454 El Camino swap help

[MetalHead22]

So first time posting on here, but I was hoping for some help. I bought an '83 El Camino a while back as a driving project car for my dad and I to work on and we've hit a bit of a snag. The previous owner "frankensteined" a lot on this car and we've slowly replaced and fixed things as we've gone through. The issue at the moment is we're swapping the 350 small block the previous owner put in for a Gen 4 '88 454 big block we bought and have been working on. We went to do the swap, but we're hitting the crossmember with the oil pan and if we shift the mounts we get a bit closer to the firewall than either of us likes. I know we can modify the pan, but it is a little beat up and 1 of the few things we didn't replace to begin with, so I was wondering if there was a good aftermarket pan that would suit our needs. Things had been smooth sailing so far thanks to my dad's experience with cars and I'm a quick study so I've been able to research solutions for any other snag, but whenever I try finding solutions for this, I just end up finding threads and articles for LS swaps, which don't do me any good. I really appreciate any help and if I forgot something pertinent and you need to know more then just let me know. Thanks in advance!

 

[pagrunt]

Putting a BBC in our cars you can use the stock SBC mounts. With it sounding like the pan clearance is the issue an after market 4 qt pan for '86 up applications ment for an A body (Chevelle) could be the fix. Mark IV BBC's used during the muscle car era used a 4 qt pan as the standard issue & covered almost all applications with passenger cars & should of also been used on trucks. The Gen V & VI BBC's pans may be 5 qt or ment to work for 4WD applications which may not fit passenger applications. I'm not up to date currently with Gen V & newer BBC's just to be clear but finding a pan for car applications should put the block where it should be using the stock mounts.

 

[57 Handyman]

MH22, I suggest you keep doing online research and contacting aftermarket suppliers, such as Summit, Jegs, etc. More than likely, you are not the only one who is or has considered this motor swap into a G-body.

Here's a line of thought: Is the outside dimension/design of a 454 block different from that of other LS smaller displacement blocks? If it is different, then you'll have to find an oil pan that will clear the cross member/suspension as well as work with the motor mounts you want to use. If, on the other hand, the LS blocks are the same, then the parts that someone used for their LS in a G-body project should work for yours. Good luck!

 

[stew86MCSS396]

I dont think I'm quite following what you're doing. You originally started with a SBC 350 in there and trying to swap a BBC MK IV 454. The mention of shifting the mounts tells me you're trying different locations on the frame. Well big surprise, provided the PI used the correct frame mounts and mounted them in the correct location for the SBC, then you don't need to move them for the BBC. With that said, check out this link post #7 pictures of the location of the mounts.

 

[Mhael]

Probably isn't going to be much help to you since this from over a year ago..but in case anyone else stumbles upon this. I ran into the same problem when swapping a 454 into my 84 Monte and happened upon a used 7qt Canton drag race pan for cheap, so I picked that up to give it a try and it worked well. I believe the current version of that pan is the Canton 13-330...not the cheapest option if you had to buy it new though.

 

[Malibu795]

Milodon 31105 is what I used for MK6 BBC