72 K10 350, Engine hugging firewall?

[Vanhalen1985]

I've been in the process of replacing a leaking header gasket on my 72' K10 and I'm rather not happy. What was GM thinking put the small block against the firewall? I can barely slide a sheet a paper between the distributor cap and firewall, let alone get to the rear header bolts. Would I be better off taking the starter off and working from underneath? Anyone else complain of this problem or has my truck just put me in a bad mood?

Only other option I can think of is to take out the heater box for more room but geez I really don't want to do that. It would be a piece of cake on a 2wheel drive.

[IwantaK5]

You can swap in a 700r4 real quick. That will give you 3 more inches away from the firewall.

[Vanhalen1985]

Originally Posted by IwantaK5

You can swap in a 700r4 real quick. That will give you 3 more inches away from the firewall.

Changing transmisions wouldn't change the location of my motor mounts.

[Chevy1TonFun]

Every 1st gen truck I've worked on has had different spacing between the motor and firewall. I moved my engine crossmember forward 2 1/2" to fit my BBC.

[IwantaK5]

Originally Posted by Vanhalen1985

Changing transmisions wouldn't change the location of my motor mounts.

700r4 is longer than the th350. The crossmember the motor mounts to has to be moved 3- 31/2 inches forward unless you get custom drive shafts made.

[Mike C]

Yup. Either move the T-case back and get custom shafts or move motor foreward.

GM pushed the motor back in order to create clearance for the differential housing and to keep a reasonable length on the front driveshaft. One reason I am a proponent of small cap HEI ignition setup so you don't have to hammer the crap out of the firewall.

[burnin oil]

Its tight but not that tight. I have a feeling that your cab mounts are toast and letting it all lean forward making a tight spot even more cramped. My stock Cap HEI fits with a little clerance. I can put a shorty wrench on the rear header bolt from the top also. The best thing I have done is buy header studs for the outer bolts. Holds everything in place and lets you put a socket on that sucker. Only downside is my headers are to close to the frame to install the header over the studs.