409 for c 10 questions

[coogan]

I bought a 62 five ton with a 409 for a coupe project but I've decided to drop it in my 65 c 10 to replace the current 230 c.i. I have a 6 carb offy intake for it but I will only be running the two center carbs since I didn't get crazy with a big cam on the rebuild. I have a few questions since this is my first 409 or BBC for that matter.

1. I bought a short 409 car water pump to replace the big truck pump. Does the pipe sticking out of the top of the water pump go straight to the heater core or is there supposed to be a bypass hose ?

2. I want to add power steering to the truck, will any BBC power steering pump bracket work or are the 409 brackets specific ?

3. I don't want to hack into the valve cover to add a breather . What do you guys do to vent the engine ? I was thinking of running a PCV valve in the grommet at the back of the intake and running the stock breather pipe at the front. I realize this is not ideal.

I plan on painting the engine the original Alpine green that it came in. I'm currently adding extended throttle shafts to all the 2G carbs as well as figuring out the 6x2 linkage.

 

[58 Apache]

For your first question it's for a by-pass I plugged it for this engine in the pic.
next brackets are 409 but which pump do you intend to use, that may require some work anyway. We used after market pump and brackets to go in a 32 Dodge Coupe. And next there are a number of threads on PCV and breathing on the site pick the one you like best. Looks like a fun project and good luck.

 

[jeff hall]

How did you plug it off? I know you can buy the by-pass tee and hose but I would just a soon eleminate it.

 

[58 Apache]

Mine was pipe thread and just put a pipe plug in it.

 

[jeff hall]

Pardon me, I'm kind of slow.Did you plug off the outlet in the manifold or the top of the water pump? It appears the outlet in the pump is pressed in and the one in the manifold is threaded. I can't tell from the picture.

 

[58 Apache]

Top pic shows what is missing on the manifold and where to plug. Bottom shows a duel quad manifold By-pass in the manifold. Hope this helps.

 

[1960impala283]

Nice Truck!!!

I used a regular big block power steering bracket. Filed the one mounting hole into a slot.

 

[coogan]

Thanks for the info 58 apache. My offy manifold has the port for the heater so hopefully I can just remove the pipe sticking out of the water pump and plug it. If not any suggestions on plugging it without it looking like an abortion ?

1960impala283 , thanks for the info. I'm going to swing by the junk yard and hopefully there is a 73-87 chev truck with a big block I can rob the brackets, pump and steering box off of. If not these guys sell a kit http://www.performanceonline.com/1960-66-CHEVY-TRUCK-GMC-TRUCK-POWER-STEERING-CONVERSION-KIT/ which I think is a pretty good price considering what you get.

 

[coogan]

Learned a little something today. I pulled the little pressed in pipe out with a pair of vice grips and it turns out its the exact size for a 3/8" pipe tap. Just make sure and turn the pump upside down while you are tapping it so the shavings don't end up in the impeller.

 

[1960impala283]

I know on regular BB the bypass gets plugged and seems to work fine... I'm not sure what the bypass is about in the first place... Some have it, some don't...

 

[models916]

Bypass enhances heater operation and has some affect on impeller cavitation when the thermostat is closed. Just drill a 1/8 in. hole in the rim of the thermostat to get the same affect.

 

[coogan]

Here's another question. This was a truck engine with the 333 heads. The shop that rebuilt it put the high compression pistons in and a mild cam so the compression should be between 9 - 9.5 :1 . What are the correct spark plugs to run ? Will the stock ones be fine or do I need hotter ones ?

 

[Licensed to kill]

I did some measuring on my '64 C-10 and it appears that the firewall will need to be massaged to clear the valve covers on a "W". I hope not and would love to see some pics of your install. The heavier trucks that came with a 348/409 have the cab sitting alot higher in relation to the frame so they clear OK but I'm not so sure about the 1/2-3/4 tons.

 

[Don Jacks]

Just a question,but would it be possible to move the engine forward an inch to clear the firewall?

 

[coogan]

Yes if you look at the V -8 mounts there are a second set of holes about 1.5 " forward. The mounts I ordered are made for big block or small block. Here's a link, the 3rd picture shows the two hole locations

http://www.performanceonline.com/19...RUCK-TUBULAR-V-8-ENGINE-MOUNT-BRACKETS-16820/

I'm starting whether to debate leaving the 409 for my model A coupe and just dropping in a nice crate motor in the c 10 like this one http://www.crateenginedepot.com/350...ith-Iron-Vortec-Heads-19210008-P9407C556.aspx I can't get that motor built for that price around here. Here's a picture of the current 230. Its a nice running engine but has quite a bit of blowby and not enough HP to really run with modern traffic.

 

[Don Jacks]

That is a great little 350 crate engine.All it is ,is a GM I L-31 Vortec headed pickup truck engine with a flat tappet,up graded cam in it The intake manifold is Gm 's version of the Edelbrock Performer.With a ZZ4 roller cam and the proper valve springs in this thing would fly!

 

[tripower]

I did some measuring on my '64 C-10 and it appears that the firewall will need to be massaged to clear the valve covers on a "W". I hope not and would love to see some pics of your install. The heavier trucks that came with a 348/409 have the cab sitting alot higher in relation to the frame so they clear OK but I'm not so sure about the 1/2-3/4 tons.

All you need to do is use the 73-87 peaches and motor mounts and you may have to massage the firewall just a tad for the passenger head.