Re: 454 into 63 chevy pickup

Posted by Mike on February 27, 2007 at 08:54:31 from (67.142.130.25):

In Reply to: 454 into 63 chevy pickup posted by karl haustein on February 24, 2007 at 22:20:35:

1st thing is to completely strip the frame and 'blast' it free of any corroson or rust. And get a fast coat of anti-corrosion paint on it PDQ. You are working with old steel. Rust, as an immediate problem, is never gonna be far away.

Then, presuming you have already removed the old engine, porta-lift the new block into place and see what new mounts you are either going to use or have to make. Either way make damm sure the mounts are going on to solid metal. That 454 is gonna generate a huge amount of torque and the mounts are going to have to absorb a huge amount of it. And if possible see if some cross-bracing could be added. Again, the torque is the issue.

Also, porta-lift the new tranny case into position for the same reason. All mounts are gonna have to be massive as far as strength goes. The trick is to install them using existing hardware (bolts etc) as opppossed to using exotic (read $) stuff. And depending on your intended application, a safety cage around the u-joint or a safety shield around the upper part of the tranny might not be such a bad idea. Check Summit's racing catalog for one. If they don't have one you at least have an idea of what it is and what you need to make one.

You also want to check the frame for any out of rack condition before you start. If the corners are square go for it. Just remember the torque of the engine and tranny are going to transmitted thru the whole frame. Brace and strenghten when possible to accomidate the flexing of the frame due to the torque.

And call me an old safety fart but if you intend to push the truck to any type of extreme PLEASE, install a safety cage around the drive shaft. In the event the 454/tranny combo makes more torque than the u-joints can handle, or, should the shaft have any type of catastrophic failure, that shaft will come apart like a tomato can on a LA Freeway at rush hour. And if you are at any serious speed at all the rear axle is gonna go with it. The more horsepower you generate the more safety aware you have to be and plan for. But then that's part of the fun of the re-building; you can do it the right way and be sure you did it right.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: 454 into 63 chevy pickup Oldmax 05:31:32 03/23/07 (0)

Post A Followup Name: E-Mail: Subject: Re: Re: 454 into 63 chevy pickup Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.