28 | July | 2010 | buddly47's Xanga Site

I've owned a lot of Chevys in my life. Mostly during the 60s, 70s, and 80's, and they all had one thing in common. Cheap interchangable parts. Any small block V8 ( and most big blocks, with a little tweaking ) they ever made will bolt right in to any Chevy car or truck made since 1955. Rearends and transmissions are all pretty much an easy swap.

I've owned a '52 Coupe, a '56 210 two door sedan, a '57 BelAir, a '57 Nomad wagon, and a '69 Stepside pickup. I put new engines, transmission, and running gear from much newer Chevys in every one of them. I don't have pics of them all, but I have a few.

The '57 Nomad-

It came with a 283ci small block and automatic tranny. I swapped that out for a 375hp 396 big block and Muncie Rock Crusher 4 speed using all Chevy parts.

This 450hp 396 I built in '89 to put in my '69 pickup came from a '74 Chevelle.

The pickup came new with a 307 and 3 speed on the column shifter, which I replaced with the big block rat motor and a Turbo 400 auto tranny.

Anything was possible and cheap parts were everywhere. Junkyards were full of them.

And it's still that way, if you happen to be lucky enough to own any of that Bowtie rolling stock.

But I don't.

I'm modernized! I drive a Nissan 4WD pickup now. Parts are year and model specific now. Most of you may remember the engine had to be replaced last year. Had to be the exact same engine, too! Couldn't find a good junkyard engine, so went with the Jasper remanufactured model. Only set me back $5,002.

This week, I had to have the distributor replaced. But, it's not just a distributor. The ignition coil and the cam position sensor are built in to it. And it's not just year and model specific, it's VIN specific. You don't find one find one laying in a parts store. Had to order one from Nissan. Now, back when I built that yellow 396 big block, I bought the best high performance Accel distributor and coil on the market, the two cost me about $100, total.

Here she is, nestled in her new home.