250 in a 63 E pick up

Looking for some feedback on my 250 C4 swap into a 63 Econo PUP.  Everything I've read says you have to cut the back of the doghouse for bell housing clearance and you need to use an engine cross member.

What I have mocked up is a 1 1/4" spacer between the engine perches and the frame to lower the engine.  This gives me 1/4" clearance to the dog house with a 5 degree engine angle.  Also had to drill holes in the perches to accommodate the extra engine width.  Using a trans dapt cross member with fabricated plates that will be welded to the frame rails for the rear trans support.

Any thoughts?  Am I missing something?

That engine is really too heavy for those engine hangers. You need a real crossmember to hold the weight of the engine and keep the frame from flexing.  Vic, Old Skool on these boards, is the expert and can make one for you.

See This page for some of his handiwork.

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t55680-v8-conversion-drive-shaft-lengths

Check you rears pinion angle and match that with the engine/trans output. I had to drop my engine mounts +2" iirc( I can dbl check), but that also also includes a small rise from the wider 250 sitting in the '65 170 crossmember. I ended up at 3 degrees. I used 2 degree shims in the rear to bring it down to 3. The holes in the crossmember needed elongated to accommodate. Whether the 170 engine hanger are strong enough or not could be remedied by beefing them up. But they will be way too high. If you are going with a 250 and a C4 you may as well go with a 200/C4 which will be an almost drop in installation if you have the right C4. You'd have to shim the hangers down to get the right driveline angle hanging from the lower hole on the body's trans mount. Another problem with using a car C4 is it is quite a bit longer and it's output bearings are smaller/weaker.

Thanks for the feedback.

I am beginning to look into fabricating an engine cross member from scratch, haven't had any luck finding one for sale.

I am also having a 9" built for the truck so I will have the pinion angle set to match once I have everything settled. I'd love to find parts or a donor vehicle but haven't had any luck.

As far as the engine angle, what I noticed is that the carb mounting flange is set at about 5 - 6 degrees relative to the cylinder surface so that's where the engine angle needs to be for the carb to be level. My truck is virtually rust free except for a spot in the drivers floor pan where your boot heel rests so I want minimize doing anything that can't be easily undone. That being said, I'm beginning to think about going the V8 route because of how difficult and expensive it is to find I6 parts