I understand that people want to push the motor as close tot he firewall as possible for keeping it centered in the vehcile, and weight balance, and that because of that you have to cut the firewall for passenger side header clearance.

My question is, if you dont push the motor all the way back, is it really going to affect things that much? I would really like to NOT cut the firewall, and just have the motor forward . I dont mind moving the radiator and crossmember, but I dont want to sacrifice wheelability just to save a little floor space and passenger foot well heating from the header. Im looking at stabbing a ford 351 into my 80. Im also pusing the front axle forward 5 or 6 inches, so oil pan clearance shouldnt be an issue.

If I was going to do mine over, I would chop out the crossmember and move the motor forward 3-4 inches. I wouldn't have to cut the firewall for exhaust, I'd have room for my distributor, and a few more inches of driveshaft.

i kept my lt-1 foward,no firewall issues.as long as you have room for red/fan.i have room for the rad,just not the fan,but then again i am running the radiator in the bed.so it doesn't really matter on my truck.
just stay foward enough to have room for the fan with some clearence between the fan and radiator,but not to much,so you can run a shroud and keep proper airflow for cooling.

I dont think room wuill be an issue, as Im going to hang the fenders on tube, and completely gutted all inner fenders and core support. The only thing I need room for in the front is the nose piece.

anyone have any comments as to the eight balance and wheelability? hopefully experience, not what "they" say.

I didn't do it for balance it is just where it seemed to "fit."

Of course now I have clearance issues with my pan :p

Damned if ya do damned if ya don't..

Put it where it fits, moral of the story. I chopped the crossmember and I am sure you will to. I extened the frame and capped it. I guess I could have gone further but it just fit how I have it best..

Pushing the front end 5-6" forward is going to have the same effect as moving the engine back a few inches. Put it where it fits the best/easiest.

Us Scout II guys push the motor back to fit an electric fan in there, and just use a hammer to adjust the firewall on the passenger side, it just needs the body lip folded over.

As for wheeling goes I would think the height of the crank off the ground would affect you COG more than front to back. Thats what I would concentrate on. Like Brandon said figure out where it will fit and then figure out the height limit.

Scout Dude has an 80, would be nice to get his input on motor placement.

Edit: found his post.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=863947&highlight=

Us Scout II guys push the motor back to fit an electric fan in there, and just use a hammer to adjust the firewall on the passenger side, it just needs the body lip folded over.



When I put my AMC in my Scout II I modified the firewall to put it in as described above to not have to move the transmission. No one even notices the firewall rework from inside. Everything on that engine is on the front so it made sense to do it for that reason too. After it being there for 10 plus years now I'm glad I pushed it back to get more room up front for maintenance.

This is one of the reasons I tell myself to its important to keep the engine going into my Scout 80 as far back as possible and cut the firewall where needed.

Pete

If you are building a camping rig that you don't plan on hard wheeling (hammers, some of the harder trails in Moab, etc) then I don't see that it will really matter. But if you plan to step up to harder trails or if you ever plan to link your rig, try to place the drivetrain as low as possible. A high CG can really screw up your linked rig results.

If you are building a camping rig that you don't plan on hard wheeling (hammers, some of the harder trails in Moab, etc) then I don't see that it will really matter. But if you plan to step up to harder trails or if you ever plan to link your rig, try to place the drivetrain as low as possible. A high CG can really screw up your linked rig results.

it will be as low as possible, just not as far back as some. I do plan to do harder stuff, but not the hardest stuff the hammers has to offer. The majority of my wheeling is Con and Fordyce.

Pushing the front end 5-6" forward is going to have the same effect as moving the engine back a few inches. Put it where it fits the best/easiest.

This can only be done if you do away with the front inner/outer fender wells.

You can move it 1-3" running 35s & it will almost hit.

I did 3-4" it would rub like a mother on the bottom of the fender well/cowell.

I'm in the process of moving it back 2-3" so the 39s won't hit so badly.

This can only be done if you do away with the front inner/outer fender wells.

You can move it 1-3" running 35s & it will almost hit.

I did 3-4" it would rub like a mother on the bottom of the fender well/cowell.

I'm in the process of moving it back 2-3" so the 39s won't hit so badly.

you dont think you will hit the firewall?

Im gonna run 42's, and no inner sheetmetal at all, just like roksct or whatever his name is (silver tapered 80) and will just cut the fenders for clearance.

With pushing the front end out, I don't think that you'll have any problem moving the engine forward and upsetting the balance of the rig. Aren't you also stretching the rear too? My buddy had an 800a with a 304 in it,(stock) the engine was a lot more forward than the 350 in mine. I'm sure that 351 is lighter than the ih engine.

yeah 5 to 6 front and 6 to 8 rear. I figured it should balance fine, just wanted to ask the guys that have already done it.

yeah 5 to 6 front and 6 to 8 rear. I figured it should balance fine, just wanted to ask the guys that have already done it.

The whole point is moot then. Your drivetrain will still be roughly centered within the axles. Run it! Too bad you won't be able to turn that monster with such a long wheelbase:flipoff2:

Ive been running 110", so it should be fine.

I have my 383 set in forward enough that a set of k series long tube headers fits in it. I have plenty of room for mechanical fan, shroud etc.