52 M38a1 Build

Hey y’all, I’ve been on here a while and finally decided to post my build. I bought a 1952 m38a1 a couple years back. The original f134 ran when I bought it. The previous owner cut out the Ross box and this needed a steering box. I through a Saginaw box on and drove it around a while. I couldn’t keep oil pressure in it so the 4 cylinder came out. I sold it and picked up a 4.3l. I had some time yesterday to reorganize the garage and prepare to get this project back on the road and trail.

I’ve got the t90 ready to go back together with a gm input shaft.
The 4.3 will be converted to carb with a 4.3 OMC manifold (ease of wiring and fueling)

The stock trans and t case will get me through until I can afford an adapter for the sm465 sitting in the garage.
I’ve got a Dana 30 narrow trac with disc brakes that will go in when I can afford the gears.

I’ve also got 2.5” lift springs from a cj that will go on eventually as well.

That’s all the updates for now. Hope to be road worth soon. Not a ton of room in the garage but it will work.

 

The intake manifold changed mounting so pay attention to if the bolts are vertical or angled before going too far into the carburetor setup.

If you have a non balance shaft engine you can change to a short water pump and small cap TBI distributor. Then with the long input on the t-90 and a Mustang radiator you will be in business.
I added an inch to the clutch tube and redrilled the crossmember an inch over. The floor mount brake pedal is the only physical interference.

I got a new tbi harness and a custom fuel map for mine from affordable fuel injection. Mine has high compression pistons and a hopped up cam and it has been absolute bliss with the TBI. No issues other than needing a "surge tank" it starts and runs great every time.

Here's one of my favorite videos and you can hear the tbi save it while I'm almost to the top.

 

Thanks for the advice. I’ll be sure to check it out before I tear it apart. I have the harness and computer for the tbi. The computer came out of an automatic so I’m worried it will have to at a minimum be programmed.

How do I find out if it have a balanced or unbalanced engine? It came out of an 88 blazer.

I have a short water pump. And a radiator from a ford falcon for it. Looking at an electric fan option for clearance purposes and lower rad hose routing.

Did you swap to a hanging brake pedal?

 

Sweet video btw! I can’t wait to have my kids bouncing around the back with me on some trails

 

I have thru the floor pedals, the single worked ok the dual master needs some more work to function correctly.

The flexplate will have a counterweight that needs moved to the flywheel if present.
With the work i did on my motor it got a neutral balance.
I suggest getting a heavy flywheel, look at something like a 1988 454. The pressure plate and clutch i use is for a sm465 equipped truck and the pilot bushing was bored out to match the T90.

If you don't already have the 2.625" transmission to bellhousing adapter contact @colojeepguy

 

Right on. I’ll check the flex plate out when I’m in the garage next. I have a pretty stout flywheel that came with an old 327 I had. Hoping that will work? I was told to look for an 11” clutch for it? The pilot bushing I have fits my input shaft, but does not fit into the back of my 4.3 so I need to get that milled down or source a different one and drill it for the input shaft. I do have the bellhousing adapter as well. Thank you.

I’ve almost got the trans back together, need to put the front bearing retainer on, the rear bearing, and put the tcase back on and I’ll be ready to go on that. Hopefully get to that Thursday. I’d like to test fit the motor and weld the motor mounts in too. We’ll see how far I get.

 

The 327 and 4.3 might be an inch different in the distance between the flange of the crank and the rear of the block or different diameter bolting circles due to the 327 having a two pc rear main seal and the 4.3 being one pc rear main seal.

Otherwise it will be a little lighter which isn't too big of an issue.

 

I would recommend staying with the EFI. I know the wiring and computer are hard to wire. I used a factory shop manual to make it possible. I'm glad I did. EFI is so much better at high altitudes.

 

Scott, I will eventually go back to the tbi setup but I don’t have the funds to get the computer programmed. The engine came out of a truck with an auto trans and I’ve heard it won’t run right it it’s not reprogrammed.

 

Carburetors are not cheap if you don't already have ALL the supporting hardware. It's a fools economy because you believe the carburetor is less expensive because you are more familiar with it.

It looks like for the TBI it is currently $360 for a new harness (all new connectors with wire and relays) including pcm flash or around $95 for just the PCM flash. The TBI system is way easier to work with than you are letting yourself believe and you can toss in a RV cam now and they have all the "tuning" done, no fiddling no fuss. All you have to do with altitude changes is turn it off and restart after taking in the views.

https://affordable-fuel-injection.com/product/tbi-wiring-harness/

 

I’ve got the carb, manifold, and electric fuel pump for it already. The tbi setup will happen down the road but I don’t have the $400 to throw at it right now and that’s before a fuel pump, tank and lines. Is the injection more reliable, absolutely. I’d also love to pull the tub completely build a new frame and fix every issue in the tub and paint it. Those are all way down the road for me. For now I intend to get it running and enjoy it while I save the money for the rest of the build.

 

I’ve got the trans and t case back together. I cut the old motor mounts off. I’m ready to put the engine in and see where my trans and t case will sit. Hopefully I don’t need a new front driveline. After that it’s a pilot bushing, Clutch assembly, wiring and fueling.


I’ve got a flywheel out of an old 327. I’m hoping that will work for me.

 

Making progress. Engine and trans have been set in place. Haven’t quite fine tuned their location yet. I need to install the new exhaust manifold and see if it will clear my steering shaft. From there if it does i'll weld motor mounts in place. I am waiting on the clutch to arrive from Summit. once it arrives I will start getting all of my clutch and brake stuff back together. I have to install the new intake manifold, carb and hei distributor. Then radiator and figure out if my stock fan is going to work or not. Feels like I am getting close but there is a lot left to do yet.

 

Looks a lot like my motor. What year was the motor built?

Here's a picture for you.

 

In my experience, don't let the drive shafts determine engine position. Ron

 

The motor came out of an 88 s10 blazer 4x4. Yours looks great! What radiator and electric fan did you use? Do you have more pictures of the install? What did you do for exhaust on the drivers side?

 

I’m not letting my drivelines dictate engine placement. I’ve got a couple rear drive shafts that will work and it’s no problem to shorten the front drive shaft when it’s all said and done. My hang up right now is ensuring I can get clearance for my exhaust. Aftermarket headers for the 4.3l aren’t the cheapest. At least not compared to their v8 sbc counterparts. If I can’t get the van exhaust manifold to clear the steering shaft I’ll have to buy or build fender well headers.

 

It's from an Astro Van. I had the mating surface between the head and the manifold machined off 1/4".
The radiator is a custom 3 row copper, from outside of tank to tank is 26". I also used two 12 electric fans with a thermal switch in the thermostat cover. I use a switch to turn the fans on when it's hot and I'm wheeling. Oh. I had cut 1" out of the grill duct to get fan clearance.

 

Thanks Scott.

I just ordered an Astro van drivers side exhaust manifold. Hoping it will clear my steering shaft.

yeah I’m definitely going to need to cut my grill up a bit. I was hoping to avoid it. The HEI distributor is big too. I may scrap the carb idea and figure out how to wire the tbi stand-alone. My only concern is my computer. It came out of a truck with an auto trans and I don’t have the cash to pay to get it flashed.

How did you go about it?