I have read many of you build threads and drooled over the awesome work you all have done. Well, it is finally time for mine. The goal of this thread is to document me swapping in a chevy 350 crate motor and sm465 into my 1973 girl. My engine really isn't that bad, but I felt that the moons had aligned just right for it to be a good time. Several things are occurring right now: it is summer vacation for me so I have some spare time, my friend who is a great mechanic has his project car at the body shop for a month so he has time, I have some extra money, and we want to get serious about taking the cruiser on longer family camping trips.
Thanks: I would also like to offer several rounds of thanks for this thread too. First I would like to say thanks to all the fellow cruisers out there who took the time to write up their build threads. Besides being good reading, it was very informative and I would probably not have the courage to attempt this big job if it wasn't for seeing you all get through it. I also need to thank Georg (Orange45) who always helps me get the parts I need and volunteers copious amounts of information to steer me in the right direction. If you have never used his services before, he is a great mechanic and a really honest person you can trust. I have every confidence in him. He is also going to be by way out of this in case I screw it all up ) Knowing that if this goes to hell I can just drop it off to him and he will fix it. I also need to thank my mechanic buddy Larry who is offering a lot of help on this project. Without his skills and positive attitude, I might also not have tried this project.
Problems with old motor:
-It has a miss in the #2 cylinder. I ran a compression check on all the cylinders and all of them are 145-150 except the #2 cylinder which is about 115psi. I did a wet compression check and the number didn't change one bit so I am pretty sure I have a bad valve and I am guessing it is the exhaust since I don't have anything coming back through the carb. I never got around to running a cylinder leakdown test though so not certain which valve is bad.
-The thermostat housing continues to leak even after resealing it twice. I think it is just probably not flat enough to seal any longer. I have a spare housing I bought, but I just never got around to putting it on.
-Slight seeping on the side plate. I bought a new gasket but haven't put it on yet.
That is pretty much it. It would probably run for another 20 years and be fine, but the miss bothers me. I don't like the idea that I am polluting too much and it just bugs me. Also, the vehicle has several spots on the mph range where it just isn't fun to drive. Climbing hills in the high 30mph range are miserable. I either have to rev the engine in second or lug it in 3rd. The PO only drove the cruiser about 4-5k miles and said that his PO have recently rebuilt the engine and clutch, but we all know how that goes. Though, in my case I haven't found anything really bad that any of my POs have done, just LOTS of stuff that wasn't working anymore.
All in all it would probably just be smarter to do a valve job and slap the new parts on but two things are keeping me from going that route: I don't want to keep dumping money into this engine since I don't know its history. I have the worst luck in this regard. And the second thing is that I would eventually like to put a v8 in this vehicle anyway. After all I bought this vehicle as a wrenching project. I only found out how fun it is to drive after I had driven it for a bit.
Parts Used:
Carburetor:
-Carb stud kit: Edelbrock 8008 carb stud and nut kit. http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/8008/10002/-1
Transmission: sm465
Flywheel: O'reillys Auto part# nfw1007 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PTQ5/NFW1007.oap?ck=Search_nfw1007_-1_2807&keyword=nfw1007
Flywheel Bolts: http://www.jegs.com/i/ARP/070/100-2801/10002/-1 Part # ARP#070-100-2801
Adapter Plate: Shawn Russell adapter plate: https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/428058-sm465-plate-adaptors.html
Hydraulic Bell housing:
Regular Bell housing:
Clutch: LuK 04-064 New Clutch Set http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CICYTK/?tag=ihco-20
-Throwout bearing, National cc-1705-c , http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...ck=Search_cc-1705-c_-1_2807&keyword=cc-1705-c I bought this because I didn't like the throwout bearing that came with the LUK clutch. It was plastic and it wasn't centered. I returned the first one, but the second one was the same. It would probably have been just fine but I didn't want to take the chance since I did not want to have to pull the transmission again. I went with this bearing which is a premium one to hopefully avoid any problems.
Clutch Fork:
Motor: http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Performance/809/10067353K6/10002/-1?parentProductId=
Oil Filter Adapter: Melling MFA350 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mel-mfa350/overview/model/c35 I have read that these had some bad reviews. Some people claimed that the valve would flip cockeyed on heavy acceleration which results in this adapter allowing the oil to bypass the filter. If I did this over, I would just buy a factory GM oil filter adapter.
