Throwing in the towel!

[NF65Fleetside]

We are going for it fellas!!!! Im getting proper perches, mounts and tranny xmember tomorrow and starting first thing Saturday morning with Salazar44 and whoeverelse in the LA area wants to cruise by.... hit me up at nofriendsadam@hotmail.com if you want directions (weather permiting)...fair warning though I live in Lemiert Park and my alley way is for serious grease monkeys only! hehehe, not for the faint of heart! lol....but yah I took a breather and thought things out, the motor is already in and no need in not completing what I started. I briefly got discouraged/frustrated but I believe with the new mouting hardware everything will be fine and smooth.....stay tuned for updated pics!

[greg64]

Great stuff NF65!

Heck I'd help you out if I was only a bit closer (Google maps says it is 1264 miles!)

Have you got the tranny bolted up? Or did you slide the engine in with no tranny and are trying to bolt it up now?

Best of luck

[Chevy Fleetside]

How many times I said to myself "I should have just stuck with the SB" but I kept trying to get my BB fitted the way I wanted it to fit. Finally I did it and I think more about it now and I have to still slide it back about 1" or redrill for the crossmemeber and add an 1" to the driveshaft. I think i will just slide it back and drill new holes for the mounts.

[salazar44]

LOL.. did i see a single person tell you to not do it? Nope! I guess it means that you have to just dig down and do what it takes to get it done.

[NF65Fleetside]

Originally Posted by greg64

Great stuff NF65!

Have you got the tranny bolted up? Or did you slide the engine in with no tranny and are trying to bolt it up now?

Best of luck

No, tranny is hanging free right now. I will do the suggest technique of using longer bolts to get it matted first, then replacing with proper size. As for the perches and mounts, I do believe I will have clearance of the firewall so Ill just drill new holes, bolt down and go! After than I will replace the tranny xmember with the new piece. See a lot of the hassle is coming from the previous guys who worked on the truck, Salazar44 is my witness when I say they were pretty "half-ass" on their work! With the mount kit and new xmember Im sure things will be tons smoother for the install/placement and also Ill have a sound piece of mind knowing nothing will break, slip, or collapse under all that torque!

[joe231]

I for one am happy in your choice, wish i were closer
Good Luck to ya!!
can't wait for more pics

[Chevy Fleetside]

Before you drill for the mounts make sure the headers will fit/clear the left side. That was the problem I had. I just knoched out my firewall just so i could get the engine back the extra few inches. The perches and mounts worked just couldn't get the left header to clear. We are going to have to get a BB get together going someday.

[CG]

If building these trucks was easy everyone would have one, how boring would that be? Keep on keeping on.

[502tripower]

I prefer the 73-91 BBC perches and motor mounts. These are much more available than the 69-72. Also you can use the 73-91 BBC headers or exhaust manifolds for a better fit. The passenger side valve cover to firewall is close and can be massaged with a rubber mallet if need be but 1/4" will work. Keep goen bro It will be worth it. Here is some incentive....

[salazar44]

Very nice! Crap.. thats incentive to make me go out and buy one!

[1gearhead]

If you decide to proceed with the 454 Swap (Which by the way is not any more difficult than replacing it with another small block) and need some place to do it for you, I have a shop in Whittier east of LA and we can do it for you pretty reasonable. KOur hourly labor rate is $60/hr and I can assure you that you will get lyour moneys worth. A high end example of our work is the red 1963 thread listed on this site. Call me if you are interested, (562) 789-8813, name is Jerry

[NF65Fleetside]

daym! that 502 is insane! Thanks Jerry for the shop offer but I dont have the $$$ for it. I went and bought the tubular perches and mounts today along with the proper trans xmember. Going to get busy on the install again tomorrow morning. This new setup looks really promising. From all of the responses you other BBC guys have posted, its pretty much a given that the passenger side will need sometype of finesse though yah?

