WCRiot

Is this the part you used?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cs...make/chevrolet

WCRiot

this is a random question. I don't see this as an obstacle yet. Are you referring to the hood latch?

DUUUUDDDDEEEE i've been trying to remember your username. Thanks for chiming in.

You cheated! just kidding. you made your own mounts so it looks like you had a bit more flexibility.
What radiator did you use?

I agree with you. overheating is always a big problem in old cars. But, I'm not willing to pay the big bucks for a custom radiator.
I bought a 3 core radiator. As large as i can fit. I have a dual fan setup that will pull over 2,000 cfm.

PaddycakeFTW

iTrader: (22)

Yeah, that's the one. I'm surprised Summit doesn't have it anymore.

Then again, if the Windstar one that was mentioned above works and is cheaper, there's no point in tracking down a CSR housing. When I did my swap back in 2011 I didn't know about the Windstar part.

DEEDDUDE

Sorry, I thought I subscribed to the thread. F-Body rad and fans. I'll have to post a pic of my new mounts.

Leadfoot85

iTrader: (3)

Finally got around to taking some pics of my lower hose set up. Hard to get a good picture, but you get the idea!





Hope this helps!

WCRiot

What's the U Shaped hose you are using? That looks like a Samco type hose

WCRiot

I'm really regretting buying the radiator i did. I bought it because it fit in the factory radiator core but i wasn't even able to mount the radiator inside the core.

Leadfoot85

iTrader: (3)

The top hose is a silicone 120 degree bend hose I got on eBay. I couldn't find a hose at the local parts store with that tight of a bend. The bottom part was from a hose I got at the parts store.

WCRiot

Hey guys
I'm really struggling with getting my steering setup completed. I dont know what to do anymore. I'm looking for some advice. I have over 10hrs into trying different setups.

I have a knuckle mounted directly to the Mustand II rack, than 3/4 D" stock to a double joint Knuckle to 3/4" d to the steering column. I had a rod end to support the lower section of "d" stock but in testing the system, there was soo much bind and in frustration i forced things to turn and destroyed the rod end.
The frame is even notched to make this current setup work.

I think my overall problem is the motor mounts are too low to the ground. This made my header choices limited and has got me in the situation you see now.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

A low engine is good. If you raise it up higher it will cause other issues, like really funky driveline angles.

Andrew

DEEDDUDE

WC,

These are the best I could get, it's pretty busy down there.




I would shorten the shaft from the steering column to eliminate the angle and bind you'll put the universal in. You can salvage the bearing reuse it in the end of the steering tube. As you can see mine come out of the fire wall only 4"-6" then turns down. The lower universal only has a small amount of angle. You can go to the big box store and get wooden rods and cut to the length you may need and play around with the angles and clearance issues. I had to cope out an area on my shock mount.

Good Luck, Sorry I couldn't be more help.

33willys

iTrader: (1)

Sorry about missing the return question regarding the hood springs. When I did a '50 Chevy the hood springs gave me fits until I figured out how to attach them to the factory mounts. The trick is to stretch them BEFORE mounting. Use an engine hoist to stretch the spring, then use a piece of angle iron with plates welded top and bottom to jam into the coil and hold it there with a radiator clamp or two. Now the spring is held in the stretched position. Put it into the factory hooks on the hood and body, then release the radiator clamps and remove the angle iron.

As far as the steering goes, looks like I had more room in the 33 ****** and '39 Chevy than you do. Using wooden rods as mentioned will help lots. May be necessary to move the column.

WCRiot

DEEDUDE
Here is the dimension i was asking for. not sure if that is something you are able to easily provide or not

DEEDDUDE

7". I remember the measurement, but verified and took another measurement you might use. From the firewall to the center of the first universal=5 1/2". My steering shaft runs through the motor mount or in your case between the motor mount and frame.

33willys

iTrader: (1)

Looks to me like you will have to shorten the column, bring the shaft out toward the wheel (around the header) then take your best shot to the rack output shaft. Consider a double universal joint in the center, regular joints top and bottom. No joint should be over about 30 degrees, and you will need an idler support in there too. When using universals make sure the double D shaft does not stick into the joint to far. If the shaft is in to far it will bind the joint. If you can't make this work then the only other solution I can think of is (gulp) a custom header where you can get the shaft behind.

WCRiot

I basically had this setup when i destroyed the idler bearing a.k.a. rod end.
The difficulty with this was welding the rod end somewhere that could support it.
I have the shock mount and the top airbag hat welded to the frame in that same location. I had made a support tube to screw the rod end into. I was real excited because i thought for sure this would solve it. But i was getting binding while turning the wheels. I forced it one time and ruined the rod end.

I will look up my measurement for the motor mount. That is on my computer at home.

Before custom headers, I might try notching the frame area more to push the D shaft closest tot he rack further away from the engine. The problem with this is where i need the Double U joint to bring the angle back towards the steering column.

What a cluster F____

Alwhite00

iTrader: (1)

I cut & welded my stock 6.0 T-stat housing so it points down then I only needed a 90 deg bend in a hose. The 6.0 has a separate t-stat from the housing, Not built in like the 5.3 - Not sure how the LS1 is just throwing out ideas.

frige

I just found this thread. I did the same swap on my 53 belair. I used a 80s steering column and headers from speed and performance. We had to mod the headers a bit to clear the column but it wasnt to big of a deal.

WCRiot

I didn't post pictures of the setup i was trying to run at the time of my post. I was just too pissed and annoyed. This picture shows the rod end screwed into a bushing i machined. I was going to weld the bushing to the upper control arm support.


Played with things some more yesterday. Here is how the whole idea started.


I tried a similar setup. Except i ran a Single U joint on the rack and ONLY the double U joint bringing the steering column lower into the engine bay.
[URL=http://s1184.photobucket.com/user/deeddude/media/DSC00725_zpsl4wsrxbp.jpg.html]

OR eliminate my machined bushing and weld 1 or 2 nuts to the upper control arm support


Then i looked at DeeDude's picture and realized. Crud! I don't have a steering column bracket. I only have that U bolt on the interior holding the column. This has to be one problem with my layout. I need to hold the hsaft so that it isn't putting pressure onto the Double U joint. I think that will help alot.
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...20LS1TECH&txt=

WCRiot

hey guys
Sorry fro not updating in a while. I ended up keeping the motor mounts and adapter plates i originally had, even though i went out and bought adjustable motor mounts and a different pair of headers.

I just had to grind into a notch that i already had in the frame. The extra material was hitting the shaft, not allowing me to bring the shaft away from the engine enough.

The other big change i did was based on a picture one of you posted. I used the 3 U joint i had purchased and mounted that directly on the steering column.

Below are some crappy pictures of the setup. U joint on the rack. U joint on the column. U joint about 40% the way up from the first joint. Support bushing welded to back of the Upper control arm mount. OH, another big help was tack welding the column towards the top of the slot int he firewall for the steering column. I will machine or buy a mount once i decide what is my final steering column choice. The column position was very important with my setup to avoid binding.





I think i am going to add another support bushing for additional support. Something like this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will be posting some more updates over the next week or two. I have a bunch of questions for finishing all of my connections to the engine.
I knwo this isn't the most descriptive picture. But what is this vacuum hose that is dangling? This hose was always like this from my donor engine.