First engine swap: ‘85 454 into ‘79 C10

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DirtyDYT

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Title about says it all. I have a low mile running ‘85 454 complete from carb to oil pan. It was pulled from a C30 TH400 truck about two months back. Originally I had planned to store it as a backup to my K30. Then I started getting all these big ideas about swapping it into an swb square body or el camino...

Fast forward a bit to yesterday and I bought a driving ‘79 C10 long bed with a bad 350 and TH350. Owner is pulling the engine today and I pick it up tomorrow. Plan is to drop in the 454 and maybe add a squirt of nitrous so I have a low buck big block machine that smokes tires.

The process is going to be slow as I probably will not have any help but I’ll do my best to document it for others on here.

Anyone who’s done one of these swaps before feel free to chime in. This’ll be my first engine swap so I’m totally open to advice or criticism.

I wasn’t planning to buy a project truck this soon so my parts list is short and not very well thought out. It can be seen below. Totally open to buying used parts from forum members to keep costs down!

454 to TH350 adapter plate
torque converter (reccomendations?)
larger 454 radiator
electric fan conversion
starter
power steering pump
engine mounts
fuel filter
plumbing (rad/ps)
headers (mine are smog manifolds... trade with someone who needs them?)
exhaust rework (has true duals, 2.5” I think, might be able to reuse them)

Sorry for the long post! Pics to come late Thursday or Friday.
 

bucket

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My '84 C10 came with a 305 and I installed a basic 454, basically with parts I had on hand.

My 454 came with alternator and ps brackets (and a ps pump) so I had a little bit of a head start. But the small block pump can be used with big block brackets. The starter can be reused. The engine mounts can be reused. I bought a new ps pressure hose, mostly because my stock one broke. I got one for a same year C20 with a 454, it was 9 dollars at O'Reilly's.

Your TH350 will bolt right up, you just need the holes in the flexplate to match up with the possibly smaller bolt pattern on the torque converter.

I used headers for a big block Nova, they tucked really well, but obviously headers for a big block truck will work too. I ran new pipes to the axle, never got around to tailpipes yet.

I also reused my stock small radiator, it has worked fine so far, but I just have fun with the truck, no towing. I use dual fans from a Buick Rendezvous. Pontiac Aztec and the '97-up vans used the same fans.
 

shiftpro

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Title about says it all. I have a low mile running ‘85 454 complete from carb to oil pan. It was pulled from a C30 TH400 truck about two months back. Originally I had planned to store it as a backup to my K30. Then I started getting all these big ideas about swapping it into an swb square body or el camino...

Fast forward a bit to yesterday and I bought a driving ‘79 C10 long bed with a bad 350 and TH350. Owner is pulling the engine today and I pick it up tomorrow. Plan is to drop in the 454 and maybe add a squirt of nitrous so I have a low buck big block machine that smokes tires.

The process is going to be slow as I probably will not have any help but I’ll do my best to document it for others on here.

Anyone who’s done one of these swaps before feel free to chime in. This’ll be my first engine swap so I’m totally open to advice or criticism.

I wasn’t planning to buy a project truck this soon so my parts list is short and not very well thought out. It can be seen below. Totally open to buying used parts from forum members to keep costs down!

454 to TH350 adapter plate
torque converter (reccomendations?)
larger 454 radiator
electric fan conversion
starter
power steering pump
engine mounts
fuel filter
plumbing (rad/ps)
headers (mine are smog manifolds... trade with someone who needs them?)
exhaust rework (has true duals, 2.5” I think, might be able to reuse them)

Sorry for the long post! Pics to come late Thursday or Friday.

Right on you will love it. But if you want some tire smoke... You have a great block but the heads are crap. Low compression and
bad flow. Toss 'em and consider finding a set from early to mid 70's, like the 781 for example. Sorry can't think of the other
casting #s that are good, but there are more than just the above mentioned. What is seriously lacking in your '85 454 is compression, followed by poor flow and port velocity.

Good luck on your project and yes please continue to share your progress.
 

DirtyDYT

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Thanks guys! I appreciate the information. It looks like this will be much closer to a turnkey swap than I had initially expected if I reuse what’s there.

I also picked up an initial $700 towards the project budget beyond covering the cost of the truck. Hoping that’ll be enough to get it back on the road.

The truck came home today and I was reminded of why you don’t buy from a high schooler. He told me he’d pull the motor. Apparently he instead decided to remove engine parts seemingly at random. Left the PS pump for me. Score! The 350 that the kid blew in one day? Not so great.

Below are a few shots of the truck. It’s something like six or eight different colors of rattle can that come together to a cohesive faded black or grey-ish. Perfect for a give no ****s truck build with a goal of making it a fast(er) cruiser on a shoestring budget.

It’s supposed to rain on and off for the next 7 days here and I have some pressing things to deal with so my next real project update might be a good little ways out. That said, thanks again for the info and inspiration!

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DirtyDYT

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A few pics of the engine... got a lot there. Never even started to clean it or strip it. Put misting oil in each cylinder and cranked it over. That’s it so far.

I think my priority will be picking up a starter and some real headers. The guy I bought it from wanted to buy back the stock smog pump manifolds, guess I’ll give him a call somewhere between updates.

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DirtyDYT

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Started to strip the engine down little by little today.

