New to the forum and need help!!!

[ear.shop]

So here is my delima. I have a 72 long bed with a destroyed 454 in it. I bought a 95 with the 454 in it to put around in but im really wanting to get my truck going again. Its been down for nearly 2 years. I have looked on line and searched on this forum for some advice on putting the 95 454 and transmission in my 72. I was hoping that someone has done this before and can give me some do's and dont's. If this has been talked about in another thread could you lead me to it? Thanks for any help in advance.

[jhaymon]

yeah just put it in there..you will need to take it out of the 95 first. chevy didn't do much in the way of frame changes over the years, so it's pretty much all interchangeable. you biggest obstacle will be the wiring because the 95 does have a computer controlled engine. no biggie just put the 95 engine wiring harness in the 72. if your not into wiring just order a carb intake from edlebrock and you'll make no real changes to the 72 wiring.

[ear.shop]

Thanks for the reply. I wasnt sure if the mounts will be the same for engine and transmission and just wanted to be aware of clearance issues if any. I need it to go as smooth as possible so it wont be down long. It would then become my daily driver.
Thanks again

[GASoline71]

BBC engine mounts will be the same... but the tranny crossmember mounts will prolly have to be moved. Plus some driveline length differences. I highly doubt it's a direct bolt in. Also the 1995 BBC might not have provisions for a mechanical fuel pump as the TBI used an in tank electric pump.

If you drop the stock 1995 TBI 454 in your 1972... make sure you get all the TBI wiring/harnesses and CPU.

Gary

[ear.shop]

Thanks GASoline71!
I am switching it all over. CPU and all. I will have to see what I can do with the fuel tank.
Im glad the mounts will work. I can handle most things. I just didnt want to get into drilling holes and moving mounts. Everything I have ever done has been the same going back in so finding angles and alignment has never been something I have had to deal with. Im sure I could do it but there would be a learning curve for sure!!

[MARKDTN]

It will basically bolt in mechanically, but you will have to shorten the driveshaft and move the rear crossmember. Also the TBI harness I am told is not as stand-alone as in earlier years before the computer controlled transmissions. You will probably have to buy an aftermarket harness from Howell or Street and Performance (my advice stay away from Painless). Other than that an electric fuel pump will be required. You could use a fuel tank from a S10 Blazer with TBI. Be sure to swap all rubber line for fuel injection hose. The biggest problem is the speedometer. You will have to have your stock speedo turned into an electronic one or buy a speedometer driver. Not a really hard swap and well worth it IMHO.

[ear.shop]

Something as simple as a fuel line could make for a bad day. I was totally over looking that. Would have found out pretty quickly though. Thanks MARKDTN! I have gone through harnesses before and stripped them down to the needed wires (Time killer for sure). Ill look into the premaids and see if I can swing it.
Thanks again.

[jhaymon]

he never said he was using the tranny or even what kind of tranny it was. take the cross member off the 95 if you have any doubts. it'll almost fit.

look what im saying is, your never going to what can and cant be done until you do it. your first project is always the scariest. it's not as hard as allot of guys make it out to be. you have a good start though unlike allot of guys with their first project, you have your 72 for the project and the 95 as a donor. you have all the instructions you need in the donor to get you almost finished with the project.

as for the tank..either find a k5 in a salvage yard or order tank retrofit kit.

[MARKDTN]

I was assuming you were going to use the transmission from the donor. Assuming it is a 4L80E or possibly 4L60E. None of the 4L60E or 4L80E transmissions have a mechanical speedo output. The mount is no big deal, just move your existing one to wherever it falls and drill either the frame or the crossmember. Use the rubber one from the donor. If you don't use the electronic trans, you will need to find a PROM from a manual trans truck so you don't get a lot of error messages. '95 is OBD1 so you don't have to worry about a bunch of OBD2 codes. I would use the charcoal canister and canister purge, it will allow you to run a non-vented tank which is a good thing with todays fuel.

[jhaymon]

through years of building hot rods i learned to just do an after-market ecu. you eliminate 100% of the headache involved in using donor computers on old vehicles.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by jhaymon

through years of building hot rods i learned to just do an after-market ecu. you eliminate 100% of the headache involved in using donor computers on old vehicles.

Curious. I have had just the opposite experience. I like to use as much factory stuff as possible. That way I have a chance to buy components like throttle position sensors, fuel pumps, MAP sensors, etc. at any auto parts store rather than wait to get parts. I am the same way on ECMs. On TPI, for example, I can buy a 7730 ECM in most any junkyard out there for less than $25, there are millions of vehicles that had them. Same with the '95 TBI one. It is used in a lot of trucks and vans. Now if an aftermarket one dies, I'm stuck. To each his own, I'm glad it works for you that way.

[ear.shop]

Thanks a lot guys. I was planning on using the full combo and just using what i needed from the ecu and harness. Like you said jhaymon. I just need to do it.
I was just hoping to dodge some hangups if there were any known ones. For some reason the area Im hung up on and biggest fear is putting the engine in and it not going right in without having to move the motor mounts which will lead to other problems im thinking.