Homemade engine mounts

[Mountain-Metalworks]

I can't say that I like doing things twice, or in the case of my engine mounts, three times. But in full disclosure I don't want anyone following along on my LS-powered MKIV to think that it's been straight forward. Early on I decided to purchase engine mounts instead of making my own. Partly because I had my engine and needed to get it installed to get measurements and fitment, and partly because I broke several ribs and was in too much pain to feel like fabricating my own. Instead of using adjustable swap mounts with multiple holes for different engine placements, I bought BRP Hotrods mounts that looked more factory-ish. They were for an LS in a Fox body Mustang.



They were good units but ultimately didn't put the engine where I wanted it. And I clearly wasn't going to get the driveshaft angle I needed with the massive T56 Magnum, the engine was too high up in the chassis. So I decided to make my own. I had some leftover poly mounts from a Jeep project and plenty of scrap steel, so I got to work with the chop saw, angle grinder, and disk sander. I cut up some block plates that incorporated all 5 mounting holes in the block instead of just 4. If I used an iron block I wouldn't have bothered, but figured I'd use all the mounts in the aluminum block since they were there. After a quick mockup with tack welds and setting general drivetrain angles I made a SERIOUS mistake. I burned them the rest of the way in due to being impatient.

It all looked great until I finally got my driveshaft with integrated parking brake setup complete(thread herehttp://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...-parking-brake). I checked all my driveshaft angles again and found the engine was still too high in the chassis! I couldn't get the tranny yoke and pinion flange within .5* of plane. And to make matters worse, the working angle of the ujoints was too high regardless of trying to get the yokes at equal and opposite angles. ARGH!!! I was able to keep the block plates and poly mounts, but needed to create yet another set of frame mounts.

Moral of the story here, if you're going with a non-traditional(non-Ford) engine, be ready for a lot of trial and error. Second take-away, don't rush it! Had I not fully burned in the mounts this would have been a simple 5 minute fix instead of a couple more hours. Lesson learned, tack welds are your friend. Hopefully I can re-use the purchased BRP mounts on some other project down the road since they weren't cheap. Quite the winding road but I'm happy with the end result....

The pieces on the left are the driver's side mount and already powder coated(LOVE the Eastwood setup....), the other mount will get coated tomorrow.



-TJ

[GoDadGo]

Moral of the story here, if you're going with a non-traditional (Non-Ford) engine, be ready for a lot of trial and error. Second take-away, don't rush it!

-TJ

Amen Brother Jeepurz, Amen!

[Lancaster Lad]

jeepurz GoDadGo

You guys crack me up. You guys only have 1/2 the problem. Try non-traditional with an auto trans. After about
4 or 5 months I am still trying to plan out the rear trans mount, ya just can't rush these things. Need to retire
to have time for the car.
As an aside my pass will end up with less leg room.

Jeepurz thank you for posting your issues for the rest of us. When my time comes I hope to repay my adventure.


Cecil

[mosh1999]

Yeah, future build of an LS with automatic here. But I am prepared to alot of trial and error. jeepurz, glad you are happy with the end result.