I've had my engine sitting in the car, bolted down and finally getting dressed, when I noticed that the exhaust is sitting MIGHTY close to the a-arms. Not a nice finger width close, but more like a scary "I can see daylight" close. What's a good rule of thumb on this? What's SAFE for me to be running? Obviously the pile has little to no suspension up front. Can I lift my engine up EVER SO SLIGHTLY and shim the engine mount? Maybe cut a plate of steel out and shim it where the mount bolts to the cross member? Or would the increase in height wear out the trans mounts and cause me heartache with the pitch being changed?? Who's got an idea?
If you shim the mounts , do you have room to shim the trans mount also? if you can do it would help the thans/driveshaft angle.
Nooooo I don't think so. They're funky lil dog ears that bolt from the cross member to the top of the bellhousing. There was barely enough room for the trans and bell housing that BELONG there. It's a REALLY solid and seemingly unforgiving setup..........
Is that your a arm its hitting in the pic ? If so that will move up even farther when you hit bumps and thats gonna be a major problem
Yah that's the a-arm. I know the front end's been lowered, but I think it's starting to sag since I bought it, causing the gap to narrow between the two. What if I put spacers back into my coil springs? Give a lil height back to the car?
I think i would get new springs and reset the ride hight so it wont bash your engine the old springs are probably shot . Was that motor mount broken on that side when you took the engine out ?
Of course it wasn't broke.............it's a front mount. That Pontiac has a mount dead center of the engine and two dog ears on the bellhousing. Think opposite of a Chevy or Ford.
I've been flubbercating alt brackets from things I have laying around. It's SUPPOSED to use that nifty bolt that's makin love to my a-arm as an anchor. So I'm trying to front mount it and eliminate that fiasco. If I put in new springs, will it raise the car/crossmember and leave the a-arms? It's got VERY little travel when I stand on the bumper and do my best tarzan impression.
So if you shim up the front of the engine, it will drop the back of the trans, right? Since the trans mount is on the bellhousing, it will have a opposite effect on the end of the trans. Didn't you transplant a different motor in here? Is that the same exhaust that was on there before?
The fan belt appears to have a bend where it joins the fan pulley, especially in the first picture. Looks like both the angle and the alignment of the alternator is wrong with the alternator being to far forward as well as at the wrong angle. Can't see the mount. If the belt doesn't come off while running it will wear on the front edge and eventually break.
I dunno how it will affect the pitch on the trans if I shim it. My brain's on fire with a ragin headache so I figured someone smarter then your's truly will hold my hand and pet me softly. I did put a different engine............but it's SUPPOSED to be the identical block, just different inches. Unless I only heard what I wanted to? The exhaust is identical to the ones I removed, except the *duh drew a blank* ports are larger.
I think the alt needs to come up in the rear. Like the alt pulley is staring at the ceiling and if I could just lift it up in the rear, it might sit level and at a good angle? When I lift up in the rear on it and push forward, it seems *in my goofy mind* to be level and lines up. Should I shim the tensioner bracket? I screwed around with it for hours and it seemed like it wasn't flush with the block.
If you shim one mount, it will pivot at the other mount. I just dont know exacly how the mounts are set up, never played with Ponchos. Almost, but you know that story. Good luck, try to move the motor and trans up together.
Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhh too many times have I heard that "I ALMOST" story from you. It's tighter then a nats ass between the bellhousing/trans and the car.........like I smashed a whole bucket of fingers trying not to redesign my tunnel when I put that engine in.
does the new engine weigh more then the old one ? if so thats why it dropped the springs lower and i think you need to get new springs and lower the car again to match the new weight of the motor .But then again what do i know iam sure some pros at lowering cars will help ya out on here
In my ever so infinite wisdom, I'd say No! That engine weighs the same.............but I'mma guess and say I think so. Would new COILS or just the new gas shocks work? It's been lowered but sits higher then my stock 58 Chevy? It also sits higher then my never molested 55 Star Chief. Ack!
Shocks dont suport the car they just keep it from bouncing ( boing boing ) the spings suport the weight .What was the old engine and what is the new one ?
There is NO boing boing to that stupid pile. I went from a 287 poncho to a 389 poncho out of a 60 Safari wagoon.
Hey T, you wanna go *BOING BOING* for me? I mean, it's only fair that something goes BOING as that shit heap bottoms out over every pothole in this great state.
Consider a few possible techniques concerning the manifold clearance: 1. Can you spot face the bolt hole so the bolt head moves closer to the cylinder head? Looks like .125 would be enough to give you some clearance. 2. Have you considered taking a die grinder to the lip of the A-arm? Don't do major surgery, but an eighth inch from the lip in the areas of interference would give you some room. 3. How about different hardware? If you can find a bolt that has a smaller hex head, it might give you a little clearance. I don't think this is an insurmountable problem, just an opportunity to show a little creative problem solving. The total amount of clearance that you need is only a quarter inch or so. A little here, a little there, and pretty soon...... Concerning the alternator, it is hard to tell from the pictures, but it sure looks like it is leaning back at the top to me. Stay on it, you'll get there.
Cant boing with another, the new one is coming in 29 days...........he is the one that hot rodders have been waiting for for decades.................gearheads unite!
Is there a spacer behind the pivot bolt on the alternator that can be shortened? Might be what puts it in it's place.
Dear Ms. Headache, Take two asprin and look at it in the morning. You'll figure it out. I KNOW you're capable. As has been said on here - you can get creative and sneak up on it a 1/16" at a time, until it's perfect. It'll probably happen faster than a cat can lick his ass with his tongue out and his tail up. Then you can move on to the next challenge. Enjoy...
No but I was thinking of putting a thin one there to see if it would give me the surface I need for a level alt. I hate the bottom bracket, it's UGLY as sin and completely veiwable....so the whole setup is certainly trashable.
I thought about going with a smaller head on the exhaust bolt and maybe grinding down on the a-arm and even exhaust. Those rams horns are pretty thick walled so I thought about skimming some of the fat down on both objects until I can get new coils in.............because we ALL know that cutting/heating coils is gunna be a problem eventually.
I was thinking more of a Driving Ms. Daisy kinda boing. Ya know where you sit in the back and go Boing Boing whilst I drive and pretend to care. MUCHO excited about the new babes...........tell me when he arrives, I've got killer baby gear for him. Thank you Scotty...I knew you'd say something witty and positive.
Good picture. You will need some modifications of the alternator bracket before it will work. Shortening the thick spacer that the bolt goes through will move the alt back, which is part of the problem. The main problem with getting it square is there is nothing pressing the rear fork of the alt bracket against the spacer that pushes onto the block. What is needed is a solid cylinder of metal, with a hole that the bolt will go through, that will just fit between the inside of the two forks on the alt bracket. This will press the rear fork against the block spacer. A piece of steel water pipe or similar will work, just make sure the ends are square. If the pipe is smaller than the hole in the rear fork use a steel washer as a spacer. If all else fails, leave it and start again tomorrow.
You can try these spacers from Speedway first. They will raise the car for less cost than new springs. You may have very little travel because the a-arm won't move, it's already hitting the bolt?
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