It's been just about one year since I had the chance to make any major progress on the truck, but I finally had the opportunity to get out in the new garage for the first time and wrench on the truck. I was stalled out wondering what my next step should be and my friend who has been helping me along the way suggested we drop the motor/trans in to get a baseline for where everything will land. I was hoping to only have to install the engine once, but considering there are quite a few variables to figure out I decided it was a good idea to go ahead and drop the engine in.
Since I do not have the clutch components yet, bolting the engine/trans together was a simple task. In the process, we discovered that someone along the way stripped out the mounting holes on the block and rethreaded them with 3/8 helicoils. Luckily I had some left over bolts to use so this will just have to be something I remember about my engine if I ever need to separate the engine/trans again. Installing the engine was fairly straightforward. I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done before, so I knew what to expect.
I decided to use ICT billet SBC to LS conversion mounts as recommended by omodified so I could bolt right up to the stock engine towers. I started in the forward-most position and it was much too far forward. I ended up using the mounting hole one forward from as far rearward as possible. This gave me plenty of clearance around the firewall and crossmember.
For the transmission I decided to use the stock mount from the vehicle the trans came from, a 2002 Blazer Xtreme. This ended up giving me a fairly simple approach to the trans crossmember. I mocked it up with wood for now, but the final version will be similar in concept while allowing for plenty of room to run the exhaust inside the frame rails. Another nice surprise was that my stock driveshaft yoke fits in the trans. The only thing I will need to do is have the front section shortened a few inches. I am sticking with the two-piece shaft because it gets me past the rear of the cab without having to cut into the main structural member for clearance.
The transmission placement worked out great as well. I had to cut the floor so that I can add a high hump trans tunnel, but other than that I am happy with the positioning. There is plenty of clearance and the stock Blazer shifter gives me a good starting point for where I want the shifter to land.
With the engine/trans in the truck, it was a good chance to see where the final ride height will land. I predicted the front would come down one more inch with the weight of the engine and that's about where it ended up. I think I need to take about 1/2" out of the rear blocks and then the stance will be perfect. I like a slight rake and currently the truck sits level.
With that bit of motivation out of the way, it was time to go back up on stands to complete the trans crossmember and driveshaft. I will include these in my next update (yet to be completed).