I knew there was some sand on the engine when I saw it in the otherwise clean truck. I had my fears about it being in the engine depending on what environment it was used in out west.

Well, it turns out some sand did get in there. Crap... not feeling so great about my cheap engine score now!

I did find one buildup of sand on the passenger side head. Guess I’ll pull the oil pan and see what I find!

For the more experienced guys, what’s the deal with the corrosion/buildup on the pushrods seen in the pictures?

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78C10BigTen

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@Honky Kong jr would be good to ask for 454 questions. Not too experienced but id say the rod rust is from sitting un-run.
 

DirtyDYT

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@Honky Kong jr would be good to ask for 454 questions. Not too experienced but id say the rod rust is from sitting un-run.

I was wondering if that was the case. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions starting quite soon!

I went ahead and dropped the oil pan after draining out lots of old oil. The good news is that there was absolutely no sand in the pan nor any evidence of metal shavings. A little sludge but that’s it.

It looks to me like someone had been into the engine before. There was a messed up gasket install on the front of the oil pan (see photo) and the valve cover gasket seemed wonky by what still feels like a tiny sand deposit (does not feel like metal) in one spot. The valve cover gaskets also felt way too fresh and rubbery for me to believe they are originals.

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So yeah, my heart skipped a beat there when I thought my engine had sand in the oil. Thankfully it doesn’t.

Fun fact: this engine is so many shades of dirty you can’t even tell it is a ginger. How much benefit would I see from some 781 heads in terms of compression ratio and hp/torque gains? Should I even be thinking about slapping used “good condition” heads on my engine?

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The corner of my rear alternator bracket is sheared right past the welded nut where the alternator’s lower bolt passes through rendering it unstable. Guess I need a new (used) one of those.

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Current parts list:

rear alternator bracket
power steering pump bracket
starter
headers
full gasket set
electric fan(s)

If I do end up pulling the heads then this will probably turn into a rebuild instead of a check-up. That's definitely not in the budget:

$1950 total budget
-$750 engine
-$500 truck
-$68 gasket set (ebay)
 
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bucket

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That nut broken off is common with that bracket. You can just weld it back on.
 

DirtyDYT

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That nut broken off is common with that bracket. You can just weld it back on.

Duh! Why didn’t I think of that?

I figured out what my “sand” was. The valve cover gasket appears to be slowly eroding just above the spot where I found the grainy non metallic deposits I thought were sand.

Edit/update:

I kept wondering why this had orange heads and why it sounded a good sort of “nastier” than dudes other truck or my own. I got to thinking it may have been cammed. The heads are actually ‘75 781’s. This just got more interesting... what I actually know about this motor is next to nothing.

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bucket

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Man, every time I pull valve covers, I find garden variety peanut ports, lol.
 

DirtyDYT

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Man, every time I pull valve covers, I find garden variety peanut ports, lol.

Nothin’ but beginners luck.

Remember though, those heads cast doubt upon the story I was told about the donor c30 and the engine.

Block casting number 14015445 is right for a truck like the one it came from. I checked the date code once and I believe it came back as a 1985 block. It may still be an actual 44k mile motor that got souped up a bit.... but who knows! Either way it should have a little more go than a stock engine and I’m alright with that. That said, I’m not such a fan of the “rebuilder’s” judicious use of silicone.

I really want to pull the heads out of curiosity but at the same time I really don’t wanna pull the heads in case I find something I don’t like lol... plus that’s going to be more time invested in a one man repower that I’d really like to see on the road at least once before it snows.

Pretty sure this is normal to see on truck engines:

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Edit/update: Trying to avoid double posting here...

After a search of facebook marketplace and craigslist I decided to just order headers. Found some old repainted Hookers for a square body for $100 but they are two hours away. If my time’s worth money, then I did just fine buying a set of Flowtech 11530FLT for $168.

The only catch to using these headers is that several people have run into fitment issues with parts I wanted to swap into the truck: they don’t fit around a TH400 or SM465 trans cross member, or 465 slave cylinder, and are known for sitting low. Not an issue with the current configuration but definitely a concern that they may be limiting in the long term.

Budget update:

$1950 total
-$750 engine
-$500 truck
-$68 gasket sets
-$168 headers
-$34 plug wires
=$430 left!

Currently wrestling with myself on wherher or not to replace the oil pump while it’s right there... pressure gauge did not work in the donor truck. I’d hate to install the motor and immediately have to pull it again lol.
 
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DirtyDYT

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Well, pulled the engine after work today. It took me three hours continuous work with a buddy helping for the last hour. It went about as smoothly as possible. I did my research beforehand and planned out what I was going to do beforehand. There was a fair amount of improv but nothing too wild.

First pic is of engine once free of the trans. That strap is rated for way more than a measley 350, I swear! The second strap was used to adjust the pitch of the engine while divorcing it from the bell housing.

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All clear!
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I’m not sure the proper way to hold up a transmission but a properly placed ratchet strap can do a wonderful job. It allows me to lift the truck as much or as little as I want without needing to adjust a trans jack or support. I did jack up the trans and loosen the bolts to the cross member during the engine removal.

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That 350 looks so tiny in the back of my K30. It’s going to a friend or a coworker... neither is sure they want it yet... lol

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bucket

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Don't be ashamed of ratchet straps, that's perfectly acceptable.
 

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