I rented a small lawn and garden trailer from the Air Force Academy and drove up to Evergreen to get the frame. A quick pull with a come-along and it was loaded. Backed it into the garage when I got home and got it unloaded.
I removed the front and rear axles and the suspension. The steering relay came out in multiple pieces. I am going to have to do some repairs to the front cross member.
I built a jig that bolted to the rear mount of the front springs and the front mount of the rear springs. I knew I was not doing any 'stretching' of the frame between these two points. I made the jig so that the frame was level to the floor. I then welded two legs onto the rear cross member and two more where I planned on cutting.. I did a lot of measuring, then cut the frame just ahead of the shock mounts. I then just slide the cut off part back 12" and started welding in the new metal. After completing the new frame rails in the rear I repeated the process in the front. I made the front cut just behind the cross member and moved the front horns forward 5",
I didn't take any photos of the frame stretch, but here it is still on the jig as I attach all the body panels to make sure everything lined up correctly before doing all of the finish welding
After completing the stretch, I started working on the engine mounts.
First I welded the front axle to some 2" blocks on the frame. This placed the axle at the full compression position so I could check for clearance.
With the firewall, seatbox, and tub in place and the engine and transmission hanging off the engine hoiste I started trying to determine the proper location for the engine.
I need to modify the firewall slightly to fit the engine as far to the rear as possible. I drilled out all of the spot welds that hold the center section to the reast of the bulkhead. I kept jockeying around the engine until I had it where I wanted. I needed room for the cooling fans, radiator, oil cooler, and transmission fluid cooler at the front, room for the intake and fuel lines on top, ensure the oilpand didn't hit the axle, and rooms for the exhaust.
When all was said and done, I had the engine in the perfect spot. I had to make a slight mod to the footwells to avoid the exhaust, but was otherwise able to weld the center panel back in and have no other mods to the firewall. The seat box clears the transmission and transfercase. And it looks like the center tunnel will fit without modification.
I cut of the transmission crossmember and added brackets to it to create a removable mount and then positioned it under the joint between the transmission and transfercase.
I also cut out the cross member under the engine. I will have to build a new one of these that works with the front axle. The 4L60 and NP/241 combo is going to require some trickery to get the front drive shaft set up. I might need a 2-piece shaft with a pillow block.
More next time...
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