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Hi all I am new to this site I have a 1989 E350 Pick up with a 460 auto in it and love it want to put a 7.3 in someday but right now I am looking for info on motor swap I have a 1961 E100 Pick up got it with no motor or trans I have a 1989 351 EFI with a auto trans I want to put in it .Now looking at this truck from under it I see this thing has no real frame do I need to make a sub frame for this and attach it to the sheet metal to hold the motor in it ? I know I will need to make a new dog house for it but not sure how to go about it anyone out there had any experience doing one of these ? Any info would be appreciated .Thanks Jim
Not sure about the framing but as far as the motorbox rather than hacking at an original you may want to look at one out of a dodge A-100 they were designed tapered out at the bottom with the foresight of putting a V8 in.
Mikie
near ottawa canada
64 econo p/u & 58 merc 100 panel
I've seen them with 302s but never looked in the engine bay. I wouldn't worry about trimming it a little to make the engine fit. I would wonder how to do a rear cross member. I'm sure it's do-able but the tranny had the mount on top originally
Thanks for the info I will take a look and see if I can find a Dodge engine box
I had a 69 dodge that had a 318 and I remember that the box was wider at the bottom thanks for refreshing my memory .I guess I will need to make some kind of motor and trans mount maybe some 3"tube on the box rails that are in it now .any ideas will be helpful . Thank you
The Econoline 1965-1967 dog house (engine box) is larger than yours, and will swap in. You will need to box out the sides of the dog house under the seats to fit a V8.
Also 1965-1967 used a engine crossmember that went between frame rails under the engine and held the engine in place. Vic La Fountaine in California can create a crossmember for your engine and van combination. vlafountaine socal.rr.com
Vic can also help you with the transmission mounting. He is the expert at this.
Cooling the engine is the hard part. You are stuffing an oversized engine in the small doghouse that was designed for a small six, and folks with small sixes have over-heating problems. Cutting a vent from the back of the doghouse through to the pickup bed is the best way to get the heat out.