The process of getting an engine to work in something it was never intended to work in is tedious. I guess you could say it’s easy and all you have to do is make mounts, and that anybody with a welder and a grinder could do it – and you’d be right.

To a point.

What I’m interested in is getting things not only to work correctly, but also to look ‘right’. This is more involved, and the welder becomes only part of the equation. What it really takes is thinking and planning, and it’s a time-consuming process. It can’t look thrown-together, it’s all about precision.

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I’ve had the new Hemi in and out of the chassis as few times this week, and the areas I thought would be problematic are going to be, but they’re solvable. I’ve removed the oil pan as the pick-up will need relocating, removed the manifolds as the footwells will need altering, pulled the alternator as it fouls on the steering rack and the list is only starting. It’s a combination of aesthetics and function also, as while the motor might ‘work’ about 4 inches up from where it would actually fit best, it’s just not right. So in and out, in and out…