The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 61 c-10 engine swap

Hello all, I'm new here and need some info on my truck. I have a 61 c-10 2wd with a 235 four speed. I've been turning wrenches for 30 years for a living, and did a lot of swaps in my day, but I need some of your expertise on what I need to swap out the six for a v8 and keep the four speed thats in it. Do I need a different bell housng, what about the hydraulic clutch, and also motor mounts? I appreciate any info you can give me, thanks.

A lot will depend on the year of the new engine. The bolt patterns are slightly different on the bell housings. You will also have to look at the placement of the motor mounts. Look at the thread of mine on engine swaps, when I asked a similar question. I'm going to keep mine with the 235 in it. Good luck!

Greetings and welcome to the forum.

I did a similar engine swap on my 1962 C10. I have the sm420 4 speed. I went from the 235 straight 6, to the 327 V8. My "new" engine was out of a 1967 passenger car and the bolt pattern was the same as the 235 so no changes were required for the bellhousing. The clutch is actually easier since we have the hydraulic clutches, just keep the line routed across the top of the bellhousing and it will be fine.

One thing you will also need to consider is the throttle linkage. For the 235, the linkage comes out of the firewall and the arm points down. This is so it can 'push' the linkage on the side of the 235. For the V8's, it comes out of the firewall and the arm points up so it can 'pull' the throttle on the carb. I took the easy route and swapped out the entire linkage as a unit from a junkyard donor truck. There are just 2 bolts under the dash that hold it to the firewall.

The engine mounts are another issue. 1960 - 1962 frames are shorter in cross section than the 1963 - 1966 (perhaps later)frames were. There are V8 mounts for the 60-62, but they are few and far between, so how I handled that was to use 1963-66 engine mounts and a spacer to make up the difference.

My frame had holes already drilled in the frame, but not in the crossmember, for the V8 mounts, so I mounted them to the engine and installed it in the truck, hooked up the two bottom bolts on the tranny, and put bolts into the top (frame) holes of the motor mount. I then marked the crossmember and pulled the engine out.

Next I drilled the crossmember for the lower holes and reinstalled the engine.

Your original exhaust will not work so you will need to replace/modify that as well.

I hope this helps you a bit.

Hello, sorry I'm late getting back to this, had a lot going on. 62stick, you said you used the 235 bell housing? I want to be sure on this because I've seen several other posts that say the 235 bell is different and won't work. I just want to make sure I have all the correct parts I need before I start into this swap. The exact combination I want to use is a 62 327 with the four speed that came in the truck. When you mentioned the motor mounts, did you mean the steel brackets that the motor mounts bolt to, or the mounts themselves? I hope thats not too confusing. I appreciate everyones help on this. Apache c-10.

235 bell housing to engine is NOT the same as Chevy V8 / later (194 /230 /250 / 292) 6 cylinders. Never was, never will be.

you will need the 60-62 Chevy pickup V-8 front motor mount and the 60-62 Chevy pickup V-8 Bellhousing for your conversion. you will be able to bolt your transmission to the other bellhousing. i do have the parts you need to do this swap. for more info.
[email protected] or call
(719)250-5057

Thanks everybody for your replies and info. RJ I will get in touch with you on some prices for what I need, I want to get this ball rolling. Thanks again, apache c-10.

I appologise. I was under the impression the engine that came with the truck was a 235. I just ran the casting number off the block (3921968) and it came back as 230/250. So, I didn't have a 235 after all. Please disregard my above comments.

Sorry, I didn't run the casting numbers, but I initially used the bellhousing that was in the truck when I got it (wrong housing, was set up for a mechanical linkage) with the what I thought was a 235 in the truck.

When that engine died, I pulled it out, installed the '67 327 V8 using the set up I described above. Everything bolted up fine.

I later found the correct bellhousing (for the hydraulic clutch) and it all bolted up as well. I am currently able to drive the truck around anywhere and at any time I want, reliably.

I wish you well in your search for parts and I'm sorry I may have steered you wrong.

Just to make life easier, ANY Chevy truck bellhousing 1963 through 1972 will work fine with the 7 main bearing L6s AND all the small block engines, as will V-8 truck bellhousings back to 1955. Period.

Best wishes,

Les

Yes I know that, but not with the hydraulic clutch on my 61. The hydraulic clutch bellhousing is totally different, apache c-10.

Opps, I forgot the Hydraulic Clutch ones! Sorry!

Les