[kdrodworks316]

I am glad you decided to go for it NF65, you are going to dig that BBC. no replacement for cubic inches!

[oldblu65]

Fleetside , I used those same mounts when I put a sbc into my ' 65 . I could have used the original mounts but had a clearance issue with the headers I wanted to use . The reason I bring this up is I had to trim a fair amount off the frame so these mounts would fit . They were , when bolted onto the engine ,way too wide ! You might want to check this before you proceed . Either way , good luck to you and your '65 !

[Lane]

Lookin' good! Good luck!

[Frizzle Fry]

Man, I didn't read this thread until today because I didn't want to hear some sob story... But dude, good choice stickin with it. Looks like you picked up some nice parts to get the job done right too. I love my BBC As for the headers; there's nothing wrong with a little frame clearancing if needed.

[Woogeroo]

Keep at it man...

Working on old trucks when things are not going well can get very frustrating, but you can figure it out.

If it is what you want, just keep working at it.

-W

[TimE]

NF or Salazar, what's the latest? I'm hoping that "no news is good news". Let us know how it turns out.

[salazar44]

Adam decided to hold off a bit. The weather is not too good over here right now. Its gonna be raining for awhile.

[TimE]

:sarcasm on: Rain?? In California??? What's up with that? I thought it was supposed to be Sunny CA? :sarcasm off: (JK lol You gotta understand that the area where I live is one of the wettest parts of the country and I HATE rain.)
Anyway, good luck on it when you guys get back to it.

[NF65Fleetside]

Yah, rain is being a pain in the arse right now. Wont make up its mind if it wants to stop and be sunny or slate grey and dumping. Swell is up though so atleast my nerves arent as rattled, going to test my immune system today and tomorrow morning for some 8-10ft waves!
I got a new angle grinder and some drill bits though, so when the weather does clear up Ill be ready to get busy

[Jdub]

NF65, I glad you decided to stick it out on the 454. I was wondering how much $$$ that setup set you back? It looks real clean, but I imagine it was probably pretty expensive. Good luck getting it done!

[gulfcoast66]

Looking good NF65 keep going bro glad too see you are not selling. Doggonit i want a bbc now looking at yours. LOL.

[NF65Fleetside]

So after a three week hiatus Im back and STOKED! Before I get into the progress of my ride I have to give a big thanks and shout-out to Victor (salazar44), Jerry (1gearhead), Brooke, and everyone who was envolved with sharing info and support with me and this build. Ok, so on to what you all have been waiting for.....SHES DONE! I had Jerry over at Classic Auto Service in Whittier finish up the swap and I must say the job he and his assistant did was amazing. The 454 sits in the engine bay as if our trucks came straight from the factory with a big block. You would need to look very close to see what modifications were made to know it was a swap of its sort.
As for the swap, the low down on how its installed is that the 454 sits with a brand new tubular mount/perch kit and trans xmember from the Truck Shop. We used the very front mounting holes on the frame rails, that gave plenty of clearance of the heads/valve covers from the firewall and the fan sits about a good inch and a half away from the radiator while using a 1" spacer. The kit required a slight notch for the perches but that was about it. Exhaust duties are flowed via a set of Summit Racing full length headers with 1 3/4" primaries for 68'-82' Chevy/GMC and they clear the frame rails perfectly and really could have gone in without any notching. Im also running a set of lake pipes with no baffles, just straight pipes from the headers! She purs like a kitten but once the throttle is opened up she roars like a lion!
Ive taken it for some descent drives around town and drove about 35 miles on the free way. So far in mild street traffic and open freeway cruising (70mph) the engine barely brakes 195 on the temp gauge. Still havent gotten on it yet fully but a few quick burst for lane changes have me still grinning ear to ear! If anyone is interested in doing a BBC swap and need help and or info feel free to hit me up. Heres some fotos of it fully installed......

[NF65Fleetside]

454 filling out the engine bay pretty nice!


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