Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Hey Guys,

I've been poking around on the site for a while but just got around to actually joining! I'm in the parts collecting stage of swapping an early 2000's 5.3l truck motor into my 71 C10 (SWB, FS), Lucy. I have the motor, TBSS manifolds, and a few other parts so far. The new motor will be replacing a '75 454 truck motor and will be mating to the original TH400. I'm hoping to pull the big block out in a few weeks and have been doing quite a bit of research. Has anybody else done this swap and kept the TH400? I'm wondering what mounts to use. It seems like people are really happy with the CPP sheet metal mounts, I'm just not sure what combination of mounts and plates to get to leave the trans where sits. Any input is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Andrew

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

love the screen name man!!
I am doing the same conversion myself but with the mated 4l60
subbed

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Thanks! I'm only sticking with the TH400 until funds allow.... There's plans to add a 3rd pedal eventually...

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

My internet service isn't great but I'll try to post a few pictures:

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Can't help with your question, but.....:welcome2: To the best 67-72 chevy truck site there is!!!

Also howdy from another So. NH member !

Gary

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Good looking truck. And boat. Wooden?

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Thanks Gary! Looks like we're neighbors. I'm just to the west of you!

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Lucy looks very nice ,got any more pics to share ?

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Thanks Boog! She's all mahogany... That project could have it's own thread. It's been 8 years so far, almost there!

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Lots of good info in the LS swap section.

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Another Picture

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

First welcome to the site. From a fellow neewbie let me say the amount of knowledge and help afforded this site has been enormous for myself..not to mention all the new ideas you get from some of the other trucks/builds.

In response to your question there are many adapter motor mount plates out there. Summit sells some with several positions and dirty dingo has several different styles. I would think for your application you need the sliders, these enable you to install your LS from about 2'' forward to 1 1/2'' rearward. That way when you change to your stickshift there would be some adjustability... Just my 2 cents....good luck

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Thanks! There's definitely a ton of information and knowledge here! I agree that sliders are probably the way to go. I'm wondering if there is an advantage to the dirty dingo versus cpp. I'd like to add A/C down the line and I want to bottom mount the compressor. That will come later when the trans changes, so I'll be able to move the motor around to make it work. Any insight on slider preference would be awesome!

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Nice to see another board member is also into wooden boats. Here is pick of my boat behind my truck. The boat is a 13 foot runabout complete with a "vintage" 40 horse Johnson. The boat took just under 2 years to complete.

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Looks great! That motor looks very familiar. I have a '73 13' Whaler that had a very similar 40hp on it up until last year when I swapped to a new e-tec 30.

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

So I finally got to start in on it Sunday and have made great progress! I got the front clip off and shuffled all those parts to my off site storage location, got the motor and trans pulled, motor on a stand tucked out of the way, and the transmission on the bench. Not a bad 48 hour run. Got my shipments in including dirty dingo sliders, TB SS exhaust manifolds, heat shields and gaskets, and a new fuel tank from LMC. I also started cleaning up the 5.3 with the wire wheel. Unfortunately I found that 4 of the old exhaust manifold bolts are broken off in the heads. A little bit of a setback, but it shouldn't be too bad. At least it's on a stand so I can get to them. Today's plan is to continue the cleanup I started last night and get organized. I need to order a few more parts, then I may go after pulling the bench seat out and emptying out the fuel tank. I also need to clean up the frame and firewall. I figure I might as well paint it while I'm in here.

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Here's a fe pictures:

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

More progress since the last post. I cleaned up and painted my 5.3 block. I'm going to polish the aluminum on the oil pan and heads but I wanted to address the rust on the block. I also went through and stripped out all the wiring in the engine bay as I want to paint the firewall and frame while everything is out. I also removed the bench seat and got the tracks moving again. I need to empty and replace the fuel tank, but of course when I went to do it today I realized I need to do a little driving first so I have a car I can put it in! Figures. I spent a good bit of time scraping the heavy coating of grease and dirt off the front end of the frame. I'm very happy with the structural condition of everything I've gotten into so far which is great. Hopefully I'll get the pressure washer out this week, then get some paint on.

While prepping the 5.3 I found 5 broken exhaust manifold bolts that the previous owner broke off and neglected to mention. I got the welder out, welded to the studs, and they came out surprisingly easily. Got them all out in just a few hours.

