Bill Yacey

Has anyone tried retrofitting a GM TBI onto a 394? This seems to be a pretty simple system to retrofit aside from the intake manifold adapting.

I thought it would be nice to get rid of the Slim Jim once and for all, and put in a solid transmission that will take the torque that this engine will provide. I've seen too many cracked aluminum torque converter housings on these Slim Jims, and they seem to have excessive slippage. Maybe it would be worth the effort to retrofit a 4L80.

I have a rebuilt 1964 394 and a 1959 hydramatic that I want to put into a 62 Olds. The front motor mount appears to need to sit higher, and is there enough room under the hump for the 1959 4 speed hydramatic? Has anyone done this? Thanks

I can't comment on the hole not lining up on the support block, but the problem with these was the oil pressure was delivered to the rocker shafts via a groove in one of the cam bearings. As the bearings wear, less oil is delivered to the rockers and the rocker shafts would wear more , dropping the oil pressure even more to the point where there isn't enough volume of oil to properly lubricate the rockers. I doubt you'll be able to drill a hole in the rocker shaft as they are case-hardened steel.