Engine help!
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,801
Likes: 0
From: NJ
Engine help!
I want a fun project car to build up. I found a 78 Trans Am on e-bay that is missing an engine. Before I jump in what are my options?
My father-in-law has a 64 Catalina engine in his garage. I think he said its a 389, but I can't remember exactly. Would this work in a 78 Trans AM or is this more trouble than its worth?
My father-in-law has a 64 Catalina engine in his garage. I think he said its a 389, but I can't remember exactly. Would this work in a 78 Trans AM or is this more trouble than its worth?
Drifting
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,807
Likes: 2
From: NE of Philly Pa
Awesome Car!!!! I love the 78 TA. I love it so much, I just started to restore one too. I've been doing research into engine swaps. I want to power mine with a 454. This is what I have learned, but remember, it is from research, I have not done the swap yet.
1. The TA has the same frame as the 2nd gen Camaros. So, it will fit. You have to buy the engine side mounts for the BB and the frame side mounts for an early Camaro (I think 70-72 since they were avail with a bb)
2. The orientation of the mounts and the back of the engine is the same for both the Pontiac 400 and a cbb. So, with the proper bellhousing, the trans spacing stays the same. No need for a special drive shaft.
3. The "extra" engine comes in the front of the engine. So, you may have to trim your fan shroud.
4. The Pontiac 400 and the cbb have their starters mounted on opposite side of the engine. This causes many accessories to be reversed on the TA and Camaro (Alternator, Battery) So you will need to fabricate a bunch of brackets (or find a junk Camaro to part into your TA)
5. You may have to upgrade your springs in the front to hold up the extra weight.
Good luck, please post some pics
1. The TA has the same frame as the 2nd gen Camaros. So, it will fit. You have to buy the engine side mounts for the BB and the frame side mounts for an early Camaro (I think 70-72 since they were avail with a bb)
2. The orientation of the mounts and the back of the engine is the same for both the Pontiac 400 and a cbb. So, with the proper bellhousing, the trans spacing stays the same. No need for a special drive shaft.
3. The "extra" engine comes in the front of the engine. So, you may have to trim your fan shroud.
4. The Pontiac 400 and the cbb have their starters mounted on opposite side of the engine. This causes many accessories to be reversed on the TA and Camaro (Alternator, Battery) So you will need to fabricate a bunch of brackets (or find a junk Camaro to part into your TA)
5. You may have to upgrade your springs in the front to hold up the extra weight.
Good luck, please post some pics
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,801
Likes: 0
From: NJ
Moot point now. The auction ended and I didn't get the car.
I have to keep looking.
This is the one that got away...
I have to keep looking.
This is the one that got away...
Last edited by 70blueshark; Jan 30, 2009 at 10:08 PM. Reason: added pict
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,330
Likes: 1,589
From: Western NY
Awesome Car!!!! I love the 78 TA. I love it so much, I just started to restore one too. I've been doing research into engine swaps. I want to power mine with a 454. This is what I have learned, but remember, it is from research, I have not done the swap yet.
1. The TA has the same frame as the 2nd gen Camaros. So, it will fit. You have to buy the engine side mounts for the BB and the frame side mounts for an early Camaro (I think 70-72 since they were avail with a bb)
2. The orientation of the mounts and the back of the engine is the same for both the Pontiac 400 and a cbb. So, with the proper bellhousing, the trans spacing stays the same. No need for a special drive shaft.
3. The "extra" engine comes in the front of the engine. So, you may have to trim your fan shroud.
4. The Pontiac 400 and the cbb have their starters mounted on opposite side of the engine. This causes many accessories to be reversed on the TA and Camaro (Alternator, Battery) So you will need to fabricate a bunch of brackets (or find a junk Camaro to part into your TA)
5. You may have to upgrade your springs in the front to hold up the extra weight.
Good luck, please post some pics
1. The TA has the same frame as the 2nd gen Camaros. So, it will fit. You have to buy the engine side mounts for the BB and the frame side mounts for an early Camaro (I think 70-72 since they were avail with a bb)
2. The orientation of the mounts and the back of the engine is the same for both the Pontiac 400 and a cbb. So, with the proper bellhousing, the trans spacing stays the same. No need for a special drive shaft.
3. The "extra" engine comes in the front of the engine. So, you may have to trim your fan shroud.
4. The Pontiac 400 and the cbb have their starters mounted on opposite side of the engine. This causes many accessories to be reversed on the TA and Camaro (Alternator, Battery) So you will need to fabricate a bunch of brackets (or find a junk Camaro to part into your TA)
5. You may have to upgrade your springs in the front to hold up the extra weight.
Good luck, please post some pics
1)The EARLY Pontiac engines used a completely different front engine mount bracket. I believe they shifted to the more common "GM style" mount around 1970. H-O Racing Specialties used to sell a conversion kit that allowed early blocks to be used in later cars. I had one of the kits, as a 428 Pontiac engine came my way, and I was going to put it in my '77 T/A, but then the swap never happened.
4) You could also "blend" a Camaro front end wire harness with a Pontiac harness to get the correct electrical hook up. Besides the starter motor location, the only real difference between the Camaro and Firebird harnesses is the Firebird's provision for quad headlights.
Back around '78-'79, Car Craft magazine did a complete article on how to swap a BB Chevy into a late 70s T/A. In the article, they swapped in a 454. The article had all the GM part numbers, etc, if I remember correctly. It might be worth your while to look into getting a back issue of the magazine....
Last edited by leadfoot4; Jan 31, 2009 at 08:53 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,330
Likes: 1,589
From: Western NY
That car looks a LOT like the T/A I used to own. I ordered mine in September of '76, and took delivery about 5-6 weeks later. I kept it until July of '01, when I traded it for my Corvette.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,801
Likes: 0
From: NJ
1)The EARLY Pontiac engines used a completely different front engine mount bracket. I believe they shifted to the more common "GM style" mount around 1970. H-O Racing Specialties used to sell a conversion kit that allowed early blocks to be used in later cars. I had one of the kits, as a 428 Pontiac engine came my way, and I was going to put it in my '77 T/A, but then the swap never happened.
4) You could also "blend" a Camaro front end wire harness with a Pontiac harness to get the correct electrical hook up. Besides the starter motor location, the only real difference between the Camaro and Firebird harnesses is the Firebird's provision for quad headlights.
Back around '78-'79, Car Craft magazine did a complete article on how to swap a BB Chevy into a late 70s T/A. In the article, they swapped in a 454. The article had all the GM part numbers, etc, if I remember correctly. It might be worth your while to look into getting a back issue of the magazine....
4) You could also "blend" a Camaro front end wire harness with a Pontiac harness to get the correct electrical hook up. Besides the starter motor location, the only real difference between the Camaro and Firebird harnesses is the Firebird's provision for quad headlights.
Back around '78-'79, Car Craft magazine did a complete article on how to swap a BB Chevy into a late 70s T/A. In the article, they swapped in a 454. The article had all the GM part numbers, etc, if I remember correctly. It might be worth your while to look into getting a back issue of the magazine....
The reason I want to try this is because my father-in-law has had that Catilina engine in his garage since 1966 and it barely has 20K miles on it. I would love to do something with the engine, but I'm not too big on Catilinas so I wanted to see if it would work in a Firebird instead.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,801
Likes: 0
From: NJ
I've wanted a 78 TA since I was a kid. I also wanted a Corvette too, and since I found the right Vette first the TA has had to wait.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 16,716
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Tejas, Estados Unidos
Keep looking, you'll find the right car for you!
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