V8 swap in AD
 

Hey guys, I know this has been covered and I know there is a search box. My problem is I'm not quite finding what I'm looking for. I'm hoping you guys can direct me to the perfect build thread or have the advice handy. Im finding a lot of swaps on a s10 frame or I'm finding swaps that do not give the pictures I'm looking for. I want to find threads or info using a stock frame.

I'm putting a 350/350 in a 1950 3100 this weekend. I want to make sure I'm as prepared as possible. I've been told a few things I want to be clear on.

First, stock frame. With c10 IFS..cannot use c10 engine mounts. I am using c10 power steering though.
Second, I have one of the universal tubular engine mounts.
Third, no trans tunnel. Factory firewall and floor.

I've been told I can leave stock engine crossmember in and slide back trans crossmember and put a trans mount pad on it. Use my universal engine mount and done.

I was also told I cannot leave stock engine crossmember but I could use trans crossmember but it would need to be bolted under the frame instead of in the rails.

Which option can work? Both? I'm looking for close up pics of a 350/350 combo in stock frame. See what I need to move, trim, or remove.

I know I will see a lot during install, but I'm trying to get all the stuff ready for a easier swap. I have 3100 bare frame at front as well as my donor truck. Engine is disconnected from everything except mounts. I am installing combo all at once. So just pull and set in new frame.

Thanks guys.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

It may not be your perfect build thread, but Coach529 dropped a 350/350 and then added IFS to his truck.
The Adventures of Henry

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Nice thread, very detailed. I saw a few things I'm gonna want to re-read. Not quite what I'm looking for on engine and trans install. In fact he had to notch frame for fuel pump.. I wonder if I will need to.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I could go through the build threads for forever! Someday I hope to have the fab and welding skills a lot of you have. I cant believe I'm having so much trouble finding anyone who used a tubular style engine mount crossmember in the stock frame.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I used a tubular mount. Here’s a link to my build thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=685201

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Nice build. So the stock engine crossmember needs to come out for sure? I like how you did the trans mount. I'm trying to get a rough idea on where the tubular crossmember needs to go. Do you have any good pics of it? How's your firewall clearance?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I’ll try and get some better pictures it might be a few days. My distributor sets about an inch and a half from the fire wall.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

i too used the universal motor mount on my 52 im building, i put in a 700r4 transmission in it. i was digging through my pile-o-crossmembers and found that a crossmember from my old 1984 k5 blazer works perfect, just had to drill some holes and use some 1/4 inch shimms between the frame and crossmember.

i did cut out the crossmember thats kinda below the firewall not sure yet if im going to modify it or make another one, or if the truck even needs it with the added tubular motor mount and transmission crossmember being added in

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I wonder if my 84 c10 trans crossmember will work too instead of using the old one and adding a mount pad to it.

Do you have pics of your tubular one installed?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

What size bolts do I need to buy to attach my hoist to?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Anyone know off hand what size bolts I will need to put on engine. The heads? To attach the hoist and leveler to.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Ok the drivetrain is in! It's supported and only rack welded because I want to make sure I'm good.

I leveled the frame. I then leveled the carb. See pic of angle finder. Is this what I'm looking for?

Also, my hand can squeeze behind distributor. Is this good clearance for radiator? See pic.

My trans just barely touched bottom edge of firewall. So I can't go higher unless I hack floor. This sound good?

I have enough room to put belts on front bottom pulley. This look good?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Looks perfect to me. I assume you found the 3/8-16 bolts you needed to attach the lift to your heads.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

What do you plan on doing for exhaust on left side by the steering gear?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

What steering are you using?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Yea lol I was overthinging the bolts. The exhaust right now is just stock from the c10. It clears the frame on both sides so I'm not sure if I need something smaller yet. I'm using the c10 power steering that bolts on outside of frame. If anyone has experience using c10 steering I'd like to know what clearance I can or cannot expect.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

