Jegs -just search LS lift plate and several options will come up.

 

Top notch work !!!

 

x 1000

 

First of all I had the pleasure of meeting Eric (LS1Nova) at the Street Rod Nationals. Eric I really enjoyed the visit and I did not realize your family truckster was the "Vacation" station wagon....what a fun ride! I would have liked seeing your Nova or 33 Ford, but I totally understand why you brought the wagon !

Now back to my project. I didn't find any longer frame mounts so I had a couple of slotted plates made to help in locating the motor and frame mounts. I have no idea where the motor will live permanently, but I found a starting place. Its 1 1/4" from the firewall, oil pan is about 1" above the bottom of the cross member, and it's level. It looks a little high, but you have to start somewhere.

 

Based on what I'm seeing with the motor location, the firewall will definitely have to be trimmed quite a bit to fit around the transmission. I made a fixture that will be handy once the body is taken back off. The cardboard in the frame can be trimmed to fit while building the chassis, and then transferred back to the body to trim the firewall. Also ordered a front floor kit this week so I can get an idea of how the front tunnel and toe plates will tie to the firewall.

 

Can you lower the engine and pull it forward a little to improve trans clearance?

Andrew

 

For engine location I can offer the process I used to locate it in my '39 Chevy and an LT1 in my 33 ******. First was to locate the radiator. In order to do this the doghouse will have to go back on. Once the radiator is in place the electric fan is mounted. Then you can determine how much clearance you are comfortable with between the fan and the engine. Now the engine can be installed. For up/down I do what you did, keep the bottom above the cross member. Now the firewall can be located along with the trans cutout. In my view the only thing that can be relocated is the firewall. Due to grill and front space on the older fat fenders the radiator location is pretty much locked in. Don't like to raise the engine too much because the trans hump gets larger and cuts into foot room. Don't forget to allow for some engine tilt spacing at the firewall.

 

All good thoughts on the motor placement. I believe the first order of business is to take the body back off and tackle the x brace so the tranny will pass through that area.....then start trying to make everything fit.

 

Not long ago I built a new frame for my '39. For the X member I used 1" X 2" rectangle tubing. My design was to use an upper "K" member and a matching lower "K" member tied together with vertical pieces to prevent any frame twist. If you are going to keep the original "X" will you be boxing it? Can you use the center section as a driveshaft safety loop?

 

Hey Keith, how about these parts I found at Speedway Motors:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Garage...it,140507.html

I know you don't need the urethane biscuit, but the frame side brackets look longer than yours...

 

I looked right after you posted this and called Speedway to see if they could tell me the hole diameter and the parts in the garage sale had already sold . They do however have some longer ones ( the universal kit) that may work but the kit is $100. Haven't decided which way to go yet, but thanks for looking for me!

 

kharp, I am new to the sight and came across your build. it sure looks like you have a grand ol plan and knows what u are doing. lookin forward to folowing you.

 

Hey Keith, was nice meeting you in Louisville too. Since I didn't take my street rod to the Street Rod Nationals (), I took a couple of pics of my motor mounts and where the engine is in relation to the firewall. I agree with 33Willys, I would mount the radiator and then set the engine where you want it. That's what I did, but I didn't have the firewall in it at the time. I put the engine as far forward as I could then made the fire wall fit. anyway, here are some pics of my car. I think, looking at the mounts, I may have my engine set a little lower in the frame than you have yours mocked up.





And this is it in relation to the fire wall. Notice how tight the trans dipstick is, that was my poor planning I told you about.....

 

Any updates???

 

Hey Eric thanks for checking on the project and for posting motor location pics. I've been sick and had a couple things break around the house so my car progress has not been great. There were a couple of items I wanted to take care of before the body came back off. I built a wood fixture inside the car that locates off of 4 body mounts. After the wood frame was done I lined the tunnel area with poster board and used staples and duct tape to hold it down and form the tunnel. By using this tunnel fixture and the firewall fixture previously shown, I will be able to know where the firewall and trans tunnel are without having the body on the frame. Hopefully these items will help in setting up the driveline.

 

Now the body is back off of the frame, and the frame is on the rotisserie. I bolted the wood tunnel fixture on just to see how it looks. This picture shows the bottom of the mock up tunnel. Next step is to tackle the x brace. More soon.....

 

Attention David Pace - I know you've been patiently waiting and looking forward to this part . The time has come to mount the motor and transmission....... and the frame is on the operating table! I spent part of the day removing rivets and the x member is no longer connected together in the middle. I still need to modify my temporary angle iron supports a little bit so I can drop the motor into place, but I can already tell its going to be a REALLY tight fit around the transmission tail housing. I'm undecided at this point whether to buy a kit or fab something myself to make room for the tranny and reconnect the X. I went ahead and made some mock up 3" lowering blocks for the rear end to see where the pinion will be in relation to the trans. More driveline news soon....

 

Now, we're talking!

 

I ordered a brake pedal kit assembly with a brake booster and master cylinder, BUT FedEx is holding it hostage at the moment . I don't want to start modifying the x brace until I have the booster installed so I can fab around it. In the meantime, I centered the rear end in the car and made a plate with a machined hole that is the pinion center. That 1 1/2" hole will accept the pipe that exits the transmission shown on page 4 of this build. I also assembled all the freshly powder coated control arms today with bushings, ball joints, etc. I have not been able to find an acceptable x brace kit, so it looks like I have some fab work ahead.

 

The x brace will be much easier to do on the rotisserie, so I needed to be able to remove the rear end and leaf springs. With that much extra weight I'm not sure if it would hold it, and it would definitely be out of balance for turning over. Now the bare frame is back on the rotisserie and I have a target for the driveline. Now if I can just track down my brake pedal shipment !!!

Side note for Karl - Speedway Motors separated a motor mount kit and let me order those long brackets by themselves at a lowered price. Received them this week and they should work perfect.