5.7 liter and 4L60E into 53 truck

[Boeing]

Hi guys, first post and am happy to be aboard!
I have owned a fully older restored 53 1/2 ton for 2 years now and am finally pulling the trigger on either a S10 chassis swap or IFS....haven't decided yet.
Here are my questions.
I recently bought a 5.7 liter engine and 4l60e tranny out of a 1994 chev 1500.
I got a great deal on it and want to go with a SBC and a 4 speed. I was thinking 700r4 but then this deal came long and thought HEY...this can only be better!
All the reading i have been doing on putting this engine and tranny combo into my 53 is making my head spin! I know its possible...but how much work is this going to be?
What type of components are required to get this engine (TBI) and tranny to work properly in my 53? Seems like a daunting task!
Is there any after market harnesses out there that can turn this into more of a "plug and play" type install?
I do fortunatley have the PCM and all of the wiring harnesses that came from the 94 truck....MAN THERES A LOT!!!It looks like the DRAC and other items are all there as well.
But what about speed sensors and anti theft devices that were in the 94 truck? Again, sorry for all the shotgun questions.....but im really chasing my tail here.
SO in a nutshell....i guess i need to know how to do the engine tranny swap/conversion.
Thanks in advance! looking forward to lots of great tips moving forward.
By the way, my 53 is still all original..restored but all original, ie solid front axle, six cylinder, closed drive shaft, 3 speed manual, etc.

[HUSSEY]

I bought a stand alone harness, engine only. It set me back $250. See post 32 of my build thread.

[dsraven]

nice to see a fellow Calgarian on here.
things to think about with any frame and/or engine swap, be it sbc or ls engine, is what you want the truck to do and be when you are done. if you want it to be a trailer truck and go to shows and win trophies then things may need a little more attention to small details. if you want it to look reasonably good, be a daily driver and functional well from an everyday driving standpoint, then that is a different mindset. sooo? what are you looking for and what kinda budget?
think about this

ride height. stock height or somewhat lowered or fully adjustable high tech air ride suspension set up?

how much do you plan to do yourself? what kind of skills do you have as far as metal fabrication work, welding, electrical?

where will you do the work? what kind of facility do you have to work in, outside in the grass/dirt, outside on concrete slab, outside in a partially enclosed carport, inside single garage, double garage, large shop etc?

how prepared are you for the job? what do you have for tools, stick, mig, tig, gas welder. cutting torch, plasma cutter, mini grinders, cut off saws, air tools or electric tools, impact guns, sandblaster, etc. dont have to answer on here, for security reasons, as long as you understand there are some things required or else you need to buy some tools along the way or farm certain jobs out to a shop-spendy.

have you got a good donor? have you taken a good hard look at the underside of your truck and in the nooks and crannies to see how cab mounts, door and hinge pillars, fenders, box etc look as far as metal integrity. in other words, will the truck body structure fall apart when you undo the bolts. not trying to be harsh here, just realistic.

what kind of hp are you looking for? this can dictate choices as far as what diff to use etc. will you want disc brakes all around, will stock S10 brakes be good enough for the chosen engine hp.

at the end of the day, if you are just looking for a daily driver that has some modern everday things, like power steering and brakes and maybe some creature comforts like a nice seat, a/c etc, and enough power to keep you going in traffic, then it makes a big difference on what guys will have for recomendations. there are quite a few S10 comversions on this site so probably any question you could have would be answered. just gotta come up with what you want at the end of the day. then the clues will start coming.there are also quite a few full on, high tech, tire roasting, twin turbo asphalt eaters, so if that is what you want then you just gotta fess up. post up some pics so we can see what you have to start with. maybe copy and paste a pic or 2 of some that you like the finished product. that way we can see what is on your mind.add in a budget so we know roughly what you have to play with.
if you want some info on the mustangII front suspension theory, just send me your email through the private message method and I can send you some thoughts. that doc is too big to send on this site.

[Boeing]

Hussey and Raven, thanks for the replies and info.
DSraven i will try and give you some insight on what I'm after.
Basically a daily driver. I have driven the truck for 2 years with the stock drive train and am tired of it. But i knew i would be, i bought the truck with the intention of doing the SBC/chassis/IFS upgrade.
The body, paint and frame are in really good shape on my truck. This is why i am slightly leaning to a IFS install vs a chassis swap.....also i think it would be less work in the long run from what i have researched.
My truck is certainly no show truck...but it does look descent. Few paint chips and minor scratches, but overall pretty good. As mentioned, it would be nice to drive it on the road at over 50 mph without it sounding like it is going to blow up, as well as been able to steer it down the road possibly with one hand. Also,
the donor s10 that i bought that already has the SBC and 4l60e in it is kind of a piece! Looks pretty rusty, and its also the short wheel base truck, not the 118 incher longbox that is required to make the swap easier.....dont know how much i feel like adding 10 inches to the frame. Again, its been done,but a lot more work.
Skill wise and environment, here is a breakdown:
Live on an acreage and have a 30x30 shop to work in. assorted tools, welder (mig) ,cutters , torches grinders,etc. Have done body and paint in the past but amateur status at best. Have rebuilt a 65 chevelle and 72 chevy truck in the past.
I love my 53 but just want to be able to go down the road and also burn the tires every now and then. Would like to end up at around 400hp, but that would be down the road awhile. The motor that i have is a crate engine, TBI
with about 60000 kilometers on it.....not a hp buster but good enough for now.
I have always enjoyed the "rolling resto" projects. Don't want to rip it entirely into pieces for the next 5 years to achieve "show" quality. Right now its "do it fast do it cheap". KIds still at home so time is also a factor.
Raven i will shoot you a PM, would like to see what you got on the IFS thing.

