Original engine

[dajn37]

I am curious how many of you guys are driving a square that still has the original engine in it that has never been pulled out. Now I cant 100 percent guarantee it but according to the guy I bought it from, my little 305 has never been pulled out. And by looking at everything, I have no reason to doubt it. I definitely need to dress it up under the hood eventually. Rusty air cleaner cover doesn't look so hot among other things. Lol. But this 305 runs so good.
And to make this kind of a two part thread, I made the mistake of not asking what the deal was with the AC. As you can see, the belt is missing. Clearly that's where I should start. Put a belt on. But if it still doesnt work, where should i look next? I am not all that concerned about having ac but I should make an attempt at getting it working one of these years.

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[bucket]

I've run a few in the past with original engines. Only one currently, my '78 Burb has it's original 454. It has all the signs of being an untouched original, except for an overhauled carb and a new fuel pump. And I recently installed headers.

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[78C10BigTen]

My 78 when i bought it still had the numbers matching 350 in it wich i pulled and swapped due to being blown. Its sitting in the shed waiting and day dreaming of a rebuild and work up.

 

[dajn37]

My original plans for this 87 was a 5.3 swap. But it makes absolutely no sense in my mind to pull out a great running original engine to do the swap. So I am going to stay stock for now. I did put in a brand new distributor. I should replace the plugs and wires also this summer. I like the original stance and i think sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. Obviously a newer 5.3 is far superior to a tbi 305. But it's not necessarily worth the swap if your setup is operating smoothly. My 700r4 is on point. 305 runs beautiful. I think it would be foolish to mess with it now.

 

[dajn37]

And if I can teach anyone that reads this thread from the mistakes I have made is to not tear something apart unless you are 100 percent committed to what you are doing. Make sure you have the funds for it and make damn sure that it makes sense. If it doesnt, leave it alone.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Both of my real vehicles are on engine number two. The Caprice has a small upgrade from an LG4 to an L69, which is still a 305, but if you ever wanted to make a case for a 305 having any balls whatsoever, it’d have to be the L69.

To answer your other question, you can put the belt on, and if the compressor isn’t seized, which I don’t think is a common occurrence for R4s anyway, it’s likely puked all the freon out the front. That is the original Harrison it looks like. You’d have to evacuate it and see if the system holds vacuum to make sure it’s chargeable as is. I got the old Harrison going in mine, and it lasted a few months before voiding itself. I’m willing to bet a new compressor, accumulator, and o-tube will be needed soon or immediately, and you need to see if it’s been converted to R134a. I guess you can live up there without A/C even though it gets hot sometimes, but it’s a lot less pleasant here unfortunately.

 

[dajn37]

Both of my real vehicles are on engine number two. The Caprice has a small upgrade from an LG4 to an L69, which is still a 305, but if you ever wanted to make a case for a 305 having any balls whatsoever, it’d have to be the L69.

To answer your other question, you can put the belt on, and if the compressor isn’t seized, which I don’t think is a common occurrence for R4s anyway, it’s likely puked all the freon out the front. That is the original Harrison it looks like. You’d have to evacuate it and see if the system holds vacuum to make sure it’s chargeable as is. I got the old Harrison going in mine, and it lasted a few months before voiding itself. I’m willing to bet a new compressor, accumulator, and o-tube will be needed soon or immediately, and you need to see if it’s been converted to R134a. I guess you can live up there without A/C even though it gets hot sometimes, but it’s a lot less pleasant here unfortunately.

Thanks for the information. That makes complete sense and I will eventually follow up on it with my air conditioning system. It's just another thing I have never done before.

 

[dajn37]

We have to be humble. I read people always talking about the 5.3 swap. But nine out of ten times it's a failure. Because of lack of funds and ignorance. I am always on the lookout for a squarebody that has been converted to a 4.8 or 5.3 with 4l60e transmission where all the gauges work and everything is perfect. I have yet to find one. The few 5.3 swappeds I see for sale always say. Speedometer doesn't work. Transmission is ****** up still. Etc. So it's hard to find a nice complete working swap for sale. At least in my experience.

 

[dajn37]

And I imagine the people that have done the conversation smoother dont want to sell. Because they have such a great setup. Hard to sell something like that.

 

[Frankenchevy]

And if I can teach anyone that reads this thread from the mistakes I have made is to not tear something apart unless you are 100 percent committed to what you are doing. Make sure you have the funds for it and make damn sure that it makes sense. If it doesnt, leave it alone.

My truck didn’t come with the original engine. It had a 327 built in 1962.

My gen 1 to gen 1 “engine swap” became five figures real quick. I have a bit of attention to detail disorder and have trouble leaving well enough alone.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I’ll just be the one to say that I don’t like the LS swap for myself. I see why people do it, and some of the build threads on here are evidence that people put some serious thought and effort in their builds, but it’s not for me. LT either.

The SBC is arguably the greatest engine ever built, and it gives me a lot of pride to depend on one for my daily and have others waiting in the wings when I can use them. It’s a product of the long over golden age of the automobile. Maybe it reminds of my childhood somehow and makes me sentimental, or maybe the fact that I come from the end of the SBC’s reign makes me appreciate it more than someone who’s dealt with them for fifty years. The Gen III doesn’t give me that pride, and I just don’t really find any interest it. Also, I like the design a lot. It’s very simple and doesn’t need the electronic coddling that an LS needs to work right.

 

[Frankenchevy]

I’ll just be the one to say that I don’t like the LS swap for myself. I see why people do it, and some of the build threads on here are evidence that people put some serious thought and effort in their builds, but it’s not for me. LT either.

The SBC is arguably the greatest engine ever built, and it gives me a lot of pride to depend on one for my daily and have others waiting in the wings when I can use them. It’s a product of the long over golden age of the automobile. Maybe it reminds of my childhood somehow and makes me sentimental, or maybe the fact that I come from the end of the SBC’s reign makes me appreciate it more than someone who’s dealt with them for fifty years. The Gen III doesn’t give me that pride, and I just don’t really find any interest it. Also, I like the design a lot. It’s very simple and doesn’t need the electronic coddling that an LS needs to work right.

I’m a gen 1 fan, too. But I also like old Fords. So according to some, I may have a screw or two loose.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I’m a gen 1 fan, too. But I also like old Fords. So according to some, I may have a screw or two loose.

Ehh, I like them too. I talk ****, but I enjoy pretty much any heritage vehicle barring a few exceptions. The 7.3 PSD is my favorite diesel, but I guess that would make me a Navistar International fan if I really wanted to keep up appearances.

 

[legopnuematic]

My 79 has its original engine and transmission, although I pulled it since I am doing a total restoration and went through it to make sure nothing was terminally wrong with it having sat that long, also someone stole the distributor and left the hood open for a long time so I wanted to make sure nothing was in the valley that shouldn't have been in there. There were two bolts in there which I assume fell in there when someone stole the carb off of it between the time I went and looked at the truck and finally bought it.

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[dajn37]

Here's my 1966 428 fe. I know I have talked about the car before while drunk. But I have 3 grand into what's laying there. I have brand new pistons and brand new crankshaft for it that are not in the picture. The pistons were $900. Lol. Fords are so strange. All fe ford engines were internally balanced save for the 428 which was externally balanced. So the ring gear alone for this engine is easily worth $500. This is why people dont build fe engines very often. It's not that they arent great engines. Its because it costs a fortune. I will go well over 5k into this engine by the time it's done. But I want the original engine in the car. There is no other way for a 7litre.

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