Looking for a V8 swapped 620

[kday]

As the title states I am looking for v8 swapped 620 in running condition. If anyone has one or has a lead to one available for sale I am looking to buy. 

 

Serious cash buyer, located in California. Shipping can be arranged. 

 

Finders fee for anyone with a lead.

[datzenmike]

Rocking horse shit would be cheaper and easier to find. This is not a common swap because it's technically daunting and pretty much not done at all. (there are better ways to stuff 200+ hp in a truck) If you do find one, it's likely to be badly thought out and built. Unless you build your own you will be paying too much for too little.

[abbylind]

Try this   4X4 too

 

https://santafe.craigslist.org/cto/d/selling-datsun/6218693346.html

[datzenmike]

Now you're talking. A four cylinder of V6 swap is a much better idea.  At least they fit.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

As the title states I am looking for v8 swapped 620 in running condition. If anyone has one or has a lead to one available for sale I am looking to buy. 

 

Serious cash buyer, located in California. Shipping can be arranged. 

 

Finders fee for anyone with a lead.

I sent you a PM with my private email address. Give me a shout if you're interested.

[Anonymous Waffle]

Could always go for a vg30. They're plentiful, cheap, good power, and there's aftermarket parts to stuff them right into a 620 with minimal work.

[Jersey]

The last California Truck Jamboree that I attended in Irvine, there was a guy that had a standard cab that had a 350 in it. I talked to him and one of the things that I remember, it no longer had a heater...This truck, however, was extremely clean with a beautiful black paint job on it and the bed was radiused. It also had a cab extender on it. I know I have a picture of it and will post it when I find it. I also have his business card with contact info and will post that too. This was about 15 years ago, who knows, maybe (if he still has it...) he'd part with it...doesn't hurt to ask. This was a truck that was very Beautiful and done right. His license plate: V8URGE.

[datzenmike]

Rad or heater, pick one to keep. It can be done but it's not a 'drop in'. Stock engine is 250 to 280 pounds depending on year. Aluminum block V8s are 400-ish on a good day. VG will fit but no one has ever said it was an easy swap.

[distributorguy]

Welcome to Ratsun!  I see this is your first post!

 

The Buick 215 V8. aka the Rover 3.5/3.9/4.0/4.6 motor is an aluminum block that's light, and externally smaller than a SBC.  In fact, I recall them weighing only 40 lbs more than a stock 4 cylinder in many of the British cars they've been installed in, like the MGB and TR8 for example.  While the build can be butchered, it can also be done professionally, and there are many ways to install a heater other than using the factory unit on the tranny tunnel.  The LS motors are also quite compact, and with an aluminum block weigh in around the same - 385-ish, and they're more easily tuned for performance.  

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Dennis Hale has had a Buick powered autocross 510 for decades. It doesn't make a ton of power, but it is light and it does fit nicely.

[datzenmike]

It can be done but high failure rate due to too technical a swap. Too many one-off parts to make. Too expensive to pay someone to figure it out (often with unsafe/poor results) or too many shortcuts by the owner with unsafe/poor results to save money. Most of these end up on the scrap pile and you only hear of the ones that made it. Hard to fuck up a 4 cylinder swap. We had a member with a 327 swap. A good one but only one. It's not popular.

[hosestop@msn.com]

How about a 302 ford with ac auto red with BRE stripes ,I will ask my buddy if he is selling ,in so Cal.

[hosestop@msn.com]

Oh Rocking horse shit is Canadian .

[nl320what]

Bring me a 620 truck and motor/trans/driveline you want and I'll install it for you for a deal.

 

Or I can source it all..... I have done a 74 620 with a 5.0HO, 73 620 RX7 rotary, and 2 74 Chevy LUVs with 383ci stroker and 283ci Corvette motor swaps.

 

 

Edited to add:

- Suggest small blocks so there wont be an issue we cant deal with going around the steering shaft tube.

- Chevy 350/383 is the largest as we have to push firewall back for the dizzy

- Ford 5.0HO clears fine as the dizzy is in the front of motor and compact

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

It can be done but high failure rate due to too technical a swap. Too many one-off parts to make. Too expensive to pay someone to figure it out (often with unsafe/poor results) or too many shortcuts by the owner with unsafe/poor results to save money. Most of these end up on the scrap pile and you only hear of the ones that made it. Hard to fuck up a 4 cylinder swap. We had a member with a 327 swap. A good one but only one. It's not popular.

Don't lump everyone into that basket.

 

Yes, having a pro do it is expensive, but the results often speak for themselves.

 

Seeing as how the OP still has only one post, I doubt he is a serious shopper, but I would love to get my hands on a 620 along with a customer who was willing to let me build it.

 

I took in a job a couple years ago that, on paper, looked like it could be done for $10-$12 thousand. It ended up being about $25K. Don't let someone talk you into a cheap engine swap, because it will be just that. I was warned ahead of time by a colleague and I was careful NOT to bid the job, but to explain that it could run into the $20K range. Thankfully I had someone I could ask advice from before I took in the job. Most people don't have anyone looking out for them and often get roped into inexpensive swaps. Then they never get finished and the owner is out thousands for an incomplete job that will never get finished.

