How to Swap a Big Block Chevy into a 1960-1966 Chevy C10 Truck
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- These trucks never came with a big block! Naturally, you should put one in there because they're big. Here's what I did, on an extreme budget, and a couple other options to look at as well. There are several configurations you can take depending on headers / manifolds, manual / automatic transmission, etc. Let me know if you have questions down in the comments, or if you want to see any specific videos about parts/systems in this project truck.
Check out the other videos I made about my truck in this playlist: • Big Block Swapped 1963...
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Hey buddy I’m not no professional by any means but I do a lot of checking. I am putting a punched out 454…468 now. I’m putting it in my 71 GMC C15. You might have been able to avoid the cutting and notching by putting in bbc perches . Haven’t done mine yet but getting closer. YOU GOTTA LOVE DA BIG BLOCKS!!!😁✌️
Oh for sure I could have. Just had more time than money, so I did the cutting and welding
Interesting video but my experience with this swap is a bit different. I have a 496 inch stroker that uses the rectangular port aluminum heads. These heads are MUCH larger than the peanut or ovals. Also using the RPM AirGap 2 Edelbrock manifold for the rectangular port heads and an MSD HEI distributor and Holley EFI fuel system. With these heads in place, the engine will NOT FIT without a great deal of cutting/bending of the firewall. In fact it may require so much bending that I end up giving up the space I was hoping to have under the dash for an air conditioner but not absolutely sure about that. I also have a roller cam set up and this requires the use of larger valve covers as the shortys won't generally clear the rockers. I have the tubular engine mounts and bolted them to the rearmost position and had lots of firewall interference so I moved the mounts forward to the other set of holes in the frame. That placed the engine so far forward that the water pump shaft (without fan installed) was sitting where the second row of radiator fins would be if it was installed. In order to fix that I would have had to move the radiator mount forward but that causes other problems such as the inner fender wells won't attach to the support. Based on what experience I have with this, you are probably OK if using peanut or oval heads as they are much smaller than rectangulars. I don't have that option so I am looking at getting an LS3 for this truck. Oh, one other option I considered was to make 3-4" high, 3" diameter aluminum spacers to go under all 4 cab mounts and bed sills. This would lift the entire sheet metal system up to provide clearance for the engine but again, believe the LS is a much better option. I will look for a 67-72 or an 88 or later truck to put my 496 in. Just as an FYI, my water pump is a long shaft high volume unit and the radiator I am using is a 3 row aluminum with an attached electric fan. There is simply no room to attach a flex fan in addition to the electric fan. This is the same radiator I used when I installed the engine on my break in stand and ran it. If someone has other experience with my engine/truck combination I would love to hear from them. Thanks!
I have a 65 with the same fitment issues
My dad and I did a 454 swap in my '66 back in the 90's. Your's and our was very similar. The differences were:
I used a TH400 with the original 3spd crossmember. We simply notched the cross member the full width of the trans mount and all the way front to back. Welded the new lower material back in. I think we dropped it about 1.5". We used the original factory 6cyl mounts but modded the towers to drop the engine down. In our case, we used the factory exhaust mainfolds and still had to "shave" the frame rails about 1/4" on each side. No notching. Used balljoints, spindles and disc brakes and proportioning valve from a '75 C10. The '75 balljoints bolt right back in where the originals came out.
Altogether, it was a 454, power brakes (discs up front), power steering (used a frame adapter kit from Rez Engineering that spaces the steering box out from the frame to clear the hump on the side of the steering box, also reinforces the frame for the added torque of the pwr unit), TH400, tilt column from a '91 Suburban and 3.08 diff from a '68 Olds Vista Cruiser wagon. The only firewall mods I had to do was using some channel locks and a hammer on the pinchweld seam where the firewall meets the cab cowl. Just rolled it toward the rear of the truck some till it no longer hit the bell on the 400. It was a screamer!!
Working on a '64 C10 longbed now. Have a 5.3 LS to build for it but really want to go back with another BB Rat! Great video!! Keep it up!!
That sounds like an amazingly fun build! Nothing wrong with the LS either, big block is just its own fun animal. Thanks for watching!
