Well, I have been reading this board and itching to do a motor swap for awhile now...so I thought I would post now that I'm starting mine.

I snagged a pretty fresh 355 on craigslist. This guy had just pulled it from his lifted K5 blazer the same day I picked it up. He had swapped it in last summer when gas prices were through the roof, put about 10 miles on it, and someone ran under the back of the truck and tore the rear end out. Now he has a dana 60 rear...and decided he wants his big block again. The engine was given to him to pay off some debt, and he was looking for $1000 cash. That's what I gave for it.

Here's what I know about it:

4 bolt main block .30 over - casting # 3970010 with 010, 020, and 509 identifiers.
Looks like it has been zero decked because the engine ID# is missing on the passenger side pad.
'69 heads - 2.02/in 1.60/exh, casting # 3947041
Speed-Pro forged pistons (stamped L2304 030)
GM Cast crank - #3932442
#3412 main caps
Lunati voodoo cam (unverified - not sure of the lift / duration)
roller tipped rockers
air gap RPM intake
ugly rusty Edelbrock valve covers

This is my first swap attempt, and so far, everything is going well. I need to pick up a carb and distributor and swap all the accessories over...and i'm sure there's a million little other things that will crop up (wiring, headers, blowing up my transmission after a week) ...but I'm looking forward to it. Here's a few pictures.

Yes...I know I'm opening myself up to ridicule for the ******* engine stands...I'm picking up longer bolts for the real stand today.

 

a few more pics...

 

good price. Not so sure about running a Voodoo cam in a stroker. Strokers do better with tighter lobe separations, especially when using ported stock GM heads. Of course you could try it before thinking about another cam, but the swap would be easier now.

 

Well Atilla...don't have to worry about the 383 argument...but it's my fault for not pulling the pan when i had the chance. Buyer beware, right? I got it on the stand tonight and ran some more part #'s.

It's got the cast GM crank... #3932442 3.48 stroke.
#3412 main caps.
Also pulled the part # on the pistons...TRW 2403 030.

Looks like I bought myself a 355. I thought that might be the case for this price range...but it's still disappointing. At least I got a set of decent heads and the intake I wanted. And a fresh rebuild with forged pistons. Still haven't checked the cam part#...I'm assuming it's going to be a totally different cam at this point.

I guess it's better than the 305 TPI with 200,000 miles on it. Trying to stay positive here.

What do you think? Was $1000 too much for this motor? I couldn't have one built for that...

 

as long as its fresh, then a grand is still a good deal.

 

Awesome. It looks pretty fresh to me...the paint never even had time to burn off the block....man those valve covers have got to go.

 

Didn't get much done tonight...but I did get the ECM removed and started sorting through the TPI wiring that I want outta there. Seriously, there's enough copper in there to wrap around my house 10 times. I marked the connections with masking tape when I was pulling the motor...and I would definitely recommend it if you don't know TPI backwards and forwards. It makes it much easier to see what goes and what stays. From what I can tell...pretty much everything coming out of the passenger side fender is going bye-bye, and pretty much everything coming out of the fuseblock connection on the driver's side, I'm going to need.

This thread was also helpful.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/carb...ut-remove.html

 

Just minor updates. TPI harness and ECM...outta there. I was able to get the harness out in one piece. also removed A/C for now. Going to push it out in the driveway and hit it with degreaser and pressure washer after Horsepower TV is over.


Looks like I have some surface rust at the battery tray but overall, not too bad in there. Can't wait to get it cleaned up and repainted.

 

Rolled her outside and cleaned up the engine bay...turned out pretty good.

Also dropped the tranny to take care of some leaky seals and broken bolts at the pan. Was surprised to see a Fairbanks Racing Automatics sticker on it. Hopefully it will last awhile...I have no idea what was done to it.

 

Been awhile since I updated. I sold the old TPI 305 and the ECM/wiring this week. Yesterday, I pulled the dash and all the wiring (want to go through it...might be going back with aftermarket guages), Steering column, brake booster, AC/Heater box...etc. Think i'm going to go back with an AC delete box...I thought about going no AC/Heat and fabbing a plate for the firewall...but I may regret it on those mornings I wish I could kick on the defroster.

Today...sandblasted the engine bay. It took a couple of hours to get it as clean as i wanted. Hoping to lay down some epoxy primer and paint tomorrow with a semi-gloss black...here's the before and after pics.

 

A couple more...

 

Engine bay has been primed and painted. I went with a semi-gloss black and sprayed it with a Craftsman paint gun. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Going to order some prothane motor mount inserts before I drop the motor back in.

 

Well, it's been forever since i've posted. I guess I got tired of posting every little step. Good news is...I got the engine dropped in over the summer and have been working on it as time permits. I sandblasted and repainted the valve covers, as well as a few other accessory brackets and t-stat housing. I also installed a set of Hooker 2055 shorties, an MSD 6AL / Pro Billet Distributor / 8.5 wires, Holley 650, Mallory Fuel Pressure Regulator, and had the 700R4 re-sealed and then re-installed it with a Hughes 2500 Stall TQ converter. Also went with a Hitachi mini-starter. The trans has "Fairbanks Racing" on the side, so we will see how long it lives. Replaced the u-joints...will re-gear the nine-bolt later.

I got it running a couple of weeks ago! Vid here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgUx_L-qmss

Saving up for a Hooker cat-back and a Catco 9118 before i take it off the jackstands. Also...the motor didn't have a timing tab, so I ordered one tonight so I can time it correctly.