Thinking of making my own motor mounts for my 49 F1. I will be using a 460 and was wandering what others have done that worked or didn't work. Lets see what you got. Big block, small block, any block. Also, any suggestions on what to or not to do.
There are lots of mount kits available for less than the time wasted building your own. Check out the Paul Hortor Welder Series stuff and Kimbridge Enterprises among others. I'm old and remember how you had to fabricate everything to build a Hot Rod, the good thing about it was you learned how to weld and do simple machine work. Skills that have served me well for a lifetime.
buy a kit.... i made my own what a pain in the ass to get it perfect... you can buy the kit and mod it to fit your needs as well
Hi newbie, become an alliance member , go to welders supply ,Paul will set you up with your needs. get your discount and meet a hands on vender.
stock mounts that use a thrubolt that goes from front to back. put a pipe in the mount so the bolt goes thru it. Build whatever is needed to get from the frame to the pipe. If there is not a big crossmember on the frame near there yet, you should build one, so the frame does not spread apart from the weight.
any body can order a car, the fun part to me is making parts like motor mounts, just make sure that you make them strong enough,they don't have to look like they are built for a tank, make them strong enough
welder series doesnt make big block ford stuff yet, or ford trans stuff yet. look at their design then make your own.. Ive asked the last 6months..
Hi thendrix. Welcome to the hamb. Some "real good help", until Squirrel showed up. He always has good answers...is always willing to help. Squirrels tellin' you right to use a new original-style motor-mount as a start. A lot of guys build a solid mount...fine, but you'll get a little excess vibration through the car. The original mount has the rubber isolation-pad, and will keep you from rattling your teeth! Hahahaha! The stock you use to build your brackets with shouldn't be less than 3/16". You might even use 1/4" stock. As long as you weld them well, the heavier brackets will surely hold together for if you ever hammer the go-pedal...and I know you will! Use Squirrel's other suggestion of installing a crossmember exactly in-line with the mounts. As he said, it will strengthen the frame. It will also give you addition area to possibly attatch the brackets to. The type of stock you use is up to you. Round tubing, square tubing, angle is all fine, but some might look better than others. Most important is to make it strong. There's always the possability of using a stamped bracket from a vehicle that had a 460, and modify that, but they are usually big and ugly, and may interfere with your steering-box. I suggest that you do a search and look for examples. Set that engine in there with the trans attatched. Situate it exactly where you want it. Some things to look for...straight, level, clearance to firewall and radiator and steering, including exhaust, trans to floor, etc. Level carb mount surface. Try to get the crankshaft on the same angle as the input-shaft of differential. Angle finder helps. Once you get the engine situated, bolt or weld a base-plate to frame, then bridge from plate to motor-mount. You're a machinist, you can do this no problem. Good luck. You can buy a kit if you want, and save time. But doing it yourself is so much more rewarding. Good luck! - Rick
I made custom mounts for the 350 going into in my S-10 chassis swap: http://glennsplace.com/motor_and_tranny_mouts.htm Still gotta do some clean-up to make 'em pretty.
Still not a bad idea to look through the Welder series catalog www.welderseries.com for ideas and pieces that might help the process. Every time I look through the paper catalog that he sends along with parts you order I get more ideas on how to build something a lot better than I could figure out before.
my catologue is never far.. one in the garage and other in the house..handy when you think of something, thumb thru the book and see what would work then make it. for the 460 mounts, this would work but make your own motor plate http://www.welderseries.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_38&products_id=161
Thanks for all the input. It is still up in the air as to whether or not I will make them or buy them. The only thing with the kits is everybody and there damn brother goes that route. Now it may be smarter and easier, but I have access to a machine shop with CNC mills, lathes, grinders, and manual machines so I would like to see what I can come up with.
i made mine too since im a poor SOB, and have a machine shop in my garage (well, drill, grinder and a ruler ).... good luck
Thanks Ricky.... also thanks for pointing out that you need EVERYTHING in place before you make the mounts. Cab, radiator, exhaust, steering box/column/shaft, fan, at the bare minimum, so you'll be able to put the engine in the right place. It sucks to mount the engine then discover you can't put steering in the truck.
Get rid of everything in the engine compartment that your not going to use, then set the engine and tranny in place where you want it and start fabbing, keep it simple, tack it together, pull your motor or mounts back out and final weld, unless you can do it with the engine in, which I doubt because that 460 will take up some room unless the front clip is off.
Also check out speedwaymotors.com they have a F-1 kit to mount a 460 I believe. I think its under $100
If there is not a big crossmember on the frame near there yet, you should build one, so the frame does not spread apart from the weight. (Squirrel quote) Thanks Squirel,such a simple thing to forget that i forgot.Thank you for the reminder..................YG<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Get one of the original mounts, and work from there - a solid-mounted engine is gonna shake the steering wheel out of your hands. I've seen a few guys solid-mount their engines using welded forklift chain and old piston rods. (Piston rods work great for tailpipe hangers, too ... there's an old-school trick.)
Ya I a member over there and have learned alot from them. Its a great site, just not quite as active as this one.
DRIX...if you don't have a torch, and mig. welder. then get a good KIT, and don't worry about anybody can shit! you won't a safe hotrod FIRST!...POP.