I have a 66 c10 that I'm going to do the 454 swap with but my new engine came out of a 93 or 94 454ss truck
Awesome! I got my paws on a gen 6 454 as well
Right on
Sounds great. Looks good.
i am currently swapping a 454 into a 65 with a muncie 4 speed.
Awesome! They're really fun
Thank you for this im about to swap my 66 so this helps a lot
You are welcome thanks for watching 👍
Howd it go?
@@TylerSmith-gx4hs that bih running full build breakdown (my first full length video coming this week as an up to speed as well as what is to come !!! Thanks for your support !! Although it’s not big block but it’s built stay tuned fr fr
Thanks for the video, and the good info.I am doing the same to a 62 long narrow plus replacing front suspension, donor truck is a 81 with a 77 454 auto.
Nice! That 81 suspension is better that the 72 I used. I'd like to see it, let me know if you're on Instagram
Why do you want to replace the suspension. 1962 Was t last year for torsion bars and the x box frame.
Thanks for the info good job 👍🏿
Thanks for watching!
When you made room on the firewall, did you have to heat it or just form with hammer.? I have a 63
No heat, just 2lb sledge. Looks decent, but I wouldn't do that to a really really nice truck
What about the weight difference
Honestly don't know, seems fine to me. Very likely less than 200 lb difference
You need to adjust the camber to compensate, front will sit a bit lower, no big deal.
Man, you just saved me a lot of time and money on that info about the headers. I just started this swap on my 64 and was lost on what headers to try. I started out with a small budget but that quickly went out the window. My son-in-law put a 496 in a 71 short bed Chevy so I had to go bigger. I'm going 540 with a turbo 400. I ordered the tubular motor mount stands and transmission cross member so maybe I won't have to do much cutting on the important stuff.
All that for 3 questions - Does your truck even remotely hook up? And does the frame seem to twist very much under hard acceleration? Is the rear-end out of the donor truck the same width as the one you swapped out? Thanks for posting the videos. I do have a couple of BFH's and a hot-wrench and ain't afraid to use 'em so this should be easy peasy. LOL. NOT.
Thanks for watching! 540 sounds really fun. The truck isn't fond of traction. That said, it has garbage tires, old worn out springs no locker, etc. The frame, I can't tell if it twists. Probably not, but that 540 may be a different story haha
The rear out of the 1972 is like an inch wider, so if I lower the rear much the tires may scrub, but that's what the bfh and gas axe are for! Let me know how it goes, are you on instagram posting project pics?
hi i am puttting a 1966 396 big block in my 1964 GMC 4x4 3/4 ton pickup truck it originally had a 305 v6 so it ha no cross member only pearches what do i need
Thanks for watching! 396 uses same mounts as my 454, so you need small block chevy perches that bolt to your frame from another 60-66 C10. You might want to do a little research first because the purchase for your GMC v6 may or may not be the same as small block Chevy, I'm not familiar with the v6 configuration because I've not worked on one. Definitely worth a search, because you might already have what you need if the v6 perches are the same as small block Chevy perches! Let me know what you find, sounds fun
@@RiggsGarage THANKS
My truck had that v6 originally then got a small block 327 and now it is getting a 454 from the 90s
I currently have a 350 with a 700r4 behind it (rebuilt about a year ago). I am buying my buddies built 454 he claims about 600hp, which I believe, do you think it will survive a decent amount of time behind that? Or will I need a th400?
Hard to say, it really depends on its condition and how you drive it. But a 600hp big block has a ton or torque so probably on borrowed time if the trans is not built and you drive hard
hi putting in a 454 in my chev step side didn't come with any brackets; power steering, alternator ; i have air need bracket for pump ; ant suggestion where i could get them no junk yards around here thanks ray
You can buy factory style brackets on eBay or Amazon, or depending on budget there are full pulley and bracket setups that cost more than I paid for my whole 454
But junkyard is absolutely best
I have a/c & alternator brackets in Calgary, AB if you're still looking.
