The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 1961 GMC Truck

Hello, I just bought a GMC short bed with a 305 V6. I am interested in putting in a V8 down the line. Any suggestions as to which engine will best fit in this truck? This is my first project, I grew up working on trucks with my dad, decided it was time for me to get one for me.

I put a 409 in mine. The tops of the frame rails needed to be trimmed just a bit. I put a Turbo 400 behind it and used Sanderson headers. I did not put in power steering and did not change anything else on the truck. Eventually a 12 bolt posi should go in.
A big block should be fine. A small block will be fine as well. A lot of the dismantlers have the 5.3L LS motors from the new trucks for very cheap money. The redone wiring harness and computer actually costs more than the engine. In my neck of the woods, I can get a 100k mile 5.3 with reworked engine harness, with the 700R4 behind it for around 1400 bucks. With 300 HP of fuel injected goodness, you're not going to get a better bang for the buck than that. And 22 MPG to boot and it'll fire up on the first key turn. I haven't done one yet, but that will be the direction for the next one for sure. Good luck.

wbreeze: a small block Chevy is going to be the easiest swap. Cheapest, too.
An LS is a great way to go, too, but if this is your first project, you need to adhere to the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

K10: how'd you hang the TH400 in your truck? Did you make your own cross member? (I haven't seen an available aftermarket trans cross member for the '60-'62 trucks)

-Brad

Here's a link showing how I installed a 350 in my 1960 GMC which is pretty straight forward:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=369663

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I know they will be helpful in the near future.

hey, wbreeze,
wish you lived closer to Utah. I'd offer to buy your 305 if it was still decent. Had one in a 80's truck, and was really fond of it. :-) Fun little motor with good zip. Good luck!

I agree with husker the 305 v-6 is an awesome work truck motor.. 63 gmc 3/4t 305 v-6 log truck lotta torque

And about 10 MPG. It's a heavy sucker too. The v-6 is 100 lbs heavier than the 409 I put in mine.
Brad, I missed this before, Sorry. We welded a couple of tabs and bracing onto the front of the stock x-member, and kept it in the stock location. Downside is that the trans and engine would need to come out together, because of the "enclosure" at the rear of the trans. But other than that, it worked out slick. I went with a stock 3 on the tree column shiftand welded up the linkage and turned it into a column shift auto. I got a lokar column cable shifter kit and that was it.