Posted by Fastman (216.244.24.52) on May 01, 2001 at 05:50:55:
In Reply to: 302 trans crossmember posted by Skippy on April 30, 2001 at 21:07:49:
: I bought a trans crossmember via mail order thru AutoKrafters for my 70' Mav and my 302 swap-for the 2 exhaust humps. The crossmember fit ok when the trans was out - holes lined up good - factory had predrilled holes just for the ocassion it seemed. I also bought a new trans mount stronger V8 one. Once trans was in I could not get that crossmember to line up w/holes, especially w/V8 mount, so I put 6cyl. mount in did some hacksaw work on the crossmember and drilled new holes on the driver side of the crossmember to get it in. 6 cyl. mount did not seem as thick and I needed the room. I've got it in there but I am wondering why I had to do all that nonsense - I reused the original C4 trans(had it overhauled, B&M shift kit, and larger bellhousing, could that be why ? are the crossmembers set up for another type of trans? Or could I have gotten the wrong crossmember?? Does anyone have a crossmember that will work in this application?? How important is it that this crossmember line up in a specific location? It looks like it is sitting in there level. Any feedback appreciated. I searched the archives and it seems nobody else has had a problem installing theirs - 5 min. job turned into an hour.
I did the whole V8 swap to my 70 Maverick also(built July 3, 1969). I had a problem getting it in as well. I had to use a grinder to the crossmember and had to open the whole a bit to get it to fit right. I had heard this was due to the 70 trans. tunnel being a bit smaller than the later cars. I got the trans cross member from a 74 by the way. I was pissed when I realized I too had a problem with it. I put the engine and trans in at one time, so it was frustrating trying to get things settled.