Offroad-Express

Okay now I have your attention I am after some info on potential issues I may encounter with a small block or big block chev in a 45 series cruiser and want to sort them before I start by stealing from your experiences.

Is there an issue with the chassis rail spacing (too narrow too wide)?

Is there a clearance problem with the steering column/engine/headers for either block?

Is the steering box fouled by the engine/components or is it well clear?

Is the brake booster fouled by the engine/components?

Is there an issue with engine length within the engine bay? Does the fan or dizzy come into contact with the rad or firewall?

Is there an issue with engine width within the engine bay? Will the inner guards have to be removed?

Is there an issue with headers? Are block huggers the only option or can they be run over and down the outside of the chassis rails?

I guess thats more than enough for now.

Just for shits and giggles what sort of mpg are people getting with their setups?

This should answer your questions.....apart from the lowered part.

They all fit Heath mostly small blocks but SBC's and BBC's have been shoved into 40 series cruisers for the last 1000 years. Getting everything to fit comes down to where you mount the engine, typically the engine sits further over on the passenger side for the transfercase and offset diffs but you'd be likely to centre everything if your going to 2wd it. When you can you try and shift the engine a little further forward to get clearance between the heads and the firewall. The factory armstrong steering box sits up high above the chassis rail close to the firewall and has a relay rod running outside the inner guard and a pretty good guess is you'll put a 60 or 70 series P/S box down the front of the chassis rail and run a new colapsable steering shaft down to it, the headers will have to be built around the steering shaft, best place for the exhausts is over the chassis rails and down the sides and theres always plenty of room to do that, can be done with block huggers and some manifolds but it makes it a bit harder to get the exhausts over the chassis rails, making proper headers up will be worth the effort to get a better result and finish. SBC is smaller and a lot shorter than the 6cyl cruiser engines (6 inline cyliners is longer than 2 banks of 4 ), BBC is longer and wider than SBC but will still fit ok, the pic below is an old parts truck I wrecked, a ton of room to fit everything around the engine..... even more room in a 70 series engine bay

Heath wrote:Is the steering box fouled by the engine/components or is it well clear?

Ya building custom, yeah?

Heath wrote:Is the brake booster fouled by the engine/components?

Ya building custom, yeah?

Heath wrote:Is there an issue with engine length within the engine bay? Does the fan or dizzy come into contact with the rad or firewall?

Ya building custom, yeah?

Heath wrote:Is there an issue with engine width within the engine bay? Will the inner guards have to be removed?

Ya building custom, yeah?

Heath wrote:Is there an issue with headers? Are block huggers the only option or can they be run over and down the outside of the chassis rails?

Ya building custom, yeah?

Guess what I'm tryin to say is just make it suit your purposes.