The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 454 to 1937 Big Bolt (1.5t) Running Gear Conv.

Folks -

Oh the trials and tribulations of late. I'll spare you the drama, for now, long story short, a tree fell on our garage & shop and munched our honda and MATILDA, our 1 ton 47...

But for now, I am wondering if any of you know if a 454 and a TH400 will fit in a 37 Chevy 1.5 ton. This is NOT a "rat rod" - rather, we would like to build ourselves a Gypsy Wagon/RV and have enough ooomph to travel and travel reliably. The original engine has a cracked block and other issues, zo.....

My "spidey sense" thinks I should go with the largest engine I can get - and a 454, short of going with a diesel looks like it... I'm not concerned about some fabbing and shoe-horning, I just want to know if this is nuts and I should look at another GM engine/trans unit. If so, do you have any recommendations?

Smog issues are not a consideration, registration wise. Heck, anything we put in is going to run cleaner than the original engine.

TIA,

John

I like the 454 idea.But if you are going to use it for traveling I would say to use a 6 cyl diesel and more than a 3 speed trans .http://www.dieselenginetrader.com/engines/engine_details.cfm?id=41461
This would give you plenty of power and good mileage.

Just me, but seems a 454 would be a bit tight for the cowling, may have to make some sheet metal modifications to clear the valve covers up front.
Bigger is not always better, there are a lot of smal bock combinations that will pull like mad and still get decent economy. & if you're more keen on gas than diesel there are some modern engine/tranny combos that would get you lots of power w/o needing 2 fuel tanks to get across town. Might look at some of the GM Vortec motors, they have a great power range and decent milage on top of that.
The 5.3L v-8 in my '00 GMC is tied to a 4 speed automatic that gives great reliability and grunt. I have moved a good deal of heavy loads with it over long distances and I'm more than satisfied with the performance. The downside is it's not really something you can tinker with if it poops, too much computer, not enough motor!

Take a look at this site, www.hotrodradio.com.
Wings has a '38 Chevrolet with a 502 that he pulls his mobile studio with. He has put a ton of miles on the rig and worn it out a couple times...or so they say. When you get to the site click on about us.

If you have the 454 and tranny laying around then it may be a good choice. Otherwise what the guys above are saying is true. Lots of engines out there that will do the job and not kill the pocket book everytime you fire it up.
What rear end you gonna run? Will you be trucking down an interstate?
Its good your making a plan. That WILL make things go better.

Sorry about your misfortune. I'm sure you and Rose will make the best of it.

Rose here....

I've added some recent pictures of Matilda during our Oak Tree crisis... Our little red Honda fared much worse, thank goodness!
The roof is so caved in on the Truck that John bumps his head and won't drive it until it's fixed. So little ol' me gets to build up my arm muscles and waltz her around from time to time.
The Oak tree was not ours.. it was on the City easement.
We are waiting (and expecting quite a wait, sadly) to see if any compensation will be forthcoming from our hometown. Sigh....
Meanwhile we are borrowing vehicles from friends and family and it's wearing thin on everyone.

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx246/Knedert/Waltzing%20Matilda/CopyofOctOakTreeDown065.jpg

I talked to Wings this is what he said about the truck .
The frames is a mid 70's Chevy dooley crew-cab pick-up, with all of the later Chevy underpinnings. Brakes, power steering, Master cylinder, etc. The rear axle is a GM 14 bolt from a 1 ton cab & chassis. They are much narrower than the dooley pick up's Dana rear. I widened the front fenders and running boards 4", because the front track on the new frame is that much wider than stock. The front bumper is custom made from stainless steel. Transmission is a GM Turbo 400, with a Allison torque converter and a US Gear underdrive. Rear end is 4:10 ratio

You may have cooling issuse. My truck has 3 radiators and 2 transmission coolers.

My truck has over 200,000 miles on it, pulling a 18,000 trailer. It works well. Build your 454 to run on regular gas, as it will burn plenty of it.

Good luck.

-Wings

i have a bbc chevy th400 in my 37 gmc right now. i was able to do this back in high school, so it's not that bad. i still have factory frame, front axle. you have to deal with the steering box, i suggest the mid 70's chevy truck box on the outside of the frame up front. the other thing is exhaust manifolds are too thick, i used some generic headers, set the height of the engine to frame based on the headers. i used speedway motors front cradle mount that bolts to the block on each side of the balancer.
the firewall had to be clearanced on the drivers side for the valve cover.
throttle had to be modified, i used a cable
stock brake pedal had to be moved, it wouldn't clear the engine at all, not even close.
removed trans crossmember, replaced with another to fit new trans.
i was able to use the original radiator, but was not pulling any thing. mine was also a long water pump late style, i used a early 80's GM electric fan, it fit the rad perfectly.

i also have a 5.9 cummins, they are longer than the factory 6 cyl, i think that they are app 33-34 " long.
caddy motors are wider than a bbc, get the same mileage, less parts availability.

sbc is essentially the same work as a bbc, potential to get better mileage when empty, but smae or worse pulling.

all that said, look at the newer LS series engines. i bought a 2000 5.3L for $800 that is going in my 68. all said and done the cost is the same as a carbed sbc, bbc, but you have some advantages over them. these don't have a distributor to work around, aluminum heads, nice reuseable gaskets, etc.

good luck