street rod build

Shocks, Springs, Brakes, Frame, Body Work, etc

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prairiehotrodder
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street rod build

Post by prairiehotrodder »

I'm putting a fairly serious motor in a street rod for a customer. Its a 1940 chevy truck thats getting a 383 SBC with about 550 hp. Its got no mounts in it whatsoever and i just finished welding in a Heidts mustang II style front end. Now i'm mounting the motor. To me it seems logical that the engine / tranny should be level with the frame. Like level the frame on stands, then install the motor / tranny level as well. I've never done anything quite like this before. The customer suggested that when the truck goes down the road the frame won't be level (true) but the engine should be so therefore the engine / tranny should be angled down when the frame is level. Anyone have any expereience with this ?
thanks
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PackardV8
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Re: street rod build

Post by PackardV8 »

Level off the carb pad of the intake.
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n2xlr8n
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Re: street rod build

Post by n2xlr8n »

PackardV8 wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:44 am Level off the carb pad of the intake.
I've always wondered about that- Thanks, Jack. =D>
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GRTfast
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Re: street rod build

Post by GRTfast »

prairiehotrodder wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2019 11:43 pm I'm putting a fairly serious motor in a street rod for a customer. Its a 1940 chevy truck thats getting a 383 SBC with about 550 hp. Its got no mounts in it whatsoever and i just finished welding in a Heidts mustang II style front end. Now i'm mounting the motor. To me it seems logical that the engine / tranny should be level with the frame. Like level the frame on stands, then install the motor / tranny level as well. I've never done anything quite like this before. The customer suggested that when the truck goes down the road the frame won't be level (true) but the engine should be so therefore the engine / tranny should be angled down when the frame is level. Anyone have any expereience with this ?
thanks
Out of ignorance, I mounted the engine in my hotrod level with the frame, and the frame is level with the ground. Consequently, the carb is tilted forward a few degrees. I've heard that you can also have some oiling issues when the back of the engine isn't lower than the front, but I've had no problems with my setup, and I've gone 18000 miles or so.

Mounting the engine level in the frame lets you get the engine as low as possible, but I don't think that is a big concern for a street rod.
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