The 283 Rebuild Begins

[MacAttack]

Notched (passenger side) frame and redrill of top mounting holes. Will use big machine washers (.18 thick) on top of bracket to bolt them to frame.

[MacAttack]

NO WIRE HANGERS!!! EVER!!! *

* Except when you’re trying to calculate the distance between your new towers and where they’ll end up on your frame.

Vice-gripped the initial tower location to get forward/backward location, sprayed grey primer through the mount holes, notched and radius’d out the frame, remounted the towers and used them as a drill jig for my clearance holes.

Bought extra thick McMaster-Carr machine set-up washers to cover any sloppy looking holes and trial bolted the hardware to the frame.

The wire hanger routine was to reach around the block - from below - to get the distance between the two motor mount slots. Just a common hanger with the hook cut off - small loops bent at both ends - and then bend the whole thing into a "U" shape, allowing measurement with a tape and a double check against the towers bolted on to the frame.

It’s within a quarter of an inch of being dead-nuts, and that’s plenty close enough for this application.

[MacAttack]

Before cracking the TH350 case,

......got the smog tube assembly done - along with the Taylor wires routed through the GM Performance looms, using a 1-inch long set of stand-offs to get them over and away from the exhausts. Over-kill to be sure, but who cares?

Mac.

[joe231]

[MacAttack]

9.8mm starter bolt won’t fit.

It’s 4.5 inches long - with the knurl on the shank. NAPA says it’s the right one, but it’s nearly .011 fatter than the standard 3/8 x 16 (.375) and jams about three threads in. I really don’t want to have to buy a 9.8mm tap and half-ass this.

Anyone got a lead of an original starter bolt supplier, with the proper head, or should I just go to ‘OSH’, buy a grade 8 bolt and shut up?

Mac.

[ChiefRocka]

Good job....now I'm with Joe....
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[MacAttack]

LOL! Oh Man, the pressure!

[Captainfab]

Originally Posted by MacAttack

9.8mm starter bolt won’t fit.

It’s 4.5 inches long - with the knurl on the shank. NAPA says it’s the right one, but it’s nearly .011 fatter than the standard 3/8 x 16 (.375) and jams about three threads in. I really don’t want to have to buy a 9.8mm tap and half-ass this.

Anyone got a lead of an original starter bolt supplier, with the proper head, or should I just go to ‘OSH’, buy a grade 8 bolt and shut up?

Mac.

Seems like I've seen starter bolts in the "HELP" product line. Other than that a GM parts dept. or one of the pickup parts suppliers like Brothers, Classic Ind., American Classic, etc.

[joe231]

[Captainfab]

I would leave the frame mounts on the frame and the motor mounts on the engine. These are easier to line up than the original style with the bolt up thru the center. If you're concerned about ease of alignment, leave the frame brackets a little loose and then tighten them up after the engine and trans are in place.

[MacAttack]

Good call - probably the safest bet.

[MacAttack]

'Wall of Voodoo this morning on the heater blower motor replacement. Little, rusted fasteners can be a real b%*ch.

Took the cover off the heater box to check the core's condition and it was half full of leafs. After getting the small screws out - with much cussing and time - made sure the new motor's flange plate pattern matched and bolted the squirrel cage to it and put the side plug in the housing.

Because everything is painted flat black and it was an overcast day today - couldn't see well enough, even setting directly on the ground below the assembly with a drop light, so my kid came up with an idea to use a bottle of 'white-out' (the kind with the little pressure tip applicator) to mark white dots on the outside of the fan housing - indicating where the little sheet metal screw holes were.

Piece of cake after that.

The back two (over in the corner) have to be "felt" in and take some time.

If I ever do this again I'll put sheet metal studs in the bottom of this fan housing and simply use nuts to hold the fan motor in. I'm sure it was easy at the factory - in the initial installation, but serviceable - it is not.

[joe231]

yeah I've had ours out a couple times. mirror and a flashlight works pretty well

[joe231]

You have pics of your problem area?
I'm thinking probably moving your cross member would be easiest....

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by joe231

You have pics of your problem area?
I'm thinking probably moving your cross member would be easiest....

Not for a couple of days - on the picture deal. Still haven’t ponied up for a digital.

What’s weird on this thing is that this transmission was already in the truck when I got it - with a 230 straight-six in front of it, so I know where it should be, but the 283’s (V-8) ignition will be mashed right up against the sheet metal if I use up the very nice clearance I’ve got now.

I’m thinking you’re right, Joe. I have to stop by the tranny guy on the way home from work sometime this week to see what he thinks about putting a longer "yoke" on the first universal connected to the driveshaft where it slides into the transmission.

Moving that cross-member is super easy and the engine’s already supported perfectly where it is: I can’t understand how I missed my measurements by nearly an inch and a half.

I’ve already smashed the left ignition wire rack up against the firewall and had to hand-bend the thing forward for clearance. It’s roached and I’ll have to bring it in to the shop to cut off the last station on both the right and left racks to make them fit right now. (Bummer.)



* Maybe if I just lower the rear end of the truck back down to the ground it will all just magically fall into place. No? Well - one can dream.

Mac.

[joe231]

[MacAttack]

Stopped by HB Transmission yesterday and the guy told me to just do it and stop being such a ‘Girlie Man’, as they’d deal with it when I brought the rig in for linkage adjustment and new freeway gears in the back.

Corrected driveshaft is going to be the fix and I’m fine with that.

Again - the treads on the end of the emergency brake cables are extra long - at the cross-bar-bracket end, so that issue should be easy to deal with.

Mac.

[joe231]

[protrash64]

Ive still got my roughly 10" long 9/16's drill bit from when I drilled my frame for a tranny mount. I put everything in first , slid the mount into place(hammered is more like it). Then got the driveshaft made for the distance. Safety glasses are highly recommended!!!

I agree with Joe.....leave the engine where it is. If you have your hood off its easy to get to everything, but once its on its a weird twist and bend to get back there to the dizzy. I like it as far forward as possible.

Did you measure diagonally from the tranny to the motor mount? You would have lost a little distance if so.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by protrash64

Did you measure diagonally from the tranny to the motor mount? You would have lost a little distance if so.

Dead on - that’s exactly what I did and where I lost it. Was thinking the exact same method on the drilling routine and we’ve got drills like that at the shop. Weather is closing in and the truck’s outside under a tarp - so it may be a few days. Thanks for the input.

Mac.

[protrash64]

Reading about your install made me remember when I did it afew years back and I remembered my friend and I trying to get a measure for that same thing, only I wanted to know where to put the tranny mount. I think that they are about 12" vertically off and about the same horizontally.

You'll get it straightened out, its not a big deal. Typical automotive project.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by protrash64

You'll get it straightened out, its not a big deal. Typical automotive project.

Yeah - I'm sure I will, but what's weird is the 'bent-coat-hanger-measuring-stick' used to gauge where to put the motor mount tower holes and reliefs in the frame were only off about 1/8", and the damn motor fell right in where it should be!

Guess that's the way it goes sometimes.

Mac.

[joe231]

but guess what.....

[MacAttack]

* Gee - who didn’t see that coming?

[jason65]