SBC 350, 700R4 in th 98'

Like I said before, these brackets are designed to work with 84-95? so I have to be creative. They fit like their supposed to be there so I'm just going with it, I don't really have any other options.

The way I have them set up now is perfect, they match the contours of the body exactly and they are in the exact same position from the front cross member (19-1/2"_ so I figured I'll start from there and see what happens.

Also you may think it's the drivers side bracket because I had to cut the box end off to clear the brake lines, I plan on welding in gussets once I get the motor in and find my final placement.

If you look at the pictures of the brackets when they are on the red rags you can see that they both look the same now.



The GM TBI unit I am looking at is a 670 cfm unit so it will be okay for my app.



I just noticed this...post #10, third picture from the top.

That's the drivers side bracket but you have it on the passenger side. You got me curious as to what you are cooking up?
 
you can always port and polish the cast manifolds for better flow, sucks you'll have a screamer hooked up to manifolds though. It would be nice to get a set of block huggers so you can have equal length primarys. Have you looked into building your own headers? it's not that hard, you just alot of patience.


I hear you, I will only use oem manifolds as a last resort. I have looked at the DIY header kits and I may end up doing that since is looks like I'm going to have to make minor mods to nearly everything in this project.
 
I am in the planing stage of a SBF swap into my 89. I want to keep it simple so I was thinking of this http://www.offroaders.com/tech/Holley-Truck-Avenger-Install.htm and an Edelbrock performer rpm manifold.


That sounds like a nice carb, if I had more clearance I would be using a predator carb but I would have to buy or make a cowl hood and I've already got more on my plate than I can handle. Demons are great carbs, I have a decent amount of experience setting up and tuning them and I have had great experiences with the staff at Barry Grant.

I really need to get the tranny in and fitted before I get into the fuel/air delivery aspect of the build.

I am still kicking myself for not getting a complete efi system from the junk yard when they had a %50 off sale going for new years. I could have had an entire efi system with the wire harness for less than $200:shiver:
 
:eek: go to junkyarddog.com. It's an online database that salvage yards across the nation subscribe to. I picked up a 00 PCM for $125 vs. $1100.
 
In ill you will need a motor from the same year vehicle or newer and they smog check 96 and newer. They will need all receipts of parts and proof of engine year and related smog eqiupment for the year of the motor. this is in the chicagoland area smog. peoria may be easier. TBI on a dart headed smallblock is not a good combo. Tune port would be better but aftermarket would be best. If you can keep the truck registered in fla while you are here it would be easier to drive it in ILL. There is a lot of red tape and hoops to hop thru for late model motor swaps . 95 and older you can do what ever you want no smog.
 
In ill you will need a motor from the same year vehicle or newer and they smog check 96 and newer. They will need all receipts of parts and proof of engine year and related smog eqiupment for the year of the motor. this is in the chicagoland area smog. peoria may be easier. TBI on a dart headed smallblock is not a good combo. Tune port would be better but aftermarket would be best. If you can keep the truck registered in fla while you are here it would be easier to drive it in ILL. There is a lot of red tape and hoops to hop thru for late model motor swaps . 95 and older you can do what ever you want no smog.


I was on the IL dmv website yesterday looking at all of the regulations and there are dozens of counties that do not do emissions checks and they seem to be mixed from one county to the next so this could prove to be problematic. I am however keeping my home here in FL, fortunately my sister will be moving into it so I can still keep it registered in FL and that may be my answer.

My move to IL is one of necessity rather than choice, if I don't move up there I will be jobless and homeless so the decision is easy to make.

As for the head intake combo, I have the dart heads now so I think I'm just going to work around them. They are really what I wanted so when it comes time to do the actual purchasing of my air/fuel system I will make the decision based on part availability, funds available at the time and what I think will serve me best.

That's all I can really do. I have had the jeep sitting for a year and a half already so I am trying to get this thing done before I die. Now that my girlfriend is gone it makes things much more simple though.
 
In ill you will need a motor from the same year vehicle or newer and they smog check 96 and newer. They will need all receipts of parts and proof of engine year and related smog eqiupment for the year of the motor. this is in the chicagoland area smog. peoria may be easier. TBI on a dart headed smallblock is not a good combo. Tune port would be better but aftermarket would be best. If you can keep the truck registered in fla while you are here it would be easier to drive it in ILL. There is a lot of red tape and hoops to hop thru for late model motor swaps . 95 and older you can do what ever you want no smog.


I was just reading on the IL state EPA site that all diesel vehicles are exempt from testing so worst case I can find a cummins turbo diesel and drop it in. It's fun to think about at least.

Everything is so up in the air right now with my job, home, finances that I'm just going to build this thing the way I want it and deal with whatever happens later.

At the rate things are going I may not even have a job to go to in June so I may be building my future home on wheels an not even know it, maybe I should work a fold out cot into the design so that when I'm sleeping "down by the river" I'll be comfortable.:rof:
 
There is no need to be creative, those mounts will work on 97+ chassis.

AA advertises 84-95...well what about 96? Why did it get omitted? It's the same as 84-95. The new body style came in 97. AA is advertising 84-95 pre OBD II just to cover their a$$.

Reverse the brackets, put them on the frame & save yourself a lot of extra work.

For reference:
lowres_New%20Core%20Support2.jpg
 
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There is no need to be creative, those mounts will work on 97+ chassis.

