deja Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Another weekend and I'm a little bit closer. Yesterday I removed a ton of undercoating to get ready for my baddog frames. Today I mounted the Z28 accessory mount with the gutted PS pump, the tensioner and the alternator and since the Bower AC mount came in Thursday I mounted it and the Z28 AC compressor. Bartman had said there was some tweaking necessary to use the Bower mount. I had to not only massage the shock tower and had the massage the Bower mount as well. And even with that I have less than 1/4" clearance, hope that's not going to become an issue later on. Then I finally got the transmission mount bolted up. At least temporarily, I plan on welding in some more support to bolt the mount to. Since the engine and tranny are now in their final positions I thought I should at least test fit the Sanderson headers. The passenger side fits perfect, gonna have to move the knock sensor but I figured that. But I have a clearance problem on the drivers side. The front pipe is so close to the motor mount spacer I can't even get a piece of thin cardboard between them. Seems strange I have a clearance issue with the header and the Bower mount, once again I'm questioning the driver's side motor mount installation. Anyone see anything wrong in the picture. How much "play" is there in the spacer? If I loosen the spacer to engine bolts and jack up the engine can I gain any clearance? I guess the other option is the grind a little off the spacer. That fancy Sanderson logo on the header is very close to the steering shaft too. I really don't want to grind on the header since I paid mega dollars for the ceramic coating. All in all a fun and productive weekend. I gotta get my fuel tank sorted out, I so want to hear this thing make some noise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Glad to hear you had a good weekend with the car. Take a look at my update to see my horrible weld job with the baddog frame rails last yr! lol I am going to have this prof welder finish the job for me. Can't wait to see your car on the road, as for gas tank I am going with the LS1 tank vs the 75 280 tank. Anyway keep it going and you will be there soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Glad to hear you had a good weekend with the car. Take a look at my update to see my horrible weld job with the baddog frame rails last yr! lol I am going to have this prof welder finish the job for me. Can't wait to see your car on the road, as for gas tank I am going with the LS1 tank vs the 75 280 tank. Anyway keep it going and you will be there soon. Still one up on me. I have never welded anything and this sure isn't the palace for me to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Deja, Aren't your setback plates made of aluminum? They look to be quite a bit thicker than mine and I'm running 3/8" thick steel vs the 5/16" recommended by JTR. You could probably grind some on the plate to gain clearance and not cause any problems, as for the headers and the steering shaft, it's not uncommon for tight clearance there either. Lots of guys dimple the tube but if your's are coated you don't want to do that. Is it possible to slide the engine a little further back? Sounds like you're having all sorts of fun though, good luck with it and let us know how you solve the clearance issues. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Deja,Aren't your setback plates made of aluminum? They look to be quite a bit thicker than mine and I'm running 3/8" thick steel vs the 5/16" recommended by JTR. You could probably grind some on the plate to gain clearance and not cause any problems, as for the headers and the steering shaft, it's not uncommon for tight clearance there either. Lots of guys dimple the tube but if your's are coated you don't want to do that. Is it possible to slide the engine a little further back? Sounds like you're having all sorts of fun though, good luck with it and let us know how you solve the clearance issues. Wheelman The setbacks are JTRs, aluminum. I thought they are 3/8", never measured them. If I moved the engine back the shaft clearance would get worse not better. One thing I haven't done though is bolt the steering shaft to the firewall, right now it only being held at the dash. I will try that tomorrow. I may hit the spacer with the grinder and remove enough to at least see light. Right now I'm not sure the headers are seating fully on the head. Ah, the joys of hotrodding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 It definitely looks like your setback plates are thicker than what I have. I had to use a grinder on mine for header clearance, but I also oriented the setback plate and spacer different than what you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Dale, I have the S&S long tubes and mine are just barely (paper thickness type clearance) missing the driver side mount. No rattles. As far as the AC goes, I have less than 1/4" clearance and it has yet to be a problem. Some things are just tight ( shrug) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 That spacer looks solidly mounted to the engine, as are the headers. It would be nice to see a little more clearance there but since they are locked together I wouldn't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Thanks guys, that takes a load off my mind. I will shave a little off the spacers to make sure the headers are seating properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonus079 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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