33 Hotrod engine and tranny...

[Roger Pugh]

Good afternoon everyone. It has been a pleasure going through all the posts and seeing some awesome work. I am new to the forum since recently deciding to go to the build school and build my own 33 Rod. COVID-19 is driving me nuts because I am at home and no rig to build so I will continue to vicariously build through all of you. I love the forum and everyone's open and helpful attitude. Hopefully my questions or comments will not become a nuisance.

So, I have a question today. What engine and tranny?!? When I ask the salesmen, I can't help but feeling led to a dollar amount. Let me tell you what my goal is. I don't need the fastest car on the street as it will not be a race car. I'm struggling at deciding between manual and auto with being a big guy (6'1", 300 lbs and a size 12 foot) only as space may be an issue. I tend to think that manual is the only way to go but.... I want it to look neat, sound bad, minimal issues with the install, and be a direable setup in case I ever sell it.

I know this is vague, but if you have a sec and some input, I would love to hear about what you think, and what successes you have had.

Thanks from the newest guy on the block!

Roger

[JimLev]

Roger, with those size feet you may want to consider an auto. I really wanted a 6 speed but the foot box is SMALL and my other car is a 6 speed so I went with a 4L65e.
Engine, there are plenty of them to choose from. The factory mufflers sound pretty mean.

[Roger Pugh]

Thanks Jim. I'll check into that. I see you built the Gen 1, does the 2 give more room?

[GoDadGo]

Welcome Aboard Roger!

My friend Dave is building a 33 and we dropped a 400 SBC from Blue Print Engines in it with an AOD tranny behind it.

https://blueprintengines.com/products/400-ci-stroker-crate-engine-small-block-gm-dressed-longblock-carburetor-bp4002ctc1

The engine actually dynoed 517-HP so I'll likely be looking at his tail lights once he's on the road and legal.

Steve

[Roger Pugh]

I was going to ask about Blueprint. That's great to know as well. I will follow your post and check it out. It would be fun to have someone only see the tail lights. :)

Thanks Steve

Roger

[Straversi]

These cars are incredibly light. 350 HP in one of these is completely different than 350 HP in a 69 Camero. You can spend the money for more horsepower but don’t feel like you need to. A small block Ford, trusty Chevy 350, LS or Coyote will all get the job done. Do you want a carburetor(s), fuel injection, old school look or modern computer control? These are all personal choices. I put a Coyote and 5-speed in my MK-IV and I love it, but if I were building a 33 it would have a Chevy 350 with 3 Strombergs and an automatic. Just personal choice for what I would want out of each car. Regarding resale, I think an automatic might limit the market for MK-IVs but not so much for hot rods. If you ever walk around a Grand National Roadster Show, you see mostly white haired old guys. Also more cruising in hot rods so I wouldn’t be afraid of an automatic.
Boils down to what you want. Budget out the entire project. Get all of your “needs” met and then see what’s left over for “wants”. Spend a few extra grand on fuel injection, extra horsepower, IRS, A/C, something custom in the interior or paint? There are plenty of places to spend money. Lots of guys overspend early on power because it is one of the first decisions.
Good luck and have fun. The planning is some of the most fun.
-Steve

[RoadRacer]

You didn't mention budget :D

I found a slightly warmed over SBC on craigslist (or facebook marketplace) that some guy had taken out when he got a fancy 383.. sold it to me for $1250. For probably 300hp, that'll do me, since without hood/fenders etc I'll be a low end of weight range. Of course coyote is 150lbs lighter, but it aint $1250. :D Nor is a fancy blueprint 383, although that would be my #1 choice if I had the money.

I wanted to shift gears myself as part of the fun, so I went for TKO600 package from Mike Forte - so I spent some money there ~$3k for all the clutch, trans, etc. - if I'd gone auto I could have been done for $500 from the junkyard.

Everyone is looking for different things from different budgets - but it's hard to pick a combo that won't be WICKED FUN in this car!!

[NAZ]

Go with an auto and purchase a custom torque converter with a stall speed that matches your engine's peak torque RPM or no less than 500 RPM below that. If peak torque is at 3500 get a stall speed from 3000 to 3500 -- DO NOT USE A STANDARD STALL CONVERTER, you won't be happy. Since your on the left coast, I recommend you use Hughes Performance to source your converter from. And use a trans cooler the size Hughes recommends for the special converter.

