Hey, i am in the process of fitting a Mopar drive train in a Studebaker Lark. At first i trial fitted a 318/904 with no problems then i came across a Magnum/46RH so as its a better engine with an overdrive trans i decided to change. Issue is the 46RH is obviously bigger than the 904 so fitted it is pushed up against the top of the trans tunnel. I have cut the top off a section of the trans tunnel and there seems plenty of space on the width, just needs raising on the front section and maybe the fire wall needs a bit taken out at the top of the bell housing. The question is what is the minimum clearance needed top of the trans and bell housing to allow for movement of the drive train. Also the engine oil pan is sitting close to the bell crank on the cross member (3/4 inch) but don't really want to raise the engine anymore unless i have to.
Just a thought. I raised a tunnel and neglected to consider longitudinal clearance so I could pull trans with engine in place. I can't see a mount lifting more than an inch so half that for trans movement.
Depends on your mounting of the motor and transmission and how much it rocks when you torque it up. I usually shoot for at least an inch all the way around. It allows the motor to rock on rubber mounts and allows for air to flow so the floor doesn't get so hot. How fat are your fingers you may need more to work on the car later.
May want to 'block it' up in place, then imagine how much window-space necessary around the elements, like a modulator, etc, have seen some that were modified, re-dented.
A half inch (not sure what that equates into your nonsense metric system) seems reasonable, but I've had even less. It will make the floors warm, but consider it free heat in the winter. I don't think there is a "minimum" in terms of functionality, as long as nothing hits into anything else.
On my 39 Dodge truck, my 46RE trans has about a 1/2" clearance above the trans. I just replaced the trans, with the motor in place. I have the rear trans mount set up in a way the cross member will slide out towards the rear once the bolts are removed. I need to remove the 3 bolts that attach the trans mount to the trans, and I need to remove the 4 bolts and nuts the hold the mount and the cross member to the frame. Then I can lift the trans tail shaft up that 1/2" and slide the cross member with the trans mount still attached out from under the trans. Watching the radiator clearance, I can lower the trans tail shaft enough so I can use a long extension to remove the bell housing bolts (and reinstall them). The entire trans swap took about 7 1/2 hours on a hoist, but we had to wait for a parts delivery. Build in clearance for fan clearance at the radiator. Build in clearance to remove and replace the bell housing bolts, and build in clearance to remove the cross member. After that, you need about 1/2" - 3/4" clearance (your finger fits between the parts freely) on the entire trans to anything. My motor and trans are mounted on standard Dakota mounts. I have yet to run into an issue with clearance, but I am aware of which way things would move under torque in a failure and build enough clearance things don't break. Making contact, and breaking hings are different topics. Stuff can make contact with a mount failure, and not cause things to break. If something is continuing to make contact, a little re engineering is called for. Gene
Thanks for all the comments, so i'm going to aim for 1/2" to 3/4" clearance but i'm guessing the Stude V8 was also a tight fit in the Lark. I need to take a bit out the top of the tunnel on the fire wall and raise the front trans tunnel section in the cab 1/2" or so then it should all move back 1/2" to get that little bit more for the radiator clearance. The oil pan is 1/2 from the bell crank now so could be tricky removing the sump but what car isn't. Good thing is the 46RH crossmember and mount will fit but the Magnum engine mounts are too big so will have use the 318 ones. Also will be fitting the 318 water pump but don't think this will make any difference with radiator clearance.
I assume as you are running an RE trans you have the entire Dakota drive train fitted, just curious if you have done any engine mods as i ditched the 318 because the Magnum has better flowing heads, more HP ect.... but as its an engine designated for trucks not sure how this would reflect fitted in a car. I have found info regarding changes to performance with manifold mods, bigger throttle bodies, cams ect... but i am building this for street use only so don't really want to get into any unnecessary tuning. To surmise i'm not sure what to expect fitting a truck engine in a lightweight car.
The engine doesn't know that it came out of a truck and going into a car. Its the same engine, different mounts. I used a dodge Dakota ax-15 5 spd in my truck, and was really happy with it. Tony
Same engine? all Magums are in trucks aren't they and designed to pull a 1 ton trailer. I was just curious if a Magnum would make a good street rod with no tuning.
My 39 Dodge has a 5.9 Magnum with the 46RE out of a 97 Ram 1500. Other then the sump on the oil pan being made to fit the truck chassis, there is nothing much different between a truck motor and one that would have been put into a car, had Dodge done that. My 39 pickup is a pretty light street rod and the 5.9 works great, and I'm running a pretty much stock EFI wiring harness and the original truck's computer, no special tuning done here. The 5.9 in my probably 2500-2900 lbs truck is a lot of fun, lighter then that would probably be even more fun. I also don't see how a 5,2 (318) water pump would give you any more radiator clearance, since everything I've seen show the pump the same, 3.9. 5.2 and 5.9. You will want to watch the direction the water pump turns in relation to the other pulley arrangement, the serpentine belt driven water pumps turn a different direction then the "V" belt pump does. The wrong pump for the belt drive system will resort in a hot running motor. Gene
Thats good to know so my 5.2 should be about right for the Lark , i intend to keep the MPI as makes it easier for the trans lock up and overdrive functions, just in the process of converting the speedometer to electronic then all should run happily together as intended by Mopar. Like i said the 318 LA pump probably won't give any more space up front but don't have the fan blade for it so can't measure it but it does run the opposite way hence the need to change the timing cover also. The reason for changing the pump is i don't want the AC or power steering at the moment and as the car has not been on the road since the early 70's i need to make the engine look like it should be there for the first registration inspection so i will fit the LA valve covers too, they don't usually look too closely but i think they would probably notice a serpentine belt that would then lead to engineer inspections for engine upgrades lots of red tape, time and money at my expense.
I don't believe the LA valve covers fit the 5.2, but I could be wrong. Since its in a Lark, would the valve covers make any difference? Are you not hoping the inspector thinks its an original Lark motor? He may not have any idea what the Lark valve covers may have looked like. Gene
They do fit , just have to miss a few bolt holes, the Magnums have more bolts and better sealing but the LA ones look older been smooth. The idea is to get it looking like an original 60's Studebaker engine, i'll have to get some Stude valve cover stickers and a big air filter to hide the MPI but if that is noticed it can be passed off as a retrofit bolt on for fuel economy. To be honest they will not have any idea what a Studebaker is anyway as i never realized they existed in Europe until i found mine and my only recollection of them at the time was the famous nose cone model. The Humber in my avatar i did the inspection recently and they asked if it was a Russian car, i told them it was a made in England which seemed to surprise them then the asked what make engine it had, i replied Humber then they closed the hood and started measuring it. The Humber is 66 all original so i can surmise if the Lark looks like its original at a glance they won't pay much attention to the engine.
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