Cheers!

[Henney]

Sound similar to the project i did. you won't need a full frame off to get a new engine and IFS in it. For the engine, i used a standalone harness from PSI for convenience. you can easily convert the harness you already have. either way you need to get the ECM flashed to remove the theft (VATS) and other emissions sensors that aren't needed. you'll have to create or buy engine and transmission mounts and i'm guessing you'll need a new rear end. i went with a 3.73 out of 2012 explorer because it's length fits nicely, they're cheap, and they're plentiful if i break it. you have some room to move the engine around inside of the bay both forward and back and up and down. just take into account you may need to do a transmission tunnel and find a drive line. i pulled a drive line out of a 2006 chevy 2wd suburban that had the correct length and yoke for the transmission. the u joint was modified to mate up with the ford rear end. my guess is you'll need a new radiator and will need to sort out the shifting mechanism.

other things to consider like gauges are a matter of opinion and choice. i run the original gauges so ran a hard oil line. i don't have a temp gauge but i did install a red led to tell me when i get hot. i also don't have a volt or amp gauge. i used the dakota digital digital to analog speedo converter and it works ok.

i didn't provide a ton of in depth details, rather a broad picture of things to consider. this conversion has been done a lot and there's a ton of useful information on this site. read through my thread, it'll probably provide some ideas and spark questions to focus in on.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=646646

[Boeing]

Thanks Henney for the great thread...very helpful.
I have been in contact with DSRAVEN and he has also offered up many good things as well!
I am still struggling with whether or not I should do a S10 swap or IFS..or just shoving a V8 into my current frame....
I do have a S10 frame, its how I got the 5.7 V8 and 4L60E. But it is only the 108" wheel base and don't know how keen I am on trying to lengthen it.
I realize there are many options here, just looking for now to get away with as quick of a project as I can, then if i care to, could always upgrade down the road. priority one is to just get a daily driver on the road with a V8 and 4 speed auto!
One thought that crossed my mind....is it possible to rob the IFS/ front clip from the S10 and make it work in the 53 stock frame....again, wheels are turning and thought it may be a quicker easier way to go.
But I am up for all and any suggestions or ideas!

[Katrina/10]

If you want to do it the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way, put an MII front end on the stock frame, and use your stock TBI wiring harness. I don't think a truck TBI has any anti-theft in it, so if you use all the factory sensors, you won't need to modify it.

Using an S10 frame requires fabrication of all cab, bed, running board and bumper mounts, so it's quite a big job.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

The swap or IFS subject has been debated many times here.
Do your research.
Read this thread for starters:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=709231

[Boeing]

Thanks for the thread lookup Bowtie!.....answered almost all my question along with help from others.
I think I am going to do an IFS...Danforth, M2, or the like. Its been bothering me to hack into and discard my perfectly good 53 frame. So this seems like the logical and quickest solution to get me on the road.
Anyone here try the Scott danforth setup?

[Lrall]

Boeing,
You are talking about the exact swap that I have in my truck. 85 s10(rcsb) frame with an 87 TBI 350 and 700R4. I started out with the goal of a good solid driver so I'm a big fan of s10 swaps. The swap IS NOT HARD!!! I used engine mounts from JTR, fabbed a trans crossmember from some square tube and a universal rubber mount. I had a custom steel driveshaft($400) made and the drivetrain is completed by an 87 4wd s10 rear end. The advantages of an s10 over MII swap in my opinion are: you don't cut up a decent frame or have to weld frame rails together, you have FACTORY parts, and its already complete. I bought a kit to mount the cab and body but quite honestly I would not do it again. The body mounts are simply plate steel that put the body up off the frame and some rectangular tubing for the bed. S10s have been v8 swapped all over and there is tremendous support online. My .02!!

Engine mounts - http://www.jagsthatrun.com/

[dsraven]

not sure if you have seen this but relates to your truck dilemma. copy and paste to google and see what comes up. looks like a pretty Skookum piece and also has ability to use stock parts from napa or whatever.
gotta say, I would use the stock frame if you can. body fits real well for some reason. haha. you can also use the s10 4x4 diff and brakes would match up for using a stock s10 master cylinder that way.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=670981

[ebernst]

Hi Boeing,

I'm in the middle of a really similar project to you. I've got a '53 1/2 ton that I just swapped in a 6.0 L96 from a 2014 Silverado, and I matched it with a 4L80E out of a 2001. I kept the stock frame but boxed in the front end where I did an IFS kit from Scotts Hot Rods. I've got my build thread here, so take a look and feel free to shoot me any specific questions and I would be happy to help out!