Nothing ever goes as planned. Duh. If this swap had gone as intended, the Mopar 360 you saw in our Oct. 2000 issue ("Taylor-Made 360") would have dropped into the car in a mere day, every little accessory and bolt would have fit perfectly, and this '68 Satellite would have been running with its new engine a year ago. Well, that's exactly what didn't happen. The wrenching part of the swap itself was fairly simple, but we ran into several problems after pulling the engine, and our B-body became a lounging area for the local cat population for longer than we'd care to admit.
We started the swap with a trip to the coin-op car wash to spray away all the built-on sludge from the original 318, affectionately nicknamed The General Leak. After the washdown, we were startled to find out that our valve covers were actually orange. Then it was back to the driveway in 100-degree-F weather to tear out the tired powerplant. Yanking it out was easy. The only part of the removal that required careful consideration was the air conditioning. We couldn't trash it because it still blows ice cold, and cutting away that big air compressor would be like cutting away a big chunk of our flesh. We carefully pulled it out without disconnecting the hoses and used some bungee cords to secure a cushion on the fender. After we got the 318 and A/C out of the way, the problems began.
The Satellite's original tranny turned out to be a 904, not the anticipated stronger, longer 727. Why didn't we check and research all of this beforehand? Don't ask. This sent our engine swap to a screaming halt because we had already gotten a B&M HoleShot 2,400 torque converter made for a 727 trans, and the 360 engine was balanced using a B&M flexplate with a 727 bolt pattern. After doing the math and calculating the cost and hassle of getting a different converter and a new flexplate match-balanced to the first one, we decided the best idea was to take a 727 we had lying in the garage, have it rebuilt, shorten the driveshaft, and be on our merry way. And besides, it's a stronger tranny anyway. The other problems we ran into were compatibility issues with some of our aftermarket goodies along with a minor motor-mount modification. To ease the simplicity of the installation, we also decided to temporarily hook up the 360 to the stock exhaust manifolds to get the car running. Yes, we know this robs power, but hey, we didn't have to cut or weld anything. It's still got freeway gears and an open diff, so we've got work to do before anybody will believe that the 360 is putting out over 400 hp.
We figured out that something was odd when we compared the size of the converter we pulled from the Satellite (left) with the converter we pulled out of the junk 727 we had in the garage (right). Hmm...they aren't the same size. The Satellite came with a 904. Oops. We should have checked that out before buying a 727 torque converter and having the engine balanced with a 727 flexplate.
The water pump on top is the stock one from the 318. The pump on the bottom is the Mopar High Performance eight-blade aluminum water pump we got when the 360 was built. Notice how the water inlet on the Mopar Performance piece points in the opposite direction of the stock pump. We would have had to switch the radiator in order to make the MP pump work, so we just pulled it off and put the stock pump back on.
The kick-down linkage, shifter lever, and neutral safety switch from the 904 transmission all attached to the 727 trans without any problems. This was the simplest part of our tranny fiasco.
We had a local shop rebuild our 727 and throw in a B&M shift kit while the thing was torn apart. The 727 trans is 4 inches longer than the 904 trans. After taking careful measurements, we had Wenco Industries shorten our driveshaft to accommodate the longer transmission and the larger yoke and U-joint the 727 uses. The only other problem we had after swapping in the beefier 727 was connecting our exhaust. The 727 is wider on the passenger side compared to the 904, and getting the passenger-side head pipe to connect to the manifold flange took a little "massaging" with a big hammer. | 
The passenger-side motor mount for the 318 and 360 are identical, so the original bolted right back on without a hitch. However, a design change to the 360 block requires using a 360-specific driver-side mount--and those are getting harder to find. In order to get our 318-style driver-side motor mount to fit the 360 block properly, we added some washers to take up the slack in the mount. We're sure that somebody somewhere makes a special adapter piece for the mount, but this was effective, cheap, and easy. |
We couldn't use the flexplate from our 318/904 combo because our new 360 engine is externally balanced, and the bolt pattern differs between the 727 and 904 transmissions. We used a 360-specific flexplate from B&M. | 
We couldn't find or fabricate the proper linkage adapter needed to make the Speed Demon carburetor we dyno'd the engine with compatible with our tranny in time for the deadline. So, at the last minute, we decided to swap on a Holley Street Avenger 770-cfm carb and linkage adapter bracket to ensure that everything could be adjusted properly. The throttle-valve linkage controls the hydraulic line pressure inside the transmission, and if it isn't adjusted properly, the pressure may be too high or too low, which can quickly destroy your tranny. |