Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train Mustang II Kit for 40 Chevy

Does anyone have experience installing a Mustang II front end kit on a 40 Chevy. My car has a GMC with a T10 5 speed transmission. I am particularly concerned about the up front clearance between the oil pan and the MII cross member and steering rack.

Also, are there any modern front end kits that would work better on a car like mine with such a long engine.

I am also interested in motor/transmission mount ideas. I currently use side engine mounts up front that allow for height adjustments. I have a bolt in cross-member with mounts under the bellhousing. The transmission top is very close to the floor board and no height adjustmtent is possible.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I used an original style Must II crossmember in mine when we did it about 15 years ago and it cleared my 250 motor OK but am not sure about the GMC. I believe that Chev's of the 40's and R.B's Obsolete both make a bolt in or weld in crossmember for your car. From the pics, they look like they would have more clearance on them. Chassis Engineering makes a nice bolt on side mount kit. Check out their website
www.chassisengineeringinc.com They have a lot of neat items for the earlier Chev chassis.
As for the length, I know there is something about a shorter water pump but I have no experience with GMC's.

My experiences with M II kits is that usually the rack ends up higher than the top of the crossmember. With a front mounted rack that presents a clearance issue for the dampers on our inlines, something the V type folks don't worry about with their short funny looking engines.
With a rear mounted rack the oil pan becomes the major interference point on any engine. Power racks often have a larger diameter than manual racks at least part way across from the driver's side and some are larger overall from end to end and hose locations add to the situation as they run over the top of the rack.

Total Cost Involved, Heigt's and almost all of the street rod M II kits are engineered to lower the vehicle so the drop of their crossmember is relatively shallow to tuck everthing up closer to the frame thereby lowering the car. If you can't poke around some already installed jobs to get measurements or references then call whichever manufacturer you will be buying from and be prepared to give them as much info as you can. Since you already have the engine in place a good place to start is to measure from the bottom of your balancer to the bottom of the frame rails, and from the bottom of the oil pan to the bottom of the frame rails. Also use the existing beam axle rubber bump stops on the frame as a reference point for front to back locations of the damper and possible interference points of the oil pan. All of the M II kit makers use the original bump stop mounting holes at some point in the installation instructions as a reference point.

I have done the Mustang II/1940 Chevy swap. It was pretty straight forward. Make sure you or someone qualified to weld well does the work. It is very important to measure, measure, measure. I purchased the Zig's weld in front with the tubular A arms and the big 11" brakes and 7" power booster. I really don't think you need the power steering as the rack & pinion and a 16" steering wheel works quite well. Get the packaged deal. Hub-to-hub with the power booster. You'll save in the long run that way and everything will fit! I also bought the motor mount kit from Stovebolt. As you can see, I fab'd the radiator support out of 1" square tubing and the tranny cross member for the T-5. If you have any questions, please email me.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

Thanks for the information and the pictures. Did you use the old brake peddle and master cylinder system with a remote booster or a modern dual master cylinder with an integral booster?

I made up a master cylinder mount to use the original pedals and mounted a '69 Corvette M/Cyl on mine but I am using manual brakes. They work OK with the 4 speed but I would suggest using a remote booster if you intend on using the original pedals. I am also using the Must II rotors and calipers so they are not the biggest ones you can get for the Must front end.

I used the Zig's 7" power booster with their dual integrated master cylinder. It used the original clutch and brake pedals and the new master cylinder bolts to the original gutted bracket. It comes with an extra long rod to go through the old system and it works great. No Welding! A truely bolt on system.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe