 Part Three: The Install 1....  Part Three: The Install
1. Now for the moment of truth. Will it fit? We hooked the TH350 on the motor, and Mike started feeding in the assembly. |  2. This is about how far we...  2. This is about how far we got until we started hitting stuff-the firewall mainly. |  3. First, we tried to just...  3. First, we tried to just fold the pinch weld flat on the firewall. That wasn't enough-not by a long shot. Before we cut anything, we tried removing the valve covers and headers to see if that would help. Well, those things weren't holding us up so it was time to make some room. |
 4. Mike grabbed his trusty...  4. Mike grabbed his trusty plasma cutter and went to town on the firewall. He had to cut a sizable portion of the sheetmetal to get the motor to fit. This must be from the new 1-inch-higher motor location the motor mounts provide. We could have trimmed the mounts to lower the engine, but then the headers wouldn't fit and this motor needs the extra flow the headers provide. |  5. Once cut, the plates lined...  5. Once cut, the plates lined up and the provided hardware was installed. Mike crawled under the truck and slid the factory crossmember in place to hold up the transmission. Because the tailshaft falls so close to the original one, there's no need to have a new driveshaft made. |  Part Four: The Clearances...  Part Four: The Clearances
1. Here is the hole we had to cut to make the setup work. As you can see, it is a sizable hole but it's in an area that will be easy to patch up. If you look at the collector of the header, you can see how close it is in relationship to the framerail. If the motor mounts were cut to run the engine lower, the collector would be very close to the framerail if not hitting it. |
 2. We slid the stock radiator...  2. We slid the stock radiator in to show how close the water pump is. A thicker radiator (Mike says an '89 Corvette radiator works perfectly) is needed to cool the V-8, so this gap will get even tighter. We're going to ditch the long water pump for a short version, which is 1-3/8-inch shorter. That should give us just enough room to install a slim electric fan. |  3. Even with the large sump...  3. Even with the large sump on the Hamburger's pan, it sits well above the crossmember. If the motor-mount plates were cut it would be even with the crossmember, so keep this in mind if you are 'bagged and lay frame. |  4. The passenger-side header...  4. The passenger-side header won't interfere with anything, but you'll need to remove the steering shaft and feed it between the tubes after you install the header. |
The Final Word
With some cutting and some patience, the motor went in the hole. The job would have been a whole different animal if we didn't have the parts from Hedman Performance Group. Even though the motor sits high, the hood still shuts after we installed a Holley carb and the T-D air cleaner. Mike is going to spend some time buttoning up the wiring and exhaust, and we will revisit that once he's done.