First truck build '49 3100

[Brads49]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

Looking great except for the clean garage. Are you sure you're working on an AD truck? I don't see random parts laying around, rusty dirt covering the floor, power cables from tools that are asking to be tripped over, broken off bolts, none of the things I had haha.

HAHAHA! well of course that pic was taken AFTER I cleaned up a bit. I have all the parts for the truck up in the rafters LOL......

[Brads49]

Thanks for the kind words guys! Honestly the transmission access panel and tunnel was alot easier to do than I anticipated it to be. I don't want to jinx myself because I still have to clearance the firewall. I am going to try a trick I saw on another build that used a steel valve cover cut in half and welded into the firewall to provide a nice stamped piece for clearance of the new engine's valve covers. We'll see how it goes.

[Brads49]

This weekend I started working on the firewall clearance for the valve covers the new engine. I saw where someone on here used an old valve cover turned around to allow the clearance needed. I decided to go that route but when I started cutting I made the mistake of cutting the hole too tall so I had to use part of what I cut out as a filler. I think it turned out pretty good, gives me the clearance that I need to remove the valve covers even though I'll not be using the covers that are currently on the engine. My concern now is that I may have placed the motor mounts too far back and I may not have room for the distributor. So now I have to decide if I want to move the engine forward a few inches before I get too much further.

[Tempest67]

that is a neat idea using the valve cover like that, thanks for sharing.

It looks like that motor will need to move forward for the distributor, or another rework of the firewall ??

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Brads49

My concern now is that I may have placed the motor mounts too far back and I may not have room for the distributor. So now I have to decide if I want to move the engine forward a few inches before I get too much further.

A couple of ideas for distributor clearance:

1) Couldn't you just recess the firewall behind the distributor like you did for the valve covers?

2) Would using an old-style small distributor give you enough clearance?

[Mains52]

Fire wall work is sweet looking keep it up!!

[Brads49]

I'll have to see once my distributor gets here just how much room I'll need. I don't really want to remove the motor mounts and shift the engine forward but I will if I have to. The wife gets mad at me for buying stuff for myself right before Christmas so I'll have to wait a few weeks to get the distributor. Oh well I have plenty of other things to do on the truck.

[Tempest67]

Here is my HEI dist, cap on a SBC.

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by Brads49

I'll have to see once my distributor gets here just how much room I'll need. I don't really want to remove the motor mounts and shift the engine forward but I will if I have to. The wife gets mad at me for buying stuff for myself right before Christmas so I'll have to wait a few weeks to get the distributor. Oh well I have plenty of other things to do on the truck.

I legitimately Laughing Out Loud . I just got my butt ripped the other day for buying " crap" for the truck before Christmas. I feel your pain. There is so much I want to order lol

[dsraven]

you did a nice job on the valve cover insertion. if you need to make room for the dizzy maybe make a run to the wrecker and snip a firewall section from something with a dimple size you need. maybe even look at a ford aerostar for an idea, they had a removeable cover to access the engine from inside the truck. just an idea, you could incorporate something like that and keep the contour tight to the dizzy. us some lunchbox style clasps and some weatherstrip to keep the thing sealed up. the other idea, to keep the engine parts theme going, could be to use part of a tall truck air filter housing or part of an oil pan welded in or bolted on. maybe cut and section a couple of valve covers together to get the width you need. if you will be doing a carpet interior floor maybe try to keep weird contours to a minimum though. they get hard to get carpet to bend around.

[fisherman420]

Great build! I ended up adding recess for the valve covers as well. There is always challenges with these builds you don't see coming until it hits you in the face you just have to adapt and overcome. My build has been in limbo for almost two years now and i plan on picking it back up in the new year. Keep up the progress!