454 swap
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454 swap
I’m looking into doing a 454 swap into a 82. As im reading about other people doing the same swap or a similar swap it seems like the transmission and driveshaft are the hardest part of this. I see some people say how it’s incredibly difficult and requires a lot of modifications and others saying it’s pretty much just bolt on. I’ve seen mostly th350s being used and some th400s. Some are using a th350 with a 9 inch tail shaft from a truck and some are using a th350 with a 700r4 tail shaft and aluminum spacer. Also I keep seeing a few different torque arm and conversion kits being mentioned but it seems that most of them have been discontinued other than the umi. So basically I’m coming to you all to ask what’s my best bet for this transmission and what all is needed to make it happen. What transmission what driveshaft to use what conversion kit. Any advice is appreciated as well. Thanks I’m advance
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Re: 454 swap
Alot will depend on what you plan on using the car for.
For the instructions here, I'm going to start out by assuming it came with a V8. If it came with the 4 or 6-cyl then it'll take more than this, including swapping the frame-side engine mounts.
If it's a 82, it came with one of 3 transmissions.
If it came with the 200C, use a standard length 350, an aftermarket crossmember and torque arm, and the drive shaft it came with. the long-tail 350 is only appropriate to swapping from a 700 and re-using that drive shaft, which isn't your situation.
If it came with the T-10, just run it as is. All you need to change is the flywheel.
If it came with the Saginaw, you're fornicated. Probably best at that point to go the 350 route. Not sure about the drive shaft in that case.
The car probably doesn't weigh enough to really "need" a 400, or to justify the extra grief of fitting it, unless you're planning on running faster than 11.0 seconds or so in the 1320'.
You could use a 700 regardless. You'll have to add a 3rd set of crossmember bolt holes. Use an aftermarket Xmem and TA. You'll need to get the drive shaft shortened. Somebody here will know the exact amount; it's in the 4" neighborhood.
Gears might be an issue, depending on usage.
Check the sticky at the top of the forum for big block info in general.
For the instructions here, I'm going to start out by assuming it came with a V8. If it came with the 4 or 6-cyl then it'll take more than this, including swapping the frame-side engine mounts.
If it's a 82, it came with one of 3 transmissions.
If it came with the 200C, use a standard length 350, an aftermarket crossmember and torque arm, and the drive shaft it came with. the long-tail 350 is only appropriate to swapping from a 700 and re-using that drive shaft, which isn't your situation.
If it came with the T-10, just run it as is. All you need to change is the flywheel.
If it came with the Saginaw, you're fornicated. Probably best at that point to go the 350 route. Not sure about the drive shaft in that case.
The car probably doesn't weigh enough to really "need" a 400, or to justify the extra grief of fitting it, unless you're planning on running faster than 11.0 seconds or so in the 1320'.
You could use a 700 regardless. You'll have to add a 3rd set of crossmember bolt holes. Use an aftermarket Xmem and TA. You'll need to get the drive shaft shortened. Somebody here will know the exact amount; it's in the 4" neighborhood.
Gears might be an issue, depending on usage.
Check the sticky at the top of the forum for big block info in general.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Re: 454 swap
Alot will depend on what you plan on using the car for.
For the instructions here, I'm going to start out by assuming it came with a V8. If it came with the 4 or 6-cyl then it'll take more than this, including swapping the frame-side engine mounts.
If it's a 82, it came with one of 3 transmissions.
If it came with the 200C, use a standard length 350, an aftermarket crossmember and torque arm, and the drive shaft it came with. the long-tail 350 is only appropriate to swapping from a 700 and re-using that drive shaft, which isn't your situation.
If it came with the T-10, just run it as is. All you need to change is the flywheel.
If it came with the Saginaw, you're fornicated. Probably best at that point to go the 350 route. Not sure about the drive shaft in that case.
The car probably doesn't weigh enough to really "need" a 400, or to justify the extra grief of fitting it, unless you're planning on running faster than 11.0 seconds or so in the 1320'.
You could use a 700 regardless. You'll have to add a 3rd set of crossmember bolt holes. Use an aftermarket Xmem and TA. You'll need to get the drive shaft shortened. Somebody here will know the exact amount; it's in the 4" neighborhood.
Gears might be an issue, depending on usage.
Check the sticky at the top of the forum for big block info in general.
For the instructions here, I'm going to start out by assuming it came with a V8. If it came with the 4 or 6-cyl then it'll take more than this, including swapping the frame-side engine mounts.
If it's a 82, it came with one of 3 transmissions.
If it came with the 200C, use a standard length 350, an aftermarket crossmember and torque arm, and the drive shaft it came with. the long-tail 350 is only appropriate to swapping from a 700 and re-using that drive shaft, which isn't your situation.
If it came with the T-10, just run it as is. All you need to change is the flywheel.
If it came with the Saginaw, you're fornicated. Probably best at that point to go the 350 route. Not sure about the drive shaft in that case.
The car probably doesn't weigh enough to really "need" a 400, or to justify the extra grief of fitting it, unless you're planning on running faster than 11.0 seconds or so in the 1320'.
You could use a 700 regardless. You'll have to add a 3rd set of crossmember bolt holes. Use an aftermarket Xmem and TA. You'll need to get the drive shaft shortened. Somebody here will know the exact amount; it's in the 4" neighborhood.
Gears might be an issue, depending on usage.
Check the sticky at the top of the forum for big block info in general.
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