Engine location Advice

I need some advice on where exactly to locate my engine. 1939 Ford standard coupe, Heidts mustang II front suspension, Flaming River manual rack.

Engine, big block chevy/muncie 4 speed out of a 65 vette. I was planning on locating it a little high for clearance, but my main concern is where front to back should I locate it.

Since its a 4 speed car, I need to also be thinking about where the shifter will locate. Dont want to get too far back to save interference from the seat.

Firewall is not a concern, got that covered. Is there a rule of thumb where the engine should be in relation to the front axle center line? Will handling suffer if the engine is too far over the axle center line?

thanks,
Any help would be appreciated.

 

Move your engine too far forward and it will be a real pig. I try and get as much of my engine behind the axle centerline as possible. Sometimes that is determined by packaging constraints.

 

Regardless of if you have the firewall thing covered, it is still best to have the body in place and some front end sheetmetal available so you can slip it on. Your main concern will be radiator to front pulley clearance so you have room for either a mechanical or electric fan.

I can't imagine any way to get an engine correctly positioned without putting the body on and seeing what obstacles I am facing. The other thing that you mentioned is the shifter location, and that is important too, as well as where your throwout arm sits in relation to the firewall and frame. It is very important to have the major components like the radiator you will be using on hand so you get an accurate positioning.

Doing it as a bare frame is possible, but risky IMO.

Don

 

Don, I agree. I plan on putting the body on and some front sheet metal before I make my decision. Dont have the radiator yet though. I was just mainly concerned with any no-no's as far as how far forward I can go over the front axle center. Like, do I stop at the balancer, or can I go forward more.

thanks for your input!

 

Here is a few pics of my 392 hemi in my 40 ford in relation to the front rack and cross member and also center section for tranny mount for my 400 turbo. There is about five inches of clearence from fan pully to radiator also. I also had to put pockets in the inner fenders for valve cover clearence.

 

I always thought that the closer to center of the car and the lower in the car the better it would handle.

 

The radiator location in them are fixed, so start at the radiator and work backwards to the motormounts. It will be a tight fit, i'd select the tightest pully package and allow for mechanical fan - i like the walker radiator with thier shroud. You retaining the vented inner panels? You have to plan ahead because those cars are hateful the way the sheetmetal is daisy-chained together and once you commit to something you won't have many options.

 

I agree with oj - radiator backwards but height is also an issue so you don't have it so high the trans tunnel will be huge, nor so low that the sump pan is scraping the pavement.
If you can find another one to copy, but I guess that's the unasked question you are hoping for an answer to.................??
Good luck and show us some more pics of the build please.