1971 Chevy Truck 383 Chevy Engine And 4L60 Transmission Install - Project Get Shorty

...but not before the flex plate was installed and torqued to 60 lb-ft.

With the trans and motor united as one, we loaded up the engine hoist and lowered the dynamic duo down into the truck. On a side note, it's a good idea to rig the motor/trans combo with a rear offset. That way the tranny angles down into the cowl at a nice angle, making installation a little easier.

Once in position, one bolt is slid through the CPP motor mount and things are locked in.

Remember when we talked about mock-up earlier? Here's why. Once we got everything in position, the tranny mount was about 1/4-inch off, which means we had to remove the motor/trans combo. From there we slid the CPP motor mounts as far back as possible, and then relocated the tranny crossmember forward just a hair. Now imagine if your engine bay was nice and painted? It would terrible to tear it all up for a minor mistake that could have been handled much earlier on. It goes back to that measure twice, cut once. Once back in, two bolts go up through the crossmember and into the tranny mount.

Once everything was back in place we bolted the flex plate to the torque converter.

With the tranny and motor completely bolted up, we then installed this chrome converter housing, which was provided in our Gearstar kit.

Seeing as how Get Shorty isn't ready to hit the road, we won't be installing the provided dipstick, kickdown kit, and trans cooler at this time. However, all of this came with the Gearstar package, better known as the 502 Package, which includes the 4L60.

The last step in our install is to tackle the driveshaft issue. If you remember, Project Get Shorty was originally a longbed truck that we cut down, which means a new shaft is in order. To get the correct measurements, first slide the yoke all the way onto the transmission spline (we used an old driveshaft lying around to aid us in our measurements. Next, pull the yoke out 1-inch. The inch gives you a little bit of play, while allowing plenty of "meat" to hug the transmission spline.

From there, place one end of a tape measure at the center line of the yoke.

Next, run the tape measure back to the center line of the U-joint on the rearend. Take the measurement noted, and that is the length of driveshaft needed.

With our measurements in hand, we headed to Inland Empire Driveline in Ontario, California. Here Inland is making us an aluminum driveshaft, which will be plenty capable of handling the horsepower and torque.

Once the shaft is cut to size, Inland outfits it with the correct U-joints. From there it takes a trip on the balancer.

Here's the finished product, complete with a new yoke for the 4L60.