8 replies to this topic

[ToRunYa]

righto for those who dont know i brought a new school bus for myself and have taken the hatch off the road, i'm starting after new years on cleaning up and smoothing the engine bay, the ol 308 is gettin piffed into the HT which leaves me a blank canvas. I figured since i gonna be doing this for a while and want everything to be top notch i might as well go the whole bit and get it engineered... and since i getting it engineered i might as well throw a 454 in her *insert evil laugh here*. Now i'll admit this is the first non standard engine i have put in a car but for a torry its sorta law it has to be a chev. who here (i know your here!) has sucessfully done this before and can give me tips and tricks to make it as painless as possible. i no longer wish to have contact with pete dichera (AKA: Mr CSV) so i'm after engineers names near me (i've heard theres one in bendigo!?!) or i might have to wait till morgie or lammatina roll back into town to get some contacts through them.
Anything would help!
Thanks kids
...wish me luck lol

[tinkers]

Good luck with your project. Have a look through the other chev into LX threads as there are a few so you can get plenty of advice there.

[Struggler]

I built a 454 UC sedan about 10 years ago that I got engineered and legally registered in the ACT.

This is what I can remember using..... The sump was a standard item HQ item, I used Outlaw brand extractors from somewhere in Melb and I used a converted C/dore HEI for a distributor.

In the engine bay I had to trim the rail lips back and reweld, cut off the lip, push back the plenum and reweld in the dizzy area, cut off the steering column outer and reposition the lower bearing so it was flush with the firewall, move the column over about 10mm (removed the factory grommet, pushed the column over and made a new grommet with urethane), replace the canvas steering coupling with another uni and bash the floor up in a few spots for extractor clearance. I used a 3 row radiator from a 253 A/C HZ and an engine fan, engine mounts were standard 350 LX style. I also used the lowest valve covers I could find and left the booster in its standard location (I was using roller rockers and the low covers cleared with a bit of internal work).

The whole deal was very tight, I had to remove the engine to get the starter motor off. Any engine work involved dropping the crossmember with the motor attached. Handling was average, the weight of a BBC cast iron block and heads is substantial. For what its worth the engine was almost half a sec faster over the 1/4 in my HQ, the only difference was the extractors.

There may be some things I have forgotten but I'm fairly sure I have covered it all. MY427SS actually did his conversion before I did mine and he will have some valuable advice for you as well.

Would I do it again ??? I don't think so. A SBC is easier, lighter and goes plenty hard enough.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[ToRunYa]

thanks for all the tips boys (and chicky) i do want it street registered but not for everyday use... she will be a trailer queen for most of her retirement, mostly to be used at springnats etc (my brother in law in maroopna is building a ol val ute with the slant 6 purely for that reason). i would really like to go the big block, for the blokey factor and with the time limit and budget (with allowable overdraft) i want to get it purfect (im a gurl therefore stubbon). i'm off to do my homework and hopefully i'll have some piccies and progress reports within the next 4 or so months.

GAS AXE AWAY!!!!!
j/k

[ToRunYa]

well bugger me found an engineer who lives 6km's away from me (you couldn't plan that shit) seems a great bloke which helps heaps. go seem him next week with plans (bigger the better) but i think we'll meet around the 400 chev mark, but i'll put up a fight, just started ripping the interior out and boxing everything.
the begining has started but its sad in a way, alot of memories in that car, i'm hoping when everythings done she will still has the same personality as before
when i've got the plans finalised i'll let you guys know whats going on.
all fun and games!