Motor Mounts On The Frame

Little late on posting this week as what seemed like should take a few hours took much more. Had a bit of difficulty getting the holes where I wanted them which required re-work. oh well. Got it in now.

Looking at the finished product it doesn't look like much. But the mounts are not just fastened to the thin wall of the frame (about 14 gauge). I drilled a 1 1/4 hole all the way through top and bottom then welded in some pipe, welded in a 3/16 plug in the end of the pipe and drilled that for the motor mount. Then covered all of that with a 1/8 plate (tack welded at the moment). Should give it some strength.

The other tricky bit is that inside of the frame there is some supporting structure for the "A" arms I had to miss. But wanted to be as close to it as possible. Took some massaging of the holes after they were drilled to get it all to work out.

More Engine And Trans Fitting

Getting the motor and trans to sit inside the engine bay is one thing. Getting them to sit level and not banging on anything is another. This week was spent doing more fine tuning on the location and checking how other things might fit (starter, alternator etc.).

After some time noticing how tight everything is between the suspension towers I went and checked out another swap project. Whoa. There was lots more cutting that I had thought. Made the cutting I had done so far look insignificant. Encouraged by the work of others I started cutting a bit more while still being conservative. Some more trimming and adjusting is required but it's pretty close to where it'll stay. It even fits with the starter on and there looks to be enough room for the exhaust to pass between the block and the frame.

Now that I have the location I have to come up with motor mounts for it. This is a bit of a challenge as I need to leave room for the exhaust and steering. I'd also like to use some mounts that do a good job of cutting NVH (usually requires large mounts). And I have to change up the oil filter/oil cooler combo bit as it won't fit at all.  And need to know what to leave room for. So lots of time planning and not so much fabricating over the last couple days.

It's nice to have it at a good location. Now to get it to stay there :-)

Engine And Trans Test Fit

Things seem to be going kind of slow this week. But did get a few things done. Got the starter mount hole cut and starter fitted. Welded a stud in one place and a backing nut in another to allow the trans to mount. Need to do some countersinks for a few bolts on the motor but the tool didn't show up in time. For test fitting the few bolts I have are just fine.

Tipped up the motor, put the trans on and tossed it into the car. There are several interference areas that need to be addressed that are not allowing the engine to lower to where I had it before. But with enough cutting and welding just about anything "fits" :-)