V8 swap in AD

[mr48chev]

Well I am seeing too many photos and assumed BMac's photo was your truck as I didn't read who posted it.
One gets in trouble when he assumes.

first time I put a V8 in my 48 we pulled the worn out 194 Chevy II six out, swapped the flywheel and clutch to the 283 and stabbed it right back in and my buddy built mounts. We did the whole swap on a weekend and I drove it to school and work on Monday. JD was a total maniac when it came to engine swaps though. The only problem with the fan was that it was real low on the radiator and I had to run a smaller fan than I wanted to. Last time was when I subframed it and put the 350 in it. Had about 1/2 inch clearance between the stock firewall and the turbo 400. I believe I ran a short pump on it then too.

I know you are trying to show specific items in your photos but it is hard to see all of what you are up against, where the engine is located front to back in the engine compartment and how high it sits in the frame.

[mr48chev]

How about a full engine compartment photo showing how close or far from the firewall the engine is.

I can't remember on the 350 because that was early 80's but I may have had to put the fan on and then slide the radiator down in front of it as there wasn't room to put the bolts in if the radiator was in place. I know I had to do that with the 250 six that is in it now.

[Matt_50]

Crossfire84, I've talked to a few older guys and gotten pics. I'm cool with it, tad taller too which I like. Here's a couple of the guys trucks.

[Matt_50]

Tight squeeze between distributor and firewall. Hand can squeeze in. Was told that was good. Where floor and firewall meet.... the trans almost touches, less than 1/4 inch. Engine is level at carb.

[Matt_50]

Btw, ordered a radiator. Stock style, I'll be gone off and on during spring break, so might not get much done on truck. Hopefully at least see what we are looking at.

[mr48chev]

Matt, that fan clutch and big fan will never work in that truck. The fan blades will want to be right where the radiator hose absolutely has to be. That is the majority of your clearance problem you have to loose the fan clutch and fan and run a fan that is a smaller diameter and just bolts to the water pump hub with a proper thickness spacer if it needs a spacer. That alone should get you several inches of clearance. The clutch alone is taking up three or four inches in front of the water pump pulley.

Remove the fan and clutch and do some measuring.

You need to know how much room you have between the hose and the center of the water pump before buying a fan though. I'd want at least and inch of clearance. I had the same problem with my truck in that I had to buy a smaller fan.

[Matt_50]

Mr48chev, if you go back a page, I took fan off, put a yard stick across the support and measured both at the base of the bolts and edge of them with fan off.

[mr48chev]

I went back and looked and see that now. All the using photos that aren't relevant confuse this old brain.

I see that the engine sits back just about as far as you can get it, that means that with the right pieces on the front of the engine it should work without hacking anything up.

Side note: Some of those later engines had the timing mark at the 12 O'Clock position when the engine is on top dead center and you shine the light down behind the long water pump. That means you have to remark the damper and use a bolt on timing tab to run a short pump and be able to set the timing with a light. Not a big issue but it has t be addressed before the short pump is installed. I ran into that on my 71 when I put a later 350 in it and used the short pump to match the power steering pump and alternator brackets.

Short pump will also call for different pulleys and different brackets for the engine mounted belt driven pieces like the alternator. That isn't an issue when you can go out and dig in the shed for the parts but may be an issue when you have to hunt them down.

[Matt_50]

Tab like this right? There's a mark on the damper too.


The pulleys and brackets confused me too. Water pump and crank get new ones... does the alternator and the power steering need new ones too? I thought just the brackets for those two...

[MiraclePieCo]

Hey Matt, your posts got me to worrying if I'd allowed enough room for my fan to clear my stock-style radiator, so today I mocked it up to double check. My engine is mounted farther out from the firewall than yours, but even with a long water pump I have plenty of room - may even have to add a fan spacer. That's how much less room an aftermarket flex fan takes than a OEM clutch fan.

[Matt_50]

I'm sure a flex fan will work, but I sure am getting a lot of negative feedback on using one. Have you had one before?

[PDW HOTRODS]

You should mock it up with alternator any anything else like power steering pump or AC. Some fans will hit a pulley without a spacer. You can get different size spacers or try different fans. Better to find out now if you need to modify something.

[dsraven]

like pdw says. mock up.
not a big fan of the flex fan other but to each their own. a good fan shroud would help though, either way.
if you need a spacer and run outta room you could mount the rad to the front of the rad support maybe. seen that done before.

[Matt_50]

I got my radiator in yesterday!

I mocked it with it inside and outside the support, with and without the fan.

Is the fan to low? Im thinking, I'll mount it like it is supposed to be and get an electric fan that is more centered. Thoughts?

Note: I have two supports. When I realized I was missing the top piece I found a complete one.

[Matt_50]

What are the two bottom ports?

[joedoh]

with a shroud the fan will work fine. without a shroud its just an air beater, it wont pull as much as with a shroud.

the problem I had with the mustang radiator was that the lower hose would have been cut in half by the fan. make sure yours clears.

the two bottom ports are the transmission cooler connections.

[Matt_50]

I thought they were.. So I can just hook my auto trans up? That's all I need to worry about for trans cooling?

The lower hose will be very close to fan. It's less than a fingers width.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

I thought they were.. So I can just hook my auto trans up? That's all I need to worry about for trans cooling?

The lower hose will be very close to fan. It's less than a fingers width.

yep, just hook em up.


if its less than a fingers width remember that the fan changes shape slightly when you rev it. it shouldnt get any more diameter, but it will definitely change width

[dsraven]

yup, fan shroud required or electric fan but would need to be low profile pull style if on the back side so it would miss the water pump shaft. is that a short pump? if not a shorty may place the fan back further to clear the hose better? pusher fans are not as efficient but could also work on the front side of the rad.
could you cheat the hose by using a length of tubing in the fan area? or have the rad connection turned slightly to redirect the hose away from the fan? remember the engine will torque as you step on the gas.

[dsraven]

when connecting the trans cooler lines remember to use some rubber hose near the rad so when the engine torques there is some flex there. fuel injection hose clamps work good for a solid clamping action.

[Matt_50]

It's a long pump. I'm still playing with options, but I think I can eliminate a pusher fan now that I can see what I'm working with.

If I kept the long pump... would two smaller fans be as efficient as one big one?

[Matt_50]

I'm also thinking I'm going to get a proper trans crossmember. I cut up the original one a little to work but I have to unbolt the trans mount from the transmission before I can slide the crossmember out. It's a bit of a pain.

I know I won't be messing with this hardly at all, but I think I'd like to do this right and never worry about it. Also looks nicer.


So, just to clarify. All these transmission crossmembers have different drops. If I get my trans to the right height, or get the downward degrees right, I then just take a yard stick across the bottom of the frame rails right? And then measure down from center of stick to bottom base of the transmission mount? Not the base of the trans right?

I'm assuming I can use a washer or two if I need to slightly adjust the member? Either where it mounts to frame or at the trans?