norms 55 chevy pu build

[washington blue]

Right now it is ROUGHLY 6 inches from the water pump pulley to the radiator. A 16" Champion series electric fan is 3.2" thick. I assume I need some more room for a shroud. Once the oil pan is on I can measure better. I need to get the mechanical fan off too but I don't want to bend the water pump pulley so I'm having trouble getting it loose.

[G&R's57GMC]

Trans tube to firewall clearance ? You could massage the firewall a bit .

The best part of using the stock tube is it has a locking dipstick and is in a position that allows for easier filling . besides you already have it .

[washington blue]

I decided to get a braided stainless tranny dipstick. Summit has them 24" long and fits my 4l60e, part no. 702202 and costs $87.99

[washington blue]

Here is my new Holley oil pan 302-2 it was about $330 bucks. Also my new trans. dipstick, it is a summit thing about 88 bucks. These 2 things should work well.

[washington blue]

Got the old pan off and windage tray off and made the cuts to the tray that I needed to do. The Holley instructions are very well detailed. It looks like everyting fits like a glove. The front 2 rod bolts will clear the new pan by about 3/32nds, about the thickness of the gasket.

[washington blue]

While cleaning the surface for the new pan and just generally looking stuff over I was looking into the engine and I saw a rough spot on a cam lobe. Dang, 1 out of 16 shouldn't hurt should it. Anyhow, I went to Excessive Autosports and after some discussion I ordered a new cam, lifters, pushrods, and valve springs. The cam is slightly more aggressive but will not make the engine run rough which I like. I should see about a 40hp gain, that should make it come alive a little.

[G&R's57GMC]

And so it begins ... the slippery slope of while I'm at it might as well ... you know the rest :-)

[washington blue]

G&R, isn't that the truth tho, geez. The parts I'm getting are more than I paid for the engine, lol.

[G&R's57GMC]

Ya I know .
I just got a oil pan from amazon , gm performance parts came with gasket bolts pick up and windage tray all for $ 245 .
Also got coil covers that look like big block valve covers from Summit $ 160 .
I went crazy and got Painless Performance extended engine / trans wiring and computer , for stupid money from Summit.

Sad thing is I won’t need any of it for a few more years just like the rest of the other pre bought parts for the project

Why you ask , I started the chassis in 2010 it’s a roller . The plan was to put my ‘56 Chevy l.b. on it or the ‘56 GMC “Cameo” or the ‘57 GMC NAPCO then other projects got in the way and a bunch of travel. Well this year I finally decided on the ‘57 and sold the other two .
At this time I have another project in the shop so now you know .

[washington blue]

couple pics of the oil pans how one was hitting by the green tape and the other has over half inch clearance.

[washington blue]

Got busy yesterday and made a tranny crossdresser,, I mean Trans. crossmember

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by washington blue

Got busy yesterday and made a tranny crossdresser,, I mean Trans. crossmember

just going thru your build, looks great
if you have room over the trans you should build a K x-member to brace the cab mounts.
without any bracing, the cab sits down on the frame, you only have 3/8" before the cab is on the frame.
it replaces the cab mount support that you lost when cutting out the big trans x-member




this was my trans mount/cab brace. i should have modified the rear x-member like you did
i ended up with a torque bar to keep the rearend from twisting up on the springs

[washington blue]

Since I am putting a new better breathing cam in I decided to go with 2 1/2 exhaust if there is room. The manifolds are now the small link so I decided to get these Speed Engineering Headers. Polished stainless and they angle back about 45 degrees for easy pipe fitting compared to the manifolds and the bungs for sensors are welded on. About $182 which I didn't think is too bad.

[washington blue]

I checked the header fit and they clear the frame, steering, and starter so I'm having a good day. Does anyone have any thoughts on radiators and electric fans and hoses? I have found lots of stuff on line but don't know what is the just right one.

[washington blue]

I have learned that a Lincoln Mark VIII has an 18" fan that is variable speed and has a 22" shroud. OKGMC4 on this forum has one on his pickup and it fits like a glove. His thread is titled "Yet another GMC build". And for you picture lovers here's a silly header pic. The thing in the center looks like the Eiffel tower,lol. The center thing is a little off center on both headers but I don't think it will affect flow much. If I had a long stem burr for my die grinder I would grind on them just a little.

[washington blue]

I am going to need more driveshaft clearance so I made a piece to weld on the top. It is function only, it is not pretty, the box will completely hide it so I can live with that. This will give me 3 1/8 inches of extra travel room and will be 1/2 inch below the wooden floor.

[washington blue]

After I had the trans. mount made and welded in place seen in post 241, THEN I decided to put the cab on to check for clearance. Jeez, With the cab on some spots were too tight so I decided to move the engine forward about 3/4 - 7/8 of an inch.

[washington blue]

G&R suggested I might need to massage the firewall a bit and he was right. The passenger head is always further rearward so I made a relief cut and now with the engine moved forward the room is just right.

[washington blue]

The driver side was touching by the green tape and now has a nice clearance.

[washington blue]

The biggest problem I created was welding in the trans. mounting pads before checking clearance so I had to cut them off. Well, this gave me a chance to make slightly better ones and weld a little better so over all it is a tiny bit cleaner.

[G&R's57GMC]

Coming along nicely

[washington blue]

Thanks, I'm still not happy with where the engine is located. I am working on the firewall cuts, I am going to make them back far enough so I can have the engine as far back as possible for the most possible fan room.

[washington blue]

Finished making slightly deeper firewall cuts, about 2 inches on the pass side and 1 1/2 inch on the driver side just for good measure. I moved the engine back as far as the motor mounts bolted to the crossmember would allow. I want as much fan room as possible. I have a Lincoln Mark VIII 18 inch variable speed fan form a 98 Lincoln. The top photo shows the engine moved forward with a small relief cut and the bottom photo shows the engine moved rearward as far as it can be . I can get my fingers between the firewall and head.

[washington blue]

Firewall is good I think, fan and radiator will need some work yet. I put the fender on to see how the core support bolt hole would line up with the fender bolt hole and, surprise surprise it lines up. A different radiator will probably be about 1 inch forward and I can trim an inch from the shroud. I will have to alter the shroud where the steering gearbox is tho, I will need to learn some plastic welding, or attach metal to plastic, or what exactly I'm not sure for that area.

[washington blue]

Spent the day taking the dash out, I guess my taste has changed in 30 years. Took a long time to drill out the spot welds, they must be harder than sheet metal. Dulled my bits a lot.