Got a problem that I want to spend the money only once to fix. I have a 1952 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup with a 283 and a turbo 400. The engine and transmission is setting 2 1/2" towards the passenger side at an angle to provide clearance between the drivers exhaust manifold and the stock steering box. Was going to purchase a rack and pinion power setup that bolts to my straight axle. Some say this may not be a safe alternative. Trying to fix this before I drop in another low mileage 283. I also have a positive pinion angle that I need to replace the spring perches to obtain a straight to slight negative pinion angle. Got a mess here and will clean it up one step at a time. Any ideas or suggestions for clearance between the manifold and steering box? Thanks HUGH
Best to leave the engine in between the frame rails straight, no compromises. To do that, http://www.ididitinc.com/ makes a universal joint steering system so that everything clears. Not sure about the rest.
I do NOT know first hand what I am talking about, however I think its accurate. Someone will say if it isnt. Check out their website.
The most common problem that gets mentioned with the axle-mounted R&P system is the necessity to have a "double-D" telescoping shaft bewtween the steering column in the cab and the steering gear pinion shaft. These things are notorious for binding and locking up the steering at the worst possible times. Another approach is to mount a regular Saginaw power steering box ahead of the axle and point the drag link rearward instead of its normal position. At least one of the kits designed to do that has gotten some really bad reviews on this site by professional hotrod builders who should be able to make an honest evaluation of the setup.
I believe it would be possible to rotate the front-mounted Saginaw box 90 degrees and hang the Pitman arm down parallel to the frame, and have much simpler geometry than the kit that's being offered, but I've never seen it done that way. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
...bite the bullet and put a Saginaw outside the frame toward the front. I've had my set up on my 52 panel for some time now and it works great. It does cost a few dollars but I think its worth it. Mine has not given me one iota of a problem. Pics of my set up are in my photobucket.
Here's a trick we used on the race cars when a non-stock Pitman arm position was needed to accommodate a situation like a narrowed frame, etc. The Saginaw sector gear has four wide spline slots, with corresponding wide splines on the Pitman arm. If an intermediate Pitman position is needed, just take a 3-cornered file and cut each wide spline into two narrow ones. Then a position adjustment can be made by clocking the Pitman arm on the sector shaft one spline at a time instead of every 90 degrees. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Since you are going with a 283 and not a big cube deep breather there is a quick and cheap solution to your problem. Use a 55 or 56 car 265 left exhaust manifold. It WILL CLEAR the steering box with the engine mounted in the middle and straight. There is a little "dip" in the manifold that will clear the inside upper corner of the box and the bolt in that corner. Have done probably a dozen for cruisers but not recommended for big cube big horsepower engines because the 265 is a flat log type manifold that doesn't flow near as well as rams horn but are fine for up to 225 or so horsepower. If side mount motor mounts you may have to tweak the drivers side mount as the exhaust pipe drops down between the first and second spark plug. No biggy. I see 265 manifolds at every swap meet I go to for about 20 bucks.
Pinion angle, if you mean your diff pinion is pointed up at rest, you are correct, that is not optimum. The idea is to point down (negative) 1-3 deg so when diff "winds up" on acceleration, angle becomes toward zero. Tailshaft to drive shaft angle should be equal and opposite. (The 1-3 is for leaf springs and your HP according to Currie and others). Those values will work for almost everybody on Stovebolt. The average U-Joint is designed for 1-3. Setting up at 2 deg is said to be a great target. Be sure your carb mounting surface is level at loaded rest. Moving motor mounts and tranny mounts back to center should not be too bad. Good luck, really good you are doing it right. Shifter, cables, throttle linkage, tranny lines, fuel lines, radiator hoses, exhaust pipes may need reviewed/repositioned. Rear shocks/mounts may need reviewed/rotated. Make sure slip joint is proper during mock-up.
Ok now I can report back with an update on my problem as I just picked up the truck from the mechanic tonight. We replaced the old tired 283 with a newer, stronger, and fresher 283. Same setup as the old one, stock heads, Holly 600, Edelbrock Performer intake. Went ahead and replaced the Rams Head driver side with a 265 log style manifold. We lifted the engine just a hair to where the manifold just sits ever so slightly above the stock steering box giving me the clearance that was needed to keep the stock steering without moving anything. This also straightened up my motor as it is centered in the engine bay now. That kinda moved my alternator too close to the fender. I ordered a stainless lower alternator mount that puts the alternator where you would normally see a power steering pump. We also got rid of the offset front motor mount and was able to set the motor at center on side motor mounts on the new cross mount. This also allowed the tail shaft to be properly mounted to the tail mount with 4 bolts, 2 up and 2 down as designed. Test drove it and the drive train is smooth with no vibration. Had to utilize a flex hose to hook up a temporary exhaust system on the drivers side but will take it in to the muffler shop sometime next week to fix this problem. Also replaced the universal joints on the drive shaft with fresh ones since everything is straight now. Still going to have a drive shaft safety loop installed for my piece of mind. Also during the change out it was noticed that the 12.85", 153 toothed flywheel had damage to 4 teeth we decided to change that out as well. Still have a positive pinion angle but it does not seem to affect the drive shaft as much since everything is straightened up. Will put this repair on my to do list soon. The new 283 runs about 60 PSI at 60 mph and about 27 PSI at idle under load. The old 283 ran about 40 PSI at 60 mph and 7 PSI at idle under load. The old motor also had a knock maybe wrist pin or main bearing. The newer motor also has new front and rear seals. We replaced the rear transmission seal as this should take care of all my leaks. All in all it was a good day got to take it out on its maiden voyage. Thank you so much for all of your inputs as it helped me out a lot.