What balance of angles am I looking for? If my carb is level, is my trans perfect and I just need to set rear axle angle?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Angles should be about 3 degrees down at rear of trans, and 3 up at front of rear end. Mine is almost the same, I can fit fingers between distributor and firewall, and long water pump with engine fan I have about 1 1/4 inch to radiator.Block huger headers that are pointing to the rear are what you might want to look for. what motor mounts do you have and where is the main cross member under the engine?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Tubular type. The mounts are about center with wheels.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Hey guys, I did a 350/350 combo in my little '52 truck a few years ago and used the tubular style cross members for both the engine and trans they went in really easy. Also, by leaving about a 1" or so gap at the back (by the distributor) I was still able to use a long water pump and have plenty of clearance for the radiator. It's a little tight, but it fits. I used some Tru-Ram style manifolds from Speedway, and then for steering I put a power steering box on the outside of the frame rail that came out of an '85 Blazer (I think??) Anyhow, that seemed to work very well for me, it sounds like you are on the right track. Let me know if you want any specific pics of any of it.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

If you could provide a pic of the front that would be nice. Do you guys think I'm to close to front crossmember? I can still get belts on and off but it's like 3/4 to 1 inch of space. I also got my original trans crossmember. Still needs some work though.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

When I put a V8 in mine I just moved it back to clear the steering box. :D


Brian

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Is that for real?!!

Ok, so I'm a little paranoid on making sure I have everything right before we tank out the motor again and permanently weld in the crossmember. I'm thinking of calling up the guy I got the truck from and see if he has any old radiators that would fit this truck. So I can bolt it up and check my clearances. I'm assuming new radiators would measure the same right?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Sure is, the first photo is it done, the carb is sitting in the box between the seats. The second photo, I drove it around a little like that, you can see the oil pan under the cab. The third picture, in the build up lanes at the local drag strip, check out the cowl vent "MID ENG". :D It was fun, it hooked up, I'll tell you that!

Brian

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I used an original radiator in my truck and it worked great. I took some pics for you last night, but for whatever reason I can't upload them. Not sure what's going on, I've contacted tech support about it but they haven't got back to me yet. When I get it figured out I will upload them...

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

thanks, that would be great.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Ok, ive ordered the bolt kit for all the front sheetmetal. Now im looking at radiators.

What have you guys used?

What can I use and not use?

I'm not trying to go to cheap, but there is a budget to consider lol. Is the 150 dollar range doable for a decent radiator for this truck and setup?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Some guys use original-style rads, some use '65 Mustang rads and some use the aftermarket 19x22 crossflow triple-pass aluminum universal radiators from Summit, Jegs et al.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Ok, this may be a stupid question. Is there a certain type of radiator I need? I mean auto and manual trans don't require anything different or special just because it's a auto or manual right?

What's the best option for my combo that can fit?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Auto trans radiators have integral trans coolers and plumbing connections in the bottom - convenient, but not necessary if you run a separate trans cooler.

I see as many radiator systems as trucks. I have used the universal fit and the OEM style. The easiest choice would be an original-fit radiator if you have the room up front - they do mount BEHIND the core support so take up more engine bay space. A universal-fit (take measurements to order the size you need) would be cheaper but would require minimal effort to devise a mounting system - simple enough (see photo):

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Ok, cool. So if I get one without a built in trans cooler.. any particular size I should get for a trans cooler? And, I'm not sure if it makes a difference. But when it comes to adequate cooling...and in such a small space.. I will also need a A/C condenser. Can all three squeeze behind that little grill and everything gets cooled off enough?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I just check my order. Looks like I should get a front sheetmetal hardware tomorrow. I'll put things together and double Check all my clearances while I can still easily move stuff around. I'll post some pics and make sure I've got my measurements right.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I need some advice here. Monday I'm gonna pull engine and trans one more time to finish welding mounts up now that I have it all set. I was going off of distributor to firewall clearance. It's pretty close, see pics. But I thought I'd put radiator support in place. There no room for radiator. Tell me what y'all think will fix this. Smaller water pump for starters maybe. What about my fan?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Couple more pics. I have 4 inches from outer edge of harmonic balancer pulley yo edge of radiator support. What about smaller pulleys? Serpentine belt system instead of like 4 belts maybe?

