Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[J. Robinson]

I am getting ready to leave for a week, but I wanted to set the engine & tranny in the frame before I left, so...

This job is much easier to accomplish with the body removed, but how do I know where to set the engine? I began by making a mockup of the firewall from a piece of masonite (In the pictures it looks like cardboard). Any thin, relatively stiff material can be used for this purpose. After notching the bottom edge to fit over the frame, I used a sharpie to trace the shape of the transmission tunnel onto the masonite and then cut it out. This piece was not the full size and shape of the actual firewall; I just needed something to get the location of the firewall and shape of the tunnel opening.

Next I removed the body, slung the engine into the frame, and then positioned the dummy firewall using my welder's magnets. Now I was able to position the engine in reference to the firewall and still have complete access to the transmission area.

I lucked out here. After wrestling with wood blocks and shims for a while I discovered that a couple of pieces of pipe inserted through the frame rails held the engine and trans at the perfect height! I used a short piece of 4x4 between the engine and front crossmember to hold it back in the correct location.

I ran out of time and won't get to fabricate the engine mounts until I get back, but, after removing the shifter, I set the body and nose back in place just to verify the fit. Proportions look good so far...