Technical Yeah, Its got a Hemi/41 shop truck

Okay, I'll try again.

As you can see the letters are raised so knocking them off shouldn't be an issue. It has raised ribs on sides. It could easily go black or part polished and DESOTO could replace BUICK. I'll go back under my rock now.

 

Ok, so they refer to it as the "Star Wars" aircleaner (for obvious reasons), 1967 Buick GS.
I saw used but good condition on line for $839 and a repop for $500 that comes primered.

Besides being spendy it may a bit on the flat and low side. Hmmm.

 

The one I found last night was buy it now for $345.oo and I thought that was heavy. Probably should be a little more Hot Rod/Race looking anyway. Hard to justify getting close to a Grand in an air filter cover.

 

On a truck with a closed hood!!

 

Bitchen scoops

 

I like that! Where's a link to them? Don't tell me it's a one off.

 

https://bitchinsurferscoops.com/

Plus I think he’s on the Hamb too

 

Totally bitchin!

 

Nice product. Finished polished is outstanding. Price is right for sure. Thanks.

 

Get one for the wall too

 

I slept off the tryptophan and spent the rest of the weekend working in the shop.
I installed my front brakes, bearings, brake hoses and so forth and moved to toward the back end of the truck.

[square with red X here]

I pulled out the 9" and drilled/tapped a new axle vent as my new top mounted sway bar mandated. Lots of grease on the drill bit (cleaned and re-applied several times), rag soaked in gibbs and secured by a coat hanger shoved down the tube. Also the shop vac was added to make sure everything was being done to keep contamination out of the axle tube.


Before re-inserting the axles I added the brake backing plates...

...well, not the first time. I had to "test fit" the axles and then take them back out and add the loaded backing plates.

Then strip it with red scotch bright pads on a 2" air sander.

Masked it off and make it black...and shiny! Looks like my welds on the sway bar mounts are holding too! (that's a plus). I used 2 stage gloss black ceramic paint from Eastwood.

Now how to stick it back in without skinning it all up? I'll worry about that in a couple days and give this paint time to cure a bit.

 

Answer? The engine crate I built to hold the 8BA in my roadster. I little padding and it worked perfect.

Reason number 103 that a 2 post lift beats the hell out of a 4 post. (subtitled, how to install a freshly painted rear end by yourself without f'n it all up).
Front spring bolts in, rears on carboard so they slide on the floor without removing the new paint while you lowere the lift.

Lower the lift until the springs can clear the rear axles. Then install new bushings and lube appropriately.

Simply lift the rear of the spring and install shackles. Then lift hoist until it catches the rear end and locate the rear pins then u bolt in place.
If you haven't done this to your grease jug, I suggest it.

Nice thing about the sway bar on top, I didn't have to remove it to R&R the rear end.

Back in, nice and easy lemon squeezy. That's a tight and shiny, 9 inch hiney!

 

Nice!!

 

Thanks man! I love doing this stuff.
Next I need to tweak my design on the tranny cross-member, the one I built is too tall and it is negatively effecting the angle of the dangle of the trans output shaft in relation to the rear pinion. I don't like re-doing things but this is inevitable.

 

Bill
I know that Energy Suspension makes a low profile version of the GM style trans mount.
Maybe they have others you can make work without having to remake your crossmember.
Inspiration here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ure...VLtZ4KHZILAJIQ_AUoAnoECA0QAg&biw=1280&bih=752

 

The issue with the low pro unit is this 518A transmission. The low pro mount pads are spaced too wide for the Dodge trans. On the regular GM mount I have to red-rill and elongate the holes to reach the oddly spaced MOPAR trans. The bolts actually end up slightly under the center rubber which is ok since there is a cavity under there unless you go Energy Suspension which has none.

Anywho, I need more like 3" down on that tail shaft for both floor clearance and to give me a 3 degree down bubble on the engine/trans. It is going to require some fabrication and a bit o the brown (not UPS).

 

3 inches ,,, I need three more inches...
what happened to it was born there?

 

You are correct the first drop was 3" but the way the cross member is built the tranny mount pad sits on top of the cross tube. So basically I moved three inches down and then back up 2 1/2" or what ever the width of that isolator is. I either need to remove the cross member, cut off the mount and turn it upside down (which will also require spacing it out from the tube about 2") or drop the cross member another 3".

Easier to explain with photos, I'm leaving work early to play with it so I will have some pics later tonight.

 

So B.B. My question is will the distance between the Dist. and Firewall end up back where it belongs? If all your re working is the mount would this be a good time to set the Cab back on the frame just to make sure all is good there? I know that what one man uses to get 3 degrees may not be actually 3 degrees with another Mans tool. Those cheezy pointer protractors are marginal at best when it comes to being accurate. Using a digital Pro-Level is only dead on if accurately re Zeroed often. Did that actually happen? I think so but wouldn't swear to it under oath. As you know my memory is well on the decline. One thing we do know is where the Dist belongs in relation to the Firewall. I'd try to hit that mark instead of a questionable degree mark on a tool that isn't the same one used in the initial set up.

 

@DDDenny this is what I was referring to. This is a Summit piece. Tonight I re-drilled and slotted the holes so it will fit the A518.
Before

and after

Now the GM mount will bolt right up to the MOPAR tranny. There is just enough room to finger tight one bolt, then slide it over and set down the other bolt, center and snug.
The cavity of which I speak.

 

The Shiny tube is the one I built to hold the A518. The other is the new 6" drop tube I got on CL today for $35.

Looks like a spider! The front bar is the one I built previously, the one behind is the new 6" drop, the tranny mount is in the plastic as I hadn't taken the patient to surgery yet. All lined up you can see the drop of the first bar is basically the same as the width of the mount pad. The deeper drop will get the tail shaft down where it was during mockup.

You can see from the following pic the amount that is removed to form my tranny mount.

(if you answered "half a glass" you are an astute observer and worthy of much praise).

 

I guess I would not have been off base earlier when I thought about posting this.
My 66 Suburban chassis, these crossmembers are a real problem solver, light, strong and reasonably priced.

 

My only comment is "Ground Clearance". I kind of remember that chassis sits nice and close to the ground. Now if the rubber mount receiver was welded on the tube 180 degrees top to bottom you would increase the ground clearance by the tube diameter. Might be worth looking at.

 

That's the style I bought off CL yesterday. I only use about 30" of it so I have to butcher it pretty good.

You know well Jedi Master, not a lot of ground clearance. I am only the apprentice but the truck tranny pan sits lower than this cross member will. I cant tell yet if it will interfere or violate the scrub line but I don't think so. If it will I will chop this thing up and use the material to turn the first one upside down, reverse it, re-drill the frame to move it forward and increase the mounting pad area.

 

A guy had a really nice '29 Dodge sedan with a 350 blower motor in it, a raised manhole cover ripped the oil pan drain plug out in a parking lot....

 

^^^I've seen it done before. One of my buddies tore the drain plug out of his aluminum oil pan (SBC) putting his car on the trailer!

 

How did I miss this? Great thread.

 

Radiator up nearly 3" by removing the side brackets and lowering them, then bolting back on (loosely it appears).

That centered the fan in the radiator core nicely. I need to find an engraver to add a "710" to the top of that donovan filler cap.

I still have a fan shroud to build but it just got a lot easier.

I also fashioned a dip stick for the 518. Couldn't find a metal one that gave me the firewall clearance I needed (they all wanted to come up behind the right head where real estate is scarce. I bought this 36" flex from Summit. It was a firewall mount (not what I wanted) and it was too long. I made a cool bracket to hold the top of the stick on a valve cover bolt, it will allow for filling and easy checking. Once the top bracket was installed I chopped out the extra on the braided SS and then fit the dipstick cable.

This will bring the tube up the center where there is a stock firewall depression and then over to the top of the head. Once the cab is mounted all that will be visible is the handle. I may have to create something less blah for it. I did come with a filler adapter to make it easier to fill the trans even from that slight angle. I think the Hemi is going to look like it grew there when I'm done.

 

DONE! No not the truck, just the trans mount. I tried a couple of ideas that didn't pan out then I went after the one I was dreading, taking the mount I had already built, cutting the trans pad mount loose, sectioning the pipe and boxing it for strength, adding a new mount plate, drilling it and adding gussets, paint it, bolt it back in. Pant, pant, pant.
Remember the original version had the mount pad well over the top of the bar so this alteration, though it did not remove one inch of ground clearance, lowered the tranny tail shaft over 3" and retains an isolated mount pad.

The trick was this "church pew" I built to hold the mount pad just below the bottom of the pipe rather than over the top.

Plus by sectioning the pipe I could re-use the existing mount holes in the frame rather than drilling new ones as the mount pad sits "inside" where the old tube would have been. Hell, I just welded up all the holes up in the frame, I cant start drilling more!

Final spot welds were made in the frame to assure a bolt in unit once it was buttoned up. Pulled it out to weld it n the bench where I could see better.
End product is easy to service, common tranny mount (GM), strong and tidy, good ground clearance, check, check, check and checkeroo. Color this project done (and shiny black).

 

That looks good billy! And Slicker than dog snot.