I changed out the transmission pan gasket and output seal which will hopefully stop the leaks. The driveway has been taking a beating and I'm trying to get away from the everything underneath is greasy scene. I haven't taken a ton of pictures, they only come out so well in a one car garage, but here's a few from the past couple days:

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Lots of good progress recently. I got my new exhaust manifold bolts in and bolted them to the 5.3, as well as the dirty dingo sliders. I also tapped the oil pressure sender to accept the 1/8"-27 NPT fitting for the factory gauge and drilled out a plug hole in the head to accept the original temp sensor, both ideas from reading Ls1Nova71's various build threads. Thanks Eric! I powerwashed the front end and got the interior of the frame rails and crossmember under the engine degreased and painted. I decided I couldn't leave the section of the frame that was hacked up by a previous owner to fit headers alone, so I made some templates, cut out some steel, welded it in, and cleaned it up with the grinder. Can't tell anything was ever missing unless you're really looking for it! The old motor also sold a few days ago, leaving me with a little more room to move. After a few runs to the junkyard, I collected lots of little things I needed. I got a pair of alignment pins for the transmission mounting, a 6 liter flexplate, electric fans out of a camaro, full airbox and intake setup, engine cover, throttle cable, and lots of metric bolts. I also got inspired and installed 4 new 48" 2 bulb fluorescent lights in the garage. What a difference it is when you can see! Tonight I had some awesome help and got the motor and trans mated and back in the truck. I had read that you need to use a flexplate spacer and longer flexplate bolts to reach the torque converter, but hadn't picked up on needing to use the 6.0L flexplate, which is more or less flat whereas the 5.3 flexplate is dished. The flatter 6.0L plate allows the starter to line up properly. I'm still waiting on my big block motor mount kit to make its way across the country, since I needed replacement bolts and mounts for the backsides of the perches. Then I can bolt the motor down solid. I'm pretty pleased with the progress so far!

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

More Pictures:

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Nice progress

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

It's been a little while since the last update, so here goes:

1. My motor mount kit showed up and I was able to bolt the motor down solid. Of course, the thread count was different on the bolts, so I actually had to unbolt the top half of the mount (from dirty dingo) from the sliders and swap it for the ones with the new kit. The ones I got with the sliders matched the factory threads, but for whatever reason these were different. For those of you who have used DD sliders, you'll also know I had to trim the passenger side mount to clear the block as was already done with the kit from DD. Not a big deal, but not the "run the two bolts in" job I was expecting.

2. I pulled out the entire fuel system. Upon further inspection, my stock tank looks really good inside and doesn't need to be replaced, but I have a fresh one already, so I'm swapping it anyway. if anybody in New England is looking for a good tank with EEC, let me know.

3. I finished up with my prep and painting on the front end of the frame. Not a fun job at all trying to get all that grease off, but one of my big goals here is to get away from the greasy, drippy everything. I also prepped and painted the firewall. I'm not sure how much of the A/C system I'm going to leave in the engine bay yet. We'll see. I plan to get the system running at some point, but of now it's low on the priority list and well out of the budget. The windows go down, enough said there.

4. More engine cleaning! I pulled the intake off and cleaned the valley out, prepped and painted the pulleys on the accessories (alt., ps) and did a little more with the wire wheel. I now have the accessory bracket bolted up and I should be done with external engine cleaning (finally)!

5. I ordered some parts including a flexible 30" transmission dipstick to mount to the firewall, all my fuel system parts (hopefully), O2 sensors, serpentine belt tensioner, and enough Reckhorn 80mil sound deadening to do the floor, back wall, and firewall inside the cab. This is mostly for the Mrs. as I rather enjoy rolling down the highway next to a barrier and wailing on it, but she would prefer at least the option to have it quieter. I'm sure on the longer rides I have planned I'll appreciate it. With the big block, I couldn't get a long ride in without stopping for gas but I think I should have better range now!

The next steps are to start installing the fuel system, trans dipstick, oil pressure line, and of course, wiring. I'm going to see how much wiring I can do with the front clip off as it's much easier to work on everything when you can stand between the engine and the front wheels. I may pull the front bumper and hang inner and outer fenders, but leave the radiator support off for now. Any recommendations on this would be appreciated. Call me crazy, but I'm actually pretty excited about the wiring. Anything but degreasing at this point!

Side note: Found a sweet C60 bucket truck at the junkyard. See pictures below.

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

Nice build so far! Looking forward to hearing the engine fire up!

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

X2:metal: What's your plans for the C60?

Re: Lucy gets a modern powerplant
 

I'm certainly looking forward to firing it up as well. No way I can get that c60, but it's probably for sale...