LUVTruck.com

so with all the excitement about my new luv, I never mentioned what I'm doing with it. As in, the engine. duh! anyways, here is the story. I picked up a chevy 350 with edelbrock intake and a carter afb carb. It has some kind of a performance cam in it but i don't know what, but boy you should have heard it run! The seller started it up cold and it just roared to life, it was so impressive. It sounded like it was going to jump out and eat someone! He even pulled it that day and delivered it to me the next. It came out of a '73 Camaro. I paid $600 for it, he also threw in a turbo 350 tranny and the driveline to the Camaro. The engine only has 25-30,000 miles on it since it's rebuild and the only thing it was missing was the air cleaner. The tranny was also rebuilt 5 years ago and hasn't been driven much.

so here are some questions I've got. and yes, I have read through the v8 converstion article, but I'd just like some opinions about what works best from experience and whatever else you've got to say. I am concerned about clearance in every direction. lol

What is the best:

radiator
motor mounts
air cleaner
fan
water pump
headers

Also can a serpentine belt system fit in there? Those sure look nice.

also, I have seen S-10 V8 conversion kits...do these work, are they ok, are they worth my $?

Can I get an s-10 rear end and beef it up enough to withstand the 350 or should I just pay a small fortune for the ford 9 inch?

Does anyone have a 700 R4 tranny? What kind of gas milage do you get and how much did it cost? I've got a TH350 I was thinking I could get an overdrive for, but how much does that cost and what kind of gas milage does that get? I am actually going to call some tranny places tomorrow, but it's always nice to have 2nd and 3rd and 4th, etc opinions.

this past weekend my b/f and I sanded down the entire cab (OMG it took forever) and primered it. Pics will be on my car domain site soon.

also for those of you wondering about how the windows are gonna work on my suicide doors....take a look at these pics..this is from the convertable top, that's why it's in the grass, haha,..is this what the top of your windows look like?





ok one more question (for this post, haha) I promise!

I was cleaning out where the windshield is gonna go and I ran into this:





Should I take that black stuff out, too? It's pretty tough, and I have absolutely no idea what it is.

thanks for reading my novel! you can check out a pic or two of the engine on my cardomain site.[/b]

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!

Good to hear you guys are already at it Jess!!!! I didn't notice the area around the window looked that rough. Probably because it was in my shop, and it's half dark in there. Can't wait to see more pics. P.S you asked about motor mounts??? Are the ones in it, not gonna work for some reason???

we haven't measured yet, or tried to set the engine in 'cause we don't have a engine puller, but we think there's going to be problems. I didn't know if there was some sort of motor mounts that held the engine in lower. but we haven't measured yet, maybe the ones that are in it will work. eeek it's going to be close, though.

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ok I didn't say that well enough. what I meant was, that yeah it looks like whoever had it had a v8 in it, so technically the motor mounts it has should work. but my b/f was telling me that nascar44 has got some sort of racing motor mounts that set his engine lower, which would be a blessing, then I wouldn't have to worry nearly as much about clearance. Unless anyone has any other ideas about squashing the 350 in there.

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!

Good Luck

i wouldn't bother with an s10 rear if i was putting a v8 in. better off to go with something like a 9", dana 44 or 12 bolt

As for a radiator, try Summits aluminum. Takes some cutting of the core support to get it to fit. Havent bought fans yet. Am leaning towards two 10" electrics because I think they will cover more area than one big 16". A serpetine belt system should fit with a short water pump and pulleys. I have a 700r4 trans, but havent put it in yet. I wanted it so I could run a steeper gear and have better streetability. I also picked up 2 ford 8" rears for $40 a peice. Went through a Maverick website to get them. Not quite as strong as a 9" but theres people running 10s in Mavericks with 8"s w/stock axles and trac locks(posi).

lookin good! I have a pretty much bone stock 305 with 200000sih miles on it and a 700r4 and im gettin about 14 mpg.

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wicked mayhem - you get 14 mpg with the 700 R4? do you do mostly in town driving? my b/f gets 14 mpg with a th350, I thought the 700 R4's did better than that. The tranny places I called said where the 700 R4 really saves you is on highway driving, so I think I'll go with that it, just because even though I don't drive on the highway much, when I do, I'll be saving $. everyone think this is a good idea?

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!

Definetely need pics when you are finished with it

Take into consideration how many miles wicked has on that 305. If you have a rebuilt or low mileage engine, your gas mileage will be better. Im a little slow, but I was at cardomain and saw your luv just now. Somebody did all the hard body work for you. Wish I couldve bought mine like that. And deffinately purple. And flames on that purple would be the sh**.

haha yeah I got it with all the body work done, lucky me. saved myself a gajillion dollars there. yeah purple with ghost flames I think would be cool. of course, paint is about a million years away, so I could change my mind, I gotta get it going first. lol. wooo I <3 my luv!

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!

After you get the old motor out, will you take some pics of the motor mount brackets? I could be possible to fit the new motor with no hassles. It could be that the mount brackets are Hooker. I would suggest that if it's possible to use the SBC/ Luv Hooker headers. These headers are a pain to install but it must be hell to try and fit another type of header assy in such a tight space. Yes it's a tight fit but it can fit correctly. Im using the hooker mount kit with Energy Suspension motor mounts. With an Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, my 14" dia- 2" tall air cleaner assy fits under the stock hood. If your truck has a stock hood then i would think it would have been worked previously to fit the earlier V-8. It should be ok.
Aluminum radiator with an electric fan. (End of discussion)
If you can spring for an aluminum, short shaft water pump then do it. If you work a serpentine belt system in to the truck, you may need to create clearance for the belt pulley at the forward crossmember. It's something you need to look in to after you place the motor in to the frame.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Also, i looked at the pics at cardomain and the air cleaner looks a bit tall. But thats a small issue. Hopefully the alternator will clear the battery. If not, you can get brackets to install the alt on the other side of the motor.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

thats in town, pretty much just back and forth to school.

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Does the 700r4 use a lock up torque converter? If so, you'll need to get a lock up switch to engage the converter. Without it, it will cause the trans to overheat and eventually fail. The switch kit will cost some money but it would be worth it to gain any kind of m.p.g.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Hey jess
Keep up the work.........Im finally putting a sbc in my luv.Im using a mid plate and a front engine plate. seems to be an easy set up so far.T he ony clearence issue I ve seen is how far back the engine will have to set.But yours wont set back as far."Im running a 6-71 supercharger" so ive got it set back a good way.Other than that its not that bad.

Blue Meanie-

there wasn't a motor in it when I got it, so it's already empty under the hood. I haven't taken pics of the motor mounts, I'll do that next weekend when I go home (I live in Seattle, the truck is 45 min away at my parents')

yeah that air cleaner is just sitting there to keep junk out of the carb, it's one my b/f had lying around.

my battery goes in the bed of the truck, so the alternator shoud be ok

yeah the 700 R4 uses a lock up torque converter, I found them for about $80.

thanks for all the suggestions, at least I know I am headed in the right direction.

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!

Just to pack more stuff in your brain, check out bowtieoverdrives.com. All the over drive parts and components youll ever need. Good tech info too.

wow thanks that is a really great website. I know basically nothing about transmissions, so it was great that is was in REAL English. lol. I <3 that website now, it's very good.

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I got my LUV!!!!!!!