350ci Diesel w/TH400 exchange into 350ci Gasoline

[martyvanwanrooij]

I have a 1979 C10 Pickup with a 350ci Diesel engine and TH400 transmission.
As my Diesel engine has blown one of its heads (which is common on these oldsmobile Diesels) i'm looking to put in another engine (350ci Gasoline).
Does anyone have experience in this.
I am especially interested in the fact if my TH400 transmission fits on the new Gasoline engine?

Thanks a lot for the help.

Marty

[knightlife]

gonna have to switch out all the fuel lines, pumps, and possibly the tank (thats a major safety one, switching the tank that is).

and not using any of the parts that were on the diesel truck either (as in carb, dist, etc), tranny should be aight tho.

welcome to the boards btw

[hiway]

The diesel engine is based on a 350 Olds...different bell housing pattern (BOP pattern). The GMC/Chevy pattern is different.

[dswancutt]

Hiway is exactly right, bolt pattern is set up for an Oldsmobile pattern, and despite what some have said on this forum, they do not bolt up. Your choices are find a 350/403/455 olds motor, which is a direct replacement, or find a chevy engine & transmission. You can keep the radiator set up as the only difference is the cooler lines go into the radiator on the drivers side, not the passenger side on a chevy combo. My diesel parts truck had been switched to a 403 olds. I was going to swap it for the tired 250-6 in one of my trucks but the 403 was completely shot. Olds engines are good engines, Actually better engineered than a small block chevy. The down side is it will cost you twice as much to overhaul as a small block. Hope this helps

[Pyrotechnic]

I agree, you'd actually be better off from a cost standpoint with a olds 350 or 403. The 350 or 403 are the best deal because they aren't in demand. 403's are quite plentiful because in the late 70's they came as the cheaper motor in trans am's, and many owners ditch them for a more correct pontiac motor.

If you can get a complete motor out of a car in good shape, you could run it. If you rebuild it, the stock rebuild won't be all that expensive. It's only when you start try to get more power out of it, then it gets expensive.

As a side note there's also the Olds 307 that was made up until 1990 in carbureted form, it's just a Old 350 with a smaller bore but I would only recommend it for something cheap to drop in. For something to sink money into and rebuild, an older 350 or 403 is more worthwhile.

[martyvanwanrooij]

Originally Posted by dswancutt

Hiway is exactly right, bolt pattern is set up for an Oldsmobile pattern, and despite what some have said on this forum, they do not bolt up. Your choices are find a 350/403/455 olds motor, which is a direct replacement, or find a chevy engine & transmission. You can keep the radiator set up as the only difference is the cooler lines go into the radiator on the drivers side, not the passenger side on a chevy combo. My diesel parts truck had been switched to a 403 olds. I was going to swap it for the tired 250-6 in one of my trucks but the 403 was completely shot. Olds engines are good engines, Actually better engineered than a small block chevy. The down side is it will cost you twice as much to overhaul as a small block. Hope this helps

Thanks for the replies guys!
The story you are telling confirms what I had heard.
But I also heard a rumour about a "convertor" / "fitting" (don't know the correct english word) to place between the TH400 Olds and a 350 Chevy, so they do connect...
Anyone hear of this?

[68GMC454]

welcome to the boards....sorry i dont know a thing about converting one from diesil to gas..my guess would be to yank all the olds crap out,,and replace it with all chevy...