Dan's Hemi swap project

[Dan Babb]

The mount that's on the engine now is the original one. The exhaust manifolds clear it, but it's on there now just to help with the mock-up.

Wayfarer has a set of hurst mounts that might work...just need to get some measurements to make sure. If those work, then they should bolt in to the original cross-member.

If those don't work, then I will figure out how to box in the frame and make a pad that comes off that section to bolt the engine too. If I have to do that, then the original mount I have could be made to work.

[Dan Babb]

I bought a set of Hurst style Hemi mounts. These were made to put early Hemi's into Model A fords way back when.

Got a set and the fit is close, but not close enough...going to need to modify the mount or the cross-member. So far, this mount looks to be my best option.

Original Cross-Member engine mounting holes are 19 1/2" apart.

Hurst Mount holes are hair over 20 1/2" apart.

Picture shows where my original holes are vs. the hurst mounts. This picture is pretty close to where the engine will sit. It's probably just a bit closer to the driver side in this picture.

Top view of the driver side mount. This is about where it would sit..can't really go back any further without major surgery.

Option 1 - modify the cross-member. In this picture you can see how the cross-member is curved where the new bolt holes would be drilled. If I go with this option, how do I flatten out that mounting location?

Option 2 - modify the hurst mount to use my original holes - To do that, I need to widen the mount about 3/4" at the front. The blue tape shows the metal that would need to be added. If I did this and then had to drill through a weld seam to put the bolt, would that ruin the strength of the weld? Weld's are a bitch to drill through, aren't they?

The engine will probably come down a bit and the mount I have will take up the rest of the space. So I'm not too worried about building up a bracket to reach the mounts as they sit now.

Looking for advice on which option to do and how to get it done.

[JBNeal]

slot the bolt-on part and get a doubler plate welded to its underside that would allow the original bolt holes to be used. The trick to drilling through a weld seam is that a flat surface needs to be ground/machined onto the bead so that the drill bit can bite into the metal without wandering around the weld surface.

[fstfish66]

it looks like there is a bolt on one side right where your mount is going to sit,,,,

i think one of those street rod round body mount type rubber mounts would work with your hurst mount, and ide think thats how the hurst mount was made to work,,

[Dan Babb]

Gary (wayfarer) off offered to modify the mounts for me.

I got them back and now I can use the original mounting holes for my hemi. So if anyone else wants to put an early Hemi in their pilothouse, Gary now has the specs to make you a set of mounts.

I still need to come up with a better rubber insulator setup or have some custom spacers machined for me. The universal mounts use a 5/8th bolt head, but then where the threads are, it's 7/16th.

Instead, I may just open the slot on the hurst mount so the 5/8th shaft of the universal biscuit bolt fits through.

What I'd really like is to find a different rubber biscuit with a 7/16 or smaller hole through it. I stopped at NAPA, but their books didn't have specs in them for each mount (and there were hundreds of rubber mounts to choose from).

Here it is just held in place with some other bolts for now.

[rockable]

That should work fine, Dan. Just get a machine shop to cut you a couple of spacers from round stock and drill a hole through them. IF you can go with 1/2", you should.

"When in doubt, make it stout."

[Dan Babb]

Small victory today. I needed to make up some spacers to finish up the front engine mounts. Here are a couple pictures of what I designed and a friend's machine shop made for me.

Now that I have the front mounts done, I can work on getting the transmission cross-member mounted to the frame rails.

I got the wiring harness today (rebel wire kit), so that will probably be the next thing to work on. There's really so much left to do, I'm not sure what the best order is.

[sniggle_t]

Looks great!

When you get this all done are you going to market kits to do this swap? I'd be interested in a kit.

[Dan Babb]

The mounts I bought, you can buy from Gary (Wayfarer) here on the forum. He has the measurements from the set he modified for me, so just let him know it's for a pilothouse truck.

I can post up the measurements of the spacer I had machined. I had that made locally...not sure if Gary would be interested in making that part...you'd have to check with him or just have a local machine shop make it for you.

The rubber piece is from Speedway

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Universal-Bolt-Through-Engine-Mount-Cushion-Kit,1199.html

NOTE: I wound up using a 7/16th grade 8 bolt and had the spacers machined to make that work. If the hemi mount holes were opened up to 5/8th, you could use the speedway bolt.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Dan Babb

[Dan Babb]

Good progress over the weekend...and one bonehead move.

First, the good stuff:

Thanks to Rock for coming back Saturday morning! We got the engine in it's final position so I could get the trans crossmember brackets fabbed and mounted.