[Blade]

I'm 6'3" 215 and I can fit pretty well in my 33. The door doesn't open all that much but, hey, it's a hot rod not a Chevy Silverado. I went with a Blue print 383...430hp 480tq. American powertrain hooked me up with flywheel,hydo throw out, clutch and TKO600 trans. I'm in cart stage and it's a hoot to drive. 125187

[rapidray]

Welcome to the club Roger! I would take my experience level into consideration and then base my choice on it. I have been working on cars professionally for 40+ years. Can you program a computer? Remember most shops get $100 plus an hour. I went with a stock LS based LQ9 out of a Cadillac ESV as the engine produced HP and torque at a lower RPM how often are you going to be driving at 6,000 RPM. I am running a 4L65E transmission with the Moser 3.55. Remember speed and power are a combination of things. I wanted a fair weather fun car that was dependable and worry free. Being a Chevy guy I would probably stick with a small block, dual plane intake and carb (no wild cam) as space in these cars is a premium. A 700R4 might be a good choice as it is a simple 1 wire, cable operated transmission. The biggest problem is going to be getting the power to the ground as in my case I went with a engine/transmission combo that was designed for a 6,000lb car and the hot rod weighs 2,000! No matter what you choose the car is going to be a blast! Keep it simple and have fun! Cheers Ray

[FF33rod]

Welcome to the family Roger!! This is a pretty fun group of car folks!
There are so many ways you can go with a hot rod build, almost infinitely customizable. You can take all the parts you get from FFR and come out with a very respectable driver. Or you can go crazy, add bling and features, and possibly change it up every winter with different mods...
I wasn't super tight on $$ so decided to go all new parts. If you'd like to go that route for the engine/tranny then I highly recommend Blueprint. They have packages that work in these cars - they know which oil pan, which front drive system, etc... If you haven't seen it yet, here is their web site for Factory Five kits https://factoryfiveengines.com/ They put together fairly reasonably priced packages with not too shabby power - their goal is fun and reliable. Feel free to call them just to get comfortable or ask questions, Johnny is a great guy and will help ya...
BTW, you aren't that far from me really. There's a few hot rods up here in the PNW, we're going to have to have a meet up when things clear up.

Cheers
Steve

[NAZ]

Now if you have fabrication skills you can push that floor forward and make the foot box longer and wider. Or you can have a shop do the modifications for you. I added 4" or so and widened the foot box -- it's still tight but significantly better than how it came from FFR. I believe I have some photos of the modifications I made to mine in my build album -- click the link below.

[Aircontroller]

Roger,

I highly recommend you go to build school so you can see all the options yourself.

In my case, I was able to narrow down everything I was envisioning.

[Roger Pugh]

Thanks Steve, great info. I am liking the 'auto' idea more and more. I must admit, I don't care too much on how much horsepower, I just want it to be marketable, so thanks for the input.

Roger

[Roger Pugh]

Hopefully going to build school in June, or whenever they start up again!!

[Roger Pugh]

Welcome to the family Roger!! This is a pretty fun group of car folks!
There are so many ways you can go with a hot rod build, almost infinitely customizable. You can take all the parts you get from FFR and come out with a very respectable driver. Or you can go crazy, add bling and features, and possibly change it up every winter with different mods...
I wasn't super tight on $$ so decided to go all new parts. If you'd like to go that route for the engine/tranny then I highly recommend Blueprint. They have packages that work in these cars - they know which oil pan, which front drive system, etc... If you haven't seen it yet, here is their web site for Factory Five kits https://factoryfiveengines.com/ They put together fairly reasonably priced packages with not too shabby power - their goal is fun and reliable. Feel free to call them just to get comfortable or ask questions, Johnny is a great guy and will help ya...
BTW, you aren't that far from me really. There's a few hot rods up here in the PNW, we're going to have to have a meet up when things clear up.

Cheers
Steve

Steve,

I might just take you up on that. We were planning on a trip up to Vancouver when this CV goes away anyway. Looking forward to meeting you!

[Roger Pugh]

Thanks guys for all the input. I pulled the trigger. I went with the Chevy 400 FI from Blueprint and the 700 R4. I couldn't pass on the sale they were having. Now I just need FFR to open up so I can get the kit ordered.

Roger