1951 m37 with Chevy small block 350

[outofplace]

I'm a fairly new guy to steel soldiers not sure how much info there is about doing a Chevy small block 350 swap or how many of you would actually put a Chevy motor in a dodge but if anyone needs information or pictures to help them with the process let me know. I can talk you through what I did for my build.

 

[turnkey]

Nice rehab.....small block chevy will work just fine....again nice rig.

 

[Digger09]

Wow nice truck. Has got to be fun.

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Nice build!

 

[outofplace]

Thanks turnkey,digger and rod the truck is a champ with that extra power. Only ongoing problem I need to dig into is the stock radiator I think it's insufficient even with it being re-cored but that's only at stops or in traffic. So it could be a million things Regardless I will find the problem and it will get fixed

 

[Digger09]

Do you have a radiator shroud? I had a vehicle that needed one and it made a huge difference. Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[MatthewH]

Dont feel bad about the Chevy in a dodge, I'm in the process of stuffing a turbo 6.2/700R4 in my M37. Cant wait to see how it turns out

 

[outofplace]

Yup it has a fiberglass fan shroud for the mechanical fan and I'm also running a pusher fan in the front at speed she stays at 195*-200* thermostat is 195* with a whole drilled in it to pass trapped air bubbles. I've noticed that idling in the drive way with the hood open keeps it cool but as soon as I close the hood temp will skyrocket so I'm assuming that I could have one of 3 or all 3 problems going on 1: i have an air flow problem where heat is getting trapped in the engine bay and not escaping. 2: Engine is running a little lean. 3: radiator isn't doing a good enough job.

 

[armytruck63]

Good looking truck and an ample supply of surfboards!

 

[GUNNY 155]

I would go to a lower temp thermostat and see if that helps before I blamed the radiator. If you are running an original M37 radiator made from brass with the large tanks and the internal tubes are clean, that radiator has a lot of cooling capacity. You could also look at a high performance water pump from Summit Racing with a HD impeller to move more coolant. I don't think trapping heat is a problem, the area around the engine is pretty open and not insulated in any way. My guess is you also did away with the frame mounted splash shields when you put in the Chevy engine. Lean fuel mixture, maybe but if it runs good and manifold vacuum is where it should be that should say a lot with the respect to fuel mixture. You should also look at initial advance engine timing (maybe bump it up a couple of degrees) and the distributor advance curve. Just my thoughts.

 

[PenSales]

Looking to do this same swap (well us a 4.8 with fuel injection) and keep my pto winch. What trans did you use?

 

[Another Ahab]

Looks like your first post, PenSales. I Hope you get your transmission question answered.

In the meantime, welcome from east here in Virginia.

 

[outofplace]

PenSales I used a 4 speed Muncie 465 commonly found in Chevys it has dual pto parts and I found a Muncie pto that with a little cutting here and there I was able to retain the pto winch

Sorry for the long wait for this reply but good luck on your build

 

[point]

Have you tried taking the thermostat out and running without it?

 

[metalman1]

doing a sbc swap in my M37.Any tips would be great, thanks metalman 1