My old shop truck is out of commission so here's the replacement plan. I found this 86 Astro with a super clean, straight, rust free body and a dead 4.3. This is going to be quick and dirty; swap in a TBI 350, clean it up and drive it.
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My old shop truck is out of commission so here's the replacement plan. I found this 86 Astro with a super clean, straight, rust free body and a dead 4.3. This is going to be quick and dirty; swap in a TBI 350, clean it up and drive it.
Is it a bolt in swap? Was the 350 offered originally?
Pretty close to bolt in; you have to change motor mounts but the trans stays in the same spot so driveshaft length is the same. Even the 4.3 ECM and wiring will work; you just change the PROM chip.
A friend gave me a 307 short block with a new set of rings and bearings and the block machine work done. His kid was rebuilding it from a 68 Chevy truck he had and lost interest long ago. Not exactly what I planned on but for the price, I'll take it and use it. I'm just going to put on a set of home ported TBI heads and intake along with a cam upgrade and call it done. That's about as cheap as it comes.
I pulled the crappy carpet and seats and everything looks solid underneath. A trip to the boneyard should get me some better seats and hopefully I can find an Astro with a decent front rubber floor mat rather than carpet. The short block had some cylinder rust but it came out with a hone. The guy had the engine painted a hideous turquoise color; thankfully it came off easy. I'm going to try and knock this out quick as I don't have a hauling vehicle until it's on the road. Motor is coming out tomorrow.
Only a hot rodder would worry about the block color in a work truck!
Hah! I hadn't thought of that but it's true. Nothing looks as good as a nicely detailed engine, even if it's basically a stocker.Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
Cleaned up and ready for transplant.
Go for it, Doctor Frankenstein! Transplant & Transformation!
Years back I had a friend that did this to an awd one and it fought him pretty bad. He got it all done but it nearly rusted in half in 2 years. Yours is in awesome shape for one of those!
Yeah, it's one of the most solid ones I've seen, even underneath is really clean. It was well worth $300, even with the weird yellow and brown two tone paint.
Yeah, that's a great buy!
I know SBCs are probably the most overused and boring engines on the planet but the plus is that all your hot rod buddies probably have leftover parts they are more than happy to give away to get them out of their garage. I got the 307 from one guy and a set of heads from another buddies IROC Camaro 305 engine all for free. I already had a few leftover odds and ends so all I had to buy was a TBI friendly cam along with about $200 in misc parts. Not a huge powerhouse but I think it'll pull this thing around fine.
I continue to admire your old school approach, making the best of what you have, and not worrying about what others might think of your path. The van is gonna be a great shop truck, and maybe a driver to work once in a while, too! You inspire me.
I always figured you were one of the richest guys in the club... and with all those friends.. now I know for sure!
Congrats!
Rich??? No, just a penny pincher. I like seeing what I can do with someone else's leftover junk.
rich in good friends was the meaning I was trying to convey.
Money is not always an indicator of wealth!
Now That is very true.
This is what I have to do too. I try to use whatever I have before buying something. Lately it hasn't worked out too well. :LOL: I think this van will scoot right around now! It is settign there really nice.Quote:
Originally Posted by falconvan
Got the motor fired up today and did the cam break in; it sounds good other than a leaky water pump and an alternator that's not charging. So I need to fix those things, build an exhaust, do some serious cleanup on the interior, and it should be roadworthy.
You sure are getting it done sir! Very nice!
I got the exhaust done over the weekend, put it all back together and did a short road trip today. I just did a 3" single exhaust to make it easy and use up my leftover exhaust parts. Not bad; about as much power as you'd expect from a small cube V8. A little more cleanup and it's pretty much done. Easiest V8 swap I ever did.
That was nice and quick!
X2.. gotta be one of the quickest to completion projects I've seen here yet...
yeah, yeah, yeah..... just teasin'!:eek::3dSMILE::LOL::p
Thanks; keeping the TBI injection it made it easy. The front drive accessories, throttle body, and all the sensors all came from the 4.3. I'm even using the 4.3 computer to run it and it runs fine.
I've had three weeks of driving without a glitch; got it cleaned up pretty good and legal. I'm thinking about taking it on the Power Tour this year since it's got A/C.
