Today’s task was to remove the old engine from the van. I had to remove all the clutch housing stuff and a clutch jack shaft in the back side. And then there were the motor mount bolts in the front.
Here’s what it looked like as I started off this morning. The Chevy six 250 engine with the hole in the piston from the TBI screw that came loose and fell in the engine.
Cherry picker
I slowly got all the stuff unhooked and moved the cherry picker in for the lift through the van’s side doors as shown. They used to call these kinds of lifts cherry pickers, but I don’t know if they still do or not. The cherry picker makes this job fairly easy.
I hooked up the engine to the lift making sure I had enough lift to get over the top of the engine box, also known as the dog house by some.
The engine is up
I’ve got the engine lifted up as high as I need to go and am about to start moving it out the side doors.
Out the side doors
Here I’m moving the engine out the side doors carefully.
The engine is out
The engine is out and now I move it off to the side.
Removing the clutch stuff
I still need to take off the bell housing where the clutch is and remove the old clutch and flywheel as it will be used on the new engine.
Inspecting the flywheel, it looks like new. But the pressure plate and disc look like they need to be replaced. This unit is a ten inch diameter disc and is supposed to take an eleven inch disc also so I think I will get the larger one for the new engine.
Broken motor mount too
I also found a piece of one of the motor mounts on the ground. When I picked it up, I could see the rubber had broken, so I need a new motor mount, so I will replace them both.
Prepping the doghouse for the cut
I need to get all the wires off the back as I want to reroute them as they will be in the way when I cut the doghouse in half. I don’t want anything attached to the back part of the dog house as I want it easily removable.
This is what it looked like with the engine out.
Tomorrow I plan to cut this engine compartment box, or doghouse in half and remove the back part for easier engine access.
Of course the seat belt hold down brackets are in the way which I’ll have to modify somehow and I still need to figure out how I’m going to clump the box back in so it’s neat and tidy and easy to remove.
That took up most of today and I’m glad to have the engine out as now I know what I need in parts clutch wise.
I have a 65 GMC HandiVan- it’s all stock and in great shape for her age. However, I used to have a 1966 Chevy G-10 with a 350 L-88 motor.
Boy it pull the front wheels off the ground and do burnouts all day long.
So, I am currently looking to replicate my old van with a 327 or 350 motor.
Problem is, I don’t remember how the modification was to clearly. Both sides of the doghouse have to be widened to accept the exhaust headers.
Does anyone on here have some knowledge on the subject?
My older van, was already modified when I purchased it, probably 25 years ago
Sorry to hear you have to cut the doghouse…My Dodge vans had screws to hold the sections together…Also it was just screwed to the floor….No problems the one time I changed engines in my 1969 A108…..I bought a used engine and the pilot bushing was from an automatic…Did not work with a stick…Oh!..What fun to be under there after trying to cram it in..then having to use a grinder to enlarge the bushing….Everything else went so well..That’s life…Eh??
A V-8?..Wow don’t get any speeding tickets…..
Upriverdavid
Hi David, I think if the Chevy guys designed it again, they would of split the doghouse and latched it down as they did a few years later when they moved the engine more forward as it just makes it all easier to work on. It doesn’t really look like that hard of a job with the right fasteners which I now think I have in hand.
Yep, that’s life, I’ll do whatever it takes and I hope I don’t have too many little surprises to tackle. :O) I don’t really like to mechanic anymore, but I do what I must.
I am a machinist and a welder among other things so there’s not much I can’t tackle and get myself out of, but it’s best when things just go together properly.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooommmmmm, vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. :O) Eh.
Bob
Bob
Any details on how you split the doghouse and what fasteners and seals did you use, please. I am another G10 owner with a transplanted V8. I used rivet nuts to attach the whole doghouse to the floor which requires removing the seats. Your idea appears much cleaner and quicker.
Craig
E
I think I used a jig saw with a metal cutting blade to cut it down the sides. I used large sheet metal screws to fasten it to the floor, only about four of them as it doesn’t need that much to hold it in place. I used some door sealer rubber stuff to seal it that I got at an auto parts store.
I think I used some GE silicone around the bottom for a seal just spread out to a thin coat with my fingers.
The split works real good I can even pull the hinge pens and left the cover up from the back instead of from the front.
Hi Carl, Nevada is one of my most favorite states. I was just about to head that way when my van engine ate the TBI screw and put the hole in the piston. When I was looking around and trying to find out my options on engines a guy from Texas says the sixes are getting hard to come by and besides, they are really underpowered. The axles from the truck I just happened to pick for the conversion had higher gears then the standard 4×4 Chevy trucks so, yes, I was underpowered where I would have to slip the clutch badly to get away from a stop sign on a sloped hill. And I hate to slip the clutch, so lots of times I’d just drop the transfer case into low. So I thought about it and decided maybe I should get a V8 now while I’m still able to do it. And since it’s my RV, it’d be like a new one, especially once I get my new front leaf springs which are waiting down at the shop to get installed. Since it’s my new car and I depend on it to travel around by myself in secluded areas, I decided to go with new engine and parts and splurge a bit.
Follow along and we’ll see how it works out and once I get it done, I’m headed to Nevada.
thanks for the comment,
Bob
kudos for publishing your thoughts and sights. I just stumbled across this site. My favorites are some of the places you have gone, esp. the Kofa. I own a auto repair and restoration shop in Vegas.
Did you decide to rebuild your 6? Or switch to an 8 cylinder?
Comments are closed.
Header Pictures
There are over a hundred pictures that are served up randomly every time you visit or change pages. They are of earlier pictures of interest and also some just to remind me of things.