Is there a header i can use that won't require notching the frame? I'm pulling the 454 with Auto trans out of a 74 Corvette and it's going in my ,66 C10
I think a shorty header, or obviously a factory exhaust manifold would clear, especially since you're running an auto. I would definitely dig around in the C10 forums though
What would you say is the ideal make/model for someone's first restomod project? Make/models to avoid?
Hey now that's a good question. I'll admit, I'm not an expert in restomod because I like old stuff with old parts. Since I don't have an answer yet, I'll ask questions - what's the budget, what do you like? You can really build anything. To me restomod means older car with modern convenience like fuel injection, modern braking tech, air conditioning maybe, and modern lower profile tires on wheels that are more modern looking (or bigger). Trucks are pretty easy because yo can bolt in a modern powerplant cheap and there are kits for everything from brakes, suspension, and A/C. Kindof a broad question, maybe I can help aim you :)
@@RiggsGarage What I'm thinking is a 70s or 80s era two door car. Find a late 90s OBD-2 V8 out of a 2wd truck or something in a junk yard and put it in said car. Could be a Camaro with a 5.3 out of a Silverado, a Mustang with a 5.4L out of an F-150, or maybe a Dart or Polara with a 5.9L Magnum out of a Ram. Power steering, A/C, computer, and electronic auto trans.
@@LarryReynolds591 Man I like the mopars, check out the 3 I've owned on my Instagram. Like your idea that 5.9 or a truck Hemi? in something old. I keep seeing nice looking B bodies for good prices. Polara, Coronet, Satellite, Charger(1971-1974) etc. You can get a nice clean one for a few grand. Then add your 5.9, AOD trans, Air conditioning and be driving.
I see you used the original location for the engine mounts. Would it have helped to move the mounts to the front 2 frame holes? or would that crowd the radiator with the big block?
I did that to keep my transmission mounting holes in the same factory spot. I do believe there is plenty of room in the front to scoot the engine forward an inch or two though.
It might seem like a very small change, but effects a TON of stuff. Don't use the front holes, it changes the fulcrum point, makes the nose of the truck very heavy (rear wheels lose traction easily on snow/ice). Also requires a longer driveshaft & throttle linkage, shorter rad hoses, z bar & trans. tunnel modification (if it's a manual trans), shifter modifications, trans cooler line modifications (if automatic), battery cables etc... Made the mistake of trying to use the front holes on a '66 and went back to using the rear ones,decided I was better off to just dent the firewall & run stock manifolds.
I'm in the middle of doing this swap as far as the rear end goes did you keep that all stock the differential specifically.
I used a stock 12 bolt truck rear, yep. They are strong and you can get lockers, etc for them. Thanks for watching!
Did you use factory motor mount from the 60 model truck
Yes, factory rubber mounts for any Chevy truck do it. I might upgrade them to something tougher, the engine is strong and will break them soon
Hi...i have a 1963 with 305 block on it....but once i step on that gas it shakes alot..do you know why it does it
Oh man it could be a number of things, I would need more information. It could be misfiring and shuttering, I could have engine mounts that are junk, could be lots of other things, let me know if you have more info and I can try to help but it's pretty hard to do through a CZcams comment lol
Do u have social media...so i can reach out to you
@@jorgebarrientos2697 message me on Instagram, I am @riggsgarage
I have the same transmission, is it still holding up? Lol
It is! That said, it doesn't get driven much, but when it does, I beat on it
Part number for headers??
I believe they are 2826HKR. I just looked up the 454 headers for 73-87 Chevy trucks.
How much money it was in total?
Great question - I made a video on that exact topic, here it is! czcams.com/video/1DWHnz8AT4I/video.html
did u use the original rubber mounts mine are off a lil idk if I should loosing the bolt going to to block
I used stock Chevy mounts yes. I should probably put something stronger in there
@@RiggsGarage any reason why I'm of 1.8 a inch . would u suggest I loosing the bolts from mount to block then set her down and re tight
@@rodricwebber3217 what Mount towers are you using? Are they from a small block Chevy truck? Do you mean that the mount is not lining up with the frame mount towers? Not sure I'm following
@@RiggsGarage yes bolt a lil off from perch using small block 2282 mount