62 willys sbc swap gone bad

First off ,howdy from a newbie!!
Well the title says it all. I picked up a basket case '62 Willys with a strong 327 in it last summer.The original 3spd tranny was toast and it along with the transfer case was sitting in the back ,all taken apart.
I thought ,how hard could it be to get it up and running???????? Since then I've been accumulating parts.I picked up a BW Super T10 with an Advanced Adapters adapter married to the transfer case and got it put in and the crossmember bolted to it , now I find out the engine is sitting too far forward and the oilfilter housing hits the steering arm when you try to push the tailshaft over so it is in line with the yoke on the differential.
The original fabricator of this set the motor too far forward (so he didnt have to cut the firewall for distributor clearance)and kicked the rear over to the side to get past the steering.
The rear differential yoke center measures 8" to frame edge and the tailshaft yoke center measures 6" to frame edge,thats 2" out of alignment side to side!
Now , any input on how I can correct this mess? Like how far back do I need to recess the firewall to set and mount the engine properly? It has motor mounts on the front of the block,so how far back on the frame should they be located from the crossmember that the radiator sets on?
Sorry for such a long first post ,but I would really like to get this up and going

 

Welcome from Illinois!

In my opinion, "proper engine placement" for a Jeep transplant is the automotive equivalent to the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, or the Swamp Ape in the Everglades. It might exist but don't waste your time looking for it. Engines have been mounted in just about any way other than upside down in these old Jeeps and I wouldn't be suprised if a few were put in upside down. So long as you can make it work, don't lose any sleep over it.

The tailshaft will most likely not be directly in line with the yoke on the differential. Operating at an angle is okay as long as it isn't too severe. Can you take a measurement of the angle the shaft will be running relative to the centerline of the Jeep?

As for your oil filter housing, you could either get a remote mount oil filter for your Chevy engine since they're cheap and easy to install or you could convert to Saginaw style steering which is a handful in itself.

If the engine is too far forward to run a mechanical fan, you could always go with a thin electric fan or if that won't work, a pusher style electric fan mounted in front of the radiator.

Does this engine have the short or long-style water pump?

Good luck with your project!

 

I have a 283 in my CJ5... I used an oil filter relocation kit to get around the steering box clearance issue. I didn't hack the firewall to do my install. I did have to use the small style distributor, an HEI won't fit. Don't worry about the output of the tcase not lining up with the diff. Mine's off probably 2-3 inches and have had no problems after 40,000 miles. Your setup actually sounds pretty close to being right... Good luck with it!

 

mruta thanks for the responce, I dont know exactly what angle you're after but the driveline will be approx. 18" long as it sits now with a 2" offset.The rear diff. is the offset type as well but there is still is a difference of 2" offset over the 18" length of driveline.I layed out the measurements on a piece of cardboard with the tailshaft being 6" from the frame and the diff. yoke being 8" from the frame and drew a line to represent the driveline 18" long connecting at the 6" and 8" marks. I dont have a protractor handy so I drew a line with my try square 45deg.to the centerline of frame ,split that for 22 1/2 deg,split that for 11 1/4 deg. split that to get 5.625deg. an oddley thats where the driveline angle will be.Is this the angle you asked about?
My fan is about 2" from the radiator so thats ok.I already have the remote oilfilter setup mounted on the firewall.I still need to set the engine back a bit to clear the oil filter housing(cast portion) on the block itself. But then I still need to set it back far enough for the clutch arm to miss the brake pedal and/or shorten the clutch arm ,it has two holes on the end to hook the linkage cable up.
Am I thinking anywhere near right on this ? Its been a lot of years since I've done this sort of thing: )

Southtowns27,what gears does yors have in it?Mine is 538's ,I have an overdrive located for it.

 

I have 4.89's with a Warn OD.
I forgot to mention, I did have to tweak my pitman arm and grind a flat spot in it to clear the engine casting boss for the filter... If you have the engine out, you might also be able to grind the edge of the engine casting off. And again, don't worry about the output of the tcase and the diff not lining up. They never did...stock Jeeps in the original configuration with the original drivetrain had them offset a couple inches from each other from the factory. As long as the engine is mounted parallel to the rear axle pinion (parallel with the framerails) you won't have any problems. When looking down from above, the U joints will have identical angles at both ends of the shaft = no problems. You only need to deal with pinion angles and the like.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track.

By the way, got pics?

 

Not a great angle, but here's the 2-inch factory offset on my old '70 V6 Renegade. Like everyone says, do the remote oil filter and run it. You'll be fine. I used to drive my flattie with a 6-inch horizontal offset and nothing exploded.

 

Did some thinking on it and I went out and had another look and came up with a plan(I think).First ,I need to add about 1 " to the front mtr mts to set the engine back far enough to clear pitman arm

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/ModocWrangler/jpmts002-1.jpg


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/ModocWrangler/jpmts001.jpg


Next I need to cut off the extra hole on the clutch arm to miss the brake pedal arm

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/ModocWrangler/jpmts004.jpg


What do you think? Am I on the right track.Thought I'd ask before I start chopping and welding : )
Your input is greatly appreciated!

 

The firewall in speedy was trimmed to accomodate setting the engine back. I had enough room in there for a short water pump and a fan. also, a Monza radiator was used at the time of the swap. It all fit pretty well. The grille had to be trimmed to 3" deep, iirc.

 

I know I have a Chevy V-6, but it may give you some ideas for your V-8 conversion. Here is three pages of pictures.

http://groups.msn.com/ScottMilliner/scottsjeeppictures.msnw?albumlist=2

My brother has a 55' M38a1 with a Chevy 350. BTW

 

Scott thanks for the pics link.Your exhaust routing is what I'm going to request when I get it redone.