1963 chevy c10 bellhousing question

[nutsfor59]

hey,does anyone know out there if the bellhousings are the same in a car and truck ?? are the truck ones deeper,bigger ?? different in any way ????,thanks

[jocko]

depth will be the same, however, the index ring opening (i.e. the hole where the trans sticks in) comes in 2 different sizes: 4.668" and 5.125". Some trucks came with the bigger one, not all. If you have the bigger one, you can use a trans with the smaller index on the front of the case with this adapter: http://www.advanceadapters.com/categ...-reducers/223/
But if you have the smaller one, you have to have a trans with the small index size on the front of the trans as well.

[Gianyveedub]

Also the truck bell housing has crossmember mounts on it for the transmission where as the car bell housings do not. Also the mounting holes are different in the the truck's transmission mounting holes on the bottom are threaded and the car ones are not. Hope this helps.

[nutsfor59]

hi,thanks for the replies !!,i was wondering because it's sure tight in there,i put a muncie 4 spd in and it bolted ok,i have a 454 in the truck,why just because it was there and available i guess !!,has anyone put a big block in a early 60's chevy truck ??? and what did the use for motor mounts/perhes ??,thanks

[Captainfab]

If you are going to keep the original style bellhousing and the crossmember it is bolted to, then the easiest motor mount brackets to use are the 230/250 and small block brackets that came in the '63-'66 trucks. But with those, the valve cover to firewall clearance is very close if not interfering. The '68-'71 big block brackets will bolt in, but you will have to move the bellhousing crossmember forward. If it were me, I would remove the bellhousing crossmember, change to a '73 and up aluminum bellhousing for the 168 tooth flywheel, and install a '66-'87 trans crossmember at the rear of the trans. In doing this you could also switch to the better '73+ style motor mounts, with the '73-'87 C20 frame brackets. I assume you know you will need a flywheel specifically for a 454, right?

Originally Posted by nutsfor59

hi,thanks for the replies !!,i was wondering because it's sure tight in there,i put a muncie 4 spd in and it bolted ok,i have a 454 in the truck,why just because it was there and available i guess !!,has anyone put a big block in a early 60's chevy truck ??? and what did the use for motor mounts/perhes ??,thanks

[nutsfor59]

hi,and thanks for the good advice which i will look intyo seriously,i presently do in fact have a valve cover to firewall issue wich i have taken care of but what is this 454 flywheel deal ???,i have not heard of that,is it a balance issue ??,how do you tell if you have the correct one ???? before i rattle and shake my engine apart !!!,that really scares Me !!! currently trying to figure out the year of my 454,i think it's about a 1987 block,i put a older points distributor and carburated intake etc,but i have no idea what to use for tune up/timing specs,idle,dwell etc,etc,any advice you offer will be greatly appreciated,please reply asap,thanks !!

[nutsfor59]

hi again,just thought of something !!!,i like your suggestion about the crossmember and bellhousing ,but what about the z-bar and clutch linkage ???? does that stuff stay in same location ??? or get modified in any way ???? thanks

[Captainfab]

Yes, you absolutely have to use a flywheel specifically for a 454, as they are externally balanced. If you have a typical flywheel for a 350 on there, you will have serious vibration issues.

Personally I wouldn't mess with an old points distributor. I would drop in a HEI and have a much better distributor. You just have to be sure it is getting a full 12 volts to it. I would start with the initial timing at 12 degrees BTDC, and go from there.

Originally Posted by nutsfor59

hi,and thanks for the good advice which i will look intyo seriously,i presently do in fact have a valve cover to firewall issue wich i have taken care of but what is this 454 flywheel deal ???,i have not heard of that,is it a balance issue ??,how do you tell if you have the correct one ???? before i rattle and shake my engine apart !!!,that really scares Me !!! currently trying to figure out the year of my 454,i think it's about a 1987 block,i put a older points distributor and carburated intake etc,but i have no idea what to use for tune up/timing specs,idle,dwell etc,etc,any advice you offer will be greatly appreciated,please reply asap,thanks !!

I was tired last night and just forgot to touch on the clutch linkage problem. I don't know of any easy way to setup a mechanical clutch linkage in these trucks with a big block. I would just convert to a hydraulic clutch. That will be so much easier. If you can find a bellhousing from a '84-'91 truck, they are of the hydraulic clutch design. Then you just have to install a clutch master and plumb it. I can help with that part of it, with my hydraulic clutch conversion, if you need.

Originally Posted by nutsfor59

hi again,just thought of something !!!,i like your suggestion about the crossmember and bellhousing ,but what about the z-bar and clutch linkage ???? does that stuff stay in same location ??? or get modified in any way ???? thanks

[nutsfor59]

hi, and once again thanks for the advice wich i will seriously consider doing,i also have a problem identification of my 454,i have checked and double checked these numbers !!! and my local gm dealers are clueless about these numbers... on pad at front of passenger cyl head as follows...THJ 509227,and on the rear of the block drivers side by the bellhousing area it reads 14015445,if possible could you tell me what year this engine is and/or any specs HP,TORQUE ETC ??? i'd be so gratefull,thanks..... and i'll kepp ya posted on wich way i go on this bellhousing deal etc.....

[Mack B]

Originally Posted by nutsfor59

hi, and once again thanks for the advice wich i will seriously consider doing,i also have a problem identification of my 454,i have checked and double checked these numbers !!! and my local gm dealers are clueless about these numbers... on pad at front of passenger cyl head as follows...THJ 509227,and on the rear of the block drivers side by the bellhousing area it reads 14015445,if possible could you tell me what year this engine is and/or any specs HP,TORQUE ETC ??? i'd be so gratefull,thanks..... and i'll kepp ya posted on wich way i go on this bellhousing deal etc.....

I googled that casting # from the rear and came up with a 78-90 truck motor, hope that helps.
Posted via Mobile Device

[nutsfor59]

hi,and thanks,that does help but i'd like to narrow it down even more or by some possible miracle exact,thanks and keep trying i do appreciate all you fellas help

[Mack B]

http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-ca...gine-codes.asp. You sure u got that prefix right? Can't find a "THJ"
Posted via Mobile Device

[nutsfor59]

hi,and thanks for the reply,that is exactly whats baffling everone i've talked to !!! i looked 4-5 times at it even took pictures of my numbers !! ready to go nuts !!!

[nutsfor59]

hi again,going to call it a night,i will try and post a picture on here or send one to who ever desires so they will know i'm not mis reading or nuts !!,maybe crate motors are not in these guides ???,

[Captainfab]

I could not find a THJ either. This is the closest I came.

http://www.chevylegends.com/forum/ar...php/t-611.html

THere will be a date code cast into the block, back on the bellhousing flange. It will be a letter and number code. The letter being first. The letter A is the first number of the alphabet, which corresponds to the first month of the year. The next number(s) will be the day of the month. And of course the last number will be the year.

Is this engine a TBI or is it carburated? Or did it even have an intake on it?

The casting number of the flywheel for a 454 with a 2 piece rear main seal is 3993457N

[nutsfor59]

WOW,thanks for the tips !!,i'm going out to the truck and check what i can in regard to your clues,i can tell you it was TBI equipped,i will check that other stuff and check back with you on here.....thanks

[nutsfor59]

hi,ok this is what i found out or think i saw.....on the flywheel that came on this engine all i found was a 0048 on the backside just outside of the bolt patter,i rotated it flipped it over cant find any other numbers !!,where should i look ??? and on the back of the engine left to right as follows...14015445 GM 1P CPD 273 ,i'm fairly sure thats all i see and motor is clean [just painted it] more than willing to go out and take another look,let me know if this helps answer your clues,thanks

[nutsfor59]

sorry always something else...could use a suggestion for exhaust,currently have a header tube clearance problem also with the mounts i have,i did shave the frame rail 1/2" or so,is there a set of headers that will clear the mounts you suggest ??? i have a set of headers now in there from about a 56 or so chevy truck i got to try,they fit in the truck ok but for the top of motor mount pedestal clearance problem....thanks again !! looking forward to your answers !!!

[Captainfab]

OK, here are a couple pics of a 454 flywheel. Notice in the first pic, the counterweight at the top of the flywheel.



Next is a close up of the casting number on the backside of the flywheel. I see that in my previous post, I had one number wrong.



Both of these pics are for the 454 flywheel for a 2 piece rear main seal 454, which is what you should have according to the casting number.

I'm not sure just what to tell you where exactly to look for the date code. I'll see if I can remember to look at one of my 454's at the shop tomorrow.

As for the headers. On my '66 Suburban, I used Hedman headers for a '73-'87 truck. They are long tubes and do hang down below the frame some. I have read that headers for a Chevelle fit these trucks fairly well. Those won't hang down as far as truck headers.

[nutsfor59]

hi,and thanks,the flywheel i took off does have these weights you speak of,but not that casting #,so i'm thinking it's a aftermarket flywheel ???this engine came out of the wrecker at work wich was a 1987,the vin on the truck showed it to be a diesel,,we got the wrecker at a auction,so we guessed that last owners blew it up and rteplaced it with this bog block,got this flywheel etc,anyways it had a bad surface from clutch chatter or something so i purchased this flywheel unaware that 454's are externally balanced !!,i am so glad you told me that !!! the truck rotted out thats how i got my hands on this motor. ity did have TBI and was the block was black if that matters or means anything.i guess i could get this flywheel surfaced or maybe it would be ok with the new clutch ??,i do recall that the flywheel would not fit in the old ear mount bellhousing i have on there now.so i guess i need to get working on this advice of yours and start locating stuff !!!,tell me more about this clutch conversion biz also,thanks !!!!

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Another option for the housing is a quicktime item. Will better than anything else as well a safer unit if something does go wrong.. As well they are the best item I have found to use with a manual trans

[nutsfor59]

thanks ,but could you refer me to more info on that ??? or a website ??? etc.....

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

http://lakewoodindustries.com/QuickT...tionChart.aspx

DO NOT BUY A LAKEWOOD HOUSING. They now own quicktime but they are not the same. I bought a lakewood and hays and neither where even close to be with normal runout specs even with offset dowels

[nutsfor59]

hi,thanks but i cant read it,letters etc way to small and cant seem to get them bigger no matter what i try on computer,any ideas ??? thanks

[Captainfab]

I checked out one of the 454's I have at the shop that is the same casting number. Apparently GM quit putting the date code on the back of the block like they used to. I apologize for the misinformation. The best I could tell on my block, is that the date code is now above the oil filter, just under the deck surface. You will see where it says H PERF and another letter and some numbers to the rear of that. Mine was not very ledgeable, but I believe it was the date code.

Regarding the hydraulic clutch conversion, I would start with one of the bellhousings I mentioned above. If you have trouble finding one, let me know, and I may be able to come up with one. As for the rest of the conversion, I do offer a version of my '60-'62 booster bracket with hydraulic clutch, designed for converting the '63-'66 trucks to a hydraulic clutch. There is a link to the '60-'62 kit in my signature line. I do not have the '63-'66 kit shown on the forum. There are other ways of converting to a hydraulic clutch, this is just what I have to offer.