Hi all new here nice site! Found some good info like the tranny info post!

Let me start by giving some backround info...
I am 34yr old male with plenty of auto experience but mostly with foreign and GM products. I have always owned GM and have jumped ship to see how green the grass is on the other side. so far it seems you have to be much more knowledgeable on this side. GM didn't have near the variances in there engines and trans. for the most part small block was small block big was big and there was chevy bell housing and everything else. LOL So anyways in my venture for ultimate knowledge I picked up a 2001 E-150 with 194k on it. The V-6 was run out of oil and blew a rod thru both sides of the oil pan and put a rather undesirable crack in the block. I sold that engine minus front accessories and some electrical stuff that wasnt connected to the engine for more then I paid for the van! So far I am ahead of the game. Anyways it seems this 4.2L V-6 was not a very well designed motor so I will be changing to a v-8. And I have the engine I will be using. It is a older looking (but painted) 302 with 2bbl intake (will get production code for the block when it is daylight and not crappy out. It currently has a c4(maybe FMX) tranny on it. I have access to a C-6 but not sure on the bell housing now that I read the tranny post.

So there is the basics here are some of the questions.... I have a Edelbrock 650CFM performer and a holley 1850 (600cfm) 4bbl carbs to use. I have a holley contender 4bbl intake at my disposal as well. I thought no biggie use the edelbrock with the contender intake but am running into probs The edelbrock is a very wide carb and linkages hit the valve covers unless I was to use a spacer That don't seem like a good idea so onto the holley. Someone mentioned it would be worse to put that combo on there then buy a 500cfm holley and uses the 2bbl. The reasoning was the heads were designed for a 2bbl and not a 4 so it wouldnt run as strong. ?????

Next is accessories. Does anyone make a bracket kit to convert these older v-belt engines to serpentine belt designs? all the accessories are the new style and would be nice to use them on the engine and not have to shop for some old school alternators, PS and AC pumps. I am sure I could fab some brackets but they wouldn't look as good as I would like.

Tranny question. is the rear cross member movable for diff length trans? Some chevys were or you could just use a diff one that ofset the mount to a diff point. I have no problem making a custom drive shaft so that part will be easy.

How much of the computer will be needed for other functions of the van, IE Heat A/C Lights etc. is the computer even needed at this point? I am thinking since the engine going in is no computerized that Simple wiring is all I should need. I don't need the speedo etc to work I can replace those with Aftermarkets.

Motor mounts. I know this year van didnt have a 302 available but I don't believe there were any frame differences since they were so I should be able to locate mounts for the frame side and motor side easily?

Anyone have any links to a place to get full bushing sets? I would like to replace at the very least the front bushings and steering components before I place the engine in for ease of installation.

Any other crazy mod problems you forsee? I have welders etc at my disposal just wondering ahead on these things.

Oh is there a way to decode what this 302 was originally in?

 

The vans didn't change nearly as much as the pickups so you should be able to make this work with some minor fabrication and part swapping. Casting numbers for the block should be down near the starter and on the head gasket surface of the heads near one of the center intake ports.. so you'll need a mirror to see them if the heads are mounted but the intake is off. These casting umbers will identify the vintage of the motor but won't really tell you what vehicle it was originally installed in. But that's not a big deal anyway becaue internally there was never much different besides the cam. If you want a serpentine setup visit your local junkyard and liberate some brackets off an early to mid '90's van, the brackets for either a 5.0 or 5.8 will do since they're drilled to mount on both motors. The computer in these trucks controls the engine and auto trans only so you don't need one at all, speedo should be electronic and get it's signal from the rear diff. Not sure about the crossmember but if you do find a van to pick parts from have a look to see if it's different or the same as yours. There's generally no need for more than 500cfm of carb on a 302, the heads are small and the stock cams even smaller so these motors didn't breath too well, and that's a good reason to swap in an RV cam before you install the motor. Hopefully that's enought to get you started.

 

That is a huge help. I wasn't sure if the blocks holes drilled for accessories had changed over the years so I didn't knkow if a newer one would work. chevy always drove the speedo from the trans I guess ford dont.... works for me.... I figured I might cam it before I put it in there.