Quote:
Originally Posted by BigSix
My bellhousing is a lot bigger than a SM420 and pushed back farther and lower to move weight toward the center. When putting in a non-native drivetrain you really don't want all that weight jackhammering the front. I think you learned that lesson the hard way with that detroit installation! But you live and learn.
The best way to do it is to try to move things for ideal weight distribution. So ideally you would put things into the firewall and down instead of hanging forward - unfortunately that put my giant bellhousing into the shackle crossmember. If the original poster doesn't use a big overdrive transmission and mounts the engine/trans higher up he shouldn't run into my issue.
I recommend the 4BT - it fits well and I believe the weight is approximately the same as or a little less than the stock GMC V6.
The 6BT is a big engine - I have one of those too. I don't know if that would fit in the 60-66 bay.
With all this said - don't expect a quick swap that is straightforward. There is a good amount of fabrication, tinkering, and most of all you will get the bug to go through the engine. I went all the way down to taking out the crank...
Good luck and if you have any 4BT questions we have a few people who have them and may know the answer.
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i have already told you that was not a sm420 that was in mine .tI told you what it was and it is a little heavier duty and bigger than what you have (a 5 speed o/d). mine also had a 13" clutch which does require a larger bellhousing. the bellhousing mounted in the same area as a stock one would have been, so the trans would have hung in the right place.
I didn't have anything to live and learn about. the detroit was mounted in there where it should have been . it could not have been moved back nor could it have been moved forward, just that it was heavy . it handled and performed well
ron