The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 2nd Series '55 6400 350 swap

Good morning - I'm Andy from Maryland and wanted to document the process of swapping a 350 SBC into my 2nd Series '55 6400.

A little back ground on the truck first:
The truck is a 1955 2nd series 6400 2 ton stake body which lived on a southern Virginia soy bean farm for most of its life.
Owned by a farmer who took great care of it, kept everything well greased and parked in a barn when it wasn't being driven.
The dash reads 92k miles and I don't have reason to believe that's wrong but who knows..
261 motor, SM420 trans, two speed rear.

In November of 2014, a friend bought the truck from the farmer (I think?). I then bought the truck from him in May of 2015.
On the way home to Baltimore, Md from York, Pa, rod #3 started knocking really bad which was a huge downer. I felt like I did the truck wrong since it ran like a top up to that point.

In the meantime, I met an amazing woman and asked her to be my wife. She took to the truck and in October of 2016, we thought it would be great to have it as the back drop to some of our first family photos (I have two sons; 13 and 11, from my first marriage) so we loaded the truck on my deck over trailer (12k winch on the trailer) and hauled the 6400 to Mt. Airy, Maryland behind my old '94 Chevy dually (have since sold the dually). We unloaded the truck, took some photos with the future Mrs., my sons, our dogs, then loaded the 2 ton back up and headed home.
It was a great day and the pictures turned out nice. When I get chance, I post a link or two.

Fast forward, we set the wedding date for June 30th and the future Mrs. being into the truck, thought it'd be cool to have it at the wedding which lit the fire under my rear to get the truck running again. At the end of the day, I wanted to do right by the truck so I knew regardless if I rebuilt the 261 or swapped the motor, I'd have to do it right and as period correct as I could make it look within reason. Schedule, budget, and how I wanted to use the truck drove my decision to go with a crate 350 small block Chevrolet. The ease of the swap and versatility of the 350 made the decision pretty easy. Things got even better when I connected with Mike from this board, a fellow Marylander, who's been super kind to me, taking the time to answer all my questions and send me part numbers for stuff I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Thanks to Mike and you all for making this board such a great resource.

Because of the short deadline the plan became all about keeping it simple, doing my homework, ordering a plane Jane 350 crate motor, finding a bell housing to be able keep the SM420, then working hard.

I ordered the following from JEGS.
Quantity Part No. Part Description Price
1 809-10067353 Engine - GOODWRENCH 350 REPL $1,599.99 Engine is a base 210/260HP 350 SBC.
1 555-51652 Balancer - Small Block Chev 6-3/4" INT $54.99 6-3/4" balancer
1 555-601205 Flywheel - 168T INT $86.99 168 tooth flywheel can accept up to an 11" clutch
1 510-0-4776C Carburetor $474.95 Holley double pumper, 600 CFM, mechanical secondaries, manual choke
1 555-51031 Water pump - long $67.99

1 555-40002 HEI distributor and coil - black cap $89.99 <<--This distributor did not work! The diameter was too large to clear the firewall so I order the distributor and coil below:
1 555-40520 DIST RTR CHEVY $205.99
1 555-40105 RED IGNITION COIL 45KV $25.99

1 555-15950 Mechanical fuel pump $45.99 Mechanical fuel pump, body rotates, 80 gal per hour
1 555-15930 Fuel pump push rod $15.99
1 555-210162 Fuel Pump Mounting gasket $0.99
1 555-50580 Fuel Pump Mounting $6.99

1 720-5322G Crank pulley bolts - 6/PKG $6.27
1 070-130-3202 Water pump bolts $14.83
1 070-100-2801 Flywheel bolts $10.76
1 555-82800 Balancer bolt kit $5.99
1 555-15840 Carb stud kit 1.5" $5.22
1 809-9421743 Dipstick plug - right $5.99
1 555-83250 Intake bolts - 12pt $14.99
1 555-40691 Distributor hold down - SBC $3.99

1 555-23605 Oil filter adapter w//bypass $24.99
1 555-210002 Intake Gasket-SBC-No HC $13.99 <<-- These were the wrong intake manifold gaskets. Both the heads and and the intake have heat cross over but these gaskets don't have the openings.
1 555-30131 RAMS HORN GASKET KIT $25.99 <<--The hardware in this kit is garbage. One of the bolts snapped off in the head but fortunately was an easy fix.
2 555-JG302 JEGS OIL FILTER $17.98
6 quarts 555-28067 BREAK-IN OIL 10W30 QUART $35.94
16 065-R45TS Spark plugs $43.04

1 720-1552 Double bowl FUEL LINE $22.03
1 555-402010 Ignition wires - black - OVER Manifolds HEI $32.99 <<--The passenger side wires were too short, wanting to lay over the passenger side manifold so I ordered replacements:
1 [Need to double check the part number]

1 555-52272 Dipstick - driver's side 55-77 SBC 6.99
1 865-47293 ALT BRKT KIT 69-86 CHEVY 24.99

I bought the front motor mounts and bell housing mounts from Classic Industries
556038 55-59 TRK V8 FR MOTOR MOUNTS $144.99
14501 54-69 REAR MOTOR MOUNTS $41.99

I purchased a bell housing off Craigslist locally, the guy I bought it from showed me the SM420 it came off and said it was behind a small block. I'll post up a couple photos when I can. I had it media blasted and and will paint it along with the motor - $50

The original pair of rams horns manifolds I bought off Craigslist turned out to be a mis-matched pair but I didn't know any better so I bought 'em but didn't use them.
Mike really came through for me and sold me a pair of rams horns off a 327 he hand in his shop; center dumps with the alternator brackets and hardware, all sand blasted for $100.

I went rouge with a new 3 row aluminum radiator, shroud, and electric fan from LedFoot Racing - http://www.championradiators.com/product/CC5559
The way I look at it, it can get above 100* in Maryland summers and even though it's not period correct, the aluminum radiator will hopefully keep the 350 cool.
CC5559 $199.98 Radiator
5559FS16 $90.00 Shroud
16" FAN $40.00 Fan
RELAY KIT $50

Thanks to a heads up from Mike, I ended up getting Bill Hirsch '56 GM red engine enamel and cast iron grey ceramic paints:
EMPT-SPRAYCST IRN GR EXHAUST AND MANIFOLD COATING CAST IRON GRAY 1800 DEGREE 2 @ $40.00
EE-QUART CHV RED ENGINE ENAMEL CHEVROLET RED 1956 V-8'S 2 @ $78.00

Welcome to the Stovebolt Andy

Happy to help!

Mike B

Welcome!
Sounds like a cool truck. Can't wait to see the pictures.
And congratulations on your marriage! It's always good to have a wife that supports your hobby!

welcome and congratulations! Sounds like you found a great gal and a great truck!

What a great story so far! Thanks for sharing, I'll be tuned in for updates and photos.

I ended up ordering the right intake manifold gaskets from Speedway: Edelbrock 7201 Intake Manifold Gasket Set, Small Block Chevy 3257201 $ 17.99
The clutch came from RockAuto - 1954 CHEVROLET TRUCK 4.3L 261cid L6 - BRUTE POWER/PERFECTION CLUTCH 90628 Clutch Kit $75.79. I got the clutch and it's Chinese made but I guess I should have expected that for $75.

I really wanted to keep the floor starter so I ordered this floor mounted momentary switch from Jegs: Crown Automotive A7225 Part Number: 077-A7225. I think O/E application includes several CJ series Jeeps.

Really a good story. And a good collection of parts needed.
I am doing the same swap almost, but go with a period correct 283.
I now have all the parts except the flywheel and clutch.

Please take some pics and post them somewhere so you can share it with us.

I haven't been on the board in a bit but wanted to let you all know the truck is alive and well! It's been a blast to drive with the 350 which seems to be getting stronger with each drive.
The heater core is leaking but haven't had a chance to dig into it so we'll see. Mike B pointed out that that PSI rating of the cap on my new radiator might be too high so I need to check that out too.
I've been super busy but will hopefully be able to post up some pictures soon.
-Andy

So far 2018 has been good to my truck. I've driven her to work a few times now with no issues.
Once it starts to warm back up, I hope to knock a few things out like:
-Adjust the brakes
-Give the driver's side fender some TLC, it's binding with the door.
-Replace driver side wing window (it's cracked and falling apart)
-Install the head liner
-Install a new floor mat

A big project I'd like to knock out this year is making a shorter set of stake body sides, something like 24" tall; just below the bottom of the rear cab window.
I think I'm going to get some rough cut oak from my local mill and finish it off at home

In the meantime, I'm in full winter build mode with this:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyo...unner-powered-daves-off-road-supply.html

Pictures finally!

