olds to chevy swap

[2502]

has anyone done this? i got the chevy 350 and it's almost ready to go in... we're just finishing up the gaskets and rebuilt the carb for it and plan on hopefully having it in tonight or tomorrow. the driveshaft in the truck that had the olds in it is a two piece, i'm taking the one piece outta the donor so it mates up like it did in that truck. so far nothing really looked like it was going to interfere, i have the motor mounts, etc from the other truck so will everything go in?

there seems to be a brace of some sort underneath that looks like we have to pull out so the tranny goes in...?

my chevy 350, we need to set the valves and don't know what the lash is. also, my crankshaft pulley is triple groove, which belts go on? i thought ac, alternator, etc but wanna doublecheck. thanks

[HAULIN IT]

Well I've done the opposite a couple times...Olds in. If you have a donor truck with a Chevy engine in it your all set. Take the mounts from the other one & go. As for the brace at the trany...I don't know (assuming this truck was a diesel) they had some items the gas ones didn't, if the Chevy powered truck doesn't have it, I wouldn't worry about it. If you have the battery tray, engine compartment harness, ect. it would make it a little easier/nicer, if not, some wiring adjustments will be needed. For your valve lash, there are a few ways to do it. Assuming it's a hydraulic cam, prime the oil system with a drill. If you get a Chilton/Motors or rebuild manual for any Small block Chevy, it will be in there. One easy to understand, but more time consuming method is....when a cylinder's intake valve is a max lift, adjust the exhaust. When the exhaust is a max lift, adjust the intake. Roll the pushrod between your finger & thumb & tighten the adjusting nut, once you can not rotate it, go a quarter turn more. If you have a solid lifter cam, the order is the same, but you will need to check with the cam company for the lash spec. & use a feeler gauge. I'm assuming your using the trany from the Chevy engine, if not, you will need an adapter plate. As for the pulley grooves, just install the accessories on the engine & eye it up, it will be pretty obvious at this point. Hope this helps, Lorne       

[2502]

Well I've done the opposite a couple times...Olds in. If you have a donor truck with a Chevy engine in it your all set. Take the mounts from the other one & go. As for the brace at the trany...I don't know (assuming this truck was a diesel) they had some items the gas ones didn't, if the Chevy powered truck doesn't have it, I wouldn't worry about it. If you have the battery tray, engine compartment harness, ect. it would make it a little easier/nicer, if not, some wiring adjustments will be needed. For your valve lash, there are a few ways to do it. Assuming it's a hydraulic cam, prime the oil system with a drill. If you get a Chilton/Motors or rebuild manual for any Small block Chevy, it will be in there. One easy to understand, but more time consuming method is....when a cylinder's intake valve is a max lift, adjust the exhaust. When the exhaust is a max lift, adjust the intake. Roll the pushrod between your finger & thumb & tighten the adjusting nut, once you can not rotate it, go a quarter turn more. If you have a solid lifter cam, the order is the same, but you will need to check with the cam company for the lash spec. & use a feeler gauge. I'm assuming your using the trany from the Chevy engine, if not, you will need an adapter plate. As for the pulley grooves, just install the accessories on the engine & eye it up, it will be pretty obvious at this point. Hope this helps, Lorne       

it was a diesel originally then converted to gas. i as told to find the specs on the lash cause it's not in the manual i have. so i'll let my friend read this in hopes he can translate it into something i might actually understand. thanks i appreciate it. i have a whole truck for donor parts that i'm using, and wasn't sure if the wiring harness is going to work??? not that it matters i do have the chevy, but just trying to eliminate the hassle.

[HAULIN IT]

The harness you have in the truck will work fine. They (one who converted to gas) got the HEI wire connector there. The starter, alternator, ect. connections are the same,  just bundled differently. The oil, water sensors from the Olds will go in your engine. If you have a nice un-cut gas harness for the Chevy engine, I would check the pin location at the bulkhead connector for wire match-up & use it if the important ones match (change as needed). I mentioned the battery tray due to putting the battery on the same side as the starter to eliminate the cable being way long. Lorne   

[2502]

The harness you have in the truck will work fine. They (one who converted to gas) got the HEI wire connector there. The starter, alternator, ect. connections are the same,  just bundled differently. The oil, water sensors from the Olds will go in your engine. If you have a nice un-cut gas harness for the Chevy engine, I would check the pin location at the bulkhead connector for wire match-up & use it if the important ones match (change as needed). I mentioned the battery tray due to putting the battery on the same side as the starter to eliminate the cable being way long. Lorne   

ok i kept everything from both trucks just in case. didn't know what would fit and what might be needed, and figured since iwas converting over the ac that i should keep all the stuff until it was finished. i don't know a whole lot about trucks or even cars in general so when my buddy was talking about finding out the specs to set the valve lash i just got stuck on stupid cause i didn't even know what he was talking about...

are there specs i need to tell him before we start?

[HAULIN IT]

This is a pretty good start on it...

For your valve lash, there are a few ways to do it. Assuming it's a hydraulic cam, prime the oil system with a drill. If you get a Chilton/Motors or rebuild manual for any Small block Chevy, it will be in there. One easy to understand, but more time consuming method is....when a cylinder's intake valve is a max lift, adjust the exhaust. When the exhaust is a max lift, adjust the intake. Roll the pushrod between your finger & thumb & tighten the adjusting nut, once you can not rotate it, go a quarter turn more. If you have a solid lifter cam, the order is the same, but you will need to check with the cam company for the lash spec. & use a feeler gauge.       

As I mentioned earlier, there are quicker ways (multiple valves per revolution) but this is the most basic I would think. On a hydraulic cam there is "no spec" really, the oil pressure makes up for the slight variation. On a hydraulic cam it's nice to adjust the valves (especially for an inexperienced person) before you install the intake, this way you can see the pushrod moving the lifter plunger down from the wire retainer (.005-.020 down is what you want). One thing of interest is... if the valve springs aren't real strong, the valve will start opening if you turn the nut too much past 0 lash, keep an eye out for that. On a solid cam you need the spec from the cam maker & install a feelers gauge between the rocker arm & the valve tip & snug down the rocker nut then pull out the feelers gauge. Got it? Lorne   

[2502]

gotcha. thanks for the layman's terms. i need it lol