Tips and things to remember when doing an engine swap?

[Mike Phillips]

It's been a few years since I put a big block where a small block now resides but plan on starting this project this Saturday by removing the engine out of the 1986 Suburban I bought for this swap.  Engine is a complete running engine with Turbo 400.  Has the 4-core radiator that will be going into the Jimmy along with any and all brackets, etc. needed for the swap.

Was thinking about trying to utilize the tilt steering column with cruise control out of the Suburban if it's not too complicated to move all the components and wiring over to the Jimmy.

The Suburban has air conditioning but the Jimmy has nothing, not even side vents in the front?  It was a base model.

I have zip lock bags, plastic containers, buckets, small boxes, etc to place components and their matching nuts and bolts into.

Anyway, open to tips and suggestions... Saturday morning the hood is coming off the Suburban and bolts are coming off... 
 

[82Shortbed]

Document everything, take pictures as you go.  And have fun doing it!

[Dragon]

Man when you get into something, you really get into it Mike

Yes Definitely take plenty of pics/Polaroids, as they will make things that much easier.....

Swapping over the Parts from the Newer Truck to the Jimmy isn't too complicated, but it is really time consuming to say the least....  The Column is something I want to do myself soon, but you do have a few things to rewire, if you want it to work like it did in the Burb...  Your Jimmy has the Wipers on the Dash,High-Beams on the Floor, where as the Burb has them on the Column, same with the Cruise.....  I would suggest taking as much of the Burbs wiring as Possible, if not just completely swapping the Harnesses between them(Sorry I'm a Nut, and don't mind taking my time, and completely rewiring a Project when I'm able, as I'm too Lazy to chase down Gremlins later)....

I would Highly Recommend Having the Wiring Diagrams, for your Jimmy and the Burb Handy just incase.... 

[Mike Phillips]

Man when you get into something, you really get into it Mike

I love big block chevy's and wrenching on cars, I find it relaxing and rewarding.  My 9-year old son loves driving around in the Jimmy and he's going to love it even more as it gets bigger, badder, faster and stronger...

Here's another new toy we got into, it's an all original 1967 Starliner Deville... when he gets a little older we're going to get into a Sanger Drag Boat, either my old one if it hasn't been wrecked or a Bubble Deck, Runner Bottom.

This is from last weekend's Father/Son Campount at Silverwood Lake in the high California Desert...

This is Jim, a member of our Church that has adopted a young boy that needs a father, after this weekend he wants to get a classic boat like the Silverline.

 
 
Beached...

 
 
Pulling my son and two other boys on the O'brien

 
 
Parking lot of our campground, we slept in the boat...

 
 
Used a Meguiar's Banner to make a Bimini Top for the Jimmy...

 
 
Rand sleeping in the front portion of the boat...

 
 
Rand, Justin and myself sleeping in the boat, it's about 7:00am Sunday Morning...

 
 
Packing up to head out...

 
 
 
Boat is running great! Top speed so far is about 35 to 40 miles per hour, it was so rough that I didn't what to endure the rough water long enough to see what she would really plane out at.

[Blazin]

Cool boat. I have a late 50's 14' Alumicraft motor boat. I have been searching for a 50 or 60 horse outboard for it that doesn't require me selling off organs to afford.

[Lt.Del]

Well, it is Saturday eve, so you probably already started, but some of the things that helped me:

get your digital cam and take a pic of everything.  I probably took over 150 pics during my removal/install of my engine. Of course I have a 79, so there were a lot of vacuum lines and EGR stuff that I kept on it.

You mentioned zip lock bags.  Great idea.  I used many of them w/ a sharpie pen, labelled everything.

Have the new parts ready prior to install--whether it be carb, radiator, ,hoses, gaskets, vacuum lines, new gas line, gas pump, water pump, fan belts, plugs, filters, fluids, Everything.  Preparation is the key to less frustration!

Have all torque specs handy when installing.

number the plug wires from distributor, or, have the firing order handy.  I prefer the latter myself and just walk the wires around the cap.

Throw a tranny cooler on the radiator for good measure

That's all I can think of now. 

 

[Mike Phillips]

Posted the below to another thread I started by mistake, Mods feel free to delete the duplciate post here,

Here's an update...

First... I got a late start due to circumstances beyond my control.

Second... I'm not as fast as I used to be, or at least as fast as I remember I used to be... 

Starting about 1:00pm today the first thing I unbolted was the battery, (safety first), and next was the upper bracket that holds the radiator in place.  As of right now I have everything removed and unbolted including exhaust back to the rearend to allow me to pull the engine.  I've placed all bolts into ziplock bags with scribbled notes as to where they came from to help with the reinstall into the Jimmy.

This thing has the funky pulleys and belts that have ridges, and the first thing I'm wondering is if there's a bracket that will mount just the alternator instead of the massive bracket that holds both the alternator and what looks like some kind of smog pump?


The Turbo 400 is indeed a short shaft so that's going to be kept for a future upgrade to a divorced transfercase setup.

I don't like the exhaust manifolds with all their smog components so I'm going to look for a set of headers for now and later upgrade to some Sanderson units.

I know some people would look at this project and shrug their shoulders and wish for anything else to do, but I actually like working on projects like this, I find it very relaxing when the hardest thing I have to do is figure out if I need a 5/8's wrench, or a 15/16 millimeter wrench.  (Looks like they used a combination of standard and metric bolts on this thing?).

I've taken some pictures of the process and was thinking I would start a dedicated thread for this engine swap so that it might helps others in the future.  I look at this as a tribute to Al Gore as I take the 454 out of a Suburban and intall it into a lighter weight 1975 GMC Jimmy to help reduce my carbon footprint by reducing the amount of GVW the 454 has to push down the road. 



