Engine placement?

What are some things I should know before I permanently bolt down my motor,besides looking for clearence issues? What angle should the motor sit at? Is it possible to mount a motor to far forward or to far back? As you can probably tell I'm a newbie at this, so be gentle,lmao. Thanks for the help. later shawn

 

I,ve always heard that you need to try to keep the carb flange on the intake manifold level. I have a T modified thats a few degrees from being level and it seems to run just fine.

 

well..wouldnt where you place to the engine(to far forward or back) affect the suspension, or how it handles? Ive seen people place the engine back into the firewall and everything to get it to handle a lot better..so definitly look into it before you mount
good luck
jimmy

 

you need to have the carb flange level for the most part, the main reason is for the drive shaft angle coming out of the trans, when the carb flange is level the output shaft is roughly 3 degrees down. if you have this to far out of whack you'll have driveshaft viberations and u-joint problems. front to back wise, i think you want it as far behind the front suspension as possible for handling purposses. but you also need room to clear the firewall and the radiator, so somwhere right in between is the sweet spot

 

engine is mounted with tail down about 3 degree angle (and rear end up 3 degrees). placement is primarily determined by radiator clearance in the front. if you have addl. clearance for firewall, you can set it back some for better weight distribution. if you're building a drag car or don't care about firewall or interior space, you can move it back about as far as you want.

 

I've heard the rule of thumb is 3-4 degrees tail down on the engine and 3 up on the trans just like 392 hemi states. You also might want to check side to side clearance because of the steering steering box, you might have issues. I have mine at a slight offset but I still need to move over a touch.

 

If you are swapping engine and transmission, consider the transmission crossmember and mount of the old and new trannies. I replaced a Japanese trans and engine with a C4 and V6. The trannies were about the same dimensions with the mount only being 1/4" off on the C4. It made sense to use the existing crossmember and drill new holes for C4. The V6 then was bolted up and mounts fabricated. Checked the carb level and pretty close. Driveline angles weren't critical (but were fine) due to 2 piece driveshaft, which of course the front driveshaft is pretty much level too.

 

just make sure the carb mounting is level both front to back side to side and you will be fine. many factory vehicles have offset motors for clearance reasons. i hear mopars are offset towards the passenger side 2"?

 

brianangus has a terrific tech post on this topic
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225636&highlight=anything+motor

 

Thanks guy's for the tips and the link. One of my concerns was how far forward or back I could move the engine without causing issues in the handling department.

One other thing I have a question about would be the x frame that is in the car. The trans fits fits in there with plenty of room but the front part of the x frame will be in the way when go to build the trans mount. If your familiar with mopar trans mounts I'm using the factory piece thats bolts to the metal frame work that is welded to the floor of all unibody body mopars. The plan is to come off the 40's frame with short pieces of square tubing and bolting in the that trans mount to them, that way I wont have to unbolt the whole trans mount from the frame if it was solid, just pull 4 bolts out and drop the trans down. I'm trying to use as much factory parts as I can to make it easier to fix if I have any problems. Is it possible to cut out the front part of the x frame without causing any kind of headaches? I figure with the newer mount being in there it should be just as good as the front part of the x frame. Thanks again, later shawn