[Oletrucks] 54 truck

[Gale Gorman]

Justin,

Those big tires don't help your steering either, just more rubber on the surface.

I bought a '54 with a 350 already installed and the swap had been done at a Carquest garage in Montana. They used a kit crossmember and it looks good. Not a lot of clearance anywhere but enough.

I put a small block V8 in a '54 back in 1970 and fabricated little mounts that I welded on the existing front crossmember. I've done quite a few engine swaps and I always rigged supports to temporarily hold the engine in place while I took measurements to make the mounts. I never did cut into a firewall because it just created too much more work. I made sure chassis was supporting the engine weight and then adjust my supports until the carburetor is level. Then I checked clearance between the transmission and floorboard and raised the engine if possible.
-- 
Gale Gorman
Houston

On Jul 12, 2010, at 9:56 PM, jjstultz at msn.com wrote:

I put a 350 700r4 combo in my 54 and had to put a spacer block between frame rail and gear box along with using block hugger headers.  The down side to this is my driver side tire rubs pitman arm.  In hindsight I should have used narrower tires up front.  I also had to cut fire wall slightly to account for the outward shift in the steering column. because of this, I had to put filler pieces in firewall so that I could use a standard steering column boot to seal the cab from engine heat.  I'm assuming you have the original steering column.  For the engine mounts, I used a front mounting setup that bolts to the two holes on either side of the front bottom of the block.  I also had to cut cross member down a 1/2" vertically so the trans pan didn't rub, then had custom rear trans cross member fabricated. I've been pleased with the setup but wish I had spent the money to put in power steering.  With an aftermarket 15" steering wheel, it's really hard to turn when you're not in mot
ion.  Hope this helps. 
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.  
Justin
Phoenix, AZ
1954 Chevy 3100
------Original Message------
From: henry rhone
Sender: oletrucks-bounces at autox.team.net
To: oletrucks at autox.team.net
Subject: [Oletrucks] 54 truck
Sent: Jul 12, 2010 5:12 PM

Hey All,

I am dropping a 350SB hooked to a Saginaw 4spd in my 54 Chevy 3100.  Anybody
out there done this?  What trans and motor mount did you use.
How did you clear the steering box?
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