TTOTM - Big block swaps
 

I know I'm a few days behind but lets hear what is out there for swapping in big block motors into cars/trucks. Doesn't matter what was in there before, slant 6, SB, another BB, a birds nest, doesn't matter.

Nobody has any info they would like to share?

Well I have swapped out a slant 6 for a 383/727 BB combo in an 85 D100 and I can tell you this; the crossmember can be used with the stock rubber mount, the motor will drop right in between the frame rails (you just need the proper mounts), and you should upgrade the front coils to a set from a 1 ton. As for the radiator, just get a 3 or 4 core and be done with it.

As far as it goes with swapping a BB into a car, I do know that you will need torsion bars for a BB car as they are different than that of the SB cars.

My Dad came up with the idea and we had it done to both of our K-frames.

Notched out a good chunk of metal and squared it off to make engine removal/installation alot easier then trying to fight against the fire wall and K-frame.

first pic is mine in the car, 2nd pic is his. They were done by seperate people. Mine was done for free and he had to pay for his... :D Got to love Mopar guys who will help a kid out. He drove an hour out to drop it off at my house!

His got painted too, thats right when he brought it home.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ictures294.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...r092003008.jpg

I am the odd ball on this site with a Ram but I swapped out a 4.7L v8 and put a 440 with a 727 tranny. None of the factory brackets worked with the 440, everythign had to be made. The truck was 2wd but i put a staright axle in the front and a seperate transfer case. I took my love for trucks and my desire for a muscle car and created my own low budget muscle truck.

Nice job 2002ram440!

Nick,
I like that K-member fab.

my dad and i swapped out a 6 cyl in a favor of a 440, in a 67 cuda, the owner wanted to retain power steering so we had to move the engine to the left 1 inch for clearance, (big block cudas in 67 didnt come with power steering)

my fury bless its sole, was factory 318 A, then i put a 440 rb in it,

just about every car we had that came with a small block or a 6 got a BB, except for the diplomats or lebarons

What mounts did you use? Did you guys change out radiators? What did and did not clear?

if you have a sb k-frame, schumacher is probably the way to go to get a bb in it?
their mounts will allow you to keep the sb k-frame.
the sb k-frame is strong enough to support the motor, but the suspension might not.
when doing a big block swap, also keep suspension in mind. torsion bars might have to be changed in order to support the motor

I have stock suspension. New shocks front and rear, original leaf springs that left with the car 42 years ago, with 1 leaf added to each side.

I have 318 torsion bars, 42 year old original ones for my car.

My dad as slant 6 torsion bars

we made our own mounts off of the k frame cut the old ones out, we used a 3 core BB radiator,
since the guy wanted power steering in the car the pump wouldnt clear, so instead of chopping the car we just moved the engine over,

it still has stock suspension in it as far as i know? we did that probly 12 yrs ago and he sold it about 6 yrs ago, the BB did lower the front end about an inch or so, my dad had to make a oil pan to fit, then the guy took my dad for a ride (they are friends) my dad said mike went down an alley way at about 80 and there was a rock sticking up about 4" and took the bottom of the oil pan off,

isn't your dad's car a drag car though?
i was referring to using the car around town; handling.

drag car would need better components than a street drivin car,
i dont see a problem with what his dad is running,

is his dad running a sway bar?

i am not knocking anyone
i am just saying that when you put in a bigger motor, there are other things to consider rather than just how fast you go

very true not just how fast you go, how long does it take to get to 160

Neither of us run sway bars. His car isn't a full out drag car. It has a roll bar, it has race seats. But he drives it on the street quite a bit.

My car is a pure street car that "just happens" to run 11s.

The slant 6 torsion bars help for a better launch


Matt, I drive my car all over the place. Around town, on the freeway, ect. I can't take a corner at 50 mph like a new car can. But my car handles very well, especially when I feel like breaking the tires loose.

I wonder how much better the cornering would be if you installed BB torsion bars and then how much better, on top of that, it would be with a sway bar hooked up, or even with just the sway bar hooked up with the torsion bars that you are running now.

That'll hinder my performance at the track. The best way for a good launch is slant 6 bars and no sway bar.


If i was daily driver-ing my car, I'd put different bars on and a sway bar.


Looking at buying a 69 GT that'll get a small block, that'll get a sway bar.

why is that?

They are a smaller diamater and allow the front to lift up more

We can get into torsion bars and setups more when the TTOTM is suspensions (comming soon ;))

Too add to my second post - I know when swapping out a /6/V6/sb V8 out of a truck (post 72), that most of the frames were set up to take BB motors all they way up to 93. I believe that they stopped putting BB motors in to the trucks in 78 but with the stock BB motor mounts and brackets, you can drop them right in with no issues. You just need to make sure that you have a rear sump pan and pick-up.

Too many variables but for most 60s up to 72 any V8 will bolt into any V8 K except the Hemi all you need is mounts , Schumaker does have a mount for hemi into V8 & V8 into slant 6 as well . In 73 with the change to spool mounts things change , the Big block v8 K is different from the small block & you need special mounts to put a big block into an A body . oddly the E body retained the sandwich mount through to the end in 74 .
the Trucks are similar , you can bolt a big block in with factory mounts into the late 80s , the dakota Magnum engines have the mount in a different position on the side of the block & do not bolt into full size trucks .... guess how I found this out !!
As for all the new 3rd gen Hemi swaps I am still learning .

I want to put a 5.9 magnum v8 ( out of a 98 ram 1500) into my 68 coronet, any advice or tips?

relatively easy swap , the 5.9 is balanced differently from a 360 LA so watch for that , otherwise it is a basic small block swap , Schumaker will have a mount kit , What trans are you using? are you going to try to run the EFI or switch to carb ?