With the wife out of town this weekend, I got to play in the shop. I closed up all the joints I felt I could and finally cut the frame loose from the build table.
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After flipping the frame over and closing up most of the joints on the bottom that sides of the tubes I put it back on the table and test fitted the engine. I am planning for the oil pan to hang down 1.5" below the frame. This should allow the engine to clear the bonnet without a scoop, based on my trial fits of the nose cone.
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I sat and stared at the engine mounts for awhile contemplating different approaches. I wanted to use the 2265 chrysler mounts, as they are dirt simple and cheap, plus I already had two left over from my Fiero. I use the same mount on the fiero tranny. They allow the drivetrain to sit lower in the Fiero, and since I am using the 3.4 DOHC that is taller than the factory 2.8 it was necessary to lower the setup to clear the hood.
Making the engine side of the engine mounts was easy. A little angle iron and some 1/8" plate. I slotted the driver side to allow for engine removal. Deciding how I wanted to make the frame side of the mounts took longer. I even slept on it. For some reason at 1 AM the idea hit me and I ran out to the shop, in my skivvies and in the rain I might add, and mocked these up with tape and cardboard. I used round tube to make them look better and make it easier to get my fingers in to tighten up the nuts.
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Now that I had the engine in place, I temporarily blocked up the transmission to get my pinon angle correct based on the diff flange angle, and started working on the tunnel. I wanted to make the top tubes out of 1" round and made them first, then made the supports out of 1" square. I still need to add the triangulation. My plan is to make a bolt in cover out of steel or aluminum. Once I get my steering wheel in this week, I will mock up the stereing column and start working on the welded in scuttle.
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