Power train and Drive train

 Out With the old F-Series Motor as well as the early series 3 speed and the transfer-case.

 And in with the new 2001 Chevy 5.3 liter LM7, NV4500, and NP-241! (time lapse of only 4 years!!!)

 And a shot of the transmission and transfer case.

Tube motor mount with poly bushings at the frame to isolate vibrations.

A shot of how it all mounts to the block and frame.

 And a close up.

 For the transmission and transfer case we copied a fancy crossmember from a Bronco on Weldingweb.com (Thanks for the idea Ztfab http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=6582)

Here is how I built mine:

 Step One - Cut some tube and bend a hoop (we used 1.5 x .120 and 1 X .120 for the hoop.

 Step Two - Bend main arms to tuck nicely under drivetrain and fit between frame, also notch the ends of the main arms to accept poly bushings.

 Step Three - Weld on skidplate, I used some scrap 1/4 plate we had lying around the shop.  Also I chose to weld at the bottom of the tube, the positive is that it will not as easily hang up on rocks, the negative, it can hold water on the top...hence the drain holes in the corners.  (No, the main arms wont be that close together, I slid them up there to mount the bushings on the same plane.  See Below:)

 Step Four - Add bushings.  The rear arm will slide back about 9 inches so that the arms straddle the transfercase.  Once I have the placement just right, I'll skin the rest of the skidplate/mount. 

 Step Five - Attach mount to the frame.  I have a tube in front of the transfercase and one tube behind.

 Step Six - Add transmission mount.

 Close up view of the transmission mount.

View from the front.

And another from the rear.  The tubes that are bent up will connect to a truss that doesn't exist yet.