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Username Post: Another Winter Project(s)        (Topic#376117)
DHMelton 
"3rd Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 449
DHMelton
Loc: Central Arizona
Reg: 04-10-22
01-25-25 07:41 PM - Post#2877401    
    In response to toro455

I think that area is flat sheet metal Some 16 or 18 gauge flat sheet would weld right in there.

Doug



 


DHMelton 
"3rd Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 449
DHMelton
Loc: Central Arizona
Reg: 04-10-22
01-25-25 07:48 PM - Post#2877402    
    In response to DHMelton

Speaking of rusted floor pans, about ~52 years ago, we were riding around in a early '60s ford ranchero, with missing floor pans, sheet of 1/8" aluminum laying over the hole on each side.

Night time, drinking beer, under age. Got pulled over, i was the passenger, you couldn't see in the back window well because of a home made topper on the bed, and i lifted up the alum sheet and set the 6 pack of beer on the road below the car.

Cop shined his light around inside the cab, said we had a bad tail light and to fix it and went back to his car.

Reached down, picked up the beer,and we left. It wasn't a big deal to drink and drive back then, even under age, but they would confiscate the beer and we didn't want that.

Doug



Edited by DHMelton on 01-25-25 07:50 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
66SS632 
"7th Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 489
66SS632
Loc: Langley BC
Reg: 02-09-13
01-31-25 12:04 AM - Post#2877527    
    In response to DHMelton

Weekly update
Picked up the drivers side floor pan today.

Before getting on to replacing the pans I finished up modifying the engine crossmember. There should be plenty of room now for the oil pan with no spacers on the motor mounts.

I decided to do the passenger side first. I’m going to drill out the spot welds on the seam where the firewall meets the floor pan and work back from there.
I’m going to leave the tunnel in for now and do both side pans without welding on the tunnel . I’ll cut it out and temporarily install the engine and transmission so I can get it as high as possible or at least to 0 degrees level then re install a new tunnel with proper clearance
I wasn’t anticipating doing all this but in the end I’ll be glad it’s done. Still it’s setting me back at least a couple of weeks. Almost February already!!





Attachment: IMG_4773.jpeg (3.04 MB) 132 View(s)


Engine crossmember clearance now for oil pan with welded in angle iron


Attachment: IMG_4783.jpeg (2.84 MB) 130 View(s)


Cleaned and rust proof painted.


Attachment: IMG_4776.jpeg (3.22 MB) 122 View(s)


Have both pans now. Getting underway.


Attachment: IMG_4782.jpeg (3.64 MB) 123 View(s)


Roughed out the pan hole. Spot welds drilled out in front


Attachment: IMG_4784.jpeg (2.81 MB) 126 View(s)


More trimming required but making progress.


Still a 17 year old delinquent Hot Rodder


 
DHMelton 
"3rd Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 449
DHMelton
Loc: Central Arizona
Reg: 04-10-22
01-31-25 06:41 AM - Post#2877531    
    In response to 66SS632

I assume your block is tall deck with wide oil pan rails for additional stroke?

Doug



 
66SS632 
"7th Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 489
66SS632
Loc: Langley BC
Reg: 02-09-13
01-31-25 11:35 AM - Post#2877543    
    In response to DHMelton

  • DHMelton Said:
I assume your block is tall deck with wide oil pan rails for additional stroke?

Doug



Yes the 632 is a tall deck block with a 7 quart Moroso aluminum oil pan and a crank scraper. The stroke on this engine is 4.75” and there are only a few pans that will accommodate that long a stroke. I originally had to modify the pan to clear the steering link and the crossmember to clear the pan. It wasn’t enough as evidenced by the fact that I have to do it again.

Still a 17 year old delinquent Hot Rodder


 
66SS632 
"7th Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 489
66SS632
Loc: Langley BC
Reg: 02-09-13
02-07-25 11:16 PM - Post#2877704    
    In response to 66SS632

It’s cold and snowy here on the west coast.
Perfect time to be in the shop!!

Put a couple of 5- 6 hour days in and made some progress.

