Engine Swap advice

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billstoudt

billstoudt

10 Year
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Threads
55
Messages
225
Hello everyone.

Ive reached a dilemma regarding my engine swap, I know part of it might be in my head but, i need to get my thoughts out and hopefully Hear your opinions if I am making a big deal out of nothing. and since i am coming to a point that i need to commit to a solution i thought i would ask advice from all of you.

When I purchased my 75 piggy it came with a 1f that one of the POs had put in as a swap for the 2f that the factory had installed, I have no idea why. it was always my intention to swap out this tired leaky motor for a 350 that I would build myself.

So with reliability and performance in mind I spent the better part of the last year (as well as the better part of 3 grand) planning and then building this sbc. The end result is a fantastic motor which I am confident will serve the exact purpose it was intended (run strong and reliable).

My plan was to do the engine swap myself using Marks Kit from AA.
http://www.advanceadapters.com/prod...ser-stock-4--5-sp-to-chevy-v8-conversion-kit/

when I pull the old tired F motor, I’ll Pull the transmission and transfer case and have them rebuilt they both leak oil but perform great this just makes sense to me to do this now.


Herein lies my dilemma, Ive done SBC swaps in several Corvettes(my late uncle used to restore and sell them), Ive done a complete engine/drive swap in my boat ( I even got to help swap a pantera motor ) but I’m starting to get cold feet about the swap I’m not sure why maybe because my piggy is my pride and joy and the fear of f**king it up is getting to me. My biggest concern is the actual fitment of the motor to the frame. Getting the engine mounts right and making sure they are in the right place. Not to mention all the little questions that come up along the way.

I am at a point where I am considering building a 2F motor and just putting it in an calling it a day but I know I will regret that. since its always been my vision to have a V8 in my piggy. But since I moved up to rural central California I have lost all of my resources / friends that could come over and give me a hand or be second set of eyes / advice .

I thought about having this portion of the swap done I called cool cruisers in Gilroy wanted 6k to do the swap. This just seems like a lot to me to do something I should be able to do myself so when I heard that it made me think that there might be something im not considering.

Here are my concerns maybe your advice can help put my mind at ease

1. I’m sure many of you have done this swap what problems did you run across?
2. I have never worked with a hydraulic clutch does this create any problems with the swap.
3. is the marks adapter the way to go?
4. will i have issues with the firewall?
5. AA also sells a cross member mount that they say is necessary for wagons http://www.advanceadapters.com/prod...nd-cruiser-crossmember-mount-for-fj55-wagons/ however the swaps I’ve seen don’t have this.
6. How do make sure you have the motor mounts in the right spot on the frame.
7. Do I need to remove my old motor mounts from the frame?
8. I’m going to either have the radiator rebuilt to be high efficiency or get a new one (aluminum) altogether any thoughts?

While I do quite a bit of welding I was planning on hiring a mobile welder to come out and weld the motor mounts in place. I follow the mantra “if I need something welded, I weld it myself, if I need something welded NICELY I hire a welder “.

Thank you to all that read this your comments / advice are welcome.
 
From what I hear, engine fitment is quite a big deal when stuffing a SBC into a 55.

If the 2F is tempting you, why not think about a 3FE? Not too bad! Everything bolts up. You just need to be patient with wiring and add an external electric fuel pump...
 
@pablo the 2F isnt really tempting me. it would be a way of backing out of my V8 build which i really don't want to do but i'm syching myself into it.
the 3FE is an interesting alternative but i really don't want to have a fuel injected motor.
 
Bill,

I'll try to answer some questions and prolly raise more for you. The 350 is one of the easier swaps to do. I used one of those batwing crossmembers, years ago on my 40. They work, but some have had problems with oil leaks from the trans., where it bolts up. You could very well make your own type crossmember.

The 350 will fit better than the newer motors like mine, 5.3 and 6.0. yours is not as tall and you can use any old center dump headers.

The Marks adapter is a good one, but some don't like the little shaft it uses. I went with the AA bell housing. In fact on my 40, I got a proto type bell housing from AA, when they first came out. It worked great for years. The Marks will position your transmission in the right spot, so you shouldn't need to cut the tranny cover. The AA adapter will move the tranny forward some and I believe, will need to bend your shifter, if using the stock heater. I know on the 40, I had to.

You will want to set the motor as far back as possible, but give yourself some room between it and the firewall @ a couple inches, give or take. Some guys worry about heat and not cooling properly with it up against the firewall. You'll need to make a new shroud, because the motor will be back some from the rad.

You'll most likely have to remove your old motor mounts and either buy some from AA, etc. or make your own. There are different designs out there.

As you know, any swap is a big job and a can of worms, but yours has been done so much, there is a ton of help out there and more products to help get you there.

I say, go for it, but do a lot of reading first as my answers are vague and prolly wrong! :)

Good luck, Man
 
On the motor mounts, you'll want hang it in the engine bay with a cherry picker and play around with positions. Center it left to right. Front to back is up to you where you want it. As far back as possible, while leaving some room for air flow. Some smarter than me guys, say to put @ a 6 degree rake on the motor, dropping it in the back. I had to go with a three degree rake and was told, it will be fine.