AA advertises 84-95...well what about 96? Why did it get omitted? It's the same as 84-95. The new body style came in 97. AA is advertising 84-95 pre OBD II just to cover their a$$.

Reverse the brackets, put them on the frame & save yourself a lot of extra work.

I didn't even think about that, it makes perfect sense. I'm going to drop the motor in tonight just to see how it fits front to back and measure my side clearances for exhaust manifolds.

Also I just got good news from my layers about my mortgage re-negotiation so hopefully I will have a few extra grand to throw at this heep and finish this shizzit up.


BTW- GOAT=Solid Stud
 
Goat, I told you so!

There is no need to be creative, those mounts will work on 97+ chassis.

Reverse the brackets, put them on the frame & save yourself a lot of extra work.


Goat, there is something you need to know about my life. Ever since I was a child my life has followed a strict plan set forth by Murphy s Law, that is: If it can go wrong it will.

Here is a prime example:
Passenger side mount
enginebaysurfboard013.jpg

Drivers side mount
enginebaysurfboard012.jpg


It looks good in there though
enginebaysurfboard016.jpg


enginebaysurfboard017.jpg


enginebaysurfboard016.jpg


enginebaysurfboard018.jpg



Here are my new plans: The old mounts are 4-3/4" to hole center
enginebaysurfboard020.jpg


I need them to be 6-3/8" to center
enginebaysurfboard022.jpg


I've got a piece of 1/2" plate steel laying around that I'll use for the new mounts, I'm going to take it to a local welding shop and have them plasma cut them out instead of trying to grind them out by hand.
enginebaysurfboard027.jpg


The new mounts will actually be about 1/16" thicker
enginebaysurfboard026.jpg


New pass. side
enginebaysurfboard036.jpg


Driver side
enginebaysurfboard038.jpg


Header clearance on driver side
enginebaysurfboard031.jpg


Header clearance pass. side
enginebaysurfboard033.jpg


So the plan is to get the new mounts cut out then cut off the old mounts from the contoured base plates, weld on the new mounts, gusset them accordingly and go from there. This is not a major set back, it's more of a bump in the road and I'm sure it's just one of many that I will experience throughout this build.

Fortunately the location of the motor from front to back is fine, I will only have to extend the the length of the mounts and that means the "frame" rails are wider than earlier XJs' so I have some more room for headers. I think that's the only good thing I can find in this little shit storm.
 
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Of course the mounts don't fit, they are in the wrong spot. See below

enginebaysurfboard017.jpg


The mount is supposed to bolt to the inside of the frame "rail", not on top. Now unless you really need the motor that high...drop it; better COG and you won't have to bubble the hood.
 
Of course the mounts don't fit, they are in the wrong spot. See below

enginebaysurfboard017.jpg


The mount is supposed to bolt to the inside of the frame "rail", not on top. Now unless you really need the motor that high...drop it; better COG and you won't have to bubble the hood.

I thought the same thing, but where your arrow is pointing is actually farther back (about 1/2") from the motor and would require and even longer mount and it also puts the mounts at a slight angle so the motor mounts don't line up. I tried every possible position that I could think of and they won't reach. I'm not trying to contradict you, I want this to go off without a hitch but with this particular set-up it's not happening. when I get home tonight I will take some more pictures with the mounts in the position you suggested so you can see.

Here's what I tried:
Motor mounts bolted directly to motor with brackets in their correct positions (driver side on driver, pass. on pass. side.) reversed positions, moved forward, moved back.

Motor mounts bolted to plates in the front position, then brackets in the above mentioned positions.

Motor mounts bolted to plates in the rear position, then brackets in the above mentioned positions.
 
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I'm not taking offense just trying to figure out the fitment issue. I'll wait for the more detailed pics


I hear you, I used to get mad and frustrated at this kind of stuff. You should have heard me last night, I just laugh when this stuff happens because I expect it now.

rather than make it longer and more painful than it needs to be I just assess the situation and move forward, I tend to waist allot of time if I focus on the negative too much.
 
Here are some more shots of how my SBC sat. Unfortunely, I don't have any better pics then these...

How it lined up fore & aft. The big cap HEI is tight but clears and you can service it. I recommend that you use the small cap w/ external coil. That's what I eventually did...aftermarket TBI, sitting on top of an Edelbrock Performer intake. Still went past the top the hood by 1/2".
0033.jpg


Vertical position...
lowres_New%20Core%20Support.jpg


I think that if you put the mounts on top, your going to be poking through the hood by about 3". Let's see if we can't get the motor to line up with the mounts the way AA intended and you can make the call which position is best.
 
I think that if you put the mounts on top, your going to be poking through the hood by about 3". Let's see if we can't get the motor to line up with the mounts the way AA intended and you can make the call which position is best.

I took some height measurements last night and if I go through with my intended plan I would have ample room to clear the hood with an air cleaner like yours.

However, I was reading the novak-adapters website which has a great section tilted "knowledge" and they mentioned that jeep changed the frame rail configuration throughout their production run.

That is why I was so quick to just make the new mounts and move on. It is definitely worth a look if you have a minute.

My main goal with this project is to not get hung up on little issues that delay the completion of the project as a whole. I really want to keep this moving so when I come to issues such as this one my frame of mind is to come to the best decision that I can and move forward.

I appreciate all of your input.
 
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