Engine Swap

[deltatango]

The engine let go in my 82 280. It lost oil pressure in the driveway. I bought a remanufactured, 4 bolt, crate engine. I'm hiring someone to do it. I'm doing all accessories etc while he's in there.

Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated.

[GlenCoombe]

DT, good luck with your swap. While you've got all of it out clean it up.... frame, suspension, etc.

Rad is out so have it checked and perhaps rodded out.

As cooling is king! Heat is the enemy. This is the time to also think about adding tranny cooler and looking at how the engine is cooled as well as trying to stuff as much cold air into the engine while running. Adding headers would also help to take heat away from the engine and improve performance and economy.

Photos of the process would be nice if you visit often.

BTW how many miles did the engine have on it?

[purman]

What about a turbo, or better yet a super charger....

Sorry, it's the (Tim the tool man Taylor) in me

[propstrike]

Did you consider a 502? Just working out the thought for my own rig.

[deltatango]

Originally Posted by frozen ronin

Did you consider a 502? Just working out the thought for my own rig.

Yeah I did. I just put back what was in it. I saw a 502 on Ebay with the FI but it had a lot of miles. The 502 doesn't have the hole for the mechanical fuel pump. I guess you could go with electrical fuel pump of drill out for mechanical. The 502 is a good engine though.

I'll post some pix when they get started.

Thanks.

[deltatango]

I got the swap done. It runs great. I did a new carb, headers, duals, and aluminum intake.

I had it out at the RV place and the guy said that I shouldn't have put the headers on. He said that they make so much heat that it melts the wires. He said I needed these wire protectors etc.

Anyone heard of this before?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by deltatango

I got the swap done. It runs great. I did a new carb, headers, duals, and aluminum intake.

I had it out at the RV place and the guy said that I shouldn't have put the headers on. He said that they make so much heat that it melts the wires. He said I needed these wire protectors etc.

Anyone heard of this before?

That guy is clueless. Installing headers gets rid of the heat in the cockpit area. The cast iron manifolds are heat sinks which retain the heat causing higher cockpit temperatures. I've had motorhomes with cast iron manifolds and they were definitely hotter in the cockpit area than our Airstream motorhome that has headers. No way would I go back to cast iron manifolds.

Can't say either way about the wires, just get some good ones and make sure they are routed properly to keep them away from the headers.

Brad

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by deltatango

I got the swap done. It runs great. I did a new carb, headers, duals, and aluminum intake.

I had it out at the RV place and the guy said that I shouldn't have put the headers on. He said that they make so much heat that it melts the wires. He said I needed these wire protectors etc.

Anyone heard of this before?

I've had lots of troubles with burnt wires on headers I've used in hotrods, and had to use the protectors, and even then with some headers, the wires burnt anyway. I will say, it does depend on the headers, the wires, and how you run the wires.

Although Brad is right about the manifolds being heat sinks, the headers actually get hotter on the surface than the manifolds because they are much thinner. At night, at operating temperature, they will glow cherry red.

There is a heat wrap available from the hotrod shops that helps insulate the headers and they actually claim a HP increase with it's use, but I have no experience with it.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by SteveH

I've had lots of troubles with burnt wires on headers I've used in hotrods, and had to use the protectors, and even then with some headers, the wires burnt anyway. I will say, it does depend on the headers, the wires, and how you run the wires.

Although Brad is right about the manifolds being heat sinks, the headers actually get hotter on the surface than the manifolds because they are much thinner. At night, at operating temperature, they will glow cherry red.

There is a heat wrap available from the hotrod shops that helps insulate the headers and they actually claim a HP increase with it's use, but I have no experience with it.

Steve, I agree the headers do get hotter. However there is less mass to act as a heat sink which is why I believe the cockpit stays cooler.

Pesonally I've never understood why manifacturers use cast iron manifolds on production engines. I can't believe its that much cheaper to make a cast iron manifold compared to a header. I guess a few pennies here and there during the manufacture of a vehicle does add up.

I've heard some people say when using the header tape that the headers deteriorate faster due to the retention of heat although I have no experience of using tape myself.


Brad

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Steve, I agree the headers do get hotter. However there is less mass to act as a heat sink which is why I believe the cockpit stays cooler.

Pesonally I've never understood why manifacturers use cast iron manifolds on production engines. I can't believe its that much cheaper to make a cast iron manifold compared to a header. I guess a few pennies here and there during the manufacture of a vehicle does add up.

I've heard some people say when using the header tape that the headers deteriorate faster due to the retention of heat although I have no experience of using tape myself.


Brad

Brad, I believe the manufacturers like to use manifolds because headers are noiser, have a tendency to blow gaskets because they are not as ridgid at the flanges, and also tend to burn out/rust out much faster than cast iron manifolds.

However, my wife has a Ford Escape with the little 4 cylinder engine, and it has a header on it, so they do know the headers give better performance.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Brad, I believe the manufacturers like to use manifolds because headers are noiser, have a tendency to blow gaskets because they are not as ridgid at the flanges, and also tend to burn out/rust out much faster than cast iron manifolds.

However, my wife has a Ford Escape with the little 4 cylinder engine, and it has a header on it, so they do know the headers give better performance.

Good point about the gaskets. The odd thing about noise though is in our 310 I believe the noise is lower with headers than it would be with cast iron manifolds. Our previous SOB motorhome was definitely a lot noiser in the engine compartment and it had cast iron manifolds.

Brad