Posted by Keith in Washington [108.162.245.109] on Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 15:36:12 :
In Reply to: ls swap ffpw posted by mannyc [173.245.52.166] on Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 12:36:47 :
Yes my WC 53 has a Chevy 327 installed. It came that way when I bought it. When I rebuilt it I left the 327 in as they did a nice job. It is all original Dodge drivetrain from the transfer case back.
It fits quite well even with the sloped hood. I have the original steering box. It’s a little tight but not bad at all. It has a Chevy truck bell housing with a SM 420 4 speed which is a fantastic transmission. The jackshaft is Chevy on the front and a shortened original Dodge on the rear. Yes they have the same splines. The engine has a short water pump and pulleys. It has plenty of room to the original radiator, in fact I have a spacer to move the fan further into the shroud. The engine has center dump exhaust manifolds which allows the pipes to clear the steering box and starter. There is a power steering pump that is only used for the hydroboost for the brakes. It came with front engine mounts that come off the front of the engine and go to tabs welded onto the frame. They could have gone directly to the original engine mount holes in the front crossmember. It is actually a very clean install.
As to the guy who will jump all over your for putting a GM in, too bad it’s not his truck so he has no say. With my truck the original engine and etc was already gone. I would rather see it on the road with non original parts than scrapped.