In the past I’ve welded up small patch pieces but never anything this involved. I watched videos, did some research and decided which approach to take to replace the floor pans. There is various opinions and approaches on these things but here’s what I decided :
Butt or flange weld? Flange welds are probably easier. I have a pneumatic flange tool from a project a long time ago. All the professionals seem to favour butt welds even though it takes more time and effort but looks better in the end. All the restoration shows I see they butt weld so that’s the plan.
A good quality welder is recommended. I have a Miller 175 mig welder which works great . I’m using 0.023 mild steel welding wire with 75/25 ( Argon and CO2 mix). I’ve done a fair amount of welding in my career but nothing quite this delicate so I practiced a bit on some scrap material.

I drilled out all the spot welds where the floor pan overlaps the firewall then roughed out a hole. I cut the replacement pan to line up with the front overlap then worked back cutting and grinding to fit. The final cut I used a 1/32 cut off disc in a die grinder tracing out around the new piece. It’s recommended to have a 1/32 gap between the new and old pieces. I picked up some butt weld clamps which are 1/32 thick to line up the mating surfaces.

The whole purpose of all this is to correct the driveline angle. Doing the floors was an unexpected bonus.So before I go ahead and finish it I am temporarily putting the engine and transmission back in . I jacked up the transmission as high as it would go. Got it up to 1.65 degrees , I want it a bit higher. Front of the bell housing hits the tunnel. I kind of expected this . I’ll decide how to proceed after thinking about it for a bit. Oil pan clears now with no spacers on the motor mounts.



Attachment: IMG_4786.jpeg (1.26 MB) 85 View(s)


I used butt weld clamps and self tapping screws to hold the new pan in place. Also pre punched holes in the front overlap seam to plug weld.


Attachment: IMG_4788.jpeg (3.57 MB) 86 View(s)


Stitched the passenger side pan in first


Attachment: IMG_4804.jpeg (3.51 MB) 86 View(s)


Repeated the same process on the drivers side. Took 1/3 the time as the passenger side. Learning curve situation.


Attachment: IMG_4805.jpeg (3.49 MB) 89 View(s)


I have a stock tunnel to put in. I’ll try for minimal cutting for shifter clearance.


Attachment: IMG_4801.jpeg (3.82 MB) 89 View(s)


I cut the tunnel out to give myself more room to work.


Still a 17 year old delinquent Hot Rodder


 
66SS632 
"7th Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 489
66SS632
Loc: Langley BC
Reg: 02-09-13
02-07-25 11:44 PM - Post#2877705    
    In response to 66SS632

More pics

I can concentrate now on raising the transmission together the driveline angle as close to 0 as possible

Attachment: IMG_4810.jpeg (3.4 MB) 88 View(s)


I temporarily installed the engine and transmission . The goal is to get it as close to 0 degrees as possible


Attachment: IMG_4811.jpeg (4.09 MB) 90 View(s)


ll finish welding up the floor pans when I’m finished modifying the tunnel to clear the transmission. As I suspected the very front of the bell housing hits the tunnel closer to the firewall. My previous solution was to simply bash it with a BFH until it cleared. Not the best solution but it worked. I’m not sure yet how I’m going to proceed . Need to think about it . I’m also concerned about the console fitment.


Attachment: IMG_4809.jpeg (2.11 MB) 89 View(s)


I jammed a spacer in between transmission mount and crossmember to test fit. This is about 1” higher than it was before. It’s a start.


Attachment: IMG_4808.jpeg (2.81 MB) 87 View(s)


Previously the level would read around 4.25 degrees.


Still a 17 year old delinquent Hot Rodder


 
ss3964spd 
"6th Year" Gold Supporting Member
Posts: 4752
ss3964spd
Loc: Fairfax, Va
Reg: 12-21-00
02-08-25 05:50 AM - Post#2877706    
    In response to 66SS632

With original engine and trans mounts, what was the original angle supposed to be? I know it wasn't 0. I seem to recall it was maybe 3*, and it seems to me it would have to be measured with the frame level.