I scuffed the motor with sand paper, cleaned it with thinner, then blew the dust off with compressed air. From there, I loaded the paint into my Wagner airless HVLP sprayer.
In hindsight, I would have used my standard HVLP paint gun off the compressor. I think it would have gone on smoother and used less paint.

Pictures finally!

Before I dropped the motor in, I scrubbed the tranny, firewall, underside of the hood, frame, steering box, steering linkage, and front axle with Purple Power then power washed everything. From there, I sanded the underside of the hood, firewall and frame rails with my DA sander and cleaned them again. I taped off everything I didn't want to paint, mixed up some epoxy based Rustoleum 9100 series semi-gloss black and went to town. The epoxy based Rustoleum 9100 likes heat and humidity which we have plenty of in Maryland during the summer so the paint cured pretty quickly.
From there, the engine and tranny mated up pretty easily. My buddy's Kubota tractor, the new motor mounts and replacement bell housing bushings made the job cake.

Pictures finally!

Stainless exhaust. 2" off the manifolds into the muffler and a single 3" out dumped under the frame. It's cut parallel and flush to the frame which I think looks awesome.
Thanks to Mandrel Bent Solutions in Pasadena, MD for a job well done.

Pictures finally!

Headed out for the wedding.

I love this woman (and the truck too )

Looking good!!!--both the truck and the lady!!
Congratulations!

Thanks, Rich

Thanks for sharing your pictures! Look'n good...

Mike B

HAHA got a kick out of those pics! We have two kids who love my '56, but my wife isn't so impressed...

I built a 400hp, 525ft-lb big block monster to swap in, for all the torques. It's quite a hotrod now:
Building the 454
New 454
After wheels were powdercoated

That's pretty cool and I bet all that power is pretty fun

Plans this year for the truck include changing the heater core; replacing the driver's side wing window, replacing a couple of the lenses on the front, and a new floor mat.
Plus, I want to remove the original bed sides (they'll get stored in a friend's barn) and build some shorter sides. Cascading down in height from right below the cab window to 6" above the bed floor at the rear.
I've been thinking about installing a 5 ton hydraulic dump kit but would like to hear what you all have to say. Fortunately I can fabricate anything I need outside of the kit and have a saw mill pretty close to home.
I have a tentative plan but am torn since it'll take away from the originality.

Long over due update on my '55 2nd series 6400 - My 2018 plans for the truck were back burnered last spring after the brakes went completely out but I'm starting to catch up finally.
In April '18 I had just done the first oil change in the new motor, took the truck out for test drive without realizing the brakes weren't working at all. Fortunately nothing bad happened sans brakes so I crawled the truck home where it sat while I built my FJ45 Toyota Land Cruiser.
Side note - Huge thanks to Mike B. for the NAPA part numbers for the rear axle wheel cylinders which I'll follow up with.
-My two sons and I recently replaced the driver's side rear wheel cylinders. Fortunately the drum, shoes, and hardware all looked great so it came apart and and went back together pretty easily. I still have to pump the brakes before they're really there which I guess means the shoes need adjusting. No big deal.
-My youngest replaced the two front marker lenses; one of which was broken and the other was missing.
-I added in ball valves between the water pump and heater core hoping to keep some heat out the cab. I drove the truck around last night and I guess it make some difference but we'll see long term.
-We still have to replace the wing windows & choke cable (I might set the cable to do something else since there's no choke on the Double Pumper.
-I might order something like a pair of 6" diameter dash mounted fans to move some air through the cab,

I used a heater valve from Napa (part # 660-1294), 4 ports, vacuum operated, goes inline. no vacuum, it allows water through to the heater core, add vacuum (for the summer) and it bypasses the heater core and allows water to flow back into the engine.

After mulling it over and feeling very conflicted about it, my boys and I reluctantly trimmed the grain body down to more of a flat bed. On one hand, I feel awful for cutting into the bed but on the other hand, I really like it. I'm going to try and clean up the cuts this afternoon if the rain holds off for a bit.

Looks nice, useful.

Ed

I am sure I would have struggled with that too, not sure I would have thought of going half way.

I bet it is more useful that way that tall or no sides and it looks good!

I couldn't bear the thought of cutting up the grain sides on either of my trucks. So I removed them entirely and stored them in the shed. I then replaced them with 12" boards.
I can always put it back to a grain truck anytime I want.

nice! Mine didn't have sides so, I made short ones. I like them most of the time... the only drawback is when trying to strap something down, especially if it is below the sides!