35-40 chassis question, trans x member

I'm tearin down the ch***is on my new 38 pickup to make it safe, reliable, and faster. It came to me with a jag rear, a dropped axle, unsplit front bones, stock x member with a 350 and a 3 speed. It was a little scary, plus I already planned on losing the Jag and replacing the trans, so i figured why not do everything. I have a rebuilt 327 and 700r4 trans, found a truck 9" already. so I plan on keeping the dropped axle, putting in new kingpins and stuff, but not really changing the front end much. putting the 327 in with better motor mounts, and running the 700r4 instead of the 3 speed. I used to have a th400 in my old 40 pickup, but I cant remember what was done to the x member to make it fit. I want something that I can drop the trans if necessary without pulling the motor. does speedway or SAC make a kit for this? also i'm guessing i'll have to split the bones when i do this. I'm also gonna use parallel leaf rear suspension, so I need to find the best way to do this, i know there are a few kits available. I want it low but driveable, i'm gonna be running 16" 40 ford rims and bias ply's. Thanks in advance for any info

 

the sadle that fits into the center of the crossmember has to be removed , and a new transmission mount and center braces installed , along with split wishbone mounts ...both ch***is engineering and SAC has them

you may want to check with Ch***is Engineering , but i don't believe the 700r4 can be used without cutting into the center X-member itself

http://www.ch***isengineeringinc.com/ford/1935-1940ford.htm

 

thanks for the quick reply. I'll check with SAC first, they are almost local, and I don't mind cutting the x member to make room for the 700r4 if thats what I have to do. any suggestions on the rear setup?

 

I asked my step dad who just set up a 37 frame for a t-350 at his shop. He flipped the top brace so it was sticking up and rotated it 180 degrees front to back, made a new plate for the bottom that picks up the mount and trimmed the frame a little to clear the pan.

 

cool, I'll check that out when I get home, but 350 is smaller than a 700 so I'm not sure if it'll work, plus it sounds like I'd have to pull the motor to remove the trans that way? I'll call you about those wheels, i'm gonna need em for this project.