Hi, I have a 30 Ford coupe and I'm putting a bbc 396 and Muncie 4 speed in it. I'd like to see pic.s of motors at what height that they were installed. Bass looks like he mounted his motor(base of block ) at about 3" above the frame. Is this common? Tindall mounted his a 409 little above the frame 2 or so" and he said he had clutch problems I guess maybe the linkage would be the issue. I would like to mount mine at about 2 1/2" to 3"( base of block) above the frame. It looks good. So any help would be appreciated. Thanks Ben
Don't get too freaked out about inches....just remember that the oil pan is the lowest point on the engine. Try to mount the engine so the pan doesn't get ripped off turning into your local quickie mart. Too low is bad, but too high usually is no big deal at all. Good luck, -Abone.
I like the higher engine look. I see so many that have the engine so low in the compartment that there is a foot of body above the engine. Looks to me like they forgot to put something in there.
Agreed...but then again is the issue of a trans hump and its impact on foot room if you go too high! I know of an A with a SBC that's mounted low enough that there's no hump...but it runs a tunnel ram and by mounting low the carbs are able to clear the hood. Still looks a tiny bit odd to me though. With a normal intake I'd absolutely run it a touch on the high side to gain extra clearance and to take advantage of the full engine compartment look it would have. A small hump in the floor wouldn't bother me at all.
A lot of T-buckets I have seen have the pan rail even with the frame. My Model T roadster with a 2.3l Ford 4 banger is currently mocked with the pan rail even with the top of the frame rail. Once I lay the body on the chassis and figure out how much I am going to channel it I will make the engine mounts so the motor is just below the hood (1-2 inches clearence) my highest point is my cam cover yours is obvisouly air cleaner.
A lot has changed in my opinion of engine height. Where my engine is now worked out pretty good. The Clutch linkage was solved but more importantly the outlet of the water pump was up high enough. With the engine high i was able to run a 15" fan and the fan was positioned pretty well near the center of the radiator. The outlet of the water pump in relation to the lower outlet on your radiator will play a big role in where you set your engine...If you have any more questions or need a clarification do not hesitate to ask, or if you need certain pictures just ask. Matt Tindall
Here are two pictures of my '30 Model A. I went with the low mount for a couple of reasons. First is the weight; the motor is pretty much the heavyist part of the front end so I wanted to keep it low for handling purposes. I'm running two Ford 94 carbs on a Fenton intake so with the air cleaner on it looks right to me. I don't like the high engine look. It's fine if you're building an art car and want it to look like a cartoon, but if you want it to be drivable and you're like me and chop the top you are already limiting your field of view; you don't need to further reduce it by adding a BBC in front of you. The only downside is that I have 3.5" of ground clearance at the oil pan. It's not really a problem if you stay aware of it. I don't drive through parking lots with speed bumps. It's really not that big a deal, heck I drove it to work today and I probably drive it 3 or 4 times a week.
Thanks guys. I forgot to mention that it's going on a 32 frame. The fan issue might not be a problem because I'll be running an elec. fan. Also sprint car style headers which should give me a little extra room to work with. Again thanks Ben
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