# New twist on a CSB 350 swap.



## deanhickey (Apr 6, 2015)

Just bought a 69 Nova with a 350 (chevy) 4 speed (muncie) and am thinking of putting a 400 Pontiac engine in it. Has anyone done this type of swap before?


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## bigD (Jul 21, 2016)

The swap is usually the other way around, Chevy replacing Pontiac. 

But hey, I'm all for it ! It'll be a little payback for all the Pontiacs that came with a Pontiac engine, but had a Chevy swapped in. 

I think that front subframe is basically the same as the 1st gen Birds & Camaros. A big part of the swap will be the motor mounts. The parts that bolts to the engine are easy to find. I even have some that are barely used I'll sell you for the price of shipping. The parts that bolt to the frame can be found on '72-'74 Ventura 2 cars, that came with 350 Pontiac engines, and '67-'69 Birds that came with a 350 or 400. 

Or you can buy a repro set for about $80. The set contains 4 pieces. But maybe you already know this. 

https://www.ebay.com/p/K576-OER-Engine-Frame-Mounts/1162827181?iid=172968984476

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/oer-k576/overview/

I assume the Nova subframe won't have all the correct holes for the Pontiac engine frame mounts. Will probably have to either drill holes or weld in place.

OR, I suppose some type of mounts could be fabbed, if you prefer. The main thing is, the sbc mounts won't work.


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## deanhickey (Apr 6, 2015)

bigD said:


> The swap is usually the other way around, Chevy replacing Pontiac.
> 
> But hey, I'm all for it ! It'll be a little payback for all the Pontiacs that came with a Pontiac engine, but had a Chevy swapped in.
> 
> ...


I picked up the Nova for short money and as the numbers don't match will have some fun with it. It will be fun to drop a stroked 400 into it and have areal sleeper. I have not looked at the subframe yet, but putting the motor mounts in shouldn't be a big problem. I would be interested in the mounts you have.


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## bigD (Jul 21, 2016)

"...I would be interested in the mounts you have."


OK, send me your address & I'll get the shipping cost. 

You can either PM me here, or send Email to: [email protected]

"...It will be fun to drop a stroked 400 into it and have areal sleeper..."

Yeah, if you put a strong Pontiac stroker in it, guys will expect to see a BBC engine under the hood. 

Make sure you add some sort of driver side hold downs on the engine, or that mount will come apart. The '74 Ventura bracket car i bought had a chain. On my last '68 Bird, I used small turnbuckles, front & rear of head, down to frame rail.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

I will add that the Nova does not have a full frame. It is possible to buckle the roof. I don't know at what HP levels this becomes a reality. Back in the 80's subframe connectors were very popular items on those cars having no frame, ie X-Bodies (Nova, Ventura, ******,Omega) Camaro, Firebird, Mopars, 1971-80 H-Bodies (Vegas, Monza's, Sunbird's etc.) Pinto's etc..

They offer them as bolt-on or weld-on components. :thumbsup:


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## bigD (Jul 21, 2016)

I built a couple of '68 bracket Birds, back in the '70's. Didn't use any frame connectors. Didn't buckle the body. But my homemade 455's only had about 400hp/500 torque. 

Frame connectors are a real good idea. Best to weld 'em in, even if you buy the bolt in kind. Will also need some sort of traction bars. Today, Caltrac bars are the hot set-up. BUT, we ran down into the 11.80's with just slapper bars & 13" slicks. 

There guys now running a lot quicker than we did, using no traction bars & on hard narrow street tires. But, they know lots of tricks I don't know. 

https://www.fastdrags.com/

The '74 Ventura I bought had roll bars, frame connectors, ladder bars, & 9" slicks. Hooked good & ran 7.30's in the 1/8 mile. Assumed it had an 8.5 10-bolt. But from the cover, it appeared to be a Chevy 8.2. Anyhow, the previous owner said he ran 11.90's with it in the 1/4 mile. He didn't break the rear end & neither did I.


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