Technical 3800 Pickup Engine Advice

late 1950's Pontiac V8, or Cadillac V8

 

Junk yards might be drying up but there’s tons of parts if ya know where to look
Lots of guys here don’t do FB. That’s great for me.
Lots of chassis pop up from the frame swap guys
Lots of engines and trans pop up from the LS swap guys.
I’ve got some cool pieces from the swap tribes.
And shop the scrap yards. Bought a 292 and a 261 from my local yard. Cheap.
They usually give me the transmission

 

Did anyone read the first post?

This is in regards to v8 engine swaps.

 

I have a complete-ish 235 that was running when I pulled it out. been in storage for a while . $350

 

Curb weight of a 54 3604 is 3705 lbs and in six cylinder full size parlance that isn't exactly on the heavy side. Checking the GM heritage center vehicle info kits you could get a 74 Chev 3/4 ton with a 250 and although they wouldn't run 80 on the long roads they could run 65/70 all day long without big issues.
A 261 would be the easiest install outside of a 235, They made both up though 1962. the only issue is the length of the post 54 water pump.
With the 63 or later six be it 230,250 or 292 in that 54 the real issue is length and what you are going to do to get the water pump/fan to clear the radiator. Running a GMC same year radiator rather than a Chevy radiator gets you an extra inch or so of clearance that at worst you have to slightly trim the cross brace on the radiator support or slightly space the radiator back to clear.

As Anthony said the Cast iron V8 bellhousing from 55 up to around 71 minus the early 60's that had a hydraulic clutch bolts right to the 54 crossmember. that makes things simpler unless you are bent on an automatic.
Stock rear axle in that truck should be a 4.57 ratio. great for pulling stumps but not great for highway use. One thought is that an overdrive trans with a .70 fifth gear would = 3.2 final drive.

I ran a 250 in my 48 for years with a Saginaw 3 speed and 3.08 rear and before it go so worn out that it didn't have any power it was great on the long roads and got 20 mpg. This time around I have a 292 for it with an AX15 trans with a Novak adapter and if I run the 3.7 rear and 27.7 tall tire it works out to 2217 rpm at 70. My buddy gave me the 292 but it has become the most expensive free engine I have ever had. Mostly because I have a ton of polished finned aluminum for it that isn't necessary but I wanted it.

Scrolling down the page I see some decent ideas and some real lame screw with the new guy ideas that just flat are not viable and those clowns should be ashamed of them selves and grow up.

This is the link to the GM heritage center vehicle information kit for 54 Chevy trucks. it has diagrams with measurements that you are going to want and I suggest saving it to your bookmarks for reference.

 

Do you have 17s on the truck?
There was a one piece 17.5 and 19.5s optional. Not sure the year they showed up.
For reference, my sons c40 has 8r19.5, 4:10 rear gears and a sm420.
Cruises 60-65 no problem
Had a 49 1/2 ton with a 235 and 3 speed, 3:55 gears and 235/75/15s
60-65 was no issue either
But that’s was about as tight as I’d wind it

 

The two paragraphs seem contradictory since (I think) that truck only originally came with a straight-six.

 

What's up with that (somewhat) harsh comment?

 

I agree... Now Im worried I may have had a "real lame screw idea and Im a clown and should be ashamed of my self"

I still think a Pontiac V8 would be cool, like were factory original installed in GMC trucks

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...what year were they first installed in GMC trucks? Not in 54, surely?

 

55, but you knew that. And that it wouldn't be the easiest swap, but would really be cool if he could find an original 54 hydro. 54 Jimmies could be had with one of those behind the great GMC six.
Impractical, but cool.
Practically speaking, any of the 50s/60s/70s big sixes with a transmission originally available from the factory would be workable. Pairing original parts makes the installation so much easier. Compared to searching for adapters, etc that is. Ford 300/Chevy 292/GMC 270/302 are fairly cheap and available.
I'm a fan of the A833, OD version available from chevy as well as Mopar and the chevy version will fit most GM standard clutch housings

 

I dropped a big block into the 57 3800 I had, but they have the steering more out of the way...a six would be better in the 54. I finally got rid of most of the 261 I had, but then it was a long ways from where this truck is.

 

I know I said it as a joke but a Cummins 6 cyl diesel with the associated transmission and different 8 lug rearend with a appropriate gears would be high on my list if I had this truck IF I wanted to drive it much and use it as the truck it is .
I realize its off topic for this area of the site but it would make it a damn nice usable rig that would get good fuel economy and really make the truck usable on todays highways . Id be looking for a wrecked Dodge 2wd with a Cummins in it ( who is not thats into trucks ) the 6 should fit well

If you want to really make it different but a 471 2 stoke jimmy in it LOL .

When I built up my military 715 kaiser 1.25 ton military jeep PU I made the mistake of putting a 327 SBC in it . What i needed was torque and I should have gone with a Cummins or other diesel or a BBC . The original engine was hopelessly under powered and the gearing was for 45 MPG and your truck with a 6 wont be much better.
so unless its going to be only used for short trips of the free way and such Id really step it up unless this is going to be more of a keep it kind of stock thing.

a Uncle had one of those trucks in Washington and he used to haul cherries to market in it and I recall going a few times and it was slow as hell and noisy and did not stop that great as he found out when he hit a train in the end and nearly died .

I do know were there is a running 65 GMC 305 V6 that will be for sale soon out of a 3/4 truck in WI . hes doing a V8 swap OD and gears to make it usable on today 80 MPH interstates he is also doing disk brakes. Its getting a 383 SBC and a NV 4500

 

Might be easier to swap out the whole front axle for one from a late model 1 ton truck or delivery van. If the springs are the same distance apart it should be a bolt on deal.

 

The shape of the chassis makes finding an axle to swap kinda difficult.
The rails are not parallel
The stock axle is perfect. Guys on the stove bolt forum have added 8 lug discs for a while.
Sid’s dropped axles have had info on this before.
But rebuilding the stock is the easiest.
You could add a booster under the floor if you wanted to.
But an old truck driving like an old truck os part of the cool factor