Thank you for reporting. I/We have all probably read about the 265 header, at least I remember, and its great to have first hand knowledge from the guys who do it. Thanks
I feel like I let you down with just partial advice. Most 265 left side manifolds are drilled and tapped at the front for the factory generator bracket. A short piece of 3x3x1/4 angle iron with holes drilled to align with the factory bolt holes in the manifold and the other flange on the angle iron turned back over the top of the manifold will give a surface to fasten (weld/bolt) an alt/gen bracket to that will hold the alt/gen away from the inner fender. After fitted the angle iron can be trimmed and corners rounded to look pretty.
Coilover no sweat as I really had no plans to upgrade to power steering as the manual steering on this truck is so sweet, tight and straight. So moving the alternator to a lower mount really cleans up the appearance of how this motor sits in the bay. Will post some pics of how everything looks as of now. Was hoping to have these pics posted already but my son got sick (he is able to post pics alot faster than I can). Thanks again for all you guys that helped me through this delima.
Here with a couple of pics of my install using that 265 manifold on the drivers side, while still keeping my manual steering and straight axle at least for now.
Glad it all worked out, im doing something similar so good to see the 265 manifold working out. Also like the trucks stance, do you have reverse eye springs or taken some leaves out to lower it?
Do you have links to the exact exhaust manifolds you used? I am replacing my 216 with a 305 sbc and 700r4 trans and would like to not change the steering gear or column
The OEM part (casting) numbers for those manifolds is 3704791 and 92. There's a pair for sale on Ebay today for $139.00. Search "Chevy 265 exhaust manifold". Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
They will fit either side. The passenger side outlet is at the rear, and the driver side dumps in the front. The only difference in appearance is the generator bracket boss on the driver side manifold, but it will bolt onto either head. The exhaust pipes will be offset- - - -one ahead of the motor mount and one behind, if the center mount position is used. The 55-57 engines used front mounts and bellhousing mounts, and didn't even have center mount bolt holes. Center mounts came out in 58.
News flash- - - - -I just bought a pair of similar manifolds (different casting number) for less than 50 bucks, including shipping! If I get around to finishing the 250 cubic inch high-RPM small block V8 I'm building, they should simplify the installation into some kind of "sneaky Pete" application like my Excalibur roadster! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
They will fit either side. The passenger side outlet is at the rear, and the driver side dumps in the front. The only difference in appearance is the generator bracket boss on the driver side manifold, but it will bolt onto either head. The exhaust pipes will be offset- - - -one ahead of the motor mount and one behind, if the center mount position is used. The 55-57 engines used front mounts and bellhousing mounts, and didn't even have center mount bolt holes. Center mounts came out in 58.
News flash- - - - -I just bought a pair of similar manifolds (different casting number) for less than 50 bucks, including shipping! If I get around to finishing the 250 cubic inch high-RPM small block V8 I'm building, they should simplify the installation into some kind of "sneaky Pete" application like my Excalibur roadster! Jerry
I found the oem exhaust manifolds with the number you provided for me (THANK YOU!). What manifolds are you talking about in your "news flash"? I was hoping to do an aftermarket header, something with more flow. Is that possible?
What manifolds are you talking about in your "news flash"? I was hoping to do an aftermarket header, something with more flow. Is that possible?
After I posted the Ebay auction, I found another manifold on the same site with a part number of 3836968 (right side only, but it will bolt onto the left), listed as 55-56 Chevy passenger car. It was a single manifold, not a pair, but the price was right- - - -$29.00 plus $15.00 shipping. That one's going into the "possibles" stash!
Using headers on anything driven on the street is an exercise in stupidity- - - -If you plan on running the engine fast enough to benefit from the power gain very often, you'll have to sell the vehicle to pay the speeding and reckless driving tickets. Of course, a nice-looking set of eye candy headers will impress the mouth breathers at the car show who don't know any better! The only headers worth having are equal-length tubes for every port, and the tube diameter and length has to be tuned for a gain at a specific RPM. The headers I built for a 440 Dodge tractor pull engine some time ago needed tubes 8 feet long going into a 6" diameter collector to get the low end torque we wanted to get the sled moving well. That engine made a temperature and humidity corrected dyno run of 714 HP at 6500 RPM- - -on one carburetor and gasoline. It cost $15,000.00 to build, and made approximately 50 300-foot pulls before it hand-grenaded. "Going fast costs money- - - - - -how fast can you afford to go?" Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
George, "wrenchbender retired" has one for sale in the parts for sale forum...or did last night. Has the 265 left side. Check it out.
