steering nearly completed.

Thank you for posting. The information is very helpful and is greatly appreciated.
I can't wait to get cutting, ........now if I could only remember were I put everything!

Can you give some info on the steering couplings and shaft. I like that!

The components were purchase from borgeson.com Starting from the rack and going towards the steering wheel....
I went with a polished stainless double u-joint 3/4"36 spline x DD at the steering rack, polished stainless 3/4" shaft, a 3/4" rod end for support of the shaft, then on to the polished stainless 3/4" DD x 3/4"36 spline single u-joint at the fire wall. I made a mounting plate at the fire wall to hold the carrier bearing which holds a 3/4" x 3.5" shaft with 36 splines on both ends, polished stainless 3/4" DD x 3/4" smooth bore single u-joint on the interior side of the fire wall, mating to a 3/4" solid round shaft that runs up toward the steering wheel thru the steering column. The top 9" of OEM steering shaft was pinned to the 3/4" shaft to allow the steering wheel to mount with factory splines and threads. There is a little trickery at the base of the steering column housing where I mounted another carrier bearing to support the shaft as it passed out of the column housing.

Jeep TJ booster and master cylinder installed

Header mock up has begun..

looks like a really tight fit on the drivers side threading the steering shaft through the tubes. very doable though, as i had to do the same thing on my humpback. just make sure you can easily remove the shaft for future reasons when necessary. on another note, [how's that for introducing a hijack ?] is it possible for you to measure the diameters of the crank, waterpump, air conditioning compressor, and alternator pulleys ? i am looking at ratios for comparison purposes on a thought i have had kicking around in my head for a while. yes, my thoughts can be dangerous at times and require more work than is deserved. thanks in advance !

I was looking at your header mockup and thinking, why not just use Dakota headers it should clear. Then I realized "yeah, it's got a Hemi".

Nice work there.

Moparx, I will try to get some measurements for you this coming saturday.
Supercuda, I had hoped to use dakota headers, but no one offers gen III hemi headers for a first gen dakota. Also, I suspect I might have run into floor pan clearance issues, but not sure. They do offer headers for later gen dakota/hemi swaps for those interested.

Is there a height difference between the 6.1 and a 5.7 Hemi? The picture of the motor on the chassis with the body mounted, makes it appear the motor might be above the hood height. Are you anticipating hood clearance issues?

We have a 57 Dodge, stock chassis, we are planning on installing a 5.7 from a truck into. It is my understanding that the truck intake is taller then the car intake. I'm growing concern about hood clearance. Gene

The Dakota front frame clip is responsible for the height of the engine. It is going to be close, but it will clear the hood. As for the truck engine being taller than the 6.1 intake height, I cant say for sure, but it seems unlikely. With a stock frame/chassis, you should have plenty of room.

Moparx:

Crank Pully: 6.5" dia.
Alternator: 2.375" dia
A/C: 5" dia
Powersteering: 4.875"dia
Water Pump: 4.375" dia
Idler pulley: 2.750" dia


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thanks ! that info gives me some ratios of the components vs crank pulley. that will help me a bunch to determine some rpm spreads. thanks again !

Header mock up completed...

Are you going to build your own headers from a header kit, or have a set made someplace? Gene

I don't own a TIG welder, and when I finally buy one, it will be capable of welding .250 wall tubing ($$$). I also don't own a band saw. Given the cost of obtaining these items, and the rate at which my build is eating away at my disposable income, I will be having GP headers fabricate the headers based on the mock up. http://www.gpheaders.com/

Very nice work. I might have missed it, but what are you using for a steering column?

I am using the factory column. I cut the length down, installed a bearing on the end of the cut down housing, and pinned a section of solid 3/4" dia. shaft to the remaining factory steering shaft. After the solid section passes thru the bearing installed at the firewall end of the housing, I have a u-joint installed to make the connecting to the bearing plate attached to the firewall.

Very impressive.
I like the way you mocked up those pipes with off the shelf stuff.
I probably will never build a set of headers, but I surely will be able to use a version of that for making my own dual exhaust systems.
Hope you don't mind me stealing that idea.