DragCat

Just to make sure, if I run across a Chevelle or ElCamino as you mentioned, does it have to be out of a 454 car, or can it be from any engine option that was available?

So are you saying to search CL or similar instead of going to the suppliers like OPGI and such? I'm rethinking the g-force idea, I don't think I need all that

My plan was to keep the original 400 and i'm taking mine to the transmission guy tomorrow for the rebuild. Of course now I have added my cracked bell housing to my list of issues. Tomorrow will tell. I'm just trying to figure out my options and getting feedback from those in the know, oh yea, I don't weld 🤣

I ordered the 1157 plug wires from Amazon, 1st step. I'll order the LED's once the engine and tranny are back in the car. I have enough stuff laying around as it is now lol

Thanks Tom, i'll have to mull it over lol. Altho I don't want to spend the extra coin i'm leaning toward the G-Force at the moment. Just looks beefier (if thats a word lol) I tried Summit, but there were reviews of leaking and I don't mess around with possible fuel leaking problems. Funny thing with a Holley Carb I went with Edelbrock fuel lines.

Thanks Tom, I don't plan on running any NHRA Stock Eliminator classes so i'm not really worried about the weight lol. Is that just a bolt in or are there some mod's that need to be addressed? I'm assuming the part the Joe linked would be satisfactory, just a bolt in replacement without changing out the rubber insulators? As with any build i'm learning a lot and questioning more lol. I plan on having fun with mine, and yes pushing it hard down the track so I want to do it right the first time. The great thing about this forum is the amount of info available in all formats, on the down side of course the I wasn't expecting I needed one of tho$e lol. But i expected the unknowns and its just part of the deal. On a side note i'm jealous of your black carb fuel line on the SBC to BBC 489 post lol. I went with the black from the fuel pump but couldn't find any in black for my carb that didn't have negative or complaints about leaking fuel. I went with the blue/red, guess only i'll know once the air cleaner is on.

I read in another thread that with increasing HP (i'm dropping in a bigger crate) that the crossmember should also be upgraded to a chevelle part. Is the suggestion just a regular Chevelle crossmember or something a little more beefy like this? https://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=75881b1ab9bf1b5f88375433ed613c5f&&Screen=PRODB&Product_Code=FCM-RCAE&Category_Code=chevelle-crossmember

I'm wondering how big is the "bump". Ive seen other cowl hoods listed there and other places that state a 3 inch / 4 inch. I guess for people looking for more clearance https://www.opgi.com/sheet-metal-body-panels/hood/hood-fiberglass1/hood-fiberglass-1970-72-monte-carlo-4-inch-cowl-induction-m200009.html

I know this isn't what you want to hear, it may be bent and you will have to go through the motor. I found the below link , try google search but I didn't see anything that was easy peasy https://www.chevelles.com/forums/18-engine/376004-454-ho-fuel-pump-push-rod-stuck.html

Hey Antoine, its about 5 inches. I thought about the possibility of welding but with the new crate and the added HP i'm in a safety mindset. Especially since i'd rather get it done now and not have to revisit pulling the trans again later.

Thanks for the heads up Paul 👍 Cutting it myself is out of my skill set, i'll see what the trans guy says. And of course I already bought a new converter when I ordered the crate, but the new one is a 10 inch and I think the stock is 11?. Never a dull moment

Pulled the trans yesterday, The bad news is there is a 5 inch crack in the bell housing where it mounts to the engine, the good news I guess I found it now not later. Was going to check with my builder to see if he could do something like this https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jpt-92451/overview/make/chevrolet but its a race weekend so he's at the track. Might be posting questions in the drivetrain thread lol. Did read I might want to upgrade my crossmember to a chevelle type due to the additional HP. Will see what happens

I like the black fuel lines idea, i'm going to be running an eldebrock 1722 manual fuel pump and looking at the blow pre-made line. Originally I was going to bend my own but Tom's pic looks super clean https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-81243

Finally got the old 454 out , put in the cradle and almost ready to bag for storage. No I didn't pull it with the spark plugs in it lol. Only thing left is to pop the plugs and drain the remaining water from the block. Trans should come out this week. Never a dull moment

Just throwing this out there, got this info from the parts place website. Crank 3937787 approx 7 5/8 and wp 3995631 approx 6 1/4. Those are listed for a 1970 BB

Where did you get the 454 cover plate, or is this a 2 piece kit with the FGMCC COVER?

That does look sharp, maybe something i'll investigate in the future once I finish my current list of to do's

Yea Paul, i know I just get a chuckle out of it. One of the great things about the forums is you get everyones experience, and a lot of different results fixes. So I've been going into my project eyes wide open so to speak with a mindset of things I might encounter. I think it was Paul that said the headers needed to go in before the starter was installed (sorry if I mis-quoted), my crate shipped without the starter installed so thats a non issue for me. I know when I took the stock exhaust manifolds off the 454 the pass side came out through the top no issues, had to have the car lifted to pull the drivers side out the bottom. If i'm close on the proportioning valve i'll probably monitor it closely then decide either to move or make a deflector.

Nice update, I was scared when it started good / bad news. Ive read a bunch of posts (when I was doing my research) that suggest the mini starter so I would definitely go that route. I think there also have been multiple posts when headers are close and or touching the proportioning valve, something to keep an eye on for sure with it close. I think someone or a few made a bracket to move it further away. I planned on setting the driver side when lowering the crate in, but from your post seems like easy peezy with the car lifted on the driver side. I'll keep the thread updated if I have any trans linkage issues when I get that far. Did you get a free t-shirt or only Paul ? I didn't 🤣

Thanks for adding that info, I probably would have overlooked that and it makes perfect sense

Thanks for the postings, I might look into this conversion in the near future. Looks pretty straight forward from the pictures

I don't think the Monte's ever took off even with the SS 454's. Just never really considered a performance car to compete with the Vette's, Camaro', moustangs and such. The big Mopars were HiPo and cheap and more easily accessible to the masses. As Aaron said, the Monte's don't get a lot of fan fair and until people see one they forget they exist. There were actually 2 other first gen's at the last car show I took mine to, outta 700 show cars that isn't a big footprint.

I hope to be at least setting the drivers side set in not this weekend but the following weekend (fingers crossed)

Looking good Joe, enjoying the pic's of the progress. I forgot how much room you had and the helpers you have around, should've sent mine up to you for the frame off engine swap 🤣

Merry belated x-mas to me 😁 Let the fun begin 😃