1965 GMC Short Wide Project

[Mandic]

A few months ago I picked up a 1965 GMC C1000 truck. No motor or trans, rust here and there, but a good base to start from. This has quickly turned into a bit of a shop showcase project. The aesthetics of the truck are not going to change much. I like the primer rusty look of it for now. However the suspension and drivetrain are getting a major overhaul. Low and fuel injected.



I was given a box of parts that started me rolling on the suspension portion of the project:


And I got myself a 5.3L/4L60E combo to go in it. Tonight I cut the low trans hump out, removed the I6 manual crossmember(bellhousing one), and dropped the engine/trans combo in for a test fit.



I have run into numerous issues right now. I reused the stock I6 towers and motor mounts on some conversion plates. The motor sits very far away from the firewall(as I have noted on other build threads too). Also the motor sits down so far and so close to the frame mounts that the stock 5.3L manifolds hit the frame towers. So I cannot run them as I had intended to. May end up building my own headers or most likely changing engine mounts. Likely a combination of the two.

Also the oil pan hangs a good 2-3" below the crossmember. As this truck is getting air bagged, this is unacceptable. Why? Well here is a photo of a truck pan that was on a lowered Nova LS1 swap:

We just changed out this oil pan earlier in the week after the last shop thought it was a good idea to install it in the Nova.

If anyone has some suggestions about motor mounts to move the engine back a fair bit and up that 2-3" I would love to hear them. As it is I am expecting to need to make my own engine mounts.

Tomorrow is front suspension day. CPP 2.5" Drop spindles, 5 lug disc conversion, new rims, and air bags getting installed up front.