Customs 57 FORD GASSER BUILD

Problem with raising the engine is the transmission tunnel. I run a c6 and had to grind the ribs on the case slightly to get 3/4" clearance. There's going to be a compromise whichever way you place the engine. Just from pictures you posted the height looks to be pretty close to what mine is, and the engine in mine is very close to what the old 272 was.

 

Yeah not far off is it. I've actually got a fair bit of room in my tunnel. My wee toploader doesn't take up much real estate so I have at least 1 1/2 there, driveshaft clearance may be compromised however.

 

Well I can't get you the number I wanted to, I forgot the motor isn't in my 57 at this time. I measured my FE in the 59 but that's a different firewall. I dug through my archives of photos and found one that may help ya. This was when I was building my headers and using a core motor. Look at the Master Cyl bore line and the Valve cover.

those should be real close to what you want. We all tackle projects in different directions and I would have done the mounting of the motor from the stock mounts then done the motor plates and last cut out the tube crossmember. Not to say you won't get there the direction your headed. This probably hasn't helped ya an ounce. Sorry.

 

RmK57 Isn't that a 351 C motor in your car?

 

I run a 3.5" aluminum driveshaft in my 57 with a driveshaft loop and there absolutely no clearance problems. Funny enough I just replaced the stock one, which held up fine for mid-11's.

No, it's 514.

 

I have pretty much the same dimensions you have with my big block. I could lower mine two more inches, but I already have to notch the cross member for the th400 to have some clearance. It’s resting on it right now. Taking a leaf spring out would help a bit. I like the High stance though!! Also I ended up putting the steering tie rods in front of the axle. I had to switch the knuckles back and forth a dozen times to figure out my steering. Whatever I did I could not get them to clear my leaf springs. Even in front of the axle I still have to add some spacers to keep it from rubbing. Speedway axle? Their directions are shit!! Good quality product though!!

 

I wouldn't want to limit it a lot, but I would have to put some suspension stops on it in the end, just to be certain nothing collides with the oil pan.

 

I've been doing some thinking about it. 4" with a stiff spring and bump stops should be ok. I don't mind a stiff ride, that's kind of expected. I may lift the engine an inch or so but nothing drastic and remove one leaf. I'm fighting hood clearance, i'm going to have to cut a hole either way, and crank height. But since i'm really not having to conform to any actual rules the extra height won't hurt me. I kind of like the high stance as well. Its evolving from a gasser to street freak everyday ha ha.

On another note- bump stops- can I run them out near the spring eye? I've got a large gap between my axle and frame and I don't want to have long "posts" running down to the center of my axle to facilitate as stopper.

 

Stops out there might work, and I agree they would look better there, but to absolutely be certain the axle couldn't hit the pan, I would think they would have to contact the axle. Of course, I could be way overthinking it, and your spring rate may be stiff enough that the frame would bend at the firewall before you see that much travel.

 

So I pulled the longest leaf next to the main and raised the engine an inch. My crank center stayed the same but the car came down an inch and i kept my 4" of clearance. I plan on running bump stops directly on the shocks if possible and I should only have about 2" of travel anyhow. Glad that's figured out.

 

Just food for thought here. I don't like using shocks for travel stops but,, Stock 74 M-2's did. They use a thick near solid rubber snubber that goes on the top shank and against the top mount cup. So with that in mind you might build the bottom shock mount to mount on the top side of the leaf springs with the U-Bolts. Then make a short drop down top mount and the M-2 rubber to keep the shock from bottoming out. Also you can then run a fairly short shock and things might look well thought out instead of "I had to do something".

 

Sounds like a plan. I appreciate all the help again.

 

What is the width of these rear wheels, and what is the offset from the inside center where lugs are and to the inside of wheel?

 

What is the width and back spacing of these wheels?

 

I have way to much "stuff" to remember the exact wheel info of one set. Then there is the fact it was 4 or 5 years ago when I actually did that part of my 57. Good news is that it's still here so the info is not lost. The wheels are American torque thrust D's 15" x 10". I would guess the back space don't really matter being I narrowed the housing a good bit, probably around 6" (that's a guess). When doing this job I already had the Tire wheel combo mounted up. I stuck them in place then measured between the inside of wheel centers and made the housing fit the space. What I ended up with may not be exactly what you want for your wheels of choice. If you want more info just let me know, may take a day or two to get it. I'm an Old Fart, don't move so fast anymore and I have a full plate.

 

Got a bit more done tonight. Decided to rubber mount the engine to help with vibration. I know it will compromise the amount of rigidity the plates can add to the chassis but i'm ok with that. I'll be adding in plenty with the large x brace I plan on welding in the belly of the frame. Came out pretty good I think. Just need to do the rear plate and then fab the back side plate and gusset the uprights.

 

That's different!

 

Figured I'd give it a go. If it doesn't pan out in the real world i'll change it but i've seen a few OT engines mounted this way and it works well.

 

I'd think about replacing that 50 year balancer if your going to be buzzing that 429 over 6000 rpm.
SFI approved ones can be pretty reasonable these days.

 

Definitely will be. Don't know how much over 6k she's gonna see but i'll replace it anyway.

 

Nice work great thinking outside the box.

 

Definitely a different approach. But I like trying new things and I figured what the hell.

 

Well, not being negative here but. I would have done the front frame mount just a bit different. What I see in what you have is any time the motor needs to come out you have to totally remove the front plate. It does not look like you could lift the motor high enough with the plate in place to come forward and out. Were I doing it as is I would weld a 1-1/2" tall piece of 1/4" plate to the frame behind the plate and on the inside vertical edge also. Then drill 2, 3/8" holes on top and 1 on the side so I could unbolt the plate mount ear and take it off and out of the way. Then the motor would come strait forward and out. Not weld that tall ear mount solid to the frame. Just me thinking on the key board here and a different point of view.

 

I would have just used regular or solid motor mounts and gone without mid-plates altogether.

Not really needed with fenderwell headers.

 

I got thinking about that this morning. Ill try to work that in. Maybe weld the ear behind the motorplate solid to the frame and make the front ear removable- on both the front and rear plates- that would give me the length of the motor to move the whole engine forward before it needs to lift up when I want to remove it.

 

Well sorry about my lack of updates. Going through a break up and right now keeping my house is #1 priority so time and money are going into that for now. Ill get back to work here in a couple weeks and the updates will come again!

 

Sorry to hear about the issues. Looking forward to your return.

 

Hello all. Ive finally gotten up the energy/ got pissed off at myself enough to start working on the car again. Tonight I tacked the shackle mounts in and built reinforcement plates for the underside of the frame. Looking forward to posting more regularly again!

 

Welcome back Lee! It is good to see you back at it!

 

Really happy to see you back, lets make some progress !