A friend is selling me a chevy 350 from a 1990 former municipal truck. It only has 53K original miles and he's throwing in an aftermarket intake and carburetor. $500. but I have to pull it out at his shop. There's a manual transmission attached and since he's heavily in to local stock car racing I think we can find a cheap TH350 to use with it. I looked for a Ford 5.0 or an older 351 that was in decent condition but there wasn't much to choose from and the cost was at least double. I know most members hate these sbc motors in our old Ford trucks but I'm on a budget and since the price is affordable and with a rear sump oil pan (which will fit right into the truck with a mustang II IFS kit we're installing) I went with it. I wasn't even going to mention the engine but since the question was asked I thought I would spill the beans.

Wally

 

So the question remains, ....why not keep the 390 and C6 you already owned?

 

FE blocks look awesome in these trucks. They fill the engine compartment like a Boss 429 in a Mustang.

 

The 390 is a very wide motor. The stock battery holder didn't fit and the engine needed to come out just to remove the steering box. I believe it would have been a problem with the rack and pinion steering linkage and I would have had to change the oil pan pick up and the pan to a rear sump to fit with the new IFS cross member.
I was forced to sell my last '51 last winter to finish a garage/workshop and it really bummed me out. Once I was able to buy another old F1 I found this one and I want it to be similar but even better than the last one I had to sell. I liked the sbc in it because I could find parts everywhere and the motor ran well. I understand that people on FTE prefer the Ford engines in their trucks (it makes sense, after all, it's a Ford truck forum) but for my application I prefer the sbc motor. The 390 and C6 have a new home and the guy who bought it is putting it in a Mercedes SL believe it or not.
Thanks for asking the question.

Wally

 

Subscribed....I want to see how your build goes. I like the clean slate.

You should try to find a stock crossmember....the structure helps to keep the frame from sagging outward where the body attaches at the front body mounts.

I'm not going to fault you for going with a sbc...as much as I like a sbf, I like seeing classic trucks on the road more. Once the hood is closed, nobody will know the difference.

Dan

 

It's been a while since I posted my progress but I've been pluggin' away on this project. I just finished the engine (see pics below, 1990 sbc with 53K miles) and the steering column is in place as well as the cross member. We should pick up some speed now. Next up is the fabrication of the motor mounts. All my parts are here so I'll update this thread as soon as I make more progress.

Wally

 

That's looking good Wally.

 

Nice! keep up the good work. Second time around goes smoother because you get the mistakes out of the way with the first one.

 

You put some serious elbow grease into that engine. It looks great.
Glad to know it's coming along nicely, and glad to see pics.

 

Wow! that engine looks great.

 

[quote=EffieTrucker;13447084]FE blocks look awesome in these trucks. They fill the engine compartment like a Boss 429 in a Mustang.[/quot

Yes they do !!! I moved the steering box out 1" & down 2" to eliminate any clearance issues & so I could use the factory cast iron headers worth 35 more HP. . Just couldn't give that up !!

 

Wow! That's impressive, great job. (I know, I'm a d#ck for using a sbc)

Wally

 

Made a little more progress this week and I'm hoping to get the engine and transmission in place this week sometime. We finished making the engine mounts and once i receive a few needed parts for the front suspension we can get that buttoned up. Here's a few pics of the truck and the engine (with the transmission) that are ready to be transported to my buddy's shop. We're getting there slowly, but were getting there.

Wally

 

I feel your pain brother. I'm going through the same stuff right now on my 56. I can't blame you for going with an sbc motor, the price and availability of parts is exponentially better. Gonna tough it out with my 351 though until I blow it up.

 

Why did you remove the R&P box mounts? I'm surprised to see you welded in the column floor cover plate before hooking up the steering. Personally I would not mount the bottom of the column to the frame. The cab is rubber mounted and moves around. typically the lower mount is attached to the floor so the column can move with the cab and it also isolates the steering wheel from road vibration.