He's taking a little break.

 

In my head I see the finished project but then I open my eyes and see reality. I can't wait for the chance to work on it.

 

hey, just a few questions about your build...

how are you dealing with the rear end? are you putting the Vans axl in ? - if you are how are you connecting the braking system ?

Are you using the vans radiator too ? or a differnt one?

Im assuming that your switching the dashes out too ?

Thanks !

N,

 

I understand because I'm the same way. Reality sucks, sometimes.

 

1) Yes I plan on using the van axle. The brake lines shouldn't be a big problem, but I haven't got to that point yet.
2) Also plan on using the van radiator if I can make it fit in there.
3)I'm using the instrument cluster and the HVAC controls from the van.

 

Well, I finally got time and energy to get working on this project again. So here's the latest. I got an oil pan from a F250 on Ebay for $40. Went and got a brand new pick-up tube and pan gasket for $98. Probably could have gotten away with reusing the old gasket but I wasn't going cheap on something that would be such a pain to replace if it started leaking. I then tried reinstalling the motor/tranny. No luck, the new pan's sump sits about 2-3 inches lower!! Had to yank it back out and take care of some issues. The cowl has about 1-2 inches where it meets the floor pan that is where the two are tack welded together. I took a hammer to it and bent it back against the floor pan. Kind of like rolling a fender for bigger tires. I also took some things off the tranny that were getting caught up on things. It was my last hope. I really didn't want to split the engine and tranny up. If I had a shop with a crane, lift and a tranny jack, it might have been easier to split them up. But I'm working by myself with a cherry picker and a 2-ton floor jack on a slab thats only 10x20. If you look at the picture you'll also see that half the truck is on gravel.
Before attempting to put the motor/tranny back in, I put some final welding on the motor mounts. I was hoping to get it in there to make sure everything sat right, but I could tell that if I got it in there, it wasn't coming out!! After some pushing and prying the motor is now officially sitting correctly in its new home. As for the tranny, that thing is huge. The mount sits about 4-5inches back and about 2-3 inches lower. I sat under there seeing if I could some how reuse the original cross-member, but even if I redrilled new holes it wouldn't work. A custom built cross-member is next on the "To Do" list.

 

Glad to hear it! Good job!

 

Stick-to-it-iveness... gotta love it

Good work.

 

Way to go! How about some pics of where it is now and also of the crossmember situation.

 

If you put a 1" body lift in that would give you a lot of room.

nice project

 

Goodbye 8.8 with drum brakes. Hello D60 with disc brakes!!

 

Looking, good so far. Keep up the good work. Is that puddin' cup holding the 8.8 from sliding away or what?

 

No, but when I'm workin on vehicles, it looks like a tornado blew by. Tools, car parts, and wife's tupperware get thrown everywhere.

 

I'm sure we all understand that. I'd still like to see pics of the cross member problem you mentioned earlier.

 

I got that axle in. Came inside and cooked diner for wife and mother-n-law. Started to watch some football and the wife tells me the kitchen sink is backing up. I go to the bath tub and let it run. It starts to back up too! F*#K!!! I'll have to wait for daylight so I can start digging for the septic lid and see how bad it is. I was hoping to get that tranny mount done tomorrow, but we'll see. I'm hoping a squirrel climbed down the vent tube and got stuck. That's a best case scenario. Worst case is the whole system is clogged. I looked down the clean out tubes in the leach field with a flashlight and it was bone dry.
I'm about halfway through the mount fab and I only need about 4-5 hours to finish. I'll take pictures and give details then.