I started out by upgrading the lighting in the garage a bit. Makes a huge difference.
Today I wanted to get the motor mounts figured out. There was a significant amount of misalignment. I tried loosening everything up from the frame towers to the adapter plates but there wasn't enough give. I double checked the replacement mounts part numbers and they are the same from BBC to SBC. So I started looking at the frame towers and the bracket to the adapter plates. I compared them with the ones on my 76 plow truck and they are different, but that is also a 4x4. So I found a set of mounts taken from the suburban 350 and compared them to the ones off the BBC. Found the culprit...
The holes from the BBC bracket are about 3/8" further from the engine. The adapter plates are designed for SBC mounts. I didn't know until today they were different. Also, the center section of that bracket is punched out a bit and interferes with the adapter plates, so I had to cut the centers out of the plates. I'm sure they are still plenty strong.
So anyway, the motor mounts are in and I just need to tighten all the bolts back up. I need to get the tranny mount in and after that I can start hooking up everything else.
The boy got the driver side doors off and we got a closer look at the rockers on the other side. Looks worse on the front rocker but it's basically the same amount of work. I told him to start cutting and I'll pick up the patch panels.
Front...
Rear...
