Posted by carla on April 22, 1998 at 16:38:00:
In Reply to: ENGINES: 214 VS. T245 posted by Tom Kluczynski on April 20, 1998 at 23:19:46:
tom---we fitted a dodge truck "265" six to our m37
its externally the same as a "251", and fitted
perfectly cos the m37 chassis has provision for
both lengths of engine--on ours, the front cross
member had to be drilled for the front engine
mount bracket---the alignment was obvious once
the engine was in place on the rear mounts---so
it was quick and easy---everything else fitted up
perfectly--we used a flex type top rad hose cos
the thermostat housing no longer lined up exactly
with the radiator---radiator position stayed
unaltered, we simply removed the spacer under the
fan---the rad. shroud wouldn't fit w/o a bit of
modification. in my own opinion, since the "251"
was a works fitment to some of the m37's , the
truck is still "original", that is , to all but
the most fetishistic concours purist. the little
bit of torque gained by fitting the larger engine
will make a noticable difference when pulling a
hill--if you'd really rather run the smaller
engine, then e-mail me--we have a low-mileage
t245 block we would sell you very cheaply, or
would trade for whatever
hope this helps
carla