| 1968 M715 1997-2003 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| 1996 FT Campbell KY then Indian Mound TN. |
| Interior and Chev 292 Installation. Ran until that Autozone motor threw a rod. |
| 454 swap begins. Sand blasted and Epoxy Primed the cowl, frame and bumper. Fabrication was neccessary for the engine mounts and NV4500 Mount. I boxed Chevy 454 4WD mounts for strength. |
| This bracket was made for the NV-4500 transmission to mount in my already fabricated cross-member, (modified original) I made it out of 1/4 inch steel and 3/4 inch plate. First I made a cardboard template, cut the outline of the tail-housing (GM 2WD) and measured every possible dimension many times. The critical reference points I used were the centerline of the yoke and shift housing as well as positioning the FWD/BRK handle assembly so as to locate mounting holes in the side plate for it to mount at. I then cut the patterns out of the steel (with a grinder, no laser cutter here!) and began assembling the pieces, first tac welding and test fitting along the way. The bracket mounts first to the transmission and then to a GM rubber xmsn mount which mounts to the cross-member. When determining the position of the transmission in the cross-member area I kept it centered (in relation to the shifter and hole) and as level as possible to minimize the short shaft to the transfer case angles. |
| click on picture to enlarge |
| View other Restorations |
 |  |  |  |  |
| Above are the left and right engine mounts. They consist of the GM Four Wheel Drive crossmember bracket or mount pad and GM 454 stock mounts. The bracket was bolted up to the mounts and they to the engine. As they hung free there was about a 1/4 inch gap between the bracket and frame. I filled this with 1/4in plate on both sides bolting it into position with the shock tower mount bolts. Starting with one piece of angle running horizontally for the bracket to "sit" on, again bolting this in place. Then I began forming angle to fill and reinforce the open areas. In the rear a piece of angle runs perpindicular to the frame and sets on top of the first horizontal angle, to utilize the two bolt holes in the rear of the GM bracket. Then in each corner I placed another piece vertically and capped those across the top. Tac welded everything, dissassembled and welded pieces together. |
| This is the clutch pivot installation. I reused the one from the 292 installation, moved the bracket up and forward about one inch. And positioned it aligned with the stock pivot ball that screws into the block. When this was completed I realized there was not enough room for the exhaust. So it was moved approximately 1.5in to the rear of the pictured location and I fabricated a bracket to mount on the bellhousing allowing for exhaust clearance. |
| Four Color Camo "Tropical" scheme paint and Michelin 14.50 X 20 (M35A3) Tires |
| Custom Fabricated Exhaust w / fording pipe. |
| The head was removed because the place I bought it from mismatched the head! If you buy one, check the casting numbers..buyer beware! |
| The serpentine belt system is from a 1994 Chev 454. I have always carried extra belts and had them slip off, now I will just release the tension and replace the belt instead of loosening or removing two or three to get to one! |
| This is a view of the modified xmsn cover and NV4500 gearshift. The PTO levers are not installed, but will go to the rear of the cover behind the gearshift. |
| Clearance is about 1.5 inches from water pump shaft to radiator This is corrected later with new Be-Cool radiator and grill mod. See below. Air-conditioning compressor for later a/c modification. |
| This is the left and right engine mount installation viewed from the rear. The yellow arrows show the GM FWD cross-member mount bracket. Note the two bolts that are bolted into the perpendicular angle that protrudes from the frame plate. The red arrows show the fabricated mount of 1/4 inch steel. Note the horizontal angle that the assemby rests on. The bracket on the left had to be modified so the steering shaft could be installed. |
| The red arrow shows the fabricated corner and cap angles. The yellow is the GM cross-member bracket. The white line shows the maximum clearance level. |
| This radiator installation worked but with only an electric fan, ran hot. The area in front of the brace, between the grill and where the original radiator is mounted will be enlarged and widened to fit a aluminum, larger radiator and add the manual fan. Pics below. |
| Side view of installation and begining of cutting out the center are between grill and pictured radiator. |
| Center area has been cut out for new aluminum radiator. This will allow a wider and taller 1 inch / 2 core radiator with the extra height being compensated for by sitting a little lower. |
| This is the NV4500 installed. The red arrow shows the Advance Adapter plate for use with a pre 1995 GM engine and Dodge NV4500 casing. The bellhousing (Orange arrow) is the early (1970) GM Bellhousing. In the right pic the yellow arrow is the xmsn mount adapter side plate for mounting and (shimming out of) the original xnsfer shift lever mount plate. The red arrow is the shift lever assembly. |
| The Yellow arrow is pointing to the GM 2 wheel drive NV 4500 Output or tail-housing This replaced the Dodge 2WD tail-housing after the Dodge main-shaft was replaced with a Gm main-shaft. |
| Red arrows indicate where fabricated brace mounts and red brackets are cut-out areas. |
| Yellow line identifies radiator and here you get a better look at the fabricated front and modified rear upper brackets. The right picture shows the limited clearance of the manual fan. |
| The yellow line identifies shroud area and limited clearance. Red arrow identifies the modified rear bracket. This installation worked well (with auxiliary fan in front) cruised 70 mph on highway with no cooling issues but in a work condition i.e. mud-bogging, pulling a heavy load uphill, 100 plus degree temperatures, it would run hotter than I prefer. A fan shroud is a must and It is difficult to use a stock GM radiator due to the width but that is exactly what is needed. I toyed with the idea of extending the doghouse about 6 to 8 inches but the air wouldn't flow across the whole radiator area anyway due to the design of the M-715 front grill area. Perhaps a 2 inch core radiator or two 1 inch radiators back to back would work well. I am be interested in your experiences with V-8 installations in the M-715. Sign my guest-book and let me know what you have done. |
| Rockwell Axles, 10,000LB PTO Winch, 2 spd Out, 2 spd In, SM465 4 SPD. |
| Start of forest green base coat, Fabricated fan shroud Installation and front and rear views of bottom engine installation |
| M35 Rockwell Axles, 4 inch blocks welded in place. |