[Hotrod Lincoln][quote=Sgtfluffy16] What manifolds are you talking about in your "news flash"? I was hoping to do an aftermarket header, something with more flow. Is that possible?
After I posted the Ebay auction, I found another manifold on the same site with a part number of 3836968 (right side only, but it will bolt onto the left), listed as 55-56 Chevy passenger car. It was a single manifold, not a pair, but the price was right- - - -$29.00 plus $15.00 shipping. That one's going into the "possibles" stash!
Using headers on anything driven on the street is an exercise in stupidity- - - -If you plan on running the engine fast enough to benefit from the power gain very often, you'll have to sell the vehicle to pay the speeding and reckless driving tickets. Of course, a nice-looking set of eye candy headers will impress the mouth breathers at the car show who don't know any better! The only headers worth having are equal-length tubes for every port, and the tube diameter and length has to be tuned for a gain at a specific RPM. The headers I built for a 440 Dodge tractor pull engine some time ago needed tubes 8 feet long going into a 6" diameter collector to get the low end torque we wanted to get the sled moving well. That engine made a temperature and humidity corrected dyno run of 714 HP at 6500 RPM- - -on one carburetor and gasoline. It cost $15,000.00 to build, and made approximately 50 300-foot pulls before it hand-grenaded. "Going fast costs money- - - - - -how fast can you afford to go?" Jerry
[bartamos]Brothers and sisters, If Mr. Chevrolet thought we needed headers, he would have given us headers.
I have taken the advise. I ordered a set of 265 log exhaust manifolds. I will use those and if something pops up after the install i may change at a later time. Thanks for the direction!
I got my 265 exhaust manifold in the mail yesterday, and it's in great shape. I'll definitely find a good use for it on one of the engines I plan to build soon. I've got ideas to make the Excalibur roadster I'm building capable of running inline 4 and 6 engines, 90 degree V6's, and small block V8's- - - - -sort of a "Guess what's under the hood today" kind of vehicle. The V8 will have about 250 cubic inches, and enough valve train and lower end goodies to turn 8K+ RPM! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Jerry I do not want to start a debate about Headers VS Manifolds , and you are in tilted to your opinion and I respect that.But I do not believe Headers on the street are an " exercise in stupidity " or it that it takes " mouth breathers at the car show who don't know any better " to like the looks of a nice set of headers. Your Truck will have a nicer tone with headers , and you can run bigger exhaust pipe(s) and actually benefit from them. You and I could go on and on with Pros and Cons about both. In the end its all about individual preference on the matter. I love the look and sound of the Headers on my Truck , and I would never call the people who like the look or sound of a nice set of Headers " mouth breathers ".
The dipstick tube will stand a little bending, but it's better to work it out of the hole in the block and re-bend it in a vise. The tube is VERY prone to breaking right at the top surface of the block. I like to use a pair of vise grips, grab the tube VERY gently just above the block surface, and carefully twist/pull it upwards to remove it. One sneaky trick once the tube is out is to melt some wheel weights, pour the tube full of lead, and then melt the lead out after the re-shaping is done. There's less chance of collapsing the tube that way. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
The dipstick tube will stand a little bending, but it's better to work it out of the hole in the block and re-bend it in a vise. The tube is VERY prone to breaking right at the top surface of the block. I like to use a pair of vise grips, grab the tube VERY gently just above the block surface, and carefully twist/pull it upwards to remove it. One sneaky trick once the tube is out is to melt some wheel weights, pour the tube full of lead, and then melt the lead out after the re-shaping is done. There's less chance of collapsing the tube that way. Jerry
i was suggested to fill the tube with sand to prevent collapsing the tube. Yes i did plan on removing the tube to bend it. Does it just pull straight out? I will give it a twist or 2 to help it pull out.
Yes, it's a fairly tight slip fit into the hole in the block- - - -no threads or other means of locking it in place. I use a little red Loctite on the tube when I re-insert it to make sure it stays put. One good way to grip the tube for removal is to tighten a heater hose clamp around it very firmly, and use the vise grips on the clamp jackscrew instead of gripping the tube directly with the pliers. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Easy Mick, we have enough problems keeping him chained up to Stovebolt! LOL
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Not much chance of that- - - - -I'd have to put up with a bunch of people who like to stir the pot- - - -just like me! LOL! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I need some more advice, SBC and 265 corvette log exhaust manifolds. do i need 90 degree spark plug wires, or straight ones? Standard length spark plug correct?
Untold thousands of 55-57 Chevy 265's got by with regular plugs and straight plug wire boots. They did have one bad problem- - - -the #7 plug was buried behind the steering gear shaft and it was very difficult to reach. I've encountered several of them 50-something years ago with 7 Champion plugs and one AC- - - -a flat rate mechanic had done a 7-plug tune-up at some time in the past! That elderly plug was always buried behind the steering column!
90 degree plug wire boots would give you a little extra frame rail or steering mast clearance- - - -use whichever works best for you. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