[2wheel-lee]

I've seen a bunch of V8 swap 620s on my local Los Angeles craigslist. Though none I've seen are driveable a the time, but they all say that minor details need to be finished. Of course, I see many incomplete SR20DET 620 swaps for sale as well. Goes to show that few swaps are easy (except maybe the KA?).

[datzenmike]

 The only people not in that basket are those with $15K plus to spend on it.  How many V8 620 do you think are out there being driven right now? not trailer show queens.... a dozen maybe. There are probably that many KA swapped 620s by amateurs in every state west of the Mississippi. Why? because they FIT, relatively easy, cheap, excellent results and hard to fuck up. Those unfinished ones (that you never hear about) end up scrapped for their parts and as the cab is all cut up it's no good either. It's a one way trip to the junk yard.

[racerx]

Dang it, if I am going to spend that kind of money, I'll look for a coupe! I understand it's their money, their time, headache and so on but spending that kind of money?

[nl320what]

Oh yea these all usually arent driven on the street very much anymore.

 

The last build was the Luv 283ci that my cousin drives around still in my neighborhood.

 

The 74 620 5.0HO was shipped to Nevada and he installed all aluminum paneling and races it.

 

Fabrication was a cake walk and really cheap for motor mounts, trans mounts, and drive line adapting and balancing.

 

If someone brought me a 620 and the wanted drive train I could install it for $800 labor on the small block ford and $1200 labor on the Chevy 350/383 setup.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I can get a motor swapped in in one day too, but it takes a very long time to get all the details sorted out and finished. That's where the money comes in.

 

Fuel plumbing, exhaust, trans crossmember, throttle linkage, clutch and/or shifter linkage, driveline, wiring, charging system, cooling system, fans and/or fan shroud, cutting the oil pan, etc. All these items make up the bulk of the work. If there's metal fab involved, then that's a huge unknown variable. It takes what it takes.

 

Sure, a carbureted engine will require a lot less work, but I bet you've still got two weeks worth of install and finish work to get it right. My standards are higher than most. Maybe someone else could do it in less time.

[nl320what]

Its all been automatics on the installs I have done, manual trans would be nearly impossible to keep traction, barely can with 305 series wide wheels in the rear.

 

It doesnt take much to run new stainless fuel lines and a Walbro 255

Exhaust pipe shop can connect up duals for $400, or half that if you weld yourself

Trans crossmember I use 1/4x3" flat bar

throttle I reuse the 620 pedal with a Summit accel cable to length

Driveline adapt the new trans end onto the original tube to rear and balance is $100

Wiring wont change, just adding a 1 wire alternator simplifies charging system

Summit Alum radiator $200 with flex radiator hoses $80 and elec fans $200

 

Usually someone just needs the big stuff in, then they like to piece the rest together in the garage, usually the ones that want this know how to work on them :)

[datzenmike]

 $800 or $1,200 labor for chev??? At $50 an hour that's 16 or 24 hours to do this if you have everything ready. Migrant workers?  

[racerx]

$50 an hour is cheap!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I like to think that my swaps take it to a whole new level. I like them to be easy to work on and retain a stock appearance, at least stock in the sense that though it may be custom, there is nothing flashy or out of the ordinary. This takes a considerable amount of effort to achieve.

 

My swaps get mandrel bent TIG welded exhaust with OEM style hangers. Original style hardware is used. Mounts, brackets, crossmembers and that type of stuff is all easy to remove and replace without any interpretation. Sometimes I use alignment holes in brackets which help with reassembly during repairs. Wiring is typically replaced or refurbished for the entire vehicle and OEM style grommets and wrap is used. Stock gauges and senders are retained for seamless integration. All hoses are built to look stock (usually with the help of heat shrink for a stock rubber look). AN fittings are kept to a minimum and if I do use them, are either plated steel or anodized black. No generic hose clamps are found on my swaps. If spring clamps can be used, they are. If wire clamps were original, then those are used. Electric fans are avoided in favor of clutch style mechanical fans and custom shrouds are built out of TIG welded steel or aluminum. All fabricated parts are powder coated satin black to match the original look. I try to keep the custom work to hard parts that won't ever need replacing, and custom parts should be readily available so the owner won't have to special order from elite suppliers. Catch cans and fluid reservoirs are all some type of OEM. I hate billet just for the sake of billet so if it is billet, I try to dress it down.

 

I have a "valet test" that I use. If you can not hand your keys to a valet without having to explain how to start, drive, the vehicle, it fails.

 

I also have a 10 year rule. Everything should be built to a high enough quality that it lasts at least ten years. I have seen too many projects thrown by the wayside because after a few years, they start to get rattly or generally not fun to drive.

 

Like I said, I do things a bit differently.

 

Here's a modified stock Toyota tach that I had built for a LS swap. This one used to redline at 4000 rpms.

 

Fabricated fan shroud.

 

Bead forming is done on all fluid or air tubes.

 

My swaps usually look like this when done.