Body mounts: who's made 'em, and got pics? Materials?

[MercMan1951]

Hi All,

I have a "situation" on the rear of my Merc. I need to fab up some new mounts to support the trunk area, by the ass-end where the Lincoln frame ends. I have the original Lincoln frame and mounts, but the rubber is wasted beyond belief.

My question is: when making up mounts, what do you use? I was thinking about finding/buying generic rubber mounts that could be adapted to my application, a la Chevy truck core support, etc...but, I DON'T want to have to buy a whole kit! I only need 2 for the rear, and maybe 2 for the front.

Who on here has encountered this problem? I'm looking for stock, rubber doughnut-style mounts, no fancy poly mounts or hemispherical rod ends or any of that crap. This thing is going to be a daily, it has to work, not look pretty...


See pic below:

The area in green would be the new mount, but I need a cushion in between...

[RileyRacing]

Hockey pucks, or, Vanessa's biscuits! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Jay

[MercMan1951]

I thought of hockey pucks...threw a pile out a couple years ago...but they would be to HARD for this area.

Send me some of Vanessa's biscuits...

[C9]

How thick does it have to be?

Neoprene rubber is available in sheets at farm supply stores and similar.

I've bought it in 1/8 - 1/4 - 1/2 - 3/4 & 1" and I believe it comes thicker.

Drill a pilot hole. (It won't look like much when you're done.)
Use a hole saw aligned on the pilot hole to cut it out.
Clean it up with a razor knife.
Put the rubber biscuit in the freezer overnight.
Have your drill press & clamping setup ready to go.
Clamp and drill the hole size you want.
With the rubber frozen it will make the right size and a very clean hole.
Don't screw around too much or the rubber will defrost and the hole will be ragged and rough.

I've made motor and trans mounts as well as radiator & body mounts out of the stuff.
Works great.

[MercMan1951]

Thanks C9. Only has to be 1/2 inch or so. Hadn't thought of that. Great idea!

[burger]

C9,

Have you used this material for motor mounts? If so, what dimensions did you use?

THX
Ed

[wayfarer]

The dodge uses mounts just like that, like a small hocky puck with a hole in the center. You can buy them here for $7.50:
http://www.oldmoparts.com/b.htm

The part # is B-140. Find it in the '49-'54 plymouth or dodge areas.

[uncleAud]

hole saw and an old tire makes great donuts..used them for years

[Tinbender]

Semi truck mud flaps, and a hole saw. Stack um to the thickness you need.

[Rocknrod]

Alot of racers/unibody guys use aluminum...

Food for thought, if its even and the chassis doesnt flex then maybe solid might work? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[19Fordy]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gifJust measured the spacers on my 51 Merc convert. in the same location you pointed to. Merc and Lincoln frames are basically the same. The convert. spacers are steel not rubber like the sedans. Size is 1 1/2" dia x 7/8 inch tall with 3/8 hole drilled thru for the 5/16 in. dia body bolt.This may sound crazy, but you could use the rubber thrown off of truck recapped tires . Just cut out some pieces and glue them together for the thickness you need.Use GOOP Marine glue available in small tubes at Home Depot. It's bullet proof. They don't have to be round.

[C9]

[ QUOTE ]
C9,

Have you used this material for motor mounts? If so, what dimensions did you use?

[/ QUOTE ]


Yes.
I made some approx 2" diameter by 1" thick biscuits for the rear motor mounts on my 50 Plymouth.
The old ones deteriorated due to oil soaking.

One of the old ones had the rubber fall off of the metal components when removed, the other I cut off with a knife.
The neoprene biscuits were adapted to the original metal parts, but not bonded as the factory did.
Worked fine for a couple of years and were still doing ok when I sold the car.

The neoprene sheets are about the same durometer - hardness - as most motor mount rubber.

[enjenjo]

55 to 57 Chevy front engine mounts for a V8, Cheap, simple, fast,effective. What more can you ask.

[Dakota]

I always use Conveyor Belt material, got the Corded Center, Comes in multiple Thicknesses, is very firm, but gives, and they last forever.

[MercMan1951]

19Fordy:

This isn't a Lincoln chassis from the '50's...it's a 1988 Lincoln Town Car, so I am having to re-do some of the mounts, as I have either cut off the Lincoln ones, or have 1951 Mercury mount holes that don't line up to anything. I am using the entire floor of the Lincoln for the Merc, so that isn't a problem, but when I cut off about 6" of the '88 Lincoln's rear frame, I lost 2 of the rearmost trunk floor mounts. I need to re-create these, in order to properly support the ass end of my car.

I am also thinking ahead...the front core support will require some custom fabrication, and re-using the stock rubber Lincoln doughnuts will not work, they are rotted to hell.

Thanks to all that have contributed...I have more directions to go in than I thought I would! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Dirk35]

I used the rubber mats from the farm store that C9 is talking about for my 1949 F1 on the late model mercury marquis car frame.

Its called stall mat (they put them in stalls for pig farrowing(when the Sow pops out the babies). Same stuff a Wal Mart cashier stands on behind the cash register(but in solid sheet). Seems to be made out of recycled tires. Comes in a sheet 4'X8' and is about $40 a sheet. Cuts easily into strips with a circualr saw(skill saw). Then chop the strips into sections about 4" long and toss in the freezer. Once their good and frozen, they will have more density and will cut cleaner with a 2" hole saw, which will keep from gumming up the hole saw as bad and will make a much cleaner cut.

Now, place the rest of the mat on the floor in fromt of the work bench/mill/lathe/band saw, where ever you might stand and work for any amount of time.

Heres a little helpful info to get it all to line up properly:
When you make your mount bracket, you need to make the top part(the part youll weld to the car) then make the bottom part(the part youll weld to the frame. Put the biscuit in between the two brackets(still not attached to the car or the frame) and cinch the two peices together with the bolt youll use for it. This will compress the biscuit in between the mount brackets. Set the car(use wodden shims) to where its supposed to sit. Now take the two bracket peices and biscuit(all bolted together and squished down properly) and tack them in place on both the top bracket to the car, and the bottom bracket to the frame. Take the bolt out and the biscuit out. Weld it all up solid.

If you do it this way, it should eliminate the need for shims and future alignment as the biscuit compresses with time.

[Dirk35]

Oh yeah, C9 sent me this pic of his mounts(except he used high density plastic) about 3 years ago, but this is exactly how I made my cab mounts on my 49 using the stall mat from the farm store.

Thank C9 from this picture. Its really identical (using channel iron) to how I did mine using his idea.

[Mike]

Jerry made his body mount pads from an old semi-truck mud flap that he found on the side of the road on the way home from Muroc.

[MercMan1951]

Thanks Dirk35, for the very descriptive comments...

I have many directions to choose...but, which way to the farm store?

The closest one to me is about an hour an a half away! I'll look into mail ordering, I suppose...

Thanks again, everyone! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif