Solid mounting a hot rod motor. The good and bad.

It's not a big deal if you know up front it's gonna shake and rattle. Just bolt check everything on a regular basis, just like you would a racecar. Build your motor mounts strong because they are going to take a beating.

Kevin
Ooltewah Speed shop
www.kevkographics.com

 

I am a self confirmed hard core knuckle dragger...but I still rubber mount all my street cars.

Race car, solid. Street car, stick some rubber in there somewhere.

-Abone.

PS. You got any PICS of this supposed hot rod????

 

have mounted motors in street cars and race cars both ways solid and rubber mounts,the cars that had a decent powerplant tore the rubber mounts in no time,the solid mounted one never had a problem.

 

While we are on the subject, Has any one run solid motor mounts and mounted there alt, compressors ect. to the frame? I have mounted mine this way but havent run the car yet.

 

remember the old days when batteries had caps? I had solid mounts in my pickup, big block, I was 17....anyways, it spattered battery acid all over the engine compartment, slowly over time, and turned the nice used chrome valve covers into a pitted mess....

 

sure would like to see some pic's of this!

 

my old pro street camaro was solid mounted. i never noticed too much of a difference. my coupe is going to be solid also.

 

I had a T-Bucket years back that had engine and trans, solid mounted with the Alternater
mounted down low on the frame. I never threw a belt and didn't care about vibration.

 

I've run a couple of cars with solid mounts and all was fine. Nothing weird, no vibration issues.

 

I like the idea of the trans and torque tube being open inside the ****pit. With the floor pan being under the trans and bellhousing. I think if the engine was all balanced at the machine shop before ***embly, the engine would run very smooth without vibration. My Pontiac 389 which is balanced, runs so smooth, a coin on the air cleaner stays put where it is placed, ever with reving the engine. A race balanced engine wouldn't loosen bolts or break welds, if solid motor mounts were used. Just my thought on the subject.

 

I ran my 68 Chevelle in High School solid mounted engine and trans w/ solid mounted alt. to the frame and never had a problem...never killed any of the bearings in the alt,......Most everything I have built has been solid mounted engine and trans......except for my Divco Milk Truck.........Littleman....matter of fact my solid moroso mounts in my Model A Pickup are from my Chevelle from High School.....

 

if you dont mind some vibrations then i say go for it. the 51 is the only one i have ever had that has rubber mounts in it. not that big of a difference.

 

My old Chevelle had solid mounts, I never had any problems. It's the only car I've ever sold that I want back. The new owner called me about a year and a half after buying it from me and said it was ready for paint............................he was going with orange W/silver SS stripes. I almost puked.

 

I've got solid mounts in my '51 Ford...It just doesn't seem to be a big deal, although I may put some rubber in there just to see what it's like.

Then again, maybe that's part of the reason it rattles like a mofo!
;-)

 

mounting your engine solid is OK just use grade 5 bolts..... the real hard bolts will sheer off . It's the ****s to run over your own motor at highway speeds.

 

Everything is so rough and uncomfortable drivivng a hot rod around NYC, I never noticed a difference either way.

 

I had the top half of my T windsheild come out and smacked me at about 40 mph. Freaked Me out. And hurt.

 

LIttle Brothers drag race Henry J has solid mounts.

At low rpms, probably about where you'd want to be for cruising a city street at 25-35 mph the panels and other things sing and vibrate.

I think that would drive you nuts after a while.

Seems too that you'd be puking off nuts and bolts with regularity.
Pretty much what my old BSA 500cc Alloy Clipper did.

At least it did till I started using Gorilla Snot.

One good thing though, I got to know the guys at the bolt store pretty good....

 

Hold on here...
Speed, THEN Aesthetics, comfort, some other stuff. You building a hot rod or a custom here?
Anyway, I agree that comfort is not the primary goal of a hot rod. But if a little extra work will make it more comfortable, why wouldn't you do it?

 

The Fly is solid mounted. The motor, ****** and the rear end. It makes for a stiff ride. I wouldn't suggest it on anything other than a purpose built drag car. Just my opinion.

 

Although the purpose of a Hotrod is to go fast and make lots of noise, you can have comfort too. When I did the last frame off on my coupe I decided to cut out the rusted and patched floorboard and start over from scratch. With the floor out of the car I positioned the seat on blocks from the garage floor so I could sit in the car and get the seat in the most comfortable position possible. I repositioned the steering column in the process. After I was sure I had everything where I wanted it I built the bracing for the floorboard to support the seat then built and installed the new floor. If I had used a replacement pan I wouldnt have been able to do this and get the leg room I wanted. Its the most comfortable car I have now.

I also have a mid-engine vair that I mounted the engine solid in. I did this to help keep the rear suspension geometry from being effected by movement of the engine under torque since the engine, ******, and diff are all bolted together as one unit. Havent had any problems because of it.

 

In my opinion using solid engine mounts on a street driven car or truck sounds exactly what a guy building a rat rod would do. HRP

 

here's another thing to consider for the solid mounts. i was going to run some in my olds since the 461 really rocks in those rubber mounts but while talking to terry fritsch (guy who designed my cam, multiple olds and drag record holder) he told me it's a bad idea for longevity. the reason is that it puts a ton of stress on the sides of the engine and can actually distort the mains, causing excessive bearing wear. makes perfect sense to me and since i'm going to drive my car every day, i'll be adding a torque strap in lieu of the solid mounts.

 

I think it depends a lot on the vehicle and engine. There's a guy that runs around here in a 67? cuda with a downright rowdy 2x4 tunnel rammed 340 that's solid mounted and he says it's a little rougher, but tolerable. He said he has to tighten up all the interior trim screws every few weeks.

 

As anything I build is going to be raced and for quite a few years there be my daily, there are two things I have always done with them, solid motor mount on the drivers side, and the regular or padded on the p***enger side. Hits hard, not all spongy. NO vibration issues. Any vibration or ride concerns I had were from the lowering of these vehicles to get the stance.

The other is a solid adjustable rod from the accelerator pedal to the carb linkage. Which I am doing today

Immediate gratification and consistency.

Side note: I have never had screws or fasteners backing out due to vibration, but then I am a firm believer in Loc***e©

 

If your hotrod never see's a DragStrip on a regular basis then theirs really no need for them on a street car.....Solid mounting really is for a race oriented type of vehicle in most cases.........its not a StreetRodder thing at all.......I have always raced my stuff...and when I am in my 40's-50's-60's-70's-80's-and I hope to be racing my stuff in my 90's if allowed....Is like that old saying''If its too loud your too old''........I do not want that to be me.....just build to your application be it a Strip only or street/strip car or street only car or a car with A/C and all them creature comforts....Littleman...theirs alway's pros and cons to everything.......

 

What if your motor makes to much power for rubber mounts? My motor would destroy rubber mounts. Like Littleman said its all about intended purpose. My car will see alot of abuse at the dragstrip but I also want to drive it on the street. I dont consider that a rat rod.
Mat

 

"Littleman....matter of fact my solid moroso mounts in my Model A Pickup are from my Chevelle from High School....."


I ran those same mounts in my high school Chevelle after breaking the others. Never really noticed a difference.

 

Mat,,,I have always used the biscut type of motor mounts and have also done my fair share of drag racing and white line chasin',,,

I have never destroyed or had a problem with this type motor mount,,,

It's your car ,,HRP