The heater / AC box needed to be modified to clear my valve covers and breather. Since I won't be using be AC, I took out the core, which gave me plenty of room. I then made panel out of aluminum and riveted it in place sealing it with silicon.

4/25 � I spent the last week getting the truck ready for the new engine. I took the clutch master cylinder and pedal out of the truck, along with the old 5 speed and transfer case. I degreased the whole chassis of the truck and painted the frame gloss black.

I also dropped the fuel tank and took out the pump/sender unit. I removed the stock in-tank pump and replaced it with a short piece of steel fuel line to act as a pickup. I made a bracket out of some steel and mounted my Holley fuel pump and Fram filter.

I picked up a Sport Comp oil pressure gauge and a water temp gauge from Autometer and installed them into an A-pillar pod also from Autometer. You can also see the B&M light truck shifter that I will be using to shift my C-4.

4/28 � Today I picked up a new 130 amp 3G alternator for the truck. It is much larger then the stock alternator so I needed to flip it and make a new mount for it.

----- I have recently switched to a March serpentine conversion to solve some clearance issues and to add some �Bling� to the engine compartment. I ordered a set of underdrive pulleys, bracket kit to mount the alternator, the kit to mount the PS pump, and a FMS high flow aluminum reverse rotation water pump.

4/29 � I finally got a much needed engine hoist. I put it together and pulled the old engine out in about 2 hours. I had to remove the clutch to get the engine to fit out, and then there was only about 1/8 inch of clearance. The engine compartment was covered in grease and grime to I degreased it and blasted the nastiness away with the power washer.

4/30 � One of the many things that must be considered when swapping in a V-8 is the clearance between the engine and the radiator. I had two problems; fitting in a radiator that will be able to cool my high output engine, and fitting it so it would clear the engine. The radiator I got is a custom universal type; so don�t ask where you can get one. I wanted the biggest radiator possible so I had planned on doing some trimming of the support and original mounts. After a few hours of grinding, cutting, and hammering I got the radiator to fit perfectly. It fits flush with the upper radiator support and fits in the new opening perfectly. I also made some simple clamps to hold it in place out of aluminum stock.