Hello all.
First of all, let me say that I really enjoy this site. Chock full of information! I'm an absolute newbie to the classic car game. I've been a "Harley guy" for years. But, with 2 small kids now, I'm looking to do something that we can all enjoy. OK, I'm in love w/ the '66 Chevelle. I just located an excellent project car here in central CT. It's very solid, albeit w/out engine or tranny. It's a 4 spd car. Ultimately, I'm looking for a sharp looking daily driver and don't want a hot rod. Any suggestions on a particular setup w/ engine & tranny? Will any Chevy 350 bolt into the car? Thanks in advance for your input and I'll be picking your brains in the future...GUARANTEED!
Scott

Welcome!! As far as engine choices, a 350 Chev will be fine. It is probably the most cost effective motor available. For simplicity's sake, a 350 with a single 4 barrel carb would be it. For a more modern approach (and a lot more difficult installation) a late model 350 with fuel injection would be in order. You have a lot of choices. You could buy a wrecked car and pull a lot of the necessary parts from it--this is very cost effective. Or you could buy a new crate engine and find all of the various accessory bracket$ and other part$. There are a lot of choices for transmissions and I assume you will keep the manual trans in this car. Probably a Muncie would be a good fit, unless you want to go with an overdrive. Take some time to do searches in the various forums here as there is a huge amount of good information on this site.

I've had a '66 Chevelle since I was 14 years old (bought in 1978) originally a 327, but Big Block since 1981. Currently building a 540 cid 700 hp motor. Oh yeah, this has been my daily driver for 27 years and will continue to be. To quote a fellow TCer, "I'll die with it, or die in it". If 3 miles per gallon and "sphincter palates" from every stoplight aren't your bag, I'd suggest hitting a local government auction, Clark county has them 2 to 4 times a year. look for ex-police Caprices or Camaro's '94-'97 LT-1 models. I currently have one of each. Though my wife has driven the Camaro for 4 years, it' still earmarked for a future project, total chassis swap depending on application. EFI 350, 6 speed trans, 4 wheel discs into a '66-'67 Chevy II 2 door wagon is my most recent fixation. Likewise, the Caprice will also be considered for a swap into maybe a tri5 chevy, a '55-'57 Bel Air would be cool especially since it has OD Auto, my mom has been driving this one for 4 years. I hadn't intended on registering either, but to be honest it has worked out great, more time on my Chevelle.
Any chevy combination will work, realistically you can get any number of used engines and trans out of the classified for under $500, have it running in a weekend, just depends on your personal expectations. Also do you have all the accessories; power steering pump with brackets; alternator with brackets etc...If using original '66 stuff on newer than '67 engine, you'll need to use an early model short water pump. If they didn't come with the car use whatever is appropriate for the model year engine that you choose, that's the easiest way. This route may require the p/s brackets from a '68-'72 Chevelle, since other models have the gear box behind the cross member and p/s brackets from, say, an Impala will interfere with the Chevelles gear box. Sounds like a pain, but really couldn't be much easier