Re: Whoa...

["Graydon D. Stuckey" <graydon@apollo.gmi.edu>]

On Wed, 10 Sep 1997, Ralph Poplawsky wrote:

> I would think twice about such an engine swap.  I love Chevy V8s, but here
> are some thoughts.

Me too.   I've already thought about it a number of times.   :-)

> -- You would be swapping a modern overhead cam engine for a dated pushrod
> truck engine.

Well, more like an obsolete 40 yr old engine for an obsolete 20 yr old engine

> -- You would add a lot of weight to the front end and mess up your handling.

Not if you went for the aluminum 350.   Remember, the I-5 is iron too.

> -- There would be big trouble running the exhaust headers.

Nope, no trouble.   There's lots of room.

> -- Chevy V8s (especially hot ones) require huge radiators: no room.

Since the V8 would be shorter, you could place the radiator in the 
middle up front, where it is supposed to be in the first place, and still 
fit everything behind the grill.   You could fit as big a rad as you 
wanted then.

> -- Performance gains are limited by the additional engine weight and also
> (in lower gears) by the internal inertia of all those heavy engine parts
> that you have to accelerate.

Personally, although an aluminum pushrod 350 would be fine, my choice
would be the Northstar V8, which is aluminum, and extremely compact for
what it contains.  Since the centre of gravity for the engine would be
closer to the front axle, you would have a lower polar moment of inertia
for the whole car.  The available power far exceeds anything the I-5 could
achieve, and the smoothness and economy would be fantastic.  Furthermore,
the Northstar revs much more freely than the I-5, and runs smoother all
the way to the redline, which is higher than the I-5.  Win-Win-Win-Win   

Later,
Graydon D. Stuckey 
'89 Thunderbird SuperCoupe
'86 Audi 5000 CS Quattro
'86 Mazda RX7 GXL 2+2
'85 Mazda RX7 GS