FESTER60 Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Here are some pics of my progress. They are my installed motor mounts, Transmission cross member, My "new" engine/transmission, And a service sticker from where the car was originally from. http://s1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee368/FESTER50/Coronet%20engine/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 Regarding the use of Rack & Pinion steering in cars not designed for them........the reason you have a larger turning circle when a rack is used is that the "throw" of the rack is generally less than the "throw" of the original steering box. The rack would have bolted to shorter steering arms or arms that were closer to the rack centerline. Original Mopar steering arms are longer and are not bent inwards sufficently resulting in a larger turning radius. As far as I know there are 3 ways to fix this, 1. Have the length of the stock steering arms reduced by approximately 1". 2. Have new arms made that are shoter by 1" or 3. Use the stock arms but remount them so that they protrude 1" further forward on the lower spindle mount, ie the rear bolt hole sits on the front bolt hole and the front bolt hole uses an extension on the brake caliper mount plate new. I have had a rack & pinion setup on my 1940 Dodge since 1973 using shortened steering arms. these were done by an automotive blacksmith, were cut, rewelded and reforged.........but these guys are not around much now.........andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconvan Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Looks like you're on the right track. There's a lot of very good builders on this site that can help you through it if you run into any issues. Keep them pictures coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Well here it is. The "new" engine and trans. in the Coronet. It will of course be coming out again at least once more for firewall work and frame painting. But this is where it will spend the winter. I think I will send the trans. out for a freshening up. Also plan on a new intake/carb. setup. I have a pair of cool M/T valve covers to go on. Also showing the car with the "new" doors. Back at it in April. http://s1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee368/FESTER50/Dodge%20pics/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 looking good. When all the other stuff is mouted the offest will be pretty much invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfarer Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 It looks like it belongs there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 It looks like it belongs there! Not as hard to mount as I thought it would be. The engine mounts are early A body. I cut off the curved pieces re-drilled the holes in the center and welded the old ones closed. Then I set the engine/trans. where I thought it should go and just made the frame mounts piece by piece. I just made a cardboard pattern for each piece until it looked right. Cut it out of 1/4" plate, and tacked it together. When I was convinced it was right I welded everything and that was it. My welding skills aren't the best, but what I lacked in skill I made up for in volume. Those frame mounts are welded everywhere a welding rod could reach. Of course I couldn't have done it without the help of everyone here. A special thanks to Kirby for sending me a hard copy of an article re-print that helped A LOT!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemo Posted October 21, 2011 Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 Think ya used enough "steel" there Butch ?? lol... Just jealous, I'm ready to install new motor mounts and I'm getting "cold feet" !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Think ya used enough "steel" there Butch ?? lol... Just jealous, I'm ready to install new motor mounts and I'm getting "cold feet" !! Yeah, I think it should be heavy enough. Hmmm. Maybe I should have used 3/8. ;)Anyway I looked at the ready made kits and they were nice but kinda spendy. I thought I can make my own for a lot less. I say go for it. If I can do it, so can you. All it takes is some measuring, head scratching, and a lot of eye ballin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
53cranny Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Looks great! How much did you end up having to offset the engine, with that 273 curved exhaust manifold (for lack of a better descriptive term) shouldn't it have been able to bolt straight in? I want to do this swap as well but I don't want to have everything offset to the passengers side! Kerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claybill Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) sorry to be late on this. did the same/similar thing on my 41. the upswept manifold is a must. also, i cut the outer tube of the steering column off to expose the inner steering rod..we put a swivel/universal there to meet the steering box. perfect.. bill Edited October 25, 2011 by claybill spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfarer Posted October 26, 2011 Report Share Posted October 26, 2011 Looks great! How much did you end up having to offset the engine, with that 273 curved exhaust manifold (for lack of a better descriptive term) shouldn't it have been able to bolt straight in? I want to do this swap as well but I don't want to have everything offset to the passengers side!Kerry It is really a non-issue as far as the car goes...OK, you can have an issue...but MotherMopar used the off-set in many production cars. Visually, it would be hard to detect unless you (he, they...) are searching and has zero effect on driveability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted October 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 It is really a non-issue as far as the car goes...OK, you can have an issue...but MotherMopar used the off-set in many production cars. Visually, it would be hard to detect unless you (he, they...) are searching and has zero effect on driveability. Yes not an issue at all. You will not even notice it when it's all back together. As far as how far off center I went, I don't really know. I just eyeballed it until it looked right. I went mostly off of how much room I had with the steering tube and manifold. As you can see I cut off all the column shifter ears. Maybe you wouldn't have to do that but it looks cleaner. One thing that took a long time was making the new cross member. You can see the one I made in the pics. Took me most of a day. That is what I came up with but there could be dozens of designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted October 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 sorry to be late on this. did the same/similar thing on my 41. the upswept manifold is a must. also, i cut the outer tube of the steering column off to expose the inner steering rod..we put a swivel/universal there to meet the steering box. perfect..bill I like it. That would help if there was a clearance issue. What universal did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemo Posted October 29, 2011 Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 (edited) FESTER60; What oil pan did you use on your motor?? Do you have pics of the trans mount installed ??? Looking for ideas !!! Cass, alias littlemo.. PS: Did you recieve my PM ?? Edited October 31, 2011 by littlemo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted November 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 FESTER60; What oil pan did you use on your motor?? Do you have pics of the trans mount installed ??? Looking for ideas !!! Cass, alias littlemo.. PS: Did you recieve my PM ?? The pan is for a '78 pickup. You will need a new oil pump sump as well. Got them from Summit Racing. I don't have pics of the trans mount installed. It's pretty simple though. Just 2" square tubing. The piece in the center is two pieces of 2" angle welded together to form 4" channel offset to match the engine. The two "feet" you see on the ends have holes in them for bolts. The whole thing is bolted through the holes to two pieces of angle welded to the frame. In other words the "feet" rest on the angle welded to the frame and are bolted on. I mounted it further to the rear on purpose to give me plenty of room for a master cyl. upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamierdodge Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 how did you phase the motor and trans to the rearend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 how did you phase the motor and trans to the rearend? I haven't yet. I will be swapping out the stock rear for a Ford explorer rear in the spring. Newer and with disc brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemo Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 FESTER60, I'm proceeding along the same game plan and using that exact same type of exhaust manifold on the drivers side. One question; how do we change our "spark-plugs"??? lol Cass, alias littlemo..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamierdodge Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 I haven't yet. I will be swapping out the stock rear for a Ford explorer rear in the spring. Newer and with disc brakes. so you installed the motor to the side but dead straight to the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 FESTER60, I'm proceeding along the same game plan and using that exact same type of exhaust manifold on the drivers side. One question; how do we change our "spark-plugs"??? lol Cass, alias littlemo..... Should be easy. From the top between the manifold and valve covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 so you installed the motor to the side but dead straight to the back? Yes. the engine/transmission is offset to the passenger side so the exhaust manifold can clear the steering column. You will have to dimple the firewall for more clearance for the pass. side head. The 904 fits nicely in the trans. tunnel. You will hardly notice the offset at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fstfish66 Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 subscribed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemo Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 fstfish66; See the 14th (??) post this thread; hkestes41 gives the "link" to Butch's Cool Stuff I made reference to in another thread !!! Keep up the great work FESTER60, we're all watching !!! Cass, alias littlemo... PS Was just "funnin" you about the Plugs !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FESTER60 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 Well great work may be a bit of an over statement. It is just a combination of Trial and error, (heavy on the error), Guess work, Making it up as I go along, And the most important piece is the help from other members here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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