Hello everyone. I'm in Lehi, Utah. I've been a long-time car guy, but most of my past wrenching was on FWD 4cyl turbo Mopars--I spent five years campaigning a turbo 1989 Dodge Caravan at the local drag strip, for example. I've tried switching over to V8s a few times since then; I've owned a few V8 cars, but never really started wrenching on them.
Now that is all changing. I bought my 1980 Grand Prix last fall and immediately began planning to yank its Buick 231 mill for something more... potent. I bought a 1999 Chevy Express 3500 that wasn't running and yanked its Vortec 454 and 4L80E. I was just gonna drop the engine in as-is, until I found out it had a spun bearing which destroyed the rod and the crank. I was delayed while I gathered funds; now the rebuild is just about finished and I plan to finally swap engines next month.
I've already ditched the 7.5 and installed a Fox body 8.8 in its place. I do want to eliminate the c-clips and install new shafts which will return my bolt pattern to stock, but that will have to wait until some time next year. Driving on mismatched wheels may look goofy but, hey, I'm a goofy guy.
Anyway, I guess that's my project in a nutshell.
Now that is all changing. I bought my 1980 Grand Prix last fall and immediately began planning to yank its Buick 231 mill for something more... potent. I bought a 1999 Chevy Express 3500 that wasn't running and yanked its Vortec 454 and 4L80E. I was just gonna drop the engine in as-is, until I found out it had a spun bearing which destroyed the rod and the crank. I was delayed while I gathered funds; now the rebuild is just about finished and I plan to finally swap engines next month.
I've already ditched the 7.5 and installed a Fox body 8.8 in its place. I do want to eliminate the c-clips and install new shafts which will return my bolt pattern to stock, but that will have to wait until some time next year. Driving on mismatched wheels may look goofy but, hey, I'm a goofy guy.
Anyway, I guess that's my project in a nutshell.