67 Camaro project "It Don't Fit" - Page 13 - Lateral-g Forums

makoshark · #**121** 08-14-2012, 10:35 PM

I'll sport the 'el cheapos' for a while. I am really digging the Forgeline Concave series wheels and those are the wheels I'll have. I just gotta figure out how to get that darn tree to grow

makoshark · #**122** 08-15-2012, 05:13 AM

My new GForce 4L60E crossmember came yesterday. Guess what? It doesn't fit

I would laugh at this point, but being told the same joke over and over makes it not funny anymore.

makoshark · #**123** 08-15-2012, 06:51 AM

The subframe has 2 bolt holes on each side of the frame that the crossmember bolts to. The G-Force x-member only catches 1 of the 2 on each side. The transmission poly mount has 3 holes in it and came with 2 studs. The x-member has 2 sloted holes in it, which the 2 outer holes on the poly mount line up with outside of the car. When I install the x-member, I have to put 1 stud in the middle hole of the mount to only catch 1 of the slotted holes of the x-member.

Looks like G-Force is my latest company to go round and round with.

Rick D · #**124** 08-15-2012, 07:29 AM

I can here it now, "your the first person to ever complain about this" not trying to bash anyone because I'm sure they will make it right. But when my shop was open we heard that all the time

It does get old after awhile. And I know it's Hot Rodding but something like this can get you very frustrated! Good luck I'm sure they will take care of it.

makoshark · #**125** 08-15-2012, 07:43 AM

Yeah, that is what I am expecting to hear. Either my car is a mechanical oddity or these vendors are full of ****. My vote is for the latter.

Quite frankly, I don't know what they can do to fix this. They only make the one x-member for my application. It's offset to the passenger side, as if it were made for a big block with the offset motor mounts. However, it does not catch all 4 of the frame holes, only the back 2.

I wonder if it would cause any problems to run just 1 bolt in the trans mount to the x-member? Seems like I remember having a car once that had a trans mount like that.

BBC71Nova · #**126** 08-15-2012, 10:04 AM

I think you need to rename your project as it is bringing you bad luck

I'd give the guy at G-Force a call. I've spoken to him a couple of times and he's always been helpful. He can at least confirm that the crossmember was designed for a big block setup. It does appear from the pics that way but the offset looks much more significant than I would expect. I think the offset is only 5/8" or something <1" anyway. The longer trans would require more off set though due to the angles involved.

Anyway, if that is the case I guess you could swap your mounts out? Although not sure that would be what you'd want to do and could just move the problem. It might help your steering box clearance though. I have a set of big block frame stands and a couple different sets of solid mounts I could send your way to experiment with if you'd like.

makoshark · #**127** 08-15-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC71Nova

I think you need to rename your project as it is bringing you bad luck

I'd give the guy at G-Force a call. I've spoken to him a couple of times and he's always been helpful. He can at least confirm that the crossmember was designed for a big block setup. It does appear from the pics that way but the offset looks much more significant than I would expect. I think the offset is only 5/8" or something <1" anyway. The longer trans would require more off set though due to the angles involved.

Anyway, if that is the case I guess you could swap your mounts out? Although not sure that would be what you'd want to do and could just move the problem. It might help your steering box clearance though. I have a set of big block frame stands and a couple different sets of solid mounts I could send your way to experiment with if you'd like.

Thanks John...I may take you up on that offer if I can't get this setup to work. I did speak with the tech guy over at G-Force. He was very helpful and very knowledgeable. He pointed out something I'm surprised I did not catch. He told me the tail of my transmission needs to be shifted over to the passenger side of the car. He said the mount should fit no problem. He also told me to double check my motor pedestals to see if I had them on backwards. They weren't. However, shifting the tail of the trans over just may be the ticket. I was having some clearance issues in the tunnel with my transmission on the drivers side that I was not expecting. That little bit of shift just may give me the amount of clearance I'm looking for with the driver's side header fitting to the DSE steering box as well. Now I just gotta figure out how to shift all that weight over to the passenger side by myself

makoshark · #**128** 08-17-2012, 01:02 AM

I played around with different motor pedestals that I had laying around, today, and ruled out any alternatives there. I have the correct ones for my setup installed. Thankfully! I did manage to get both bolts through the x-member into the trans mount. However, I'm not able to get the x-member to catch the 4 factory mounting holes. It is hitting the trans pan keeping me from getting both sides to catch. I can catch both on one side, but not the other. I can adjust the x-member to the rear of the car and make new mounting holes or notch the x-member to clear the pan. If I notch the x-member, then that would require a good deal of fab work, as well as, make my rear trans pan bolts inaccessible while the mount is installed. At this point, I feel I will just relocate the frame mounting holes. It also appears the x-member needs to shift to the passenger side another 1/4". I have gotten it to move over a bit, but these poly mounts are tight and seem to not give the ability to make many adjustments. I can see that the motor and trans will, definitely, need to be installed onto the subframe fully assembled before installing it to the finished car.

I'm making progress an 1/8" at a time right now

Rick D · #**129** 08-17-2012, 10:11 PM

Just a thought, have you tryed to lift the trans up out of the way and see if the mounting holes line up? At least then you know they made it correctly.

makoshark · #**130** 08-18-2012, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick D

Just a thought, have you tryed to lift the trans up out of the way and see if the mounting holes line up? At least then you know they made it correctly.

Yeah, I checked that while I had the engine lifted up a bit. The crossmember lined up with the frame then. Big thanks for helping me think out of the box though

I talked to Dave, tech guy, over at G-Force crossmembers and he and I believe we found what the problem is. Their website does not mention this, but another company that sells their x-member does. They said the x-member fits all 700r4, 4l60's and early 4l60e's. My trans builder told me the 97 4l60e, what I have, is basically the same as the LS ones, minus the removable bellhousing. Dave told me the LS trans is a tad bit longer. That seems to be my problem. The x-member is hitting the trans pan keep it from lining up on both sides of the frame. The only solution Dave and I came up with is just to drill new mounting holes in the frame. No big deal to me really.

I just looked on their website and they now say fits only early 4l60e's. I guess they changed it after I spoke with them. They requested I send over pictures of my install with their x-member so they can try to figure out exactly what is going on and so they can make possible adjustments to their x-member for the future. Wonder if I get the first one, free, for point out this problem to them?

Anyway, they are a great company with great customer service. I highly recommend G-Force crossmembers.

Side note, my driveshaft has been shipped and will be here next Wednesday!!!