In order to swap in a small block I had to cut out the old transmission crossmember.........now it seems that I have weakened the frame because it has tortional flex. Is there anyone else out there that went thru this problem ??......the front suspension is staying stock......my thoughts were to box the frame from the front motor mount down back to where the master cylinder mounts......thanks for the advice in advance
I have had a small block in my truck since 1985. I have not had any problems with the frame flexin or otherwise, and trust me, I have pushed my truck as hard as one could. I just bolted the universal crossmember up to the frame and left it at that. No boxin of my frame. Mike
Thanks for the reply........my truck is a '51 3100 and im going to run a 383 stroker and turbo 400..hopefully it'll hold up to that much torque
Like Mike said : he added a universal crossmember , they're usualy tunular and any good frame shop should be able to make one up for you . Welding it makes the frame stiffer but also makes future tranny work a serious PIA .
O.K. thanks for the advice.....I have already mached up the crossmembers for the engine and trans before I took the cab off...I welded the mounting pads to the crossmember itself....after reading what you guys are telling me I can see how once the truck is reassembled it will be more ridgid. Thanks again ______________ Leon
I'm lazy and untalented. Would you mind sharing the frame location of the small block cross member I purchased from Chevy Duty?
I'll go measure it tomorrow......its dark out in the back yard......dont get too lazy.......there's more to it than just bolting it in ..........what I did is bolted the transmission of choice onto a small block motor and did a mach up.......paying attention to clearance around distributor. You'll want to have the motor centered inbetween frame rails if you will be running block hugger headers unless u will run exhaust manifolds and stock steering box.....if you choose the second option you'll want to offset the engine to the right about an inch. and get some ram horn manifolds...another important thing to do is get the motor and tranny at the proper angle ,it all comes down to pinion angle(very important).........I usually use the carburator mounting surface with a level running from front to back.......the intake has about 3 to 4 degrees incorporated into it.......but before u level the engine you'll want to have the truck's frame somewhat level itself......I used a 2x4 bridged across the driver side runningboard mounts.......I can go on and on but this should get u goin.........i'll measure the frame in the morning. Leon