When you find your spot, tack weld in your mounts. Make sure everything fits and looks right, pull the motor and final weld the mounts.

Sounds easy, right! Believe me, I don't know sheet and mine turned out, so far. You'll be fine.
 
I just pulled the SBC out of my 55 and it was installed with the A/A 716022-TSW kit you linked above, from what I could tell it looked like a simple install and would be easy to complete in a couple of weekends. I only put about 500 miles on my 55 with this kit and motor before I tore it down to switch to a 4BT but it worked well in that short time I drove it.
 
J Mack said:
I just pulled the SBC out of my 55 and it was installed with the A/A 716022-TSW kit you linked above, from what I could tell it looked like a simple install and would be easy to complete in a couple of weekends. I only put about 500 miles on my 55 with this kit and motor before I tore it down to switch to a 4BT but it worked well in that short time I drove it.
Click to expand...
Read through @jmack's thread and then realize what a couple of weekends worth of work might mean to him:D
#theubermodifier
 
Like Scrapdaddy, I did the SBC swap in my 40. I don't regret it and when I bought my 55 I didn't hesitiate to take a similar course although I did a modern 5.3l.

I haven't seen the Marks adapter you speak of but engine placement could be easier to determine with it than with the AA kit since your transmission and t-case stay in their original place. My guess is the Marks kit would allow you to use the stock mounting position of the 2f bell housing. If that's the case, you could mount it in the vehicle and position the block from there. I'm only guessing about the Marks adapter so someone will have to validate my assumption.

If you don't use the Marks adapter you have added challenge of driveline work and as Ron said, the shifter moves forward from stock about 3-4 inches forward which messes with the heater (in the 40 anyway)

Front motor mounts come out for sure. Hydraulic clutch isn't a big deal. Use Toyota stock parts for the clutch disc, throw out bearing and fork. You just need a low profile pressure plate bolted to the SBC flywheel. I fretted this part for a long time until someone said the only non-stock items in the clutch install bolt to the SBC flywheel. That's the only thing to worry about.

There's nothing like pulling up to an intersection next to a Jeep and listening to the rumble of the V8.
 
I don't have any first hand experience with a sbc swap but I will say this, you have already put in the time rebuilding the engine you want. No engine swap is out of the question (there are guys with a Mercedes diesel in their rigs!) and there are a lot of guys with sbc that can help you out. Do it! To come at another angle, you will always regret not trying. All it is is one small achievable step at a time and eventually you will have a 350 in a pig which will totally be worth it. Do it!
 
I've done two engine swaps at this point, one myself (3FE) and one inherited that I completely re-did over again ... but that's a long story. I wouldn't be hesitant to go with a 350, it's been done many times and there are multiple venders that support conversion parts. It's going to depend on which you go with, but the Marks would probably be easiest, bolt the driveline together ... stab it ... secure stock tranny mounts ... tack motor mounts while the engine is supported by a hoist. Clutch etc are going to be simple, the only part that is really hard on either of mine has been the wiring (which you shouldn't have too much trouble w/ a carb'd 350). You're too far in with that motor to consider another option ;)

Tucker
 
I just wanted to take a second and thank you all ,Bobm, PabloCruise, Scrapdaddy, J Mack,Fertucky NikP, Walkern916 ,Napster and tucker74 for taking the time to give me your words of wisdom and advise. Your time is much appreciated.

I’m going to go ahead and keep moving forward with the 350 swap ( funds pending for the marks kit but that’s always a momentary setback) I have a bunch of other things I have been working on in tandem so I’ll throw them into this phase of the build as well (new fuel tank and a rear bumper shock hoops etc..).. I’m going to get a build thread going with lots of pics in the next few days to keep me motivated and to keep you all entertained. :)


Ironically I went to start the piggy today and it was idling rough and kept backfiring out of the carb and then stalling.


Thanks again guys.
 
bumper.webp


this is a picture of my bumper ( work in progress )
 
so after talking to several people at the Stockton swap meet as well as some very useful information from reddingcruiser i am seriously considering changing my direction a bit and going the automatic route. i'm looking at going with a rebuilt 700R4 going and finding and rebuilding a split transfer case. getting the shafts made to fit the new driveline and then drive my happy automatic butt all over town. i did the math on marks v8 kit and when all is said and done its close to 2k i can get a robustly built 700R4 for 1200 and now i have a cruiser that my GF will no longer refuse to drive. ( she hates a stick.)

anyone have a suggestion as to where i can pick up a good split Tcase? and what should i expect to pay for one.
 
Georg, the man that organized the Stockton swap meet, will have what you need and good advice. Not sure on price. I'll find a link.

Here you go...https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/o-r-i-o-n.139377/page-31

EDIT.. well that isn't a real good link. Georg goes by OrangeFJ45, look him up in the link and shoot a PM to him.
 
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