Re: 64 chevy truck engine swap

Posted by Andy on July 21, 2002 at 08:30:34 from (65.24.143.7):

In Reply to: 64 chevy truck engine swap posted by denny on July 20, 2002 at 12:35:56:

Lets start with the engine question, becouse some people are a little mis lead on this.
A 4 bolt is not neccisary for a tow motor, nor a hot rod motor. It is only nice to get a hold of one. If you commonly spin your motor over 4500 RPM, and hold it there for a while, it'd be a little more important. But for daily driver/weekend street bound, even with ocasional drag time, just don't hold it at a real high RPM for extended times, and it really won't matter if it is 2 bolt or 4.
What it is as actually refering to, is the number of bolts that hold the crank in, covering the main bearings, (called bearing caps) If it has 4 bolts, it is a 4 bolt main.
A note that many people ar not awre of, is if you are dealing with a 400 small block chevy, the 2 bolt is actually stronger than a 4 bolt. When they machined for the extra retaining bolts, they actually took too much meat away and weakened it.
As for installing the small block in your '64, it isn't all that hard. The best way to do it, may take some time, esp if you are not in the south where these trucks are still beng driven to junk yards all the time.
Find a '60 - '66 Chevy/GMC in the junk yard, that has a V-8 in it, and note where the motor is mounted. There are probably a few places where the engine towers can be mounted. If the towers for the V-8 are not the same as your inline towers, grab them after noting the whereabouts on the frame. (take a digital camera if you have one) If there is a fan shroud, or a radiater (in good shape) grab them too. Notice the wires for the alt and starter and distributer...can you remove it and install it in yours...or are you better of tackling the wires on your own?
Basicly, study what you have, and then study what ever you get your hands on as far as V-8's in them. Even internet pictures are valuable in your situation.
Don't forget your front springs. While it may look awsome sitting a little lower in front, you need to make sure it is safe. Some vehicles you can pull this off on and be ok. Others are down right scarey. On yours, I can not remember if you have the torsion bars, or the coils. If it is torsion bars, you can adjust it up or down. If springs, you'll need V-8 springs from any truck up to '72. I think they chainged the springs a little in '73, but if I am wrong, then it is any V-8 spring up to '87.
One thing you did not mention, is your transmission that is in it, and what is going to go in it. I recomend a TH350. They are cheap, plentifull, easy to set up, and most of all, you will not have to mess with the clutch rods in your truck right now. If you were to keep your 3 speed, (every stock 60 - 66 I have seen has a 3 speed, so I will asume yours does too) then you'll have to install the small block to the transmission and not be able to move it at all. More likely than not, that will put the engine VERY close to the friewall and not only not look right, but it'd be a pain to get to the manifolds.
For exhaust, you can either search for the ram horn manifold, (run untill '72) buy new ram horns, (very expensive) run wrong manifolds, (may be a pain in the tail pipe) or run headers. My opinion is to get a set of Hooker Super Comps. They are not the cheapest, but they are the best as far as the lower priced headers go. Visit www.jegs.com for them.
Your best bet all around, would be to either find one (complete) that you can study, or better yet, take tons of pictures of. Or, you can join a club. Be it a local club with meetings, or an online message board, either one will be much more value than I or (most) anyone else could be. They will have multiple bits of advice, and plenty of opinions that you can sort out and turn into fact.
Sorry this was so long, and hope it was of help.

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