55 chevy motor side mounts and 4 speed

I really want to do a 55, 56 chevy g***er style. I know the old easy was to run the front mounts, use a V8 bellhousing. But what if the car has been set up for side motormounts? do I use the or look for a 55 V8 bell housing still? Or use a later bellhousing and trans mount/cross memeber for the 4speed? I have a M21 but I dont have my project car just yet. thanks.

 

Use a later bell and a rear trans mount................

 

Use the later mounts, they will hold it better. The 58 and later parts will be easier to find.

 

what about Lakewood ****ter shield I think you can get em.

 

old stuff for the 55,s are hard to find,,, use a later style with trans crossmenber, but its up to you..

 

Yeah, they're still available. I think Summit has em for around 350.00 As already said, you're better off going the side mount with the crossmember. I have the same setup in my 55 with the M-22 and putting in the Lakewood shield when I do the engine swap

 

anyone have pics of theirs set up?

 

My car has ****ter shield ,4sp.,Front mounts, with never a problem.Even when I grab a whole hand full of 2nd gear hehe...

 

those 55's are looking nice in your signature. I've been trying to get this guy to let up on one of his while they just sit and rot away

 

The stock type 55 front and rear bellhousing side mounts will work just fine if that's what's there. I vaguely remember the Lakewood ****ter bells having flats on them for the stock type mounts (I ran this setup with a Muncie 4 speed in a 55 Nomad in 71-72).
That said, if you are starting from scratch on the mounts, whether or not you plan on running a straight axle (mine had the undropped axle, semi elliptic kit that was common back in the late 60s early 70s that had rectangular tube rails and round tube crossmember welded on to a stock frame that was chopped off just in front of the steering box), it would be just as easy to run a rear crossmember/motor mount and add frame brackets for engine side mounts.

Get the car first and see what you've. Easy do either way, and especially if you are on a budget, the car or the parts you come up with could pretty much dictate which way to go.

If you're really going to race it, though, delving into a current rule book to see what's required should be your first step before making any decisions about what you buy or how you construct it.

 

If you use the Lakewood shield it is necessary to use adapters to bolt the stock motor mounts to the bell housing. The flat spot is at a different angle and the hole spacing is different. the adapters are availible from Lakewood and you can get them thru Summit or Jegs. I had to do this when I put a four speed in my 57 Chevy delievery.

 

Just go to the swap meet and find an old Lakewood bellhousign with the 55-57 mount tabs welded on.

 

always had a problem with breaking the rotor with the stock tri-5 mounts.. if you get on it a little too hard.. the distributor bumps the firewall and .. ****... your walking..

 

What pictures do you want?

I've got tons of pics, and I'd be glad to share them. But there really isn't much to see. The trans mount looks like any other trans mount. The nice thing about a tri-five is that you can buy this stuff off the shelf someplace or you can fab it if you have the know how.

An off the shelf trans mount should be fine, if you go that route. I'd suggest fabricating the side mounts if you can. Many trifive guys (myself included) had slight fitment issues with store bought mounts.

FYI - the rubber bellhousing mounts are not made like they used to be. If you plan to run your car hard the stock type rubber mounts won't hold up. Ditto that for the front mounts.

Check out trifive.com

I've got some more pics in my HAMB photo album too.

EDIT: I used a McLeod ****tershield when I built my set up. I used the trifive version with provisions for stock type mounts. I figured it might come in handy if you wanted to correctly position the engine in the car.

Another reason to ditch the bellhousing mounts: If you keep them, you need headers that go low enough to p*** underneath the bellhousing mounts. If you convert to side engine mounts, you will have more ground clearance with the right headers.

 

that looks like the same mount or aftermarket trans member as the automatic one? Am I correct?
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If you decide to not run the stock style mounts make sure to mock up the engine in the ch***is to check the fitment of the Z bar. If you dont get it right you are in for issues. You could cut the ball pivot off of the frame but it will just be easier if you get it in the stock location.

 

It's a modified aftermarket trans mount. You can use a trans mount out of an early Camaro if you want to use a stock one. It's the right width for a trifive from what I have heard - but I would think one of those would cost more than an aftermarket mount. A mount like that won't help with header clearance by itself because it's too far back. If you combine that mount with getting rid of the frame horns for the stock bellhousing mounts... that will improve ground clearance with the right header choice.

 

You can use an old "hurst" front mount and speedway sell the cross member mounts(which are bolt in and the for style rubbers) that ties it up @ 4 solid points...then if you want you can add a cross @ the tail shaft too!