856666

I am interested in Lessons Learned from those of you who have installed a 502 into a C2 with a small block (4-sp) no Air, no PS, no PB, with sidepipes

Advice on what to remove beside engine and trans

Advice on a transmission upgrade

Advice on rear end ratio

Are there any major fabrication challenges

Thank you,

Phil

65 Pro Vette

Most 502's don't have a spot on the block for the clutch ball need to fab one or I here they make something now. If you use headman heaters to go direct into sidepipes some mods to the header flanges at the head (hits 502 head bolts) any rear is good with 560 ft lbs of tk. it pulls hard, I used a tremac 5 speed tk600.

Velox

Well your 66 could have had a factory big block so the frame is already setup for it. You need to consider which 502 you are going for, some (like the ZZ502 I seem to recall) have no mechanical fuel pump boss so that is an additional setup (electric pump) needed. And the clutch stud as noted above, but there are mounts out now that bolt to the side of the block and provide the ball stud for the z-bar - google search for it. I would think you should consider switching to the big block radiator support and then a good big block radiator - you are going to need better cooling system than the stock SBC setup. Good luck

jim lockwood

A fellow I know installed a 502 in his SB C2 without changing the radiator and, predictably, had no end of overheating issues.

I sold him a BB core support and an aluminum BB Griffin radiator. He's been a happy camper ever since. Oh, and he lives in the Sacramento Valley where summer temps reliably hit triple digits.

Bottom line: big radiator

Jim