Hey Gang,

I have a 56 Chevrolet Nomad I was planning on making a sweet cruiser out of. My initial plans were to use a Cadillac drivetrain and call it "The Nomadillac". But, the Northstar engines are not that aftermarket friendly, so being the Mopar guy at heart I am, I started thinking of maybe combining Mopar's wagon and my car and call it "The Nomagnum". Cute, I know and yes, too much time sitting in hotels on the job. But serioulsy, I'll be replacing the entire wiring harness with a Painless hotrod 18 circuit kit anyway, so really, the only thing specific would be motor mounts and such.

So what I'd like to know is who sells universal motor mounts for the new gen hemis? Who's running this engine in your classic streetrod? All 50's cars are the same as far as being framed cars, so I would think that fitting the new hemi into the frame rails shouldn't be that hard. I was thinking of the donor car route just to get the engine, trans, and all that wiring stuff in one swoop. But a 6.1L crate motor is sort of calling my name too. I was leaning towards the Indy 6.1 with the modman so I could have my choice of induction. I may go fuel injection, but the added expense could be used elsewhere.

Thoughts?

Cheers

There are a couple of groups offering universal mounts now a days. One of the original companies to transplant a new gen hemi is Street & Performance. They offer mounts, harnesses etc. They do a lot of late model GM engine work so most of their product line is based around that. I believe the engine brackets/mounts they offer use a gm style mount.

TTI also offers mount kits, I am not sure what if any difference there is between their kit and the S&P kit.

As far as engine dimensions, S&P does have some diagrams on their web site to show you the engine length, width and height. I would think fitting one into a Nomad would be relatively easy.

All though not a Hemi... a Gen III engine (LS1,2,6) would be alot easier..all the stuff is made to swap them in. Mounts, headers, etc.
Great horsepower and milage too..Just a thought.

Yeah, I know the LS swaps are easy, but everyone does that and everyone puts a Corvette somethingorother into a trifive. I figured I wanted something a little different that wasn't seen all the time. Time is no factor, so if it takes a while then it takes a while. I'm still throwing ideas around. I'm looking at an A12 car, so this might go down the drain anyway. And since it's a hotrod, then who cares? Defenitely would be a nice treat when you open the lid. I see the mounts, so maybe some measurements are in order. I don't think it'll be a hard swap. The "Nomagnum".....I like it!

Cheers

I agree, would be different, and that's cool!

We just sold this '55 in Oz a couple days ago actually. Came from Barstow out here in the desert, and the car was 100% rust free original metal (saw it in bare metal)

Thanks. Wow, that's a nice one. I have a set of those exact same wheels I bought for the Nomad. 17x7. No tires yet, but that's soon. I'm so undecided on what I want to do with this car. If I keep it, it'll be the new hemi conversion for sure. May sell it if I get a decent offer, or may trade it for a 69 Charger or Super Bee. You gotta love the car hobby. Got all the info I need on the swap, so that's a good thing.

Cheers

Thanks It's the first tri-five we tried out....sold pretty easy so might try another We usually use billet wheels, but the guy buying this one wanted something cheaper, so those went on..

Good luck with your's if you go for the swap too

Here is another one by the way, just turned up a few days ago..I'm just shipping it to Oz for a customer. '56 with a really strong sounding small block, 6 speed, 4 bar/coil over rear, 4 wheel discs, a/c, etc.