I did use a bit of trigonometry, however.
I put the jack under the axle and took all of the slack out of the shackles to the point I was starting to raise the support legs off the floor. At that point the center of the spindle is only an 1-1/2" lower than the bottom of the frame rail and I've still got 4" of clearance between the frame and the top of the axle. The tires I'm planning on using have a 25" diameter, so when the car is sitting on the ground the bottom of the frame should be 14" off the ground, giving me 7" of clearance on the bellhousing - more than enough.
If I lift the motor up in front 2" that will give me a 2-1/4 degree angle on the transmission - that's where the trig came in. Since the bellhousing is about half way between the front of the motor and the trans mount, raising the front of the motor will raise the bellhousing a bit. If I lower the back of the trans mount a bit I can increase the angle of the trans to about 3 degrees downward and still keep my 7" of clearance. Plus, I'm thinking I want the rear of the car to be slightly higher than the front, giving the car a slight nose down rake.
I'm about to give up on the idea of making this rig Bonneville compliant. I really don't think it would be worth all the extra work and expense for a one time trip. A motorcycle with a sidecar could still be an option, actually, more in my wheelhouse as far as that goes.
I changed a couple of bicycle tires yesterday and cleaned up one of the bikes that has been hanging on the wall of the barn. I can keep a bike for two of my compadres here at the shack and take them to the trail for us. That'll make the logistics easier since the other two don't have trucks. Maybe next week we'll ride the trail rather than doing our walkies. We did get three miles in yesterday even though it was about 90 degrees and sunny.
I've seen a big spike in the page views lately. Not sure why but welcome one and all.
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