front motor mounts ford 302 ?

barrysmgb · June 01, 2011, 05:02:23 PM

motor in place rear trans mounted . if i want to use motor plates with rubber spacer in between plate ear and frame what size bolt would you use and do you drill straight down all the way through the frame and do you bush hole between top and bottom of frame any help would be great thank you barry

pspeaks · June 01, 2011, 06:55:38 PM

Barry, this is what I did and it gives me a lot, well, maybe not a lot, but more anyway, room for exhaust, steering, and remote oil filter flange. I made a plate, welded a nut on the bottom, drilled a hole in the top of the frame to recess the nut so it would lay flat on the frame then ordered the rubber from McMasters & Carr (actually you should order the rubber first I think). I think a lot of us have used these rubber parts in one way or another. If you're interested I can probably take better pictures. There are other ways to keep the motor from rolling over on it's side, but this worked for me. By the way, the motor isn't really leaning over, it's just a bad camera angle, and NO, I plan to use a fan belt at some point rather than the bungie cord, but it helps when fabricating alternator brackets :-).

Paul

DC Townsend · June 01, 2011, 07:35:27 PM

Paul,

Would you be up for making a second set and selling them?

David Townsend

pspeaks · June 01, 2011, 08:58:52 PM

I would be glad to, but I don't have access to the shop anymore. The owner had to close due to lack of business. Government contracts stopped coming in and the market for custom car parts, which was a side line, dried up and he sold off a number of his machines; the adult toy market has been pretty bad as of late. Dimensions are rather dependent on the for/aft position of the motor because the frame has a slope in that area but they shouldn't deviate by much. The plates bolted to the heads are 3/16" and the edge braces are 1/8" X 1/2" band stock, the 90 degree foot that separates the two rubber parts is either 3/8" or 1/2", I don't remember but it would be easy enough to just measure the two rubber pieces put together. The pieces that weld to the frame are 3/8" I think but you will need to grind the virticle lip flush. Keep in mind one head sets ahead of the other and as the frame slopes the two sides are not the same length. The pieces were cut out by a computer but one could make mat board templates and do it with plasma or a band saw. This particular design came out of my head and there are no patents so anyone who has a shop and makes conversion kits is welcome to make and sell them. Others have built similar mounts so anyone wanting to do this can fist fight them for the honors. As I've posted before I was hesitant to use the heads as a mounting point but when we had the hot rod shop we used this method from time to time and never had any problems.

mgb260 · June 01, 2011, 10:49:26 PM

David, I have a set I took out of my Willy's Wagon I can give you for the shipping price. Height might not be right,but could be modified. Here's pics of them. PM me if you're interested.

rficalora · June 01, 2011, 11:33:28 PM

Paul, I like the basic idea of those motor mounts, but have you checked hood clearance with intake, carb, & filter? Your motor looks to be a couple inches higher than mine & with a performer air gap intake, I had to use a drop base with a 2" filter to fit under the hood.

David, another consideration is that style mount will require supporting the engine from underneath whenever you need to pull the heads. I think I'd see if the same idea could be used but going down from the frame rails to bolt to the regular motor mount bosses on the block. Or fab mounts that get welded to the crossmember like Pete Mantell's 302 kit or the Fast Cars IFS.

DC Townsend · June 02, 2011, 08:27:48 AM

Rob,

Valid point on the heads but, truly, how often would that be a consideration? Given a few of the modifications I've made in the engine compartment, I want to have a few options available when it comes to finally bolting the motor in. Currently it's been set up to use the stock Ford mounts but that was prior to fitting the headers and steering shaft. Would be a real bummer to discover that my Plan "A" wasn't going to work out as expected and I had no Plan "B".

pspeaks · June 02, 2011, 12:19:42 PM

Using the head mount system does have drawbacks but head removal has not been a common occurrence with me so I decided to go with it for the other benefits. Rob, I have checked my hood clearance and it isn't good. In the picture you will notice the distributor cap is off and that's so I can close the hood. I haven't put a carburetor on it yet but have no doubt that will be a problem as well. The rack and pinion is tucked as tight as I can get it between the balancer and the pan which seemed after reviewing all the "How I Did Its" to be the way to go. I considered dropping the steering rack but was afraid of getting into the world of bump steer, plus the front cross member is cut as far as I'm comfortable with. I would have preferred to use Pete or Ted's conversion but money is in short supply for the project. Even with a drop base filter I'm sure I'll have a hood clearance problem if for no other reason than the distributor. I must have done something wrong but after setting and staring at it for hours, I can't figure out what. As much as I don't want to, I may have to change the intake and distributor or just live with a hood bubble.

Paul

rficalora · June 03, 2011, 01:52:11 PM

I wasn't saying mounting to the heads is a problem; just something to be aware of. As for height, the motor can be mounted low enough that the stock hood will close with an early ford points distributor (which can be converted with a crane or similar kit), a Performer intake (probably not performer rpm), and a 2" air cleaner. Steering rack in stock location situated between the balancer and front lip of the oil pan. Some' grind down the pan lip a little.

pspeaks · June 03, 2011, 06:28:55 PM

Rob, the concern about the head mount was mine but others have used it without incident thus the reason I decided to use it. Besides being too tall, the installed distributor has very little turning radius and I'm concerned about proper timing. I would much prefer a modified early Ford unit but after a couple of trips to the junk yard I haven't found one. I'll keep looking and refrain from cutting holes in the hood until I've exahusted all my search possibilities.

ex-tyke · June 03, 2011, 06:41:20 PM

Paul, Put your thinking cap on before you cut your hood - a 302 conversion is doable without hood mods. Here's a well travelled photo of my conversion with an early '72 distributor and there is still 3/4" clearance to the hood crossmember.
302 distr.jpg

Just a thought, but if you have an early CB crossmember, that could be a problem with engine location - a RB xmbr will allow a further engine drop because of the steering rack location.

pspeaks · June 03, 2011, 07:21:29 PM

Thanks Graham, mine is a 1972 cross member and I have no idea if it is a CB or a RB, I didn't even know there were different cross members but I assume 74 and later are RB. I'm sure it's a bad idea, but has anyone used spacers between the frame and the cross member, or is it even possible? I really like your distributor. What year and model car should I look for, or are they available new?

ex-tyke · June 04, 2011, 02:11:18 AM

Paul, your '72 crossmember is from a CB car - a rubber bumper version ('74.5 to '80) puts the steering rack 1" lower (but also raises ride height) It then requires the lowered Moss springs to recover that lost ride height.
My distributor is from a '72 Ford product but covers several model years - try Rock Auto for a rebuild - they are not that expensive.

BlownMGB-V8 · June 04, 2011, 09:48:42 AM

Same style mounts on the MG-Roadmaster and on my 340. Check those threads for details and photos. The 340 mounts are very nice, made from 7 ga. stainless.

JB