oil pan question

[chevyart]

harry : that is well said about not using too much rubber for a spacer. those mounts get alot of movements through them, and too much rubber would give too much movement. if someone found the right height with a big metal spacer and just the standard 3/4" rubber(with hooker mount) i woