z notching a 84 c10

Hey alljust after a few tips on z notching my 84 c10. its not body dropped so am only looking to Z it enough to lay frame. Im hoping I can leave the motor in when I do it, is this possible? And will I have to modify the engine mounts or can they stay as they are? Are there any other problems I am likely to encounter along the way?

Pull the engine out. You will hate yourself once you start if you don't.

You can do it without modifying the engine mounts. However I cut the center section so that I can lower the engine down the same amount as the Z. This way your motor is still at the correct operating angle. This is important with carburetors and automatic transmissions, because of fuel/fluid delivery in both.

buy cut the center section do you mean of the crossmember?? Hating myself aside, can it be done with the motor in?? Im working with limited space and really want to avoid pulling the motor out if possible.

Yeah the crossmember. The first time I did it I cut the stock section out thats between the framerails and dropped it down 2" the same as the Z. I bolted the stock motor mounts to that and made a tab on the inside of the frame to bolt the motor mount bracket to, since it bolts to the top of the frame stock. If I where to do it again I would cut the crossmember down and just plate it, then make my own motor mounts. Probably easier.

I seriously recommend pulling the engine at least. You can seperate it from the transmission and put it on a stand and its not that big. When you Z it the headers get very close to the frame, depending on if they are stock or tube. In some cases you actually have to trim the frame to clear the headers. That said, there is basically no way to get to the inside of the frame and do a good job welding and boxing it up.

Yes Seth is cutting out the center section of the cross member and dropping it. I think he has a picture of this if im not mistaken. Anyhow Just be sure not to modify anything else such as your upper a arms just the center section. Trust me and Seth as well PULL THE MOTOR it seems like a headache now but it will be a migrain when u Z the frame and it twist on you from the weight or gets tweeked and trying to align everything back up with the weight to throw around in your limited space.

^ I used to have some pictures of the one I did with my friend. I lost all my pictures when I reformatted though.

But yeah, seriously pull the motor. Its not much work with a carbed truck either. I am supposed to do another one in a month or two, so if that actually comes in I will take more pictures this time.

sweet as, thanks for the advice guys, The reason I dont want to is I only have about 2 feet of room in front of the truck, and my workshop is right at the top of a hill so I cant move the truck in and out, guess Ill have to try pull it out from the side, haha.

Have had a look at the truck and completely agree bout pulling the motor out now. However, is it completely necessary to section the cross member or just a good idea to? I had a quick look at this thread here http://www.streetsourcemag.com/forum/topic.aspx?method=reply&topic_id=104536 and doesnt looked like theyve dropped the motor at all, plus I dont think my z will be quite as big as that.

We did that Z and the motor was not dropped the trans xmember was raised above frame rail which set the engine and tranny angle back right. We did it with the engine in but we have lifts to work with if we didnt have a lift we would have pulled it more than likely. U will have to pull the headers for sure tho to be able to plate inside the frame.

Talk to ostncoln on here. I know that he took the motor out to do his.

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