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

you could install a shorty water pump and serpentine system but be aware that some of those serpentine systems run the water pump backwards so try to get a complete set. then delete the belt driven fan and use an electric fan instead with a thermostat switch. for more room you can install the rad in front of the support. not sure what you have for power or stall speed on the torque converter but a trans shop should be able to advise on the remote trans cooler size required. try to get one that is a stacked plate design. you could install that along the frame somewhere and duct air to it and/or run a fan on it with a thermostat switch in the cooler line and a temp guage to keep track of things. you could even set it up so an indicator light comes on when the temp gets high or when the fan runs, that way you know how often things are running so you can determine whether your set up is good or needs a tweak. you will want to know what style of belt you end up with before purchasing an a/c compressor.
also, just noticing by the pic, you pulley seems awfull close top that cross member. is that just the pic and you do have adequate clearance? you can always notch the cross member or build a new one with enough wiggle room.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

a blurb on trans coolers

http://transmissionrepairguy.com/transmission-cooler/

blurb on mounting ideas and air flow etc

http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoAutoCooler.htm

some ideas on how a remote frame mounted cooler and fan would look

https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-exte.../dp/B00WRIA1Q6


another blurb on cooler types and how they work

https://www.transmissionrepaircostgu...ission-cooler/

when I used to build rail buggies I would always install a large light on the dash that was connected to a low oil pressure switch. you could do the same only use a temp switch instead. wire it temporarily until you get a baseline established for driving style, hot days, heavy loads etc. then remove it or install a more discreet warning system once you get the system dialed in.

remember that if you use an electric fan to cool the engine you may need to also wire the fan to run when the a/c is on. a 2 fan system may be beneficial in that case. a/c is going to drop some more heat into the rad area and a trans cooler will also add heat. that is why I mentioned the frame mounted trans cooler.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

There's room to put a radiator in front of the support? My front end wasn't completely together when I got it. Yes it's close to crossmember. I set the engine crossmember down in the frame after I got trans supported. Didn't want to leave on hoist. Monday we can plan to pull it again and clean off the galvanized layer on the metal so we can fully weld it in.. we will raise it up a tad.

So I shouldn't have a problem putting a radiator in? I can't really get much closer to firewall.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I think if you peruse through some builds here you will likely find the rad is on the front side of the support or possibly on the rear side of the front flange of the support (so like between the rails of the u shaped channel but mounted to the front flange of the channel), if that makes sense?
just to go back a bit on the engine clearance issue, the cross member is just sitting in there or the engine is just sitting in there? when you get all done the engine should be at about 3 deg down at the rear and the rear axle pinion should be up about the same. all depending on the suspension type and final use for the truck. a full on drag car may need some downward angle on the pinion to compensate for spring windup on aceeleration. maybe a search would be in order for you to figure out what you need there for you end use/purpose.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

Just replacing that humongous factory clutch fan with an aftermarket flex fan that bolts right to front of the pulley will give you 3 inches more room.

And will you really need all those pulleys? A couple more inches could be gained there.

Re: V8 swap in AD
 

I didn't want to permanently weld the universal crossmember in until I brought front end down. Even with engine in it needs to come down a couple of inches. Couple rack welds are on crossmember to frame and when I put the trans crossmember in I removed the hoist so it wouldn't be left out. I can raise the engine up a bit before final weld. I was to paranoid about clearances and what angles to have.

You guys have been a great help. I'll have it at level at carb and 3 degrees down at trans permanently and all done Monday. I'll have the front lowered a bit by then I wasn't sure if lowering only a little would mess those angles off so I was to paranoid to finish without lowering.

I'm probably over thinking a lot but maybe all my questions will help others who might read this.

So I have options for radiator? I don't need to do anything drastic?