the clutch fork. You need the ball that is mounted into the block on a V-8 as noted above. The clutch fork from a 6 cylinder with the lower rod piece mounted to top of the clutch fork works on small block and 409's. This 62 chevy 6 cylinder clutch fork is correct for 61, 62 and 63 409 cars.

409 cars have a different cross shaft (with slightly longer arms on the cross shaft). The upper and lower rods from the 6 cylinder 62 are the same for V-8's.

The V-8 motor mounts bolt to the factory holes in the frame in place of the 6 cylinder mounts. These mounts are for sale on e-bay many times.

A good reference to see the linkage is the 62 chevy assembly manual that you can buy.

I recommend the 552 cast bell housings used in 1961 to 1962(this cast one looks like the aluminum 553 bell housing. They normally can be purchased for a reasonable price. The aluminum 60-63 553 bell housing was used on 348/409 cars(these bell housing are expensive). I copied this from a post below by DZAUTO a member, its missing the pictures;

The next two pictures are the earlier open bottom housings. There were basically 3 types, 55-57 cast iron, 58-62 cast iron, and the 60-63 alum.
Notice the 55-7 style with the provision for side engine mounts. The 58-62 iron and 60-63 alum housings are virtually identical (no side mounts). The ALUM open bottom housings were used on hi-perf 348 (pass cars) and 409 engines and ALL 60-62 Vette engines. The 60 alum open bottom is a one year only housing. The difference for the 60 is that it had a smaller hole for the bearing fork than the 61-63 version. ANY of the 60-63 open bottom alum housings are worth a small fortune!!! Also, ALLLLLLLLLLL 57-63 open bottom housings were used ONLY with the big, 14in diameter 168 teeth flywheels.

You need the 168 tooth flywheel he notes. You can reface original flywheels and still purchase new teeth for these original flywheels. Use 10 1/2 inch clutches on these flywheels.

Should you need some pictures of the items I can forward some of all the items, including the bell housings, if I have your e-mail.

Paul Stensland
Sgt. Bluff, Iowa

 

[Hot Rod Dave]

Good morning to all, I'm a new member here. Great site, I'm enjoying reading the forums. I'm helping my friend build what may be an uncommon project. He saved a 61 Biscayne 4 door from the crusher and we are swaping out the 6 for a newer 454. He would love to add a 409 but his budget wont allow. The engine goes in easy enough with V8 mounts but we hit a snag with clutch linkage. The pivot location on the block is 1.5 inches forward of the bellhousing but the z bar is 6.5 inches, does anyone make a bracket to relocate it? we also need a set of headers to fit. Does anyone have a good photo of the throttle bracket attached to the firewall pivot? All advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[bobs409]

Dave, welcome to the forum.

When I changed my 66 Chevelle (with 409) over to a 4 speed, I had a similar problem. I just made my own bracket to move the pivot. I used 2 existing threaded bolt holes in that area to mount it. Was real easy to do.

 

[tripower]

The 6 banger throttle bracket assembly and the V8 throttle bracket assembly are different. Here is a pic of a V8 assembly.

 

[Hot Rod Dave]

Thanks for the info and photo. How long is the flat bar portion of that throttle, from the centers of the holes? I can fab the Z bar pivot as you suggested but am finding difficulty in locating a header that will fit. Hooker has a PN 2201 but in the photo it looks like theres no room for the Z bar to fit between the tubes.

 

[Hot Rod Dave]

Thanks for the info and photo. How long is the flat bar portion of that throttle, from the centers of the holes? I can fab the Z bar pivot as you suggested but am finding difficulty in locating a header that will fit. Hooker has a PN 2201 but in the photo it looks like theres no room for the Z bar to fit between the tubes.

I found a set of shorty headers that fit made by Sanderson they are pn BB1. Its a block hugger type but will need to use a hydraulic clutch on this. Still looking for a throttle lever pepop or dimension. Wish I had more time on the project, I'd fab some parts to use as patterns for anyone who might do this in the future.

 

[threeimpalas]

The Sanderson BB1 headers will work with the original Z-bar and linkage.