[6600DURAMAX]

I have the factory crossmember and there is no way I would have cleared the valve covers with the firewall without some "massagin" (beating with a hammer. I hate the idea also but it is not noticabel once the motor is installed. Not that that makes it an easy choice!!!

I did notch the frame rails so the headers had more clearance. The headers now slide in nicely from the top or bottom.

Belwo are some pics, in one of them you can see the notched frame. As you can tell from the pics BBC are a tight fit at the firewall. If I was to do it all over and had the time to mock everytihng up a couple times I would slide the motor forward about 1 1/2''. I would still have plenty of room between my pulleys and electric fans!