Transmissions
There is a good selection of transmissions available to back up new V-8 engines. For the Chevrolet contingent, the 700-R4, Turbo 400, and even 4L60 transmissions are the choice among our experts. Since the 700 and the 4L60 use essentially the same mounting points, most companies carry crossmembers for them. The Ford AOD is also a commonly used transmission. But the universal element among all of them is overdrive.
"I'm a big believer in any kind of overdrive," said Van Dervort. "The way they run on the interstates today, 85 mph is poking. To keep the rpm of the engine within range, you really need an overdrive. The AOD and the 700 are equally good, though they won't take huge horsepower."
Said James Ries of Classic Perfor-mance Products in Buena Park, California, "Generally speaking, we try to put our customers together with a motor and transmission crossmember kit with the appropriate pads to mount it. Despite all the IFS kits and other higher-end components we sell, that's still the bulk of our business. You might see more independent front suspensions in California, but across the U.S. it's still the standard V-8, automatic, and straight axle."
Jim Donovan of Chassis Engineering in West Branch, Iowa, said his company is seeing an even split between the 700-R4 and the Turbo 350-but he is also starting to see the newer 4L60 being selected. "The 700-R4 and the 4L60 use pretty much the same mounting points, so we sell one kit for both," he said, then quickly added, "Manual transmissions seem to be coming on strong. Most guys stick with the Muncie four-speed, but we see a lot of the T-5s." Others in the group agreed, noting the venerable Doug Nash five-speed and the Tremec Six are also enjoying a refreshed popularity. Truck-builders have rediscovered the joys of rowing their own gears-though with another set of obstacles to overcome in swapping. "That brings in clutch pedals and linkages and additional space considerations," said MacGregor, "but the sportier feel of the stick seems to be coming back."
General Tips
Our experts were all very generous with their time, and they were genuinely interested in giving customers the best service possible. Larry Burchett of B Rod or Custom in Knoxville, Tennessee, said good customer service is the key to any swap. "Purchase your parts from companies that have reliable tech support," he advised. "You have to provide some aftermarket add-on parts after you've purchased your engine. To me, it's more important to have tech support than to save $5-because you're going to spend $20 on support if you're not careful."
Several of our sources spoke about specific problem areas that deserve special attention. "One of the biggest problems we run into is exhaust," said Mike Partridge, president of Advance Adapters in Paso Robles, California. "Check on headers, because the exhaust manifolds on Chevys-especially when you get into Gen III engines-dump out and the blocks are real wide, so you run into frame-rub clearance issues. Making sure the customer has something workable is our biggest concern. Before you physically mount your engine in place, make sure you have clearance, either with the manifolds or with some type of header system. The same situation exists in checking for distributor, hood, and suspension clearance. But exhaust clearance is the one we really stress."
John Lawrence of Brothers Trucks in Corona, California, also pointed to exhaust and steering as points of concern. "In the '47-59, whether you're going to run headers or keep the stock exhaust manifold, you've got to be careful of the steering-box clearance," he cautioned. "Occasionally, you have to route a steering column or a steering shaft around the crossmember. The best thing to do in that case is go to power steering. The power-steering kits move the steering box from the inside to the outside of the frame to eliminate any clearance problems. Then you can run any headers or manifold you would like."
Fatman's Van Dervort also counseled against overbuilding any vehicle. "This is an opinion, so I'll turn on the 'Opinion Alert' lightbulb here," he said. "Many people get into the trap of trying to build an Ultimate Vehicle, and they build something so ultimate it won't even operate-and it's beyond their mechanical ability to maintain. So unless you know what you're doing, you can get into a lot of trouble with exotic engines. The problem with a big-inch motor is that you've got to run it like a diesel. You know, 3,500 rpm is redline on those things if you want them to stay together."
For MacGregor, clearance is the key to a good swap. "If a guy is doing an engine swap on a '59-or-older truck, he's probably also doing an IFS swap, a tilt column, and things like that. The adapters for that stuff are pretty common-place through companies like Borgeson, Flaming River, and ididit. But with tighter clearances in the earlier stuff, it's a little trickier. When you get into the Ford realm, almost all the Ford engines are front sump and need to be converted to rear sump if you're going to IFS, in order to clear the rack and the crossmember. We use Canton, Milodon, and Hamburger pans. With the change in oil pan comes a change in pick-up tube for the pump and any additional mounting required for that, such as main-cap studs, as well as the dipstick tube and the dipstick. That all has to change with the oil pan."
At the bottom line, all our sources agreed that any swap is possible. The key-with any custom truck project-is to plan ahead and consider every system before settling on a final course. As Van Dervort said, "We can mount anything in anything. I've put big-blocks in Metropolitans. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, but we can do it."