Old Yeller's new heart-5.3/4l60 swap!

[Low Elco]

"That's a load of crap, Elco! You're holding out on us!" Fine, here's more-

This is how the G8/Camaro manifolds fit.


This is why we all dig Vic's work so much. Not bad for shootin' blind!


Inner and outer walls of the mount towers mocked up. Then We picked the motor up again to pull them to cut the ends and weld 'em up. Worked to a tee.


If you ever do this, pull your inner fenderwells. 20 minutes well spent.


The finished product.

[oldman3]

Low E, that is looking great, nice work...Jim

[Low Elco]

And, the fuel tank.

Yes, it's ghetto


This the the top of the tank and the pumpassembly from the 2500HD.


But, it clears, it works, I got all the factory wiring. Now to finish the plumbing!


Thanks for playin' along, guys!

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress Chip! Love all the custom work

[Low Elco]

Thanks Mike, it's nowhere near what you guys put down, but it's a driver, and it's solid and safe.

I talked to Eric, and I've got the nylon lines that'll work, and the steel lines that'll compression fit together to round out the fuel system. Just gotta make that happen. It's the wiring that'll be a bit of a quagmire, but not bad. Just have to slow down and concentrate, which for me is a stretch. But, I got it done once, I can do it again.

[jlsanborn]

Nice work Chip! It's looking like it was born in there.

[Low Elco]

Thanks! I hope it runs like that!

[uxdesigner]

Nice progress! Love the yellow accents on the engine.

[Low Elco]

Thanks, hoping to match that scheme on the engine cover.

[KSWes]

PROGRESS!!! Love it! Keep on keepin' on! Nice job on the mounts!

[Vic1947]

Just out of curiosity, do you have a feel for where #1 spark plug sits relative to the Gen I engine? Forward, back, about the same?

[Low Elco]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

Vic, It seeeeeeeems to be about the same, roughly. Hard to tell, the trans mount shifted it a tad forward and I think the bellhousing is a bit deeper, pump to block.

(Why? You thinking about going LS on CRLS?)

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

Vic, It seeeeeeeems to be about the same, roughly. Hard to tell, the trans mount shifted it a tad forward and I think the bellhousing is a bit deeper, pump to block.

(Why? You thinking about going LS on CRLS?)

Well, ya know, never say never. That said, Momma will be tore up if the '57 doesn't get some love soon.

[Bomp]

You made the conversion look soooo easy. Makes me wanna try. any hack saws?

[Low Elco]

Vic: You better keep Miss Kathy happy! I can't wait to see the Ford get some love too. That thing is Bad Ass!

Greg: Nope, cut it all with cutoff wheels in the 4 1/2" Dewalt. I just set it in, set the driveshaft in it to check, set the pan down on a 2x4 on the xmember, then leveled the frame and motor in both axis-es (axeeees?). Checked that the trans and rear angles both matched (dead on, got lucky) and climbed in and measured the outers and Boppa laid 'em out and cut 'em. Tacked in the inner and outer uprights, then floated the motor and pulled them out, cut the end caps and finished them. Really wasn't bad at all, and the next morning, it all dropped right together after buzzing off some weld bead on the top.

Update and Hot TIP: Got a ^#$^#$%#$& airbox last night (thanks for the offer Eric) and got a solution for the AC- I can hook about anything I want to the big side no problem. The small side is tucked waaay under there in a tight spot. Eric's Hot Tip- the condenser in a Tahoe has the line coming straight out the side, instead of out the top. Found one on a completely blown apart front clip in the back of a Hoe at the yard, already cut off and everthang! Now I just gotta bodge a few lines together and get them over to Vic for some TIG mastery. Coming along slow but sure!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Now I just gotta bodge a few lines together and get them over to Vic for some TIG mastery. Coming along slow but sure!

TIGs-R-Us is standing by. We ain't Lost Wages, but we do offer flexible hours.

[Low Elco]

Thanks, hope to see you soon!

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Low E, that is looking great, nice work...Jim

Thanks Jim, sorry I missed you!

[Xeen]

You are doing a great job with the swap.
It's nice to have friends that know what they are doing to help you out and save you time, money and headaches isn't it?

[Low Elco]

Yes it is, I'm usually the guy bailing someone out. Feels weird having to ask, but everyone's been so gracious, I really appreciate it. I'm a huge believer in Karma, and things like this are why.

In other news, the hard parts of the fuel system are in and done. I tried to straighten the nylon lines for the fuel, but that went a bit sideways, and I don't need 'em that long, so I'm headed over to Eric's tonight to use his super special plastic line smoncher (that's a technical term, you're welcome) to make some up. If you go yarding for this stuff, pull all the factory line clamps you can intact. They work great! On to the next adventure!

Oh, and I also got my Captain Fab Speedo box kit in last night. He puts out really nice stuff! (Hope I can figure out what the hell to do with it!)

[Jonboy]

Wow, what is it like to actually make progress on one of your projects? Mine still doesn't run, but it is getting closer. I am getting my fix off of yours.

[Low Elco]

Hiya, JB! Well, as usual, it takes pressure and impetus (and a deadline) to get me off my dead ass. The Nats is the weekend after Labor Day, and I want Big Black and Yeller done and there, so it's up to me. One thing every day.

Got the fuel lines made up at Eric's yesterday (thanks again Eric) and caught some good insight off of Rusty while I was there. Nothing beats seeing it in person, I'm glad I have that resource. Then went and got an appt for the stereo work on Big Black, then got all the split loom for Yeller. Then ate dinner and caught a case of the tired and went to bed. Got set up good to charge 'er today.

[Low Elco]

So, I wound up not having to escort kids, so rock on. Got out there and got all the vent lines figgered out again and hooked up and replaced, then got the tank in to position and clamped back in. Then , I got the fuel pump wiring sorted and loomed and run to the front of the truck. I saved the fun stuff for last. Bahahahahah! That was my first mistake. I decided to kick in some extra to make sure we didn't make the nylon lines too short... well, they can be too long. I wound up kinking the big one and outright split the smaller, older, more brittle one. One of those deals where it's gooood.....just a touch more to clear the fitting...... SNAP! Thankfully, Eric was bored at the thursday night cruise in, and buzzed over to see what was up. I did the boiling water trick on the big one to put some curves in it and take up a bit of room, you can do a 45 deg pretty good. Found another squiggly piece of small stuff and just started cutting till it got right, then we ran over to Eric's and smonched them again. Got back, snap snap, success!

Ran into Joesjunk at the gas station in another gorgeous stock truck, an 87 longbed. Hoo-wee nice! Also got the quick speedo tutorial, and between that and the advice/pics from Mcbassin (thanks Mike!) hopefully that'll go ok.

Oh, and I got the stickers for the cluster, after forgetting the last three times I was over there.
That's all the news that's fit to print, back to you in the newsroom.

[Low Elco]

This was set aside for a motorsickle weekend, but we got rain.

Friday, I at least got over to Eric's and paid him for the stickers, he also hooked me up with a neutral safety switch and some good tutorin'.. Fri night and all day Sat was Motorsickles, then The Kid and I got the tank bolted down, the hidden hitch modified and bolted in, the wheels bolted on, and the truck rolled out so the shop could get a desperately needed cleaning. Also, called Boppa with a list and he got all the gaskets and fluids and stuff bought and picked up to finish that part out.

Sunday we got rained out, so Boppa came out and we mounted the AC stuff in the core support so that we could know where to put everything else. Doing good with the used kit so far, but CAA needs to hire a better technical writer. I've seen better directions, that's for sure. It came out ok in the end, so good enough. Then we got the radiator remounted, and the airbox mount fabbed and tacked up, then I ran out of weld wire and it was dinnertime. Should be ready to charge this week, if this stupid infected ear doesn't kill me first.

[sduckworth13]

Your a machine Chip. I have maybe half a roll of EZ grind wire left on the spool if you'd like it, I won't be using the welder anytime soon.