A Sony AX33 4K, a video camera that takes stills too. What am I doing with that? I take pictures from my Kayak a lot. I found I was missing interesting shots, because my pic was being processed in my camera, before it would let me take another pic. Since I like to take what I call action stills, I bought this camera to take videos, that I could make stills out of, but, as a bonus, this camera also came with buttons to just take stills and that's what I mostly do, unless something is real interesting or too far away for my still zooms. My digilat zoom setting for video goes to two hundred x, and sometimes I need that, but usually, I only use the 10x lens zoom. Because this camera is HD and 4K, the quality has to be real good and it has a lot of stabilizers on it which really helps out a lot for taking pics on the water.
The other thing it has that is a must is a view finder and I had to buy Sony's top of the line cam to get it. This is a must for taking pics on the water, as you must hold the camera as still as posible and putting that eye piece to the eye forms a tripod with your arms that helps a lot. The eye piece is also a must as it works way better than a LED screen to see what you are taking a picture of in the daylight as the LED screens wash out easily in sunlight.
I also have another video camera, a Canon VIXIA G30. I use them both to mostly take stills. The Sony takes higher resolution stills than the G30. That was a bit of a disappointment as I bought the G30 to replace an older camera I dunked in the river, but then had to buy the Sony to get higher still picture resolution that the G30 was lacking.
I have a 65 GMC HandiVan- it’s all stock and in great shape for her age. However, I used to have a 1966 Chevy G-10 with a 350 L-88 motor.
Boy it pull the front wheels off the ground and do burnouts all day long.
So, I am currently looking to replicate my old van with a 327 or 350 motor.
Problem is, I don’t remember how the modification was to clearly. Both sides of the doghouse have to be widened to accept the exhaust headers.
Does anyone on here have some knowledge on the subject?
My older van, was already modified when I purchased it, probably 25 years ago
I don’t know about a 66 but my 67 the v8 350 fit, but I modified the dog house to make it easier to work on. Here’s a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1-xBNesCjc&t=51s
Here is a blog on the install and there are other days on the blog of the install if you look around a bit.
https://bobseyes.net/blood-and-sweat-but-no-tears-installing-the-350-v8-engine-in-my-1967-chevy-van/
Bob Noble
Blog: https://bobseyes.net
I have a 69 Chevy G10 that looks like yours. Mine’s not 4 a WD though. I’m always looking for spare parts to keep mine going. Got any?
Hi Mark,
No I don’t have any spare parts and if I did I’d keep them. :O)
Sorry.
Sorry to hear you have to cut the doghouse…My Dodge vans had screws to hold the sections together…Also it was just screwed to the floor….No problems the one time I changed engines in my 1969 A108…..I bought a used engine and the pilot bushing was from an automatic…Did not work with a stick…Oh!..What fun to be under there after trying to cram it in..then having to use a grinder to enlarge the bushing….Everything else went so well..That’s life…Eh??
A V-8?..Wow don’t get any speeding tickets…..
Upriverdavid
Hi David, I think if the Chevy guys designed it again, they would of split the doghouse and latched it down as they did a few years later when they moved the engine more forward as it just makes it all easier to work on. It doesn’t really look like that hard of a job with the right fasteners which I now think I have in hand.
Yep, that’s life, I’ll do whatever it takes and I hope I don’t have too many little surprises to tackle. :O) I don’t really like to mechanic anymore, but I do what I must.
I am a machinist and a welder among other things so there’s not much I can’t tackle and get myself out of, but it’s best when things just go together properly.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooommmmmm, vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. :O) Eh.
Bob
Bob
Any details on how you split the doghouse and what fasteners and seals did you use, please. I am another G10 owner with a transplanted V8. I used rivet nuts to attach the whole doghouse to the floor which requires removing the seats. Your idea appears much cleaner and quicker.
Craig
E
Try this video on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1-xBNesCjc&t=17s It’s pictures I took of the project.
I think I used a jig saw with a metal cutting blade to cut it down the sides. I used large sheet metal screws to fasten it to the floor, only about four of them as it doesn’t need that much to hold it in place. I used some door sealer rubber stuff to seal it that I got at an auto parts store.
I think I used some GE silicone around the bottom for a seal just spread out to a thin coat with my fingers.
The split works real good I can even pull the hinge pens and left the cover up from the back instead of from the front.
Hi Carl, Nevada is one of my most favorite states. I was just about to head that way when my van engine ate the TBI screw and put the hole in the piston. When I was looking around and trying to find out my options on engines a guy from Texas says the sixes are getting hard to come by and besides, they are really underpowered. The axles from the truck I just happened to pick for the conversion had higher gears then the standard 4×4 Chevy trucks so, yes, I was underpowered where I would have to slip the clutch badly to get away from a stop sign on a sloped hill. And I hate to slip the clutch, so lots of times I’d just drop the transfer case into low. So I thought about it and decided maybe I should get a V8 now while I’m still able to do it. And since it’s my RV, it’d be like a new one, especially once I get my new front leaf springs which are waiting down at the shop to get installed. Since it’s my new car and I depend on it to travel around by myself in secluded areas, I decided to go with new engine and parts and splurge a bit.
Follow along and we’ll see how it works out and once I get it done, I’m headed to Nevada.
thanks for the comment,
Bob
kudos for publishing your thoughts and sights. I just stumbled across this site. My favorites are some of the places you have gone, esp. the Kofa. I own a auto repair and restoration shop in Vegas.
Did you decide to rebuild your 6? Or switch to an 8 cylinder?