Stu,

First of all, you have to set up your car for the ride height that you desire. In most cases this can be accomplished by the use of jack stands and steel shim blocks if this is going to be a one time thing. I like to use screw jacks that I set up on a frame table.

1. Position the frame on hard inmoveable surface (concrete garage floor will do fine). Position four adjustable jack stands, one on either side and one stand in front and one in rear. Raise or lower the stands until you obtain the stance or ride height that you want your car to have. You can use plywood circles cut out of 3/4" plywood to simulate the wheel sizes you want to use and bolt these to the front and rear suspension, or stand them in the wheel openings to get a better idea of appearance.

2. Once the general ride height is obtained, you now need to micro measure to level the height of the frame from side to side. Begin at the left side front and place a level across the frame to the same point on the right side. Place steel shims or wedges under the frame at the point where the jack stand touches, adding more until the frame will stay at that height. Do the same thing at the rear of the frame and carry the measurements across to the other side. This will now be your final ride height.

3. Your engine can be set in to its location. Please note that most intakes are cut with a 3 degree incline towards the front so that fuel passages in the carb willnot be uncovered upon acceleration causing a lean condition. Place a good dial type protractor on top of the intake manifold and make a 3 degree allowance for the intake and setup the engine side of the motor mounts. Plan your frame side of the motor mount to take in account steering shaft, brake and fuel lines, headers, etc. Don't forget to use gusset plates to add strength and rigidity to the mounts.

4. Mount trans up to engine. To double check for level of trans, place protractor on bottom of trans pan and it should read the same as intake ( + 3 deg. ). Place rubber mount in place and build down from there to trans cross member. Again, allow clearance for speedo and emergency brake cables.

5. Depending on rear suspension of the auto, coil spring, leaf spring, four link, follow the directions of manufacturer for installation. The end result being that the rear end position must retain the ride height of the frame. Leaf spring cars rely on the arc of the spring, the stiffness of the leaf to maintain ride height. Wedges in the spring perch are used to obtain a pinion angle of up to 5 degrees of downward angle iin high performance applications.

The transmission shaft and the pinion shaft should be parallel to each other. The drive shaft angle should be no more than 5 degrees angle or it will bind.

Any change in ride height will affect how a auto will perform and handle. A front end alignment should accompany any change.