Sorry I am a new-bie to the first gens are there any problems/issues with installing a BB in a 1970k5????????
CK5
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BBC in the first gen
- Thread starter TWISTEDJACK
- Start date
Yukon Jack
1/2 ton status
Burt4x4 has a great thread going on putting a 454 in his K5. He had little fitment problems.
I put one in my K20 and had to do major mods to the firewall. I've got some older posts on here showing my problems. You can see some issues I had in these links http://yukon.b0xen.us/headersweb.html and http://yukon.b0xen.us/bigblockfitmentweb.html
I put one in my K20 and had to do major mods to the firewall. I've got some older posts on here showing my problems. You can see some issues I had in these links http://yukon.b0xen.us/headersweb.html and http://yukon.b0xen.us/bigblockfitmentweb.html
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
Yup
Some quick data points
Firewall clearance to head issues (I used a BFHammer to adjust my firewall)
SBC engine mounts & crossmember will work but be prepared to pull the engine if you ever need to drop the oil pan. I installed a 73up crossmember & engine mounts from a SBC 4x4 truck/blazer so i could drop the pan with no issues.
Header & frame rail clearance, I did not have an issue but Greg72 did, he notched the fame a tad bit.
Other than that you can simply put a BBC inplace of an SBC with little to no fabracation. The BBC & SBC use the same bellhousing bolt pattern and the distance from Bell housing to engine mounts are the same, gotta love GM for that
Good luck
Burt
Some quick data points
Firewall clearance to head issues (I used a BFHammer to adjust my firewall)
SBC engine mounts & crossmember will work but be prepared to pull the engine if you ever need to drop the oil pan. I installed a 73up crossmember & engine mounts from a SBC 4x4 truck/blazer so i could drop the pan with no issues.
Header & frame rail clearance, I did not have an issue but Greg72 did, he notched the fame a tad bit.
Other than that you can simply put a BBC inplace of an SBC with little to no fabracation. The BBC & SBC use the same bellhousing bolt pattern and the distance from Bell housing to engine mounts are the same, gotta love GM for that
Good luck
Burt
Nicks 72
Registered Member
I am also a newby and was wondering if someone could answer a question related to this without me starting a new thread. I was under the impression that a 396 came as an option in the 2wds in the latter years.Isnt this a BB motor? If so how does this application differ from like a 454 in a k truck as apposed to a stock 396 in a 2wd. especially with the firewall being to tight.
Thanx Nick
Thanx Nick
Firewall and distributor clearance (for large body HEIs) seem to be the common complaints....
No 4WD K5 ever came with a BBC.....that comment that the 2WD versions "may" have is a new one to me...?
My truck is a bit of an exception...with a 2" body lift, I get away with a lot of things that most people wouldn't. My firewall is massaged ever so slightly for the valve cover clearance needed, but otherwise the engine has lots of room around it.
From what I recall, the SBC 350 and the 396BBC even use the same motor mounts....so from that perspective the swap is simple. I thing the trannies are a bolt-up deal also. Never did the swap myself...mine came all cool and groovy when I bought it!
No 4WD K5 ever came with a BBC.....that comment that the 2WD versions "may" have is a new one to me...?
My truck is a bit of an exception...with a 2" body lift, I get away with a lot of things that most people wouldn't. My firewall is massaged ever so slightly for the valve cover clearance needed, but otherwise the engine has lots of room around it.
From what I recall, the SBC 350 and the 396BBC even use the same motor mounts....so from that perspective the swap is simple. I thing the trannies are a bolt-up deal also. Never did the swap myself...mine came all cool and groovy when I bought it!
Nicks 72
Registered Member
I admittedly dont know if they did or not. What made me think they did is that I happened to look at the back of my 72's fender emblem(8-350) and it has three part numbers on the back one for I think a 292 one for a 350 and one for a 396, so I assumed that some trucks must have came with this motor. Maybe thats a pretty big jump on the assumption level.
Yukon Jack
1/2 ton status
Nick, the 2wd big blocks are mounted further forward while the engines in the 4wd's are placed further back (closer to the firewall). I have read and it makes sense that this is to aid in a better front driveshaft angle. Definitely no big blocks in the 4wd 1st generations.
steve_kibbe
1/2 ton status
I'll be getting my bbc in soon, I hope. I was thinking of getting the 1" ord body lift. Will this be worth the effort or will I have to go two inches to prevent major firewall reconstruction??
Steve
Steve
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
Originally equipt BBC trucks have different engine mounts and crossmebers and will not work with SBCs. Yet an SBC engine mount/crossmember will work fine for a BBC.
Replacement parts for OE BBC engine mounts are way more expensive and the aftermarket has next to nothing for them. So using a SBC eninge mount/crossmember opens up all the aftermarket stuff like ORDs HD engine mounts and or cheaper SBC enigine mounts.
Oh and I have a 3" bodylift and I still needed to 'fix' the firewall for head/valve cover clearance. My dist is an aftermarket Mallory small cap dist. so I have zero issues there...
Replacement parts for OE BBC engine mounts are way more expensive and the aftermarket has next to nothing for them. So using a SBC eninge mount/crossmember opens up all the aftermarket stuff like ORDs HD engine mounts and or cheaper SBC enigine mounts.
Oh and I have a 3" bodylift and I still needed to 'fix' the firewall for head/valve cover clearance. My dist is an aftermarket Mallory small cap dist. so I have zero issues there...
steve_kibbe
1/2 ton status
do you have tall valve covers?
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
Nope,
I copied Yukon Jack
When he was building his BBC and posted a pic of his engine with thease valvecovers I thought they looked awsome so I got a set also. They are a GM vavlecover.
I copied Yukon Jack
When he was building his BBC and posted a pic of his engine with thease valvecovers I thought they looked awsome so I got a set also. They are a GM vavlecover.
steve_kibbe
1/2 ton status
I might jump on the ban wagon and get me a set of those valve covers
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
FYI~
I got them cheeper here http://www.sdpc2000.com/ than at my local dealership. Shop around you may even get a better deal
I got them cheeper here http://www.sdpc2000.com/ than at my local dealership. Shop around you may even get a better deal
steve_kibbe
1/2 ton status
do you have a part #?
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
steve_kibbe
1/2 ton status
thanks burt
RingMaster4x4
1/2 ton status
I got a pair of them covers on my blazers 427 also. My buddy Jim sprayed them with some High Temp engine Clear coat to make them easy to clean. Now I just need to clean them once in a while. 
thebigdaddyof2
1/2 ton status
Burt,
Thanks for the link to the valve covers.
Very nice BBC setup!
Did you source the breather filter locally?
Got a part number/source for that?
Thanks for the link to the valve covers.
Very nice BBC setup!
Did you source the breather filter locally?
Got a part number/source for that?
Burt4x4
1 Ton First Gen
Thanks
The breather is a small K&N push in. Thease valve covers use a 1/2 hole for the newer style breathers that connect to the aircleaner.
K&N makes a 1/2 pushin that fit perfect:
KNN-62-1010 is the part number and I got it from www.summitracing.com fer 22 bucks. I little bit pricy for such a small filter but it did fit perfect so...it's just money anyway
The breather is a small K&N push in. Thease valve covers use a 1/2 hole for the newer style breathers that connect to the aircleaner.
K&N makes a 1/2 pushin that fit perfect:
KNN-62-1010 is the part number and I got it from www.summitracing.com fer 22 bucks. I little bit pricy for such a small filter but it did fit perfect so...it's just money anyway
