[dave`12]

I pulled my 250 and replaced it with a small block. You most likely have some of the same issues I did. I have the 4 speed as well.

Major issues I had:

I had to get custom brackets for my powersteering and a/c. Hopefully your 454 already has them, they were a pain. And I had to do some grinding there as well.

As stated above, the engine will sit quite far back. I had to take the cap off the HEI to get the engine in. I was tempted to not use the I6 motor mount location, but that would be a bunch of work getting the driveline to match, so it's the best option.

I originally had a clutch fan and long spacer to reach the factory v8 fan shroud. Bad idea, the combo turned out to be to heavy and tore up my water pump shaft which destroyed my belts and caused the spacer to move (twist). I was lucky the engine was at idle in the driveway at the time. I changed to electric fans.

The clutch linkage bolt to the block will be needed as stated above. I cut off the bottom lever on the z-bar and re-welded it in a new location to get it to clear the headers, you should check your exhaust before putting the z-bar back on. Also, a new issue, the linkage rod to the clutch fork (lower) slid towards the engine a couple of days ago when I pushed in the clutch because I had changed the angle. I had to move it back so that I could shift and get home, a temporary fix. So I'm going to have to figure that out before I can drive it regularly.

Biggest problem by far, and one I'm still dealing with, is that the starter bolts to the bell housing. This puts the starter quite low, and there are not good ones out there that you can get that will fit the new set up. I currently have the I-6 starter on there, but it's so close to the exhaust that I'm having hot start issues. A respected member here has told me that the best solution is to get a high torque starter and change the nose cone. I haven't done that yet due to the cost. A heat shield and 2 guage battery cables did not solve the problem. If I were you, I would look into this before the swap, save yourself my pain.

I had issues getting the right hoses. For me, the answer turned out to be a carefully bent coathanger and a nice guy at the parts store that let me go through all his hoses until I found one that would work. I found a lower radiator hose from a 2010 Ford Sport Trac that worked perfect for my upper hose. Go figure. I have a generic hose on the bottom.

If you have any questions, let me know I can try to help. Or just check out my threads, lots of answered questions and pictures.

Good luck.