powerglide to turbo 350 on old chevy

[bensttype]

I have a friend at work who wants to replace the powerglide on his 66 chevy truck to a turbo 350. Anyone know a good shop in San Diego? What price range for a stock type build.?
Thanks,
Ben

 

[Craig Smith]

I would recommend finding a trans with converter in the paper and doing it himself rather than paying someone for this. A 350 will bolt in place of a glide with zero mods. Tranny mount is even in the same place. Changing the shifter would be the hardest part and even that shouldn't be bad at all.

 

[bensttype]

Thanks for the reply. He's going to have a friend install a TCI tranny and a floor shifter. The guy that will be installing the trans said not to get a B&M unit and to get a TCI from Summit.
Thanks,
Ben

 

[soonergn]

Originally posted by Craig Smith
A 350 will bolt in place of a glide with zero mods. Tranny mount is even in the same place. Changing the shifter would be the hardest part and even that shouldn't be bad at all.

Would this also apply to a '62 Impala?

 

[Craig Smith]

Should be. A 350 and a powerglide are very similar. Tranny lines come to the same place, tranny mount location is in the same place, they are the same length and have the same diameter and spline count on the output shaft. No driveshaft hassles, no relocating the crossmember, and ALL chevy transmissions have the same bellhounsing bolt pattern. As far as stock transmissions, the only difference that should be of any concern is that powerglides and 350s have different spline counts on the input shaft. If you are replacing a stock powerglide with a 350, you cannot use the torque converter that is currently on the powerglide.

The shifter itself must obviously change due to the different number of gears. However, depending on the shifter you currently have, you might even be able to buy a new gate plate for the shifter to convert it from a glide pattern to a 350/400 turbo pattern.

There should be very little fabbing or modding required to perform this conversion in any vehicle. Good luck however you go at it!