Fuel Pump: Oreilly M16011 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PFP0/M16011.oap?ck=Search_m16011_-1_3006&keyword=m16011
This is a stock style fuel pump. If I did it over I would buy a different fuel pump if possible. It puts out about 9psi which is too high for the edelbrock carb. This caused a fuel leak for me until I installed a regulator. The pump is fine after I installed the regulator.
Hose Clamps: I used various clamps, but I don't want to write all the part numbers down. I used the basic worm type hose clamps. Probably about $30 total.
Fan:
Waterpump:
Motor Mounts: http://www.specialtysuspension.com/Land-Cruiser-FJ40-GM-V8-Motor-Mount-Conversion-Kit-_p_433.html These are the ones I bought, but I haven't heard from the company ever since I placed my order 2 weeks ago. Since we both live in CA, this seems odd. I will have to call them next week. More updates. I was finally able to get ahold of these guys. They said they shipped out the order and I would get it tomorrow. Update: We it is three days later now and still no parts. I am getting real tired of dealing with these guys. 80% of the time you call you get an answering machine. When I got through again they put me on hold for 6 minutes, then dropped my call. I will let everyone know how this turns out. Not looking good right now.
Clutch Slave Cylinder: Oreilly CS2205 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search.oap?keyword=cs2205 I bought this slave cylinder because I needed a new push rod. When I made my first slave mount, it was closer than what it ended up being so I needed the full length rod.
-Fuel Filter: Mr. Gasket 9748 http://www.jegs.com/i/Mr. Gasket/720/9748/10002/-1 I bought two of these because I wanted to make sure the fuel was very clean, especially since some of my gas had sat for awhile. I wanted the clear filters so I could see what was going through the lines.
-Battery Hold Down: Oreilly http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SS01/01409.oap?ck=Search_battery hold down bolts_-1_3006&keyword=battery hold down bolts
-Valve Cover Breather: Spectre 4279 http://www.jegs.com/i/Spectre/865/4279/10002/-1
Transmission Mounts: Energy Suspension 3.1158r http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...ck=Search_C2251_1038978_-1&pt=C2251&ppt=C0338
Exhaust Manifold: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-UP-SB-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35c8624405&vxp=mtr These are what I bought, but if I was to do it again I would probably buy them from Jegs just because they would probably stand by their product better in case anything is wrong. I will update how these work out when I know.
Slave Cylinder Adapter:
Ignition System:
-Moroso 0710-71994 high heat boot sleeves ($20). I used one of these to protect the coolant temperature sender from exhaust manifold heat. http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/71994/10002/-1?parentProductId=
-Ignition Wires: Jegs 40220 http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS Performance Products/555/40220/10002/-1
Gauges:
-Oil pressure gauge
-Fuel pressure gauge Jegs 41030 ($22.99) I used this as an underhood fuel pressure gauge. http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS Performance Products/555/41030/10002/-1
-Reverse Light Switch, Oreilly- s393, This is the reverse light switch for the sm465. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BWD0/S393.oap?ck=Search_s393_-1_3006&keyword=s393
-PCV Valve Oreilly, PCV 184, http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail
/MGD0/PCV184.oap?ck=Search_pcv+184_-1_3006&keyword=pcv+184
-Distributor Clamp Mr. Gasket 1009 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BWAOWG/?tag=ihco-20
-Oil Plug, ($3.69) http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/EDE0/226400.oap?partType=N1165&parentPartType=C0248
-Oil Drain Plug magnetic, Mr. Gasket #15 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BWCES8/?tag=ihco-20
-Pipe reducer bushing Jegs 16091 http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS Performance Products/555/16091/10002/-1
-Push in oil plug RPC R9170 http://www.jegs.com/i/RPC/707/R9170/10002/-1
-1/2" plug for the transmission. I needed two. http://www.zipzab.com/LDR-311P-12-p/1591-9343.htm
-Gear Reduction Starter, Jegs #10080 http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS Performance Products/555/10080/10002/-1
Oil FIlter for SBC 350 Wix 51060
Radiator Hoses:
Gates 20416
Gates 20573
Fan Clutch http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/HDN0/2747.oap?ck=Search_2747_-1_3006&keyword=2747
Last edited: