Normally with the carb base level front to back the transmission output shaft will be at 3* down angle.
Hello EVL401 glad you didn't give up, like in the military no surrender and drive foward, you are doing great work, I like to see it finished
Love the 55 Buick. Here is a photo of Jay Leno's 55 Buick to give you an idea of the stance you might be looking for. Good luck.
That is a beautiful car, and similar to Leno's, but not his. This car is also from New Zealand. Shortly after seeing pics of this car for the first time I bought a 55' Super. I recently got it home So it ddoesn't look anything like that one...yet!
It's actually at 3.6* now I look closer. Will this be suitable or has to be exactly 3 degrees? If I tilt forward then carb base will be out. Hmmmmm
Correct...still not sure why I put New Zealand? I even stated"also"...as in also from Oz. Beautiful car! Leno's Is very similar but stock or near stock appearing as long as you don't look under the hood!
You might need to trim the opening a bit more, some bags will get fatter when aired up an weight on them. Don't want rubbing.
Haven't had the chance to get a decent look at the openings however will research further into it tonight. I know it looks like its gonna be a snug fit though!! Thanks for the advice Fullblast will keep u posted!! Got my top bag plates to suit Slam RE-6's yesterday so after few measurements tonight it's welding time!!
Plates from Air ride tig welded in place (only just started to tig!!) & top chassis plate & spacer tube bolted in. Bags fit snug inside their little spot with clearance all way round however undecided whether to trim chassis opening or not.
As you can see in pic the front RE6 slam bag fits with minimal clearance. Outta time now but soon to be trimmed for more clearance!
Right hand side engine mount ready to be tacked in place. Happy with how they're looking!! Spacers for bearing conversion currently being machined.....
Nailhead Russ at Centerville Auto Repair has a rear sump pan and oil pump conversion for the 401 and after fighting my set up I gave up and purchased one from him. Great guy and has more knowledge about Nailheads than anyone. http://nailheadbuick.com/nailhead-engine-swaps
Thanks Crazyolman!! Have purchased few things off him so far (6x2 manifold, T700 adapter, starter etc) & so far he's been very good. Already got my rear hump sump pan on there from an earlier 364 but will modify my oil pickup as the 364 & 401s are completely different!! What'd u put ur nailhead in that required a rear hump pan?
Have started making the gearbox X member. Not sure if I like the direction it's headed yet but will proceed & upload more soon!! Fitting a T700 into the 55 without fabricating a new tunnel or massaging the firewall is proving to be quite the challenge. The Trans has bout 1 to 1 1/2 inches clearance to the tunnel which is exactly where I want it. However one of the bell housing bolts is really close to the firewall. Will tackle that after the X member is finished. Bottom of X member will sit about 5mm or 0.19" from bottom of chassis level. More to come.......
Originally I purchased some blockhuggers extractors however where the collector is faces just above the streering, and also it's a very tight squeeze between the 2 middle cylinder pipes & steering box. Instead of highly modifying the blockhuggers I'm going to make my first set of extractors!! Wish me luck & watch this space!!!!
First pic is blockhuggers with collector central to the pipes. This won't work with the conversion. 2nd pic is templates to make transmission X member. I'm no metal fab expert just trying to have a go!! Of course the X member will be plated for strength....
Finally found the time to design, fab & tig weld a new X member for the T700 Trans. Only just started tig welding late last year so still trying to perfect the art!! Had to make the X member with a hard kick up so it wouldn't hang below the chassis. Made it from 5mm (0.19") steel took few hours with only a grinder, drill & general measuring tools. Had to get it perfect to keep the Trans output shaft at 3 degrees in conjunction with the perfectly set up chassis (0 degrees). More to come.....
Exhaust header plates turning out heaps better using (believe it or not) a cylinder head tungsten tipped porting tool. Look at the finish!! Will eventually be proper port matched to the 401 nailhead later on down the track....
Just a thought, next time, when making something thick like header flanges with a rectangle hole. Instead of drilling one big hole and then grinding out to shape, drill each corner with a smaller bit, and then connect the dots with straight cuts. That will save you some time with grinding and filing.
Thanks cretin for advice mate!! Will definitely do differently next time around (hopefully not too soon)
So got this awsome Buick light coupla weeks ago for my bday so had to make a mount bracket for it. Bit of inspiration whilst working in the garage!!
So finally got the time to tig weld the engine mounts to the chassis using 5mm (0.19") steel plate.....