8.1L Vortex 496CI

[hyperpasta]

Has anyone dropped a 8.1L in a Taskforce truck?

I have the motor and a 4l80E trans that came with the engine.

I have a 57 and a No Limit full suspension kit. So everything will be from scratch.

Thanks...

[Speedbumpauto]

Should fit like any big block with minor differences, possibly, for oil pan, headers, etc. I did the traditional 496 and am switching out the th-400 for the 4L80 as we speak. Should be back on the road in a few weeks and I'll report but the physical install is done and it fits where the 400 used to with minor changes. I used a Firebird clip and set the engine back 5 inches. IMO, some set back is needed for a decent handling truck, but the install was pretty easy. The only caveat is almost nothing is interchangeable from the older BBC's, so hot rodding the thing can be somewhat pricey.

[hyperpasta]

Originally Posted by Speedbumpauto

Should fit like any big block with minor differences, possibly, for oil pan, headers, etc. I did the traditional 496 and am switching out the th-400 for the 4L80 as we speak. Should be back on the road in a few weeks and I'll report but the physical install is done and it fits where the 400 used to with minor changes. I used a Firebird clip and set the engine back 5 inches. IMO, some set back is needed for a decent handling truck, but the install was pretty easy. The only caveat is almost nothing is interchangeable from the older BBC's, so hot rodding the thing can be somewhat pricey.

Thanks for the insight SpeedBumpauto. From what I've read the only swappable parts are off of the newer generation 572 crate motor, heads and intake. Nice to know it shares similar size as the earlier generations. I figured on setting it back as far as possible (like you) in the chassis to make the weight more bearable and create some clearance up front. BBC headers will fit with elongating a hole or two I've been told. I like the idea of EFI and it's ability to be tuned.

You can use a Dart intake with a carb setup too. Along with a dizzy if you dump the EFI. This sort of simplifies things. The intake is butt ugly although it does make some horsepower.

This guy has done a lot of work with the 8.1L engine.
http://www.raylarengineering.com/

[Bad Apache]

Had looked at the 8.1's years ago. At the time, performance parts were limited at best. That may have changed, but it's something to consider.

Good luck with the build and start a build thread when you get started!