Will BBK headers for a 2010 Camaro fit a '72 Chevy C10 4.8 swap?

[Matt Cramer]

My wife found this truck last year looking for a cool old truck that could also be used for real truck work instead of something too nice to actually haul stuff with. We traded a '90 Suburban with a 454 and some cash for it.





It had a Goodwrench 350 - owner said he'd pulled it out of a friend's circle track car - and a freshly rebuilt TH350. Leaf sprung rear suspension, and it was fairly well optioned for an old truck. No headliner, but it had air conditioning - at least at one point. The evaporator on the firewall is still there, but the compressor and condenser are long gone.

The previous owner mentioned that it had been eating starters until he replaced the flexplate. This turned out to be foreshadowing: It ate another starter about six months after we got it. I pulled the starter, wondering if it was just another bad parts store rebuild or if he'd missed the root cause. Turns out the real problem wasn't the flexplate - it was the engine block, which was cracked at the starter mounting boss. I first thought maybe I should see if I should find another ex-circle track 350 for cheap, but then I saw it didn't seem to be too hard to get a LSx motor in there - and I found a 4.8 that had been pulled out of a 2007 U-haul box truck for $460, fully dressed. A/C compressor, manifolds, wiring harness, everything but an ECU. May not be the most powerful thing out there, but it's more power than a Goodwrench 350, and should be a lot better mileage.



Apparently U-haul box trucks all have 4L80Es behind them, as it already had the right flexplate and spacer to bolt to a TH350. And it's got an A/C compressor. At this point, I'm not sure I can get it to work without hacking up the frame, but I plan to give it a try after I get the truck up and running.

Got some 1/4" plate steel from McMaster and went to work making motor mount conversion plates. I happen to work for a shop that does some race car work, and the boss let me use some of the shop tools after hours or on my lunch break.



I used DraftSight to draw up templates on paper (using dimensions from a couple of sources, but [url=http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=413855]Glock's thread was a big one), printed them out, and tape them to the metal. That helps me locate the holes with a center punch.





I know, I know, should have used a C-clamp. And did for the second one. And spray grease probably isn't the best tap fluid, but it's better than nothing.



I've swapped to a cable operated throttle body. Found I need to remove a second PCV hose barb for that. Not a big deal.



The empty engine bay - note that these appear to be six cylinder engine stands.



I pressure washed it and spray bombed it, and drilled holes to set the engine stands back one set of holes (about 2.75"), so as to put the engine in the stock location, more or less.

Today, I dropped the engine in place.



Only to find the stock manifolds from the donor van don't really clear the engine stands or frame rails too well.



That is how I've left it so far. Need to research what manifolds would be a better fit. The Trailblazer SS manifolds clear the frame, but I've seen them hitting the engine stands. It looks like fifth gen Camaro manifolds may be better. Off to the LSx forums to research that.