Volume One, Chapter 1
Swapping out
your small block for the chance at a fat rat is a project that continues
to be very popular in the world of G.M. muscle. The old moniker goes ‘There’s
No Replacement for Displacement’. Considering that most of the 60’s
and early 70’s muscle cars could have had big displacement engines
from the factory, the swap isn’t always straight forward as one
might think. Lots of parts don’t interchange, it can get costly,
and like all projects, it can snowball.
When you’ve
decided its time for a Big Block, there are many items to consider. Are
your brakes, suspension, cooling system, fuel system, transmission, and
rear end in healthy enough condition to live comfortably behind your new
monster? The potential swapper must also carefully consider what type
of engine they want, what they are going to use it for, what they want
it to do, and how they want it to behave. All of these factors can make
a straight forward seeming swap grow into a full blown mechanical restoration.
Sometimes it will grow to the extent that it never will be finished as
the time and money are gone quickly. So make your decisions carefully
and do your homework, as we outline the keys to a successful project.
For this project
we will use a driver quality 67 Chevelle Malibu. Originally a 283/powerglide
it now has a healthy 69 350 backed by a built GM overdrive transmission.
Mechanically the vehicle is in excellent condition as it received a full
mechanical over haul 6 years and 40 thousand miles ago. During that overhaul
every mechanical component was replaced, rebuilt, or refinished. Starting
with a solid foundation is important in keeping proper focus on our mail
goal and will limit the chance of excessive snowballing. If the foundation
isn’t this solid you can expect to spend money upgrading systems
that will support the swap.
Plan early.
We started our planning process some six months before initiating this
winter 2007 swap. In the preceding months we would constantly check prices
on items we would need. This was done to understand just what it may cost
to get things done. Another important aspect of any project is finance.
How will you pay for it all? If you’ve got a chunk of cash to spend
that’s great, but if you’re like most car guys you’ll
have to save and sell to generate the revenue to complete the project.
So where does the money come from? Unless you don’t currently have
an engine, it starts right there. Even the most old and tired 283 will
fetch some green and if your lucky enough to be swapping out something
nice, you project will get a quick financial boost. Do not act in haste
and remove your engine early. The best way to get the highest price for
an engine is to have it running in a drivable car. We had our small block
listed on e-bay and the local classifieds during the fall. We would also
hang a for sale sign on the engine at local cruise-ins and shows. Being
able to fully demonstrate the engine made for a sale that had both the
buyer and seller satisfied…SOLD!
More Money?
Yes we’ll need more than just the sale of our old engine to get
this started. The vehicle had an aftermarket air conditioning system installed.
It was custom fitted to a small block with driver’s side a/c compressor.
Not much use with the big block without major alterations and at only
two years old, it was still worth good money, so that was sold as well.
Two big items is a good start, but now we start phase 2 when the real
work starts, and a wrench hasn’t even been touched. Most car guys
tend to accumulate parts over the years. Go through your garage, basement,
attic, or wherever you have parts stashed. We were able to generate a
large stash of parts both new and used. Most people who have been in the
hobby for a number of years have a pile of parts that were purchased and
never used for one reason or another. They’ll also have a savings
of parts that they removed and replaced on their classic and held onto
the old. These parts are money. Whether it is e-bay, on-line classifieds
like Craig’s-List, on-line message forums, club classifieds, local
classifieds, or swap meets, with a little effort and organization you
can clean up around the garage while generating some serious income for
your project…SOLD! SOLD! Another viable method of generating project
cash is to look for and buy a ‘Parts Lot’. That is finding
a seller in the classifieds or on-line who is offering a quantity of parts
for sale at once. Most sellers doing this will offer the quantity at a
reduced price in an effort to ‘move it quick’. Do your research
and know what the values are and you can make money cleaning up and reselling
the parts individually…SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!
We employed
all three of the above means to generate the funds needed for this project.
Cha-Ching…happy with the results to say the least, we’ve generated
more cash than it is anticipated we need for this project. Keep in mind
we have not yet set budgetary goals for this project. Therefore, the amount
of money generated has no bearing on the final project goal or budget.
We’ll cover budget and goals in an upcoming chapter. LIC