Walter DeWayne...Walt for short

[nlped]

I decided not to wait & got the transmission in place too. Now, me & my sore back are going in for the night.

[nlped]

After a bunch of tweaking and measuring, I’ve concluded that the BBC sits entirely to low in the chassis to fit any kinda manifolds or headers. It sits about an inch lower than it did in the camper chassis. The mounts seem to be for a SBC vs a BBC?

[68bowtie]

Ruh roh

[nlped]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

Ruh roh

Yep! Even the stock exhaust manifolds hit the frame and the upper PB k-member mounting points. No way this motor can stay this low in the frame. Nate's travelling, but he's emailed me a few times and says he'll help out when he gets back to the shop.

If it won't work... I'll snatch the BBC out and put the fresh SBC out of Vern into this chassis and put the BBC in Vern. The ole swap'O'Roo.

[nlped]

Well, I haven't heard back from Nate, but I found a post from Nate in 2007 that states, " The BBC tabs are just over 1/2" taller than the SBC tabs. So, you can run a SBC with the tabs for a BBC, but not the other way around". But then in 2014 he stated that for the Mild DM, the SBC and BBC tabs are the same...that was me that asked the question back then. I don't think that was the correct answer. So, now I know I've got SBC tabs instead of BBC. I hope to get an answer soon, so I'll continue to wait to hear back from PB.

[nlped]

I finally got the rearend bag mounts welded in place and had it blasted and powdercoated.

[Advanced Design]

Ever hear from Nate? The diff came out nice.

[nlped]

Hey Doug,

I did hear back, but don’t have a remedy yet. I’ve sent him quite a few pictures of the chassis & motor (& it’s orientation). He’s going to design/make a set of motor mount plates that'll raise the current setup about 5/8”. That should be plenty, or so I hope. But he said it’d be a week or so before he’d have time to draw them up and such.

We’ll see how it goes.

[nlped]

Well, still no solid word from Nate. I’m really pretty disappointed in the lack of give-a-$h!T. I can do a lot of things but chassis/motor metal fab stuff on a planned out setup ain’t my game. But, I guess I’m going to have to figure it out.

On another note, I sold my 77 C10 so I’m going to be more focused on this build again...hopefully until the end this time. I’ve gotten the rearend housing back from powdercoat and I’ll be assembling and setting up the gears and Eaton Posi this weekend. I decided to go 3.42’s instead of 3.73’s since the BBC/700r4 should be good with a lower rpm functioning range.

[nlped]

No word from Nate, but I did get the rearend back from my buddy. Eaton posi and new 3.42 gears done! I did some checking & cleaning tonight, but tomorrow I’ll try like He77 to get it completely assembled.

[nlped]

Not a lot of pictures but I got the rearend mostly assembled. Somehow I lost the d@mn C-clips, so I had to order some but they should be here tomorrow. I got everything else done and stuck it under the chassis.

Here’s a pic to prove I’m progressing.

If I ever get the correct engine mounts, I’ll fit the exhaust. Then.... I’ll get the fuel lines, tranny lines, brake lines and airlines routed and fit the cab and frontend. After that, blow it apart & powdercoat, paint and such.

[nlped]

Well, finally got it on the ground. I just ran airlines to a shrader valve for fronts & back. But it has wheels on it to give me an idea of how it’ll sit. I did figure out that the shocks I have are all 4 for the front so I made a call and have the correct rears on the way. But they don’t affect these pictures.

[nlped]

Comparison...down & up.

[68bowtie]

Cool. That thing is LOW.

[nlped]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

Cool. That thing is LOW.

It’s pretty low considering its a touring front & rear PB setup. The front PB crossmember is actually laying on the ground and the low spot on the frame by trans crossmember is 1/2” off the ground. Not as low as the Extreme stuff, but plenty low for an ole beater like Walter.

[kxmotox247]

Looks good. Your raised height... is that going to be your ride height?

[nlped]

Originally Posted by kxmotox247

Looks good. Your raised height... is that going to be your ride height?

It’ll go a good bit higher as it sits now. But I think the last pic will be close to ride height but until I get the body on there I won’t know for sure.

[kxmotox247]

Looks like it going to sit nice with plenty of good ground clearance.

[nlped]

I got a little bit done today. Got the PB tank/compressor mounts located and bolted up.

[nlped]

I also finalized my EFI decision today and ordered the Holley Sniper 550-511 system.

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by nlped

I also finalized my EFI decision today and ordered the Holley Sniper 550-511 system.

Cool. Looking forward to getting your thoughts on how it fits the big block.

[nlped]

Time for a test fit of the body to check out fitment.

[TA_C10]

Subbed. Build looks good so far man. Glad to see you kept the truck and started this thread

[nlped]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Subbed. Build looks good so far man. Glad to see you kept the truck and started this thread

Thanks man! I’m glad I kept it too. I think it’s going to be pretty cool when finished.

[nlped]

I got some time to work on it this morning. So, I got the stock chassis moved out of the way and tucked the Porterbuilt chassis under Walter. Motor & transmission seem to clear just fine. The inner fenders are the only problem I ran into today...they hit the shocks, but I "clearanced" them to fit, but the 18" tires hit the inner fender about 2" before full bottom. So now I've got to figure out what inner fenders I can use and keep the stock style hood hinges as I have a pretty pricey set of billet hinges on the shelf for Walter...