Crossmember Mounted

Bracket

Frame Clearance ( if the u-joints are too close, I will modify the frame for clearance )

Engine final position (tilts down in the rear about 3-4 degrees)

Bonehead Move - I was using my grinder on one of the brackets to trim it. My stomach started to feel warm, so I look down and my jacket was on fire! Not just a little pin-hole...a nice sized flame was going. After the "holy ****!" feeling went away, I patted it out. So now, my favorite jacket's sporting a nice scar.

I learned a valuable lesson - when using a grinder, tilt the steel down a bit so the sparks hit the floor...not your mid-section.

[Dave72dt]

I've got shirts that look like that! Metal particles embedded in the cloth, shirt goes into the washer in one piece and come out with holes. Yeah, probably a little close for the U-joint.

[Frank Elder]

Where are you going to relocate your gas tank to? It looks to be in the way.....bad angle in photo?

[Dan Babb]

I'm going to order a yoke for the transmission so I can check it out before pulling the motor...that way, I can do any tweaking if needed while I have room to work.

The gas tank should be fine. The driveshaft placement should be pretty much near where the stock one was...maybe a bit higher, but it should clear fine.

[Don Coatney]

Looks great. Were I to do an engine swap I would follow your plans. Dont forget to check your driveshaft phasing.

[Dan Babb]

Spent the weekend working on radiator placement. I put the water pump and fan on so I could make up a cardboard template. After measuring, I wound up having a box around the house that's about the exact size I need for a radiator (22" wide x 18" tall). I can go a bit taller if needed.

I found a few different radiators on eBay that will fit. I'm going to check around locally though. If I find a shop locally, I can have them make the side brackets I need and give them the radiator support to make sure it all fits perfect.

Here's the support and template put back in place on the front sheet metal checking for clearance. All is good. I have plenty of room....that's a big relief.

After I get a radiator installed, I'll pull the engine so I can start to work on wiring.

[Dave72dt]

I'm assuming you checked fit with the rad support bolted to the front crossmember. Curious, why the need to pull motor for wiring?

[Dan Babb]

Definitely...just didn't have the camera handy when I had the support bolted to the frame.

I need to get the torque converter & flexplate bolted to the trans and a few other misc things that are easier to do with it out anyway, so it will be easier to do the wiring without having the engine in the way.

Also need to figure out a brake setup and run all new brake lines and fuel lines.

[Dave72dt]

Understood. Motor's been in and out of mine 4or 5 times for various reasons. Has to come out at least once more before final assembly (long ways off).

[Dan Babb]

Earlier this week, I ordered an aluminum radiator. FedEx delivered it today, so I spent a few hours getting my mounts made and fitting it.

I'm pretty happy with how everything came out. The mounts I made are the first thing I've successfully welded that I could use on my project. I've been practicing all week. I'm not a candidate for working in a welding shop, but they didn't come out too bad.

Other than a couple holed, I only had to put a couple of small cuts in the radiator support. I then heated the lip and bent it so it was flush.

I'm going to get some radiator paint so I can paint the radiator flat black. I really don't want it to stand out as much as it does being aluminum. Hoping I can do that and not kill the cooling efficiency.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Dan Babb

[jmooner3]

Awesome! Nice piece of work fitting your new rad- I like the look of aluminum.

[JBNeal]

That's a good lookin' setup, but I have a concern with this cut on the rad.support. The formed flange provides rigidity for the fenders, and as they move around, this cut area will flex. In time, a crack may form from vibrations. I suggest welding this flange back together and allowing your lower bracket to be this angle piece with a notched end to look like a flat bar in this area as opposed to the continuous angle as shown. You've got support from above that will share the load of this radiator's weight.

[Dan Babb]

The notch I cut is just wide enough for the bar to fit through, so I could put some tack welds from the lip to the square tube. That would tie the upper & lower lip to the tube and make it one.

Thanks for the tip.

[goatram-]

Cool Build and good info

The money and time spent would warrant a welder for Christmas. I second the need to fully weld the bar in and not just tack it in plus the bolts.

I have both a pair of Pants and a Vest with the holes in them from the grinder Sparks.

Wait till your new welder starts a little fire.

Man made the fire extinguisher for a reason.

[Dan Babb]

Progress is slow...seems like I have to do everything a couple times before I can check it off the punch list.

Before pulling the engine, I wanted to finish up the transmission crossmember. So I tacked the ends, pulled it out and brought it to a friend's house to weld it up (big thanks to Rock).

Once that was done, I tweaked my brackets a bit..painted everything...and bolted it all back in place (hopefully for the last time).

Here's the finished crossmember

Here's how it sits now...after almost 5 full months since I pulled off the front sheet metal.

[Dave72dt]

Get the rest of the engine controls, accessories, trans shifter mocked up before pulling the engine and trans back out so you don't have to hack on anything nicely painted or cleaned. Grinders and torches don't mix well with fresh paint and tight confines.