I was wondeing about a couple different combos I have and which ones will work and which ones won't. Combo One- Front Mounts (on the front of block-'57 Engine with no sidemounts) and a tailshaft mounted 200R4. Will that be too much twist without a ceter mount the way the early small-blocks came? Could I make up muy own ceter mounts to limit the twist and be OK? Combo Two- Front mounts again and center mounts off the bellhousing of an early truck manual bellhousing and truck frame crossmember mounts connected to a T-5 with no tailshaft support. I know they ran the heavy original cast iron manual transmissions without tail support, can you do it with a T-5 or should you run a rear cross-member just to be safe?
I would not try combo 1. There would be too big of a span between the front and rear mounts. I think you would be subject to trans housing failure. There are some racecar center mounts that "catch" three holes, on each side of the engine. You might try looking at those. I think Jegs or Summit has them. If you use combo 2, I would run both the center mount and a crossmember. I don't think the original 3 speed iron trans was all that heavy. In my youth I could crawl under my '57 and change the trans by myself. I remember doing it on a regular basis!
the t-5 in mine came out of a s10 and has support braces bolted to the bellhousing and the center of the case, on the bottom. I have a 235 and use the factory side mounts, rear of the trans mount, no center mount. 1/2 course bolts bolt the trans to the bell. as long & heavy as a stovebolt is, you should be fine.
hey joto jim, my friend has a 56 chevy bel-air, he decided to put a turbo 350 in it without changing the engine mounts. had the rear ****** mount crossmember that cci sells, after driving it for about 3 months the bellhousing broke! it was nasty. tore up the radiator & driveshaft as well. and combo 2 i actually did about 3 years ago for a guy, hes driven it to vegas 2 years and is still his current daily driver, works well. its a 56 chevy truck
Any other thoughts on this. I was going to use a old Hurst front engine mount with my sbc and a Saginaw 4spd. Sounds like a problem. Then again why did they nake these mounts if they were no good for this setup? Were they just for the manual trannies?
the hurst mount is kind of a copy of the early Vette mount Trucks thru 72 had the ****** hanging in the breeze off the bellhousing, that includes the really heavy SM465 granny 4 speed, and all the other manuals they used in trucks. Combo 1 is not a good idea, although I've done it and got away with it for several years...with a big block/th400 even! but with solid front mounts on the front of the block. Combo 2 is fine, front block mounts/bellhousing mounts will be fine with a T5 hanging off the back of it. combo 1 could be made to work with the Cl***ic Chevy (now Ecklers I believe) "bolt in th350 mount kit" thing they sell.
I did combo #1 with a Hurst front mount and a standard tailshaft mount on a 307 sbc w/powerglide in a '27 T roadster. It worked fine for a year or so until we sold it without breaking anything, but I have heard that it can be a problem without the bellhousing mounts.
actually the hurst mount is not too bad when used with a single rear trans mount, but if you have a stock 55-57 chevy car front mount setup combined with only a rear trans mount, the engine will go every which way.
I was planning a Hurst front mount on rubber biscuts with a rubber mounted cross member saginaw 4spd trans mount. Sounds like that may still work OK.
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I think this kit would help, but they don't have any tech people in today. http://www.cl***icchevy.com/product.asp?pf_id=19-01&dept_id=1849
what about a powerglide? is it short enough to mount from the rear? I was planning on doing it in a 47 and using a hurst type mount across the front that was already in this car 20+ years ago on a 327. like mentioned above it has the little rubber biscuits on the ends.
On that link, the lower left. There is instructions in PDF format with pics. That should help, it can't be too hard to figure it out.
Man, that's exactly what I just got done fabbing up. Front SBC plate on bicsuits. Saginaw mount to the crossmember (yet to be fabbed). \
Jim, I had combo #1 in my '40 Ford coupe. The car was built in 1985 with a 327 4 speed combo (Bob Juliano owned it in this configuration and beat the **** out of it ) with a Hurst front mount and a home made tailshaft mount on the ****** . After the car p***ed thru a number of guys who all had their shot at breaking it,that combo was pulled and a 350 TH350 was installed with the front mount and a Pete& Jakes Tailshaft mount.I bought the car in 1994 that way,drove the **** out of it until 2002 putting about 5K miles a year on it.I sold it to a guy in Florida and lost track of it. Bottom line........ lots of things broke on this car over the years but not the motor or trans. I always heard that not having side supports was a no no,but this car was proff that it worked OK.
Jim that kit shown in the link is what my dad runs on his 55 Chevy. He has the front mounts, those side mounts and a rear crossmember for the trans (700R4) It works good, but is a little tight getting everything bolted up. I think going without the middle (bellhousing) mounts would be asking for trouble. Bill
I have done number 1 too but I have a bell housing mount If I had a digi cam I would post picture I have one just like a hurst mount going under trans an another on a five speed with ears welded to bellhousing with biscuts. It is a five point mount two in front two on bellhousing one on tail shaft.
front mount with rear trans mount will work and hold up if it is a cast iron bell and trans or a ****ter shield is used. if it is a cast aluminum factory bell it will cause high rpm shifting problems from the flex. you will end up with a much better set up with front mid tail mounts. it will help the ch***is and drive train. any thing can work and last but it is better to make it the strongest and safest it can be the first time them be stuck some where with the easy way out on inital build.
I've run a SBC and TH400 in my roadster for over 10 years with no problems with just a front Hurst type mount and rear trans mt. Light car, tall tires, 3:54 gear may help the stress on the bellhousing.
Jim I run the stock front mts and bellhouseing mts on my 55 chevy I also run a T-5 from a camaro without a rear mt. I have run this combination for about 10 yrs without a problem. My car is also tubbbed and runs mickey thompson sportsman tires. I also have a small supercharger so the combination is pretty durable. Carlg
Isn't that nice rickyracer.A lot of people have forgotten about this products.speed way also has a trans mount but is a little different.
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