The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Engine swap sbc 350

Hi, I just got a 53 suburban with no motor or trans. The guy said it originally had a 6 cyl and four speed. It looks like he installed new motor mounts for a sbc. I was thinking of a 350 sbc and 700r4? What do I need to watch for? Will I need to change gears in rear end? Any advice, tech tips, or heads up is greatly appreciated. I'm fixing it up as a daily driver around town. Nothing fancy, just a solid good running vehicle to go to the beach in. Thanks for any help you can share. Kyron

A 350 will do fine. Now take a deep breath and start over. You need an overview of what YOU want this 53 to be. Ask yourself and us questions and give us more info.
1. What rear end ratio do you have now?
2. Are the motor mounts really for a 350?
3. Do you want a third pedal or auto?
4. Have you got access to an engine and tranny or are they already in the shop under a tarp?
5. And so on.

Good luck.

If it has a closed drive shaft, you probably want to change to open. That will be an opportunity to find a newer differential with 3.73 ratio. "Changing gears" in your diff or any diff can be very expensive and takes someone who knows what they are doing and has the tools. Don't go there for this truck. 350 motors, trans and rear ends are all over CA at reasonable prices. SoCal in one of the centers of the motor world. Plenty of help. Join a club. I really dig Panels and Suburbans. Should be fun to drive. Get the motor, trans and rear and put it together. Take off entire front clip and get a cherry picker. Drive shaft will be last. Make sure pinion angle is acceptable. Mock everything up, study it for clearances, fits, supports, radiator, exhaust, steering shaft and then bolt/weld/fasten down. Many here have been there, done that to your era.

I'm so grateful you guys are willing to help me out with my suburban. A lot to think about for sure. It has an open driveline. The guy I bought it from told me that when he bought it the guy he bought it from said the new motor mounts were for a sbc 350. As far as the rear end ratio, I don't have a clue. How would I find that out? It's going to be a daily driver around town but I do want to take it on Frwy. I had a 54 suburban many years ago and I remember the first gear (4 speed) was a granny gear, that's why I was wondering about rear end ratio. Also, what is the pinion angle you mentioned? Thanks again for your help. Kyron

You may want to drain rear end fluid to refresh. In which case you can take off cover and read the ratio numbers on the ring gear (google ring gear). That will tell you the exact ratio. You can also observe all the gear teeth and if it is a posi. The pinion angle is the angle of the drive shaft to transmission tail/yoke and to differential yoke. You will probably be OK. That's where the Ujoints are and are not to be stressed with crazy angles. Google pinion angle. The SBC mounts are usually on the side of the motor biased frontwards. They have a thru bolt into the frame mount half. google some SBC install pictures to see if you have correct frame mounts. You will need a transmission cross member for your automatic. If you are not up on this stuff you can just study the internet and read many how-to's with pictures. We are glad to assist but you need to buff up on the terms and procedures a little.
You can spin the tires and get a rough ratio and determine posi(traction), but inspecting differential is my suggestion with an unknown truck. You can't beat a 700R4 for your mentioned use.

You run into an interference problem with the steering gear with a v-8 in the AD trucks. You will need to remove the crossmember under the bell housing to use the auto trans.

Thanks so much to everyone for being so gracious to share your know how with me. I'm really excited (almost giddy!) to get my suburban up and running. I really appreciate it. Kyron

Drop your SBC and 700R4 into it and go driving. Probably no need to worry about rear end gear ratio. My '48 Burb is set up with the 350/700R4 option and it runs great. You didn't mention or I missed it, is the front frame original or sub-framed with a GM clip of a later model? If it is sub-framed you are good to go after inspection of the welds to make sure it was done right and is safe.

The front frame is original with straight axle. It sounds like a mustang two front frame would be nice but I kinda like the straight axle becaus I had3 different suburban sprawl at different times in my life and they all had straight axles. I would like to find out about power steering conversions though. I've seen them on eBay but they seem to run around $900. or so.

More of a challenge with the straight axle but it has been done thousands of times. Steering column clearance is the main issue. May have some issues with the firewall and tranny tunnel. Folks here have done it all and will chime in soon.

How would you solve clearance issue with steering column/gear? Just eyeballing it there doesn't seem to be a place to move it.

Old school way was to relocate the steering box to the outside of the frame. Problem was it left the steering wheel cocked over to one side at a weird angle.
Do a search in our search engine for Steering column relocation or modern steering. You should get tons of hits with lots of ideas.

Check on-line for pics / bolt patterns to help identify the rear-end you have.
Check the hot-rod magazines for conversion parts - ie trans mounts, steering shafts & joints, etc.
Some people use electric steering box ( Toyota ? )
Track down Alvin ( Chipmunk ) on this board. He has a beautiful 1952 ? Suburban with your engine / trans combo. I am sure he could help you out.

Thanks for the suggestions I appreciate it.

Kyron, I have a 52 panel with a 305 engine 700R4 tranny, open driveline and have power steering with the original straight front axle. I've driven it to the homecoming in Md, to the reunion in Kansas city and love it!

I recommend the motor mounts that bolt, or weld, into the original chassis and use a 70's Saginaw power steering box mounted outside the chassis. You can also use the brackets off a V6 S-10 pickup on the front of your V8 and use a serpentine belt to drive things. (you do have to use a V6 water pump which bolts right to the V8 to run a serpentine as the water pump runs in reverse using the serpentine belt.
Check out my photo bucket of my panel. There are some good pictures of the motor mounts, steering box and a few other pics that may help you.....and as always, if you have any particular questions please ask. This conversion does not have to break the bank.

Follow Alvin's advice! I did and it worked out great!
Carl

wow! what an absolutely beautiful panel. thanks for the tips alvin. i have some questions but don't want to wear my welcome out. that being said, is the picture of the steering box the power steering box? i also noticed some swivel adaptors on the steering hook up. do i need a new or different steering column? mine appears to be in a wider diameter tube type of thing. thanks so much for the direction. kyron

I used a power steering box that fits most mid 70's pickups. I bought a "reman" from Advance Auto. I used the "kit" from Classic Parts that has the steering arm, adjustable drag link and bolts, bracket and bushings to attach the steering box. The kit also came with some good instructions....and I bought the "D" shaft and two universals from the local hot rod shop.(Southern Rod)
The "kit" suggested a pitman arm from a Malibu or monte carlo I think it was. A lot of the GM pitman arms are the same...about 5" I think. I happened to have an old 69 Buick Skylark steering box that I used the pitman arm off of and used the steering box as my "core" for the reman.
I have the numbers ect of what I used/bought so if I can help send me a PM with what you need.

....I'll also add that the new power steering pump is not that expensive and IF you decide to go serpentine belt using brackets off the S-10 V6 (4.3 I think, I used a 1989)) you'll want to go ahead and put a new power steering pump on as the pump can be a little hard to get off once you put it on with those brackets. No big deal though. You can buy the high pressure line and a regular rubber transmission line will work for a return.

OH....I did use a steering column out of a 68 pickup. I wanted it because it had the turn signal and the automatic shift column. It bolts right in and I did not have to cut it off. I did take it apart and put new bearings in it, those pics in photobucket too, and used a '58 Impala steering wheel for the final touch. I liked it also because it is a slim column and I used the original switch key location. I don't like the fat column's with the key in the column. If you want to have TILT then look for an earlier model Chevy Van as it is the right length, around 30 or 31", and it is a slim column too as it does not have the key in column.
Hope some of this helps.

EDIT: this is NOT, I repeat, NOT the kit I used but if you plan to use your old column this is some good reading to get you warmed up.
http://www.classicperform.com/tech_articles/Power-Steering-Trucks/Power-Steering-Trucks.htm
And as noted in this write up the shock will have to be "leaned" back the other way. To do that I checked the angle of the shock and when leaning the shock back toward the door I used the same angle, drilled holes and bolted it on. AND, I moved the shock on the passenger side back too. This way you just switch the bottom shock brackets side to side and they are oriented correctly!

I have the directions I used some where around here. If I can find them I'll give you a shout.

This is all very good information. Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. This a lot of experience and knowledge you have shared. This will help me greatly on my '52.

The quickest and by far the easiest is to use a 1955 or 1956 Chevy 265 V8 left side exhaust manifold and change NOTHING as far as steering box is concerned. Can find at most swap meets for 20 bucks.

some one should make that a sticky