The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1964 pickup engine??

I just started my first project and picked up a 1964 Chevy C10 pickup w/out an engine. First off, I'm no mechanic and have absolutely zero experience with a wrench but have a "friend of a friend" who will install whatever I pick-up. I have a couple of questions, 1) What engine do you recommend putting in for a daily driver? 2) How much should I be spending for purchase and installation? 3) Should I get a crate engine or buy an engine that needs rebuilt?

I'm not trying to make it in a magazine but do want to be confident in the truck and be able to sell it for okay money down the road. I'd appreciate any suggestions/help.

350 chevy small block

Agree. If you got the bucks get the GM Goodwrench engine. Its brand new & you can,t get one built for the same price. You will have to scrounge up the accessaries but they are plentiful. If you wan,t to keep the price down get a good used one. If you can,t do the work yourself don,t get one that needs o-haul or rebuild.

Just my thoughts, Josh.
Do you have the gearbox? and propeller shaft?
If you have both of these items, then dropping an in-line six back in will be the easiest way to go.
Nothing wrong with a small block option (just bought one for my 1966 C20), but there is a bit more to it than the 'bolt it in and go' that some people occasionaly imply.
Cheers
Taff

id say one of those GM Goodwrench Crate 350's like wrenchbender was saying. theyre a little over a grand i think and parts for them are just about infinite haha. and they run forever, my 63 has a 283 in it which has 390k miles on it, however it has been rebuilt, but runs fine. our suburban has a 350 in it with around 350k miles on it, all original. small block chevy's are the cats [censored]!! haha

Thanks for the help getting started guys. I'm learning new stuff everyday.

Hey Rookie,

Always nice to see a new face on the bolt. I am going to have to agree with everyone else. The 350 is the culmination of GM's engineering. The small block Chevy has an abundance of performance parts, and is really easy to work on.

Now, that being said, what kind fo tranny are you going to put in? I would recomend either a Turbo Hydramatic 350 (TH-350) or a Turbo Hydramatic 400 (TH-400). These are both 3 speed automatic transmissions, the 350 is a light duty and the 400 is a heavy duty tranny. I have owned a couple of 400's and they are hard working S.O.B.'s, I would recomend the TH-400. But the TH-350's are cheaper and more abundant, if you are going to use the truck for driving and occasional work the TH-350 is more than adequate. If the truck is going to see regular towing/hauling, or if you have a heavy foot and like to bang the gears then I would go with the TH-400.

There is a host of manual transmissions that you could also choose. Is the truck a factory manual? I am not as well versed in those, but there are plenty here who are! That is also a very viable option.

You will also need to eithe have a driveshaft made or find one you can adapt to your purposes.

Good luck and have some fun!

Kyle

cmon guys theres a slew of ol 283s out there needing freshing up lol there higher though the new 350 is the way to go unless you just gotta have a 283 like me lol

Being the cheap-a$$ I am,I'd suggest a six,maybe an early 250.That'd probably get the best gas mileage for your money,have enough suds to drive well,and would be very reliable, important things for a daily driver. Have your frieng take a run through the wrecking yards and he'll probably find a good one for little money-out here they go for 50-150 bucks. Be suure to have him grab the motor mounts,exhaust pipe,anything else he'd have to work with while installing the engine,it never hurts to have extra parts on hand when you aren't sure what was in the truck. I always take as much of the related parts and hardware as I can,belts and hoses too.
Speed

a 250 is a good idea, i completely spaced on that one. does that mount with a th-350 or th-400, or is there some other tranny to use? cool idea.

a 250 would use the same tranny as a 350 V-8 one nice thing bout chevys that both inline 6s and SB V-8 have the same bellhousing except for the pre-'60s? of course i bought a '84 250 for 75 bucks for my '64 ran fine when i bought it but i let it sit a little to long and then it didn't keep an idle just kept rackin up the rpms but ya now the motor ain't being used so it was a waste, if you want it to be factory in 64 you had the choice of a 230 I-6, 292 I-6, or a 283 V-8
Nate

"a 250 would use the same tranny as a 350 V-8 one nice thing bout chevys that both inline 6s and SB V-8 have the same bellhousing except for the pre-'60s?"

That right? so I could fit a SBC onto the four speed in my '66 as easy as that?

Yes. If your bell housing & manual trans. are still there you can bolt a v-8 or 6 right up to it. If you find what engine was originaly in it it would be the easiest to install but either would be no major problem. If it originally had a manual trans I would stick with it.

Mate, everything is still in there!
I was toyinh with switching to a small block, so I can use the later inline for my T hot rod.
My '66 fleetside runs it's original motor and four speed, so in theory I can bolt a V8 straight onto it? No messing about with new tranmission/prop shaft etc? COOL!!!!