Dan

If I recall correctly my memory is excellent. My ability to access it is not.


 
toro455 
"9th Year" Gold Supporting Member
Posts: 1517
toro455
Loc: Western NY
Reg: 06-15-02
02-08-25 06:52 AM - Post#2877708    
    In response to ss3964spd

  • ss3964spd Said:
With original engine and trans mounts, what was the original angle supposed to be? I know it wasn't 0. I seem to recall it was maybe 3*, and it seems to me it would have to be measured with the frame level.


I asked that question once for 1968 and the consensus seemed to be about 3 degrees tipped back. I ended up measuring mine and it was 2.5 degrees. Here's the topic where I asked others:
https://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?t...

Scott




 
DHMelton 
"3rd Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 449
DHMelton
Loc: Central Arizona
Reg: 04-10-22
02-08-25 06:57 AM - Post#2877709    
    In response to ss3964spd

Raising your tunnel over the trans bell:

Get a pneumatic die grinder and use a cut off wheel to make say 4-5 2-3" long longitudinal slots over maybe 4" L to R. Raise those tabs and shape them until they have nice contour relative to rests of tuner and weld the slots closed, using a thin curved piece of AL underneath to protect the trans.

Doug



Edited by DHMelton on 02-08-25 06:57 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
ss3964spd 
"6th Year" Gold Supporting Member
Posts: 4752
ss3964spd
Loc: Fairfax, Va
Reg: 12-21-00
02-08-25 08:55 AM - Post#2877711    
    In response to 66SS632

Not sure I saw which BH you're using but I have read that the Quicktime BH's provide more clearance at the top.

Dan

If I recall correctly my memory is excellent. My ability to access it is not.


 
66SS632 
"7th Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 489
66SS632
Loc: Langley BC
Reg: 02-09-13
02-16-25 10:23 PM - Post#2877901    
    In response to ss3964spd

Quick update.

So the tunnel area that was preventing the transmission from going up higher was actually the transmission housing not the bellhousing. As Dan mentioned the Quicktime bellhousing does provide adequate clearance.

The only way to correct this was to hack out another section of the tunnel and form another piece to cover it. I spent hours doing this .I am not a sheet metal guy but I’m satisfied with what I did here . Once it’s fully welded up and ground down it will be good. I feel better about it and that’s what matters. No more rusty floors.Nobody will see it but I know it’s there! Lol. 😂

I’ve had the transmission in and out many times now, test fitting and checking for clearance. The engine stays in for now I just take the transmission in and out. I got the drive angle just where I wanted so I put the tires back on and put the car on the ground. Drive shaft has enough clearance and the tail shaft is higher than the pinion.

The hours I’m putting in to get all this done is more than I expected, but I’m confident the end result will be worth it. A vibration free driveline will make the car nicer to drive on road trips.

Spent a few days down checking out the swap meet in Puyallup. Picked up a few useful things. Any body have a rear defogger switch they want to part with ?

The Vintage Air kit is now on my shelf. Man…. that’s gonna be another fun time! It was a productive weekend!



Attachment: IMG_4818.jpeg (2.26 MB) 30 View(s)


The transmission housing was hitting the tunnel and was preventing it from being raised higher. The only solution is cut it out and make a new piece.


Attachment: IMG_4826.jpeg (3.53 MB) 29 View(s)


I spent hours making a suitable replacement. I’m not a sheet metal guy but this will work!


Attachment: IMG_4834.jpeg (1.94 MB) 29 View(s)


I’m happy with .3 degrees


Attachment: IMG_4837.jpeg (1.6 MB) 32 View(s)


Hard to see from this pic but there is about 3/4 “ clearance between trans and tunnel


Attachment: IMG_4838.jpeg (3.45 MB) 31 View(s)


Plug welded from the top. More welding and grinding still to do.


Still a 17 year old delinquent Hot Rodder


 
Magnetocheck 
"3rd Year" Silver Supporting Member
Posts: 548
Magnetocheck
Age: 70
Loc: Charlotte, NC, USA
Reg: 09-05-22
02-17-25 04:20 AM - Post#2877904    
    In response to 66SS632

Yeah, lots of work but Looks good!

Bob
'65 Impala SS 396 Convertible
Member, National Impala Association
--It's weird being the same age as old people!


 


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