Custom Mopar ????

[Torchie]

Busy day.
Still under extreme weather conditions here.
Big storm last night and another on its way right now.
Drs appointment went well.
I got the answers I was looking for.
Picked up this dress up kit for the 318. I wasn't really in the market for shiny stuff. This turned out to be the most cost effective way to go.
Painted a couple of more rims in anticipation of getting the 4th tire delivered tomorrow.
It's going to take a while for the paint to dry with all this rain and humidity.......And now serious thunder.
Made the executive decision and went with the 1/4"plate for the mounts.
My local welding shop had bigger pieces in 3/16 as well.
I don't really have a need for much of this plate so the shop owner dug around in his cut off bin and found this piece.
$10... Made me holler.[cl[ddd
He asked if I cared that it had some surface rust and I told him that the entire car project had rust.[ddd
Plenty there to do what I need to do.
Keep on keeping on.....
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

[cl[cl

 

[bob w]

That's the way to buy, Torchie. Around the local steel yard I'm known as "shorts rack Bob". I always search there first.

 

[Torchie]

That's the way to buy, Torchie. Around the local steel yard I'm known as "shorts rack Bob". I always search there first.

Indeed it is. bob.
I haven’t been in this shop in a while as the full sheet of 18 gauge I got from them last winter was all done over the phone and they delivered it for me.
This place is a actual welding shop but they have grown into a full on welding supply retail store.
They now have a really good selection of metal in manageable sizes in the store in racks. And they will order in what you need like that full sheet of 18 gauge.
I was tickled pink not to have to spend $60-75 for a bigger piece that I would have to stash away.
The owner did warn me that the full sheet of 18 gauge is now probably double what paid for it.
Torchie

 

[BillM]

Well done Torchie. Glad to hear that your news from the Doctor sounds positive.

 

[Torchie]

Well done Torchie. Glad to hear that your news from the Doctor sounds positive.

Thanks Bill.
Positive for the most part.
I've been having some issues and and the consensus is that they are the results of med changes. I should start to feel less of the side effects once my system gets used to them.
Todays fun.
Mounting plates cut out and in place.
I made these overly large. They will be refined as I move forward.
You can see from the pics that the rear of the block mounts are up a bit from the plate surface. this will change once i cut out the S10 trans mount(Tomorrow) and drop the rear of the trans down.
I at least know now that this will work.
The engine weight is fully on the front plates and not hanging from the chain fall.
Even using my Canadian mounting pads I still have good clearance between the oil pan bottom and the front cross member.
Thanks for stopping by........
Torchie

 

[Torchie]

Glad I went with 1/4" plate.[cl
Re drilled the DS. With my low BP issues of late I'm a bit foggy some times.
I wanted the extra material to be on the bottom side.
Did some adjustment to the PS as well.
A few extra holes ain't no big thang.
Keep on keeping on.....
Torchie

 

[soltz]

All around good news [cl
Keep up the good work, a little at a time
¥¥[P¥¥

 

[BillM]

Looks great Torchie. Took me a minute to figure out the Canadian motor mounts but it made me smile!

 

[I-R-POPS]

Torchie

The three bolt holes in a triangular pattern farther back on the block are used for motor mounts on the newer 318 and 360 mopar engines. Not sure if those holes are on the early 318s or not.

This is what I have done on all the ones I have built. Easy to line up when the bolts drop straight down for my KISS style.

Stay after it!

 

[Torchie]

Nice POPS.
No sign of those holes on this block.
Too bad as that looks like a great way to mount it.
I trimmed out some more of the firewall and then cut out the trans mount.
I dropped the trans tail down and just sort of eyeballed it all.
Pitch gauge sits at just about zero on the intake manifold carb seat.
4 degrees sitting in the valve cover. I will raise up the trans tail a bit to get the carb seat at zero.
My 4th tire arrived and that’s at the tire shop getting mounted.
Thanks for checking up on me.
Torchie

 

[soltz]

Man that valve cover is blinding to look at

 

[bob w]

The Blingmeister!

 

[Torchie]

They are shining and bright.
The engine and trans are now in their correct position.
The carb base is at 0 degree. And the block has a 3 degree rearward angle to it.
The first pics shows how much of the front porch of the 2 piece driveshaft will need to be cut off. Is it even worth doing this? Or am I better off going to a 1 piece drive shaft. A one piece would have to be about 60” long.
I welcome any and all comments in regards to this part of the build. Thanks in advance.
Torchie.

 

[DozerII]

Looking awesome Torchie, love that you are putting a Dodge in a Dodge. I would say go one piece, less parts and pieces, a lot of older cars and pickup had 60" or better drive shafts.

 

[Old Iron]

I prefer a one piece drive shaft.
The only thing they will do is increase the diameter of the tube if need be.

 

[Torchie]

Thanks dozer and OI.
I know that most prefer a one piece drive shaft. I’ve had no issues with the 2 piece ones.
Here’s my thoughts after ruminations for the past hour.
I have shortened the front half of 2 piece shafts before with no issues. I would go with a new neoprene carrier bearing.
From an expense point of view if I can shorten this one myself it’s cheaper and physically easier for my then scrounging around some ones drive shaft pile. It would be stock S-10 except for the Mopar 909 trans yolk. I would get a variable sized universal that would work with the GM drive shaft and the Mopar trans yolk.
The stock S10 shaft should be plenty strong as the 318 is only about 40 hp more then the 4.3.
Chances of finding a used driveshaft that’s exactly the length I need seems slim so I would have to shorten it anyway.
Since I have the engine and trans in the final position I may just go ahead and shorten this one and see how it fits. If it doesn’t look right then the fall back is a one piece.
I’m not sure a one piece is going to give me any better floor clearance although it most likely would over the carrier bearing.
Hmmmm.....
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

Sounds like a solid plan to me
[P[P[P

 

[Torchie]

Sounds like a solid plan to me
[P[P[P

Thank OI.
I’ll go with what I’ve got first.
Torchie

 

[soltz]

Frugal thinking is a big part of my builds

I have shortened three of my last builds with not problems

As you said, if some thing fails, fix it

Your doing a great job [cl

Stay healthy[cl