Nice swap, very clean!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
What are you implying here, Mike????:confused::confused::confused::o:o:CRY::CRY::LOL::LOL:
ME??? :HMMM::HMMM: Not a thing! :confused::confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by randyr
Are you feeling guilty per chance?:eek::p:p:eek: You know, I had really forgotten that you had been working on an old car.. A Ford too I think.. :p:p
It's been so long I don't remember what it looks like! :rolleyes::p:rolleyes::p
Haha! Guilty as charged!!! Argh!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
Sorry for the highjack, Falcon! Your little shop truck is "Astro-nomical"!! Perfect vanilla (ok, vanilla & chocolate;)) sleeper! I'm guessing that V8 should smoke those little tires, right?:D Nice work, as usual! Congrats!
Thanks, it'll burn one tire pretty good. I do need to get some programming done on the ecm and swap to bigger injectors; it's running the v6 injectors and parameters now. It's cruises fine but probably running lean at WOT.
I ended up buying my own chip programmer last spring and really getting the van running great. This thing has ran great and been super reliable all year so what should I do? Tear it apart and make it better, of course!
I took a 98 350 Vortec and an extra fresh set of Summit Vortec heads on trade this summer so I'm going to freshen it up and drop it in over the winter. The motor came out of a Z71 truck and the guy said it ran great except for some lifter noise. I pulled it apart and I guess the guy didn't believe in oil changes. the amount of goo is unbelievable but the cylinders have almost no wear; you can still visibly see all the factory hone marks. Should be a nice upgrade from the 307.
Man, that will be nice! That sure is a nasty bugger!
Yeah, can't imagine why the lifters would have been noisy! Maybe cause they're buried in 2" of sludge.
You MUST be a hotrodder!:LOL:
Good Job.. oh yes. I'll be watching!:3dSMILE:
If ya believe in quakerstate, ya best believe in oil changes!
I once tore down a Quaker state 302 which had the valve covers completely filled with gunk, except where the rocker arms made pockets. BUT, it was sure in good shape once I cleaned the gunk and replaced the timing chain.
I heard that before about Penzoil, that it was notorious for building sludge. I've always just used whatever was on sale and kept up on my oil changes. The few engines I've actually kept long enough to tear down twice always looked pretty clean inside.
This is going to be a bugger to get cleaned up; glad I've got new heads.
That's better; a couple of cans of engine cleaner and the power washer made a big difference. I'll probably still have it run through a hot tank to get all the goo out of the oil passages.
Good idea - pull all the galley plugs and have it hot tanked and then blow everything out with high pressure air (wear goggles - trust me here!!) and scrub the block with hot soapy water. I use a hose straight out of the water heater and I've found Dawn dish soap to be the best for really cutting the last vestiges of grease and such. I'm also a fan of Glyptol and paint the valley to make it really clean. I like new brass plugs for the oil galley but make sure to get Allen type that will fit flush - you can get them from Ace (or probably Home Depot) in 1/8", 1/4", and 3/8" - the 350 Chevy uses 1/4" NPT plugs. Be sure and run a chase tap down the holes so you have a good clean thread. There are three holes at the front (around the cam opening) that use a 1/2" expansion plug and you can tap and install 1/4" plugs in these three holes as well - but keep them short. And don't forget the one under the rear main seal - if your mechanic removes that one and it's not replaced, your oil will not be filtered.Quote:
Originally Posted by falconvan
Have fun!
Glenn
I probably wont get this engine together and put in until next summer as most of my resources are going into putting my 48 together. But when I do, I figured if the van was going to have more beans, it needs three pedals to go along with it. Picked up this 5 speed to put behind it.
Now that the 48 is wrapped up it's time for the shop truck to get some love. I actually put it out there for sale a few times thinking about going to a Suburban but all I got were some ridiculously lowball offers so it's staying put. I was going to build the Vortec motor for it but honestly the little 307 runs too darn good to ditch it yet. So I'm just going to drop on the new set of Vortec heads along with an aluminum intake and headers, put in the 5 speed, new shocks all the way around, and get the A/C working. I've got a few residential A/C replacements lined up to do in the next two weeks and then she's going in the garage. I think I'm taking this one on the Power Tour in June; I'm planning on doing the Saturday-Wednesday stretch from Kansas City to Gateway International Racetrack which will put me about 45 minutes from home.