[1955 3100]

Originally Posted by dsraven

the task force trucks (55 second series-meaning the advanced design trucks can also be a 55 because they were built up to the first part of 55, then the task force trucks came out in later 55. this makes them 55.1 or 55.2) came with a small block chevy in them which had front mounts on the engine. since you are new to the trucks you should consider downloading the assembly manual which shows you how the truck was put together but also shows you stuff like what the v8 engine mounts look like and where they were connected on the engine and frame. google
55-59 chevrolet truck factory assembly manual
and choose the trifive site, its a free download. i suggest to download it to a stick or directly onto your device so you always have a reference should the trifive site remove the manual
these trucks have a cross member behind the engien and it is used to support the engine from the bellhousing. the bellhousing sits on that cross member. a lot of guys remove that cross member so they can install a different engine and transmission combination. the problem with this lies in the flexing of the frame that can happen without the cross member in there. since the cross member is right about where the cab mounts are this flexing can also affect the forward cab mounts in a bad way since the cab is now what is absorbing the flex. removing the cross member is atough job if you are trying to save it because it is wider than the narrow part of the frame. it needs to be cut in half to get it out after the rivets have been drilled or ground down and hammered out. if you plan to remove the cross member you could actually leave the rivets in and cut a section out of the middle, do your engine and trans swap, then when all is said and done fab up some drop bars that will allow the section to be installed lower than it was originally. it could be bolted in if you fab the drop bars to do it that way. doing it this way will keep some integrity in the frame. you will notice that most fellas here have done the v8 with side mounts and a cross member behind the trans, like a more modern vehicle has. not a bad idea since the original v8 used mounts on the front of the engine, so if you do that front mount like original and incorporate a rear transmission cross member for the automatic that means the aluminum bellhousing on the trans is getting a lot of stress because the distance between the mounts is longer than things were made to be. so, if I were to recommend something for you to look at, on the economical end of the scale, i would say use a side mount on the engine and a rear mount on the trans, using stock parts from a newervehicle if you can-something common, but also do something with the stock cross member so it can be installed again when you're done. if at all possible install your exhaust manifolds before you do your engine mounts so you don't have interference issues with that, after the fact. usually the engine with a carb will have a 3 dgree downward slope towards the rear. you should do some pinion angle checks when done so the pinion angle is an equal but opposite angle to the engine and trans. this will make the u joints vibration cancel each other out.
if doing an auto trans you will need some sort of shifter as well. lots of guys use a floor shifter because otherwise they need to also swap the steering column or buy more adapter stuff to make the original clumn into something that will shift an auto trans.
anyway, I don't mean to hit you with a bunch of problems but if you want more info or my thoughts you are welcome to private message me.

Lots of info. Thank you for your time and good ideas. I'm sure there will be alot of learning on my end. I signed up for this site because I was reading alot on here and it has people smarter and with a lot more experience than myself. In other words Thank you and you can never have too much info.