Anyone out there that might be able to give me any info on this axle? Any help would be great. Also, do these motor mounts make since to anyone? Thanks a lot guys. I have looked all over.
If I had to guess on the axle I would say that it's probably the stock axle and the motor mounts look home made..... Big Tim
I was thinking so also but the diff looks to have had tabs ground off of it at one point and there is a lot of weld spatter around that bracket for the bar that doesn't seem like it would be there if stock. Yeah, the motor mounts must be homemade. I am worried a little about those little tabs welded to the crossmember holding that 350. Jay
The rear axle is a GM, 12-bolt and, to be sure of the gear ratio, pull the pumpking cover, count the teeth on the ring gear and the teeth on the pinion gear...divide the larger number by the smaller number and determine the ratio. That is the only way, to determine, for sure, what the ratio is, since it could have been changed at some point. Also, popping the rear cover, is a good time to inspect and grease the rear with new 90 wt. rear-end lube and install a new pumpkin cover gasket. You may also find out if you have a posi, by doing this exercise. The motor mount is home-made. The two holes in the front of the engine at that location, are for the power steering pump mounting brackets. The exhaust manifolds are not factory-correct, nor compatible with the factory-correct motor perches, whereas the factory perches have been removed. You can see the visual evidence of their previous location. The factory-correct exhaust manifolds for the 283 or 327 V8 motors, were the center-dump Rams Horn style, cast iron exhaust manifolds.
So will I need to know the for sure year of this rearend to get 5 Lug axles for it? I will pull the cover next and see what I got. Are you saying it looks like they have 283 or 327 manifolds on this 350? That being siad shouldn't I be able to find actual motor mounts for the 350 into this truck? Thanks again for the help. Jay
The exhaust manifolds that are on your motor, will not allow the factory motor perches, to be installed. Do you see the outline of where they land on the top flange of the frame rail? Make sense? You will need exhaust manifolds that do not drop down into the area that the factory engine perches for your truck would normally occupy. Your manifolds exit the heads and drop straight down and turn to the rear. This encroaches on the area needed for the factory engine perches to be. The various styles of GM exhaust manifolds interchange with the various V8 engines (283, 305, 307, 327, 350 & 400), so you need earlier GM exhaust manifolds, aka, the Rams Horn exhaust manifolds, to allow the factory engine perches to be installed and everything to co-exist in this confined area. Regarding the rear axle, the year is not as important as the axle lengths, spline count and attaching method. If you are planning to convert to 5 lug axles, pull your 6 lug axles and match them, in the 5 lug configuration, to re-install in your axle tubes. Check out this link for additional information on your rearend: http://www.yearone.com/yodnn/tech/TechFAQ/SuspensionSteeringFAQ/RearAxleIdentification/tabid/455/Default.aspx
You could find your self a set of original v8 motor mounts and do a swap if you're that concerned with them but it kind of depends on what you are trying to do. If it's just a stock driver they will probably be fine, if you are going to hot rod it then you should definitely upgrade them. I used a set of mounts from a mid 70's truck on my 61, just had to do some sculpting with a torch and hammer before I welded them in to place. As far as the axle go's, its not uncommon to see some welding spatter around the welds and judging from the pix, those look like factory welds.....Big Tim
Thanks for all the help guys, I am new to this and still very much learning. Anyway, I pulled the diff cover today and it has 3.73 non posi gears in it. The gears were also stamped June of 1964. Being the truck is a 64, I can now only assume with you that this is in fact the original rearend. Thanks, Jay
I would say look at your VIN and I bet you had a straight 6 at one time. CPP makes aftermarket motor mounts that will work with what you got. Small block manifolds are also interchangeable along with the motor mounts.
The Motor Mounts look scary to me too. Ever had a motor mount break?... motor torques over, accelerator and clutch drop to the floor, and motor runs wide open until you turn off the ignition key. My dad had a '65 Impala SS (back in 1965) that did just that. Gorgeous red hardtop with black interior...... Anyway, my dad, my mom, and me and my sister are diggin' the new car, sitting at a red light at a busy intersection, light turns green, dad lets the clutch out and the next thing we knew we were burning rubber all the way through the intersection. WAY TO GO DAD! Then he turns the ignition off and we coast to the curb. Problem is, he didn't do it on purpose. In my mind it looked like this, but in reality, not so much While a broken motor mount made this cool childhood memory possible, it's pretty scary when you think of what could have happened. The fix for the old man's SS? The dealer, McGraw Chevrolet in Troy, Ohio, put a cable around the motor mount so the motor couldn't torque up and over. Seems they had a whole rash of bad motor mounts. Simpler time back then in the mid 60's... no congressional hearings or inquisitions, just fix the problem and move on.
The Engine Lift-Stop was an option on the cars, as well as the '60-'66 Chevy trucks, but only as a "safe-second", not as the primary structural mounting method for the power plant. I have several NOS ones still in the GM boxes. Good to have, in the event of a catastrophic failure of the motor mounts, but not relied upon, as the primary method of keeping the engine in it's proper place.
looks like that the self ajustment rod isn't hooked up on the rear brakes, and you need to replace the timing chain cover cause the timing tab is not alined to the harmonic balancer. as for the moter mounts I wouldn't drive this truck with the ones that are on it. you need to change the ex manifolds and go to a salvage yard and get the parts that would put a safer mount on it. take care and hope you get it fixed.
