Sharps40
Old Mossy Horns
BigTen, tuff decision. So much of the car was done out of order by the shop and very little fitting, body or mechanical. Fortunately, for 82 years old the car was pretty straight and the major components of the parts car lined up well. But ride height was never set and currently the front MI2 suspension is little more than welded in place. Car is sitting on 2" raised spindles as we want to be at near factory ride height and rake when completed. Regular MI2 rakes too much with our use of NOS semielliptic rear springs and shackles.
When the LS/4L60E and sheet metal were in place the front bumper brackets were 1 7/8" higher than the rear. Front coils are not cut yet and so long they bow and bind the shocks even with all the weight on....so.......much to do there.
For now it looks like the long straight sections of the frame, at the mid point of the wheelbase are at 0 to 1 degree up. I'm planning to go with 0 and assume this it the error in my inexpensive angle finder.
Given that (and I do plan to use the rear of the transmission for up/down adjustment as I have room and a simple under the frame mounting) I want to drop the nose of the engine first. Engine is currently sitting on top of the frame and the angle through the crank to the trans output shaft is 10 degrees.
The carb pad is sitting at 6 degrees down angle (I believe the carb pad is 4 degrees from the factory). Currently it looks like your estimate and my measurements line up, about 3/8 to 1/2 down on the nose or up on the tail should get the engine about right.
Taking it one axis at a time. With left/right established (l/r could change if i need to offset to PS side for steering clearance though), I can drop the nose/raise the tail and that will allow me to move the power pack back a bit more. Even a half inch rear will make a difference. (I'm not wedded to a large cap HEI but they sure are reliable than a pertronics conversion and much less expensive than a small cap hei with vacuum) If possible, I'd like to have a steel fan between radiator and short pump augmented by a pusher fan (in order to overbuild cooling for our hot summers).
I suppose in short, before bolting in the front mounts, I'm going to drop the nose of the motor, then remove the front wheels and drop the front end about 2" to see how the angles look.
Goodness knows what the rear pinion angle will be, as it was welded in without any consideration for weight/rake, etc. If I'm fortunate, shims, if not, I'll have to get someone with a mobile welder over to cut off the pads and weld them back on. On the good side, they got left/right correct on the rear axle!
When the LS/4L60E and sheet metal were in place the front bumper brackets were 1 7/8" higher than the rear. Front coils are not cut yet and so long they bow and bind the shocks even with all the weight on....so.......much to do there.
For now it looks like the long straight sections of the frame, at the mid point of the wheelbase are at 0 to 1 degree up. I'm planning to go with 0 and assume this it the error in my inexpensive angle finder.
Given that (and I do plan to use the rear of the transmission for up/down adjustment as I have room and a simple under the frame mounting) I want to drop the nose of the engine first. Engine is currently sitting on top of the frame and the angle through the crank to the trans output shaft is 10 degrees.
The carb pad is sitting at 6 degrees down angle (I believe the carb pad is 4 degrees from the factory). Currently it looks like your estimate and my measurements line up, about 3/8 to 1/2 down on the nose or up on the tail should get the engine about right.
Taking it one axis at a time. With left/right established (l/r could change if i need to offset to PS side for steering clearance though), I can drop the nose/raise the tail and that will allow me to move the power pack back a bit more. Even a half inch rear will make a difference. (I'm not wedded to a large cap HEI but they sure are reliable than a pertronics conversion and much less expensive than a small cap hei with vacuum) If possible, I'd like to have a steel fan between radiator and short pump augmented by a pusher fan (in order to overbuild cooling for our hot summers).
I suppose in short, before bolting in the front mounts, I'm going to drop the nose of the motor, then remove the front wheels and drop the front end about 2" to see how the angles look.
Goodness knows what the rear pinion angle will be, as it was welded in without any consideration for weight/rake, etc. If I'm fortunate, shims, if not, I'll have to get someone with a mobile welder over to cut off the pads and weld them back on. On the good side, they got left/right correct on the rear axle!