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The above picture was taken in 2003, after installing a 355ci 4-bolt engine with help from Rob (light blue shirt) and Andy (green shirt).

 

Unfortunately, the engine had been poorly built by a shady local mechanic; we'll call him... oh, say... Kendall.  Rocker arm studs came loose, oil passages were blocked, and the connecting rod bolts were too long and hit the oil pan.  Unable to find or contact Kendall, and having lost confidence in the engine, I yanked it out of the car.

 

The pictures below show the installation, in 2006, of the same engine, rebuilt by Southern Marine & Automotive.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transmission crossmember installation

 

The stock crossmember wouldn't work with the new TH700-R4 transmission, so I ordered this aftermarket one.  Unfortunately, it was designed for a Camaro and the mounting tab was too high.

I had Holzman remove the tab and and re-weld it to the bottom of the bar.  This lowered the mounting height 1½ inches... just enough to clear the top of the tunnel.  The tab also needed to be moved about an inch to the left (driver side) to center the transmission between the tunnel walls.

The crossmember was re-powdercoated by Lorac.