60 days in on my 90 day rebuild. Goin to try a motor upgrade next. Any advice on going from a 350 to a 454?

[jjodan234]

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[Ricko1966]

Buy one and bolt it in. It's about one of the easiest swaps you can do. Sits down on small block mounts all the wires fall into place. Seriously not much more work than just swapping in another small block.

 

[Trucksareforwork]

Be sure you have 2 fuel tanks.

If that’s progress in 60 days, I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the last 30.

 

[Catbox]

Progress looks good so far.
Just know where your gas stations are on your travels.
My big block likes to swallow the fuel.

My right foot action may or may not have anything to do with our mileage as well.

 

[jjodan234]

Thank you all for the compliments and support. It does have 2 fuel tanks. Im trying to get the second one working still. It's all the fine tuning on the interior right now.
Got some more parts this week

 

[K20SM465]

Nice

 

[mlsceo]

Very nice. What did you do with the bumper guards? Someone on here will probably be looking for a pair before long.

 

[jjodan234]

I kept everything i have taken off that was saleable, including all the smog parts

 

[festina_lente]

383 is my preference at this point, but I've always been a small block fan. Much better mileage than the 454 with more than enough grunt for my right foot.

 

[zrtwooo]

Just finished that swap and got the same advise. "Easy drop in swap" was not my experience! Motor mounts are not the same, big block mechanical fuel pump hits frame cross member. Fan, shroud and radiator are different. I started with a solid $300 1973 454, rebuilt it and for all the money and learning curve I wish I would have got a stout crate small block (383) and then yes, it would've been more enjoyable, in my opinion.

 

[9999]

I have a 82, that has a 454 (originally a 305), and the swap was down before I bought it.

I would have figured the headers were the hardest part.

I still have a mechanical fan and it keeps it cool well, so not sure what shroud was used

However, I have replaced the edelbrock mechanical fuel pump (direct swap), with what was rigged, and think I had to take it apart and clock it either 30, 60, op degrees or so. If you need it I can look up the part number and or get a pic. Had to redo the hose fittings etc but wasn’t bad.

 

[bucket]

Just finished that swap and got the same advise. "Easy drop in swap" was not my experience! Motor mounts are not the same, big block mechanical fuel pump hits frame cross member. Fan, shroud and radiator are different. I started with a solid $300 1973 454, rebuilt it and for all the money and learning curve I wish I would have got a stout crate small block (383) and then yes, it would've been more enjoyable, in my opinion.

There's a lot of variables. You also need to not focus on things that are "different". Just because they are different, doesn't mean they won't work.

For example, the small block mounts. Yes, different... but they still work fine on the big block. Use ALL the small block mount parts.

Yes, the radiator is different than many small block trucks (but not all). Just use the small block radiator. For most people, it's enough cooling.

Your fuel pump issue is extremely minor. Just use a pump with a shorter body.

 

[zrtwooo]

Just trying to give a guy the heads up that it's not as easy as people will say. I live in Az so cooling is a deal breaker. I put a pro-cam fuel pump that came with its own issues, SB fan shroud won't cool a big block due to how deep the fan is in the SB Shroud...etc, etc...
These are just some of my experiences swapping in a big block where a small block was...

 

[David King]

Nice! Like the color!

 

[Steelbuddha]

Very slick truck. Makes me want to buy another one and do it that way. (The War Wagon is too mean to be pretty.)