[Doug]

I have followed this thread casually and hadn't soaked up much details until today. A few things that may be an issue are:

There is some confusion on what your "current" motor is. 326? or 389? The text indicates that it is a 326 but the name tag "63 Lemans 389" apparently has led Tom (who is the conversion guru) to believe that it is a 389. Accordingly, he mentioned that you would need a 61-64 flywheel. The thought occurs to me that the '63 326 crankshaft is drilled different than other V-8's so it likely that a 61-64 flywheel will not bolt up.

I assume that with the various rear end options discussed (ranging from coil spring '68 Lemans to S-10 leaf springs) you still haven't decided on one yet. You seem to be set on leaf springs so I would suggest you look at the "problems" you may have with the leaf spring perch location(s) on the various types especially with regard as to where your front and back spring mounting points will be. Generally speaking, the location of the perches could limit the amount of backspacing of tires. Also, with the driver side frame rail being offset (about 1 1/2") to the outside, the rear spring mount location will end up being within the frame rail and possibly having the rear portion of the spring interfere with the gas tank (or the tank strap). A "narrow" spring spacing could also put your passenger side spring mount inside of the passenger frame rail.

Another thing is that any rear end with disc brakes (and trying to use your front drums) could cause some braking problems.

As Tom said, these leaf spring cars tend to "ride high". If you decide on leafs, and depending on how you mount them, you can "lower" that high stance a bit by having the eyes of the springs rolled "down" instead of up (assuming that doesn't cause any additional clearance problems).

I converted one of these cars in '69 using a 57 Pontiac leaf setup, 421/Muncie and I used the original Tempest clutch linkage (funky and flimsy as it looks). I had no problems with that linkage and I drove the car hard and had several drag-strip rounds.

I am currently building a similar setup using a 58 Olds (with 64 Pontiac posi) rear with Mopar HD springs/ 428/ Muncie and original linkage modified to strengthen it.

If you use leaf springs you must do a lot of precise measurements to assure that the rear ends is properly located. Typically, there is NO method of adjustment to re-align the rear. However, a 4-link setup does have "adjustability".