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Hello,
Hanks Dozier, from Forwardlook.net, passed this on when I forwarded your question to him. I hope it is helpful. K. Kenny.. Pass this back to these guys.... An industrial 354 will certainly fit, and may make a good replacement engine. That said, there are a few potential differences that may have to be accomodated, especially if you want to swap in a 4bbl manifold. The Industrial engines for the most part kept the iron timing covers of the early 51-54 331s. As such, these covers are more bulky, and the cam in the engine had a longer snout than the 55-up 331/354 and the 392s. It is still possible that your engine has the passenger stamped cover, being a late Industrial motor. Another issue was the heads. Industrial engines had the water outlet in the intake manifolds, IIRC, so the heads did not have the outlet passages for the thermostat manifold lke the 55 and up engines. If this is your case, then the only 4bbl you can use is the rare 1954 331 4bbl unit that had this feature. Also, some Industrial engines used water-cooled intakes, so if that is the case, then your manifold IS limited to the type you have. Or you shop around and get passenger car cylinder heads (they are available, just be prepared to pay the going rate). As it is an Industrial engine, you MIGHT have one with solid lifters. Look for "bumps" in the valve covers. But before you think you have found the gold mine, pull a cover and look beneath, as those bumped valve covers were also used on some engines that had hydraulic non-adjustable rocker arms. IF you have solid lifter adjustable rocker arms, you can most likely trade them and the pushrods to someone for a set of hydraulic rocker assemblies AND a set of passenger car heads, including hydraulic pushrods. Stay away from early heads. Get ones for 1955-56 331 or 354, and find the modern water pump assembly setup! You will need to get a new hydraulic cam at this point, but those you can buy from several sources (PAW, Hot Heads, Schneider, Howard, Neilson, Crane for starters) along with a lifter set. The engine as is can mate to the Powerflite. The 4bbl is a more visually appealing piece, and is a simpler unit to work with, as the dual-single carb units were all low-end grunt. But until you find the other pieces, its a start, and can bolt in. Hank Dozier |
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