Time to get the grease and grime out from under my fingernails...

[TexasRed]

I look at this as a tribute to Al Gore as I take the 454 out of a Suburban and intall it into a lighter weight 1975 GMC Jimmy to help reduce my carbon footprint by reducing the amount of GVW the 454 has to push down the road. 

Hahahaha.

[Mike Phillips]

I look at this as a tribute to Al Gore as I take the 454 out of a Suburban and intall it into a lighter weight 1975 GMC Jimmy to help reduce my carbon footprint by reducing the amount of GVW the 454 has to push down the road. 

Hahahaha.

I know it's a small contribution but I recycled the oil out of the engine too...

Hey... every little bit counts right?  And we need to lead by example...




(Don't get me started on all the pollution other countries dump into the air and the ocean and "their" lack of "care".  When is Al Gore going to address those countries?)

Anyway... back on topic...

Yeah... putting a big block where a small block used to reside!     

[Dragon]

Great Looking Boat and Setup you got there Mike Be sure to shake Jim's hand for me, as it takes a Big Heart for someone to open themselves up for a Child in need....

***SIGH*** Definitely Envious of the Big Block Conversion, I wanted to do that eventually with my Jimmy Pickup, but a catastrophe forced my SBC 400 to be replaced by a SBC 350(I was dense/dumb enough not to check my Oil Level after a shop changed it, and I believed a 30yr Pressure gauge was giving accurate readings )

[Mike Phillips]

***SIGH***

Definitely Envious of the Big Block Conversion, I wanted to do that eventually with my Jimmy Pickup, but a catastrophe forced my SBC 400 to be replaced by a SBC 350(I was dense/dumb enough not to check my Oil Level after a shop changed it, and I believed a 30yr Pressure gauge was giving accurate readings )

FWIW... I'm in the doghouse on the BBC as the better half doesn't like the project much... 

On the subject of gauges...

My factory electric temperature gauge started doing a wacky spastic back and forth thing and I wanted a mechanical gauge anyways so I went to NAPA and bought the NAPA brand gauge, (made by Sun if I remember correctly which the package said it was made in China), and carefully installed it.  It worked for about 3 weeks and then nothing, nada zip.  So I returned it and the folks at our local NAPA, (who are great Countermen/Counterwomen),   took the broken one back and appled my credit toward a Stewart/Warner Mechanical Temperature Gauge, (made in the U.S.A.), and so far it's working perfectly and has a wider range of temp readings on both ends of the spectrum.

The point is this, the price of the Stewart/Warner gauge was about $25.00 more, the value of the peace of mind I get knowing I'm not overheating the engine as I drive around in the hot desert is invaluable.

 

[Dragon]

FWIW... I'm in the doghouse on the BBC as the better half doesn't like the project much... 

On the subject of gauges...

My factory electric temperature gauge started doing a wacky spastic back and forth thing and I wanted a mechanical gauge anyways so I went to NAPA and bought the NAPA brand gauge, (made by Sun if I remember correctly which the package said it was made in China), and carefully installed it.  It worked for about 3 weeks and then nothing, nada zip.  So I returned it and the folks at our local NAPA, (who are great Countermen/Counterwomen),   took the broken one back and appled my credit toward a Stewart/Warner Mechanical Temperature Gauge, (made in the U.S.A.), and so far it's working perfectly and has a wider range of temp readings on both ends of the spectrum.

The point is this, the price of the Stewart/Warner gauge was about $25.00 more, the value of the peace of mind I get knowing I'm not overheating the engine as I drive around in the hot desert is invaluable.

Yeah I've been in the Doghouse with both my better half, and my In-Laws, since we found out what happened to my truck....  I can't believe how much of a "Dipstick" I was, for not checking the Oil level after getting it back from the shop.....  I constantly checked the parking spots whenever I drove it, to make sure it wasn't leaking(Old Truck in a Condo Community, you have to stay on top of the spots, or they can easily cause you nothing but aggravation.. Especially when your better half is El' Presidente' of said Community, everybody nit picks your stuff even more)...  Always made sure to warm it up a Good 5-10mins before driving it, to make sure the Gauge read proper pressure....  Heck when I got the Truck back from an Oil Change at Wally-World, I made sure to check to make sure there was no leaks where they parked it for Pickup, and I even climbed under the hood to Check the Oil, to make sure it was at the proper level on the Dipstick before we brought it home....   Just never thought that I should have to worry about it, after we got it back from a Shop that I thought was Very Professional with their work, but really I know better than that ,with all of the past Shop experiences I or Family have had over the years....

Thanks for the Heads up on the gauges, I used to sell them, and the S&W's were always a favorite of mine for affordabilty/durability.... Autometers come a Close Second, with the Most Expensive, but the Highest Qualities being VDO's when it came to Precision....   My truck is still fairly new to me, so I have been trying to replace things here and there, when funds allow them to be.....  New/Rebuilt Gauges were on the list, but it didn't seem like they were in too bad of shape to be....  New ones are in the near Future for sure now.....

[Stewart G Griffin]

Please refer to this post:

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140319

[Mike Phillips]

Please refer to this post:

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140319

I like that first tip, the one where you have 2, 3, 4, even 5 guys over to help you... maybe next time... did this by myself...

Introducing my 1975 Jimmy to it's future engine...
 

 

Carefully took the hood off to preserver it and the hinges for the next guy...




Taught the engine who's the boss is with a few wrenches and some perspiration...




Parts car going to the next guy to recycle parts...



Tired... but 

[dumbucket1]

your parts car is nicer than any 73-87 I have ever owned and I have had around 12 of them