[Curtisjosiah]

Been gone awhile and had been asking for advice last Nov. Sorry to tell you i haven't started my project yet. Well now I finally am! I have a 400 sbc that i plan to put in a 1995 GMC Safari conversion Van. I am looking for any advice or suggestions. I want to thank Gary and zombie{[six]} , they were trying to help me and it's much appreciated. I know that for fuel issues i should use a 454 tbi unit w/spacer, and also to grab Ford Taurus or Vic's electric fan. Along w/tons of other stuff mentioned in the V8 swap lists. Well that"s a quick post i will add pics and more questions as i have them. Please feel free with the advice and comments. Also I'm aware that the 95 is cpi but been told i just need tpi wiring harness from truck from bulkhead forward. Here is my engine, just started to take it apart, looks in real good shape.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

She's got main studs that's an excellent upgrade for the 400s. What are you planning to do with this motor? Will make for a great N/A street motor, throw some heads that have some flow on it and see what she can do. Gotta love big cubes in a small package. Hell even a 377 would be awesome.

 

[astro355]

Yeah, a 377 with a nice turbo setup would rule.

And that's a 10-4 on the dual electric cooling fans. I would also suggest a larger radiator. I have a 3rd gen firebird radiator in mine and if I want, it will run 160* all day.

What kind of work are you planning for the trans?

 

[Gary]

Like we talked about before-it is very important to keep that 400 from overheating.I would take that block/heads to a machine shop have have them mag check it.If your going to bore it,do that with a shop that is going to do that with torque plates in place.I would guess your going to convert it back to a carb.That means a fuel pump change as well because your 1995 has way too high pressure for a carb.If your going to buy aftermarket heads for it,make sure you tell the head manufacture it is for a 400 so they can drill the steam holes for you.Keep the posts coming and I will try to help where I can.

Oh yeah-if it is going to be a carb-the 1985 Astro's was the only yr build that was a carb.I would think you could swap in the fuel pick-up from a 1985 and use the fuel pump as well.

One other thing is you have to use the harmonic balancer from the 400 and the 400 flywheel as well.The thing is with these engines they where externally balanced.I would think your tranny torque converter will bolt up to the 400 flywheel,but I am not absolutely sure about that one.Maybe someone will chine in on that one.

 

[ghostrider1061]

head studs instead of head bolts another good up. that will make for ease of placement for your gaskets and heads. maybe go with (if such things are made) studs for your exhaust system. another thing for ease of install. :bouncy:

 

[Mr_Roboto]

If they are the later model ARP studs they have an allen key head in them to facilitate removal. Otherwise I wouldn't want to do a head gasket job in van that's for certain! Boost would be nice, Those blocks have gone some times but they seem to be very very hit and miss regretably. Sonic checking is definitely a requirement for power adder builds IMO. I have the radiator from a 1996 suburban, the problem is that it won't fit without some cutting on the subframe which I'm reluctant to do in some ways.

 

[astro355]

Oh course you have to cut, but its worth it. A nice thing about the older astro/safari vans is that the sides are open so no cutting there. I just had to drop the bottom of the radiator support about 3".

Please forgive the salt in the pic.

 

[Curtisjosiah]

I plan on still running tbi, I am just going to go with a 454 tbi unit. I've been told that I will be able to get enough fuel to the engine that way because of the bigger bore and due to the fact that you can put an adjustable fuel pressure regulator with it. The cam is a computer compatible cam. I will try to get the name from the guy i got the engine from. I don't plan on boring out the block anymore than it is, it has been bored out to make the engine a 413. The engine belonged to my friends son, my friend is a performance pontiac builder in Mayfield KY. only problem with engine is that son didn't listen to dad when building engine and used wrong bearings, so they slipped at 500 miles. He shut the engine down right when it happened and i think that's what saved it from being too badly torn up. Took everything apart and crank needs to be polished but everything else looks great. It's been suggested to me to try and keep compression from getting too high so use small heads like 76cc or around there. It had Vortech heads on it but when i got the engine the guy kept heads. Thanks for all the suggestions, please keep them coming. I will update with more pics as the project continues, including pics of the van. Thanks alot for the help.

 

[astro355]

That's not rust I see in the cylinders, is it? Seeing how you don't want to bore it anymore (well, actually can't), the last thing you need is pits in the cylinder walls.

What plans do you have for the transmission?

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Oh course you have to cut, but its worth it. A nice thing about the older astro/safari vans is that the sides are open so no cutting there. I just had to drop the bottom of the radiator support about 3".

[ http://www.astrosafari.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1338&g2_serialNumber=2 ]

Please forgive the salt in the pic.

Yeah the radiator I have literally goes from one side of the supports to the other. I mean it is WIDE. The only reason I was thinking about cramming it in is becuase it was a freebie the neighbor tossed out. It came from a 305/350 Suburban by the PN, I can't imagine it wouldn't be quite the cooler too

 

[Gary]

That's not rust I see in the cylinders, is it? Seeing how you don't want to bore it anymore (well, actually can't), the last thing you need is pits in the cylinder walls.

What plans do you have for the transmission?

Times 2 here.Surely can't live with pits in the walls.Hopefully you can have it honed to clean that up.If that is the case,still suggest you find a machine shop to do that with torque plates installed while honing.

Good looking out Jim!!!.I missed that one. :thumbup: