So I tend to surf this forum more then post or help, mostly because I am new to this street rod building thing. Ran into a problem today that needs some help. I went to put my cab onto the frame and it hits the dist. before aligning with the cab mounts. You can see that in the pictures. The cab has to come forward about 2-2 1/2". Currently the motor mounts are mounted on the front cross member. I could see moving the motor forward at most about 4" which would mean building new motor mounts and scraping my new drive shaft. That would also move the weight of the motor more forward. Where do others have there motor mounted. Yes it is a Chev motor. Any other ideas? I am not a welder and trying to keep cost under control, i.e. dong as much as possible myself.

 

So in reading my own text, I guess it is obvious it is a Chev motor lol. The other thing I thought of was cutting the fire wall and transmission cover but what problems will that cause.?

 

You have a ton of room up front of the motor, Your best solution is to move the engine forward. Your motor mounts and cross member are in the wrong location.

 

I picked up on the Chevy part fairly quickly. Do you have a fan and shroud yet? I would mock them up and measure. You can definitely move it forward. Even if you use a large fan spacer you would probably still have two or more inches before any risk of crowding up front.

 

I'd sacrifice the drive shaft and move your motor mounts forward rather than digging into you firewall. I take it you have the wheels centered in your wheel wells?

 

If you pull the distributor do you have enough room, or are you hitting the transmission bellhousing area?
If it will clear with the distributor out you may want to consider switching to a a small body HEI or a points distributor converted to electronic. They are smaller than the standard HEI distributor you are running.
Otherwise I would move the engine forward, you have a ton of room.

 

Something does not look right with that firewall...I have never seen one with such a shallow indent.

 

drptop70ss-yes I am going to hit the trans bell housing next. Can someone tell me what the location of the front wheel centre line should be from somewhere, rear end or very front of the frame or from cab mounts. I was told it was right but now I am questioning everything. Still would like to know as well, does the motor mounts have to be in line with the cross member. If I move the motor forward that will help but how does that affect the balance of the truck

 

Engine does not have to be aligned with the crossmember. You can place the engine where it needs to be for proper clearances. There will be no significant change to weight distribution. Keep in mind the stock drivetrain is heavy. Guys have been installing big blocks and auto transmissions in these things for decades. Maybe not ideal but they seem to be driving around without serious issues. And many thousands of small blocks have been installed farther forward than you currently are.

 

I have a Heidts superide II in mine and the center of the cross member is 19 -3/4" from the center of the front spring perch mount.

 

Marten
I really don't see a affordable option other than moving forward. Cutting firewall will give you another set of problems in the cab..

It's not major... but it is a good bit of work.

first get whatever you're gonna use for a fan on the engine... and if you're using a shroud get it mocked up on the radiator.

second support the engine/trans with a cherry picker (make sure you have enough head room in the shop to raise the picker boom) and unbolt everything ... drop the driveshaft also (think about where you're putting the legs of the picker... you're gonna roll forward with the engine and it you attack it from the side the legs will hit the wheels before you get where you need to be...come in from the front) That's a pretty radiator... I'd mark it's rear face on the frame rail for reference and remove it.

if your engine mounts are welded to the frame rails they need to come off... sawsall.. cutoff wheels... torch . IF you're careful and cut cleanly you might be able to salvage the mounts and use them again. Same for the trans mounts. If you have a cross member type engine munt that might be a little easier (but it looks like they are mounted to crossmember...

what front suspension are you running ??

Once all is disconnected and hangin from the picker... roll it all forward and get it into position...

(You've got tons of room...looks like 8-10 inches... you won't have near the fun us guys with big blocks got to have ) get it level/plumb and get the crankshaft center line parallel to the frame rails.. do lots of measuring... lots

this might help http://jniolon.classicpickup.com/eng...e_mounting.htm

and this http://jniolon.classicpickup.com/dri...nephasing.html

look at all your clearances... fan to radiator... block to firewall... oilpan to crossmember... headers to suspension... steering linkage to headers/framerail. Make sure everything will clear everything else

also it really doesn't matter 'where' the engine sits in the hole...forward to backward and side to side.... as long as the crank center line is parallel with the frame rails (more detail in the driveline phasing article) and I'd advise putting the engine as low in the frame as you can without interference with suspension.

use 2x4s, wedges, jacks, whatever you need to block it all in place ...Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a roll of rebar tie wire (it's close to the cement isle... it's soft and easy to work with) tie everything off to the frame rails and then you'll be ready to fab up or buy new engine mounts. I'd leave a little tension on the cherry picker for safety sake till everything was bolted up again. (if you have the room to work around it)

I'd suggest getting the truck up in the air a little because you're going to be under and over it a few times

Once you get everything bolted back up measure up for your driveshaft... find a suspension or spring shop to rework your tube. It's not that expensive to have them cut out the short tube and put in a longer one between your ends... and have it balanced. Find your shop and ask them how they want it measured before you go with shaft in hand and the wrong numbers.

It sounds like a lot but it's really not... It ain't rocket science, it's just alignment and a tape measure and a level are your most complicated tools . Just take your time and work safely. Most everyone on the forum has installed a different engine..Pretty soon you'll be an expert at it.

hope it helps
later
John

 

I would move the engine forward, set the cab, and then set your engine position. Engine does not have to be over the crossmember and you have plenty of room up front to move.
I am running electric fans so I didnt have to worry about fan clearance, but this is where I set my engine in truck #2 in relation to the cab. I still have plenty of room up front.

 

Why you had the driveshaft and mounts done before mounting the cab is beyond my reasoning. Remount that engine forward like it should be bud. It sucks but needs to be done.

 

I mentioned shroud clearance in a previous post. Just to clarify the bottom clearance is frequently the issue with a mechanical fan. Not front to back where you have options. Most store bought F100 engine engine mounts tend to put the engine fairly low in the engine bay to allow easy cab floor to trans clearance. IMO fan shroud fitment doesn't have to be perfect for adequate airflow for a smallblock running a decent radiator. But I'm not running a 400CI engine in Phoenix either.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I will have to see what I can do now.
GMbusa- not sure if that was an insult or not. This is my first time building anything car/truck related. For me it is a dream come true. I don't have anyone guiding me. In fact I am so dumb I don't know what questions to ask. When I bought this project the suspension welding work and motor mount was done. The previous owner assured me it was good.
The parts come from Flatout Engineering using a C4 corvette suspension system.


Special thanks to jniolon for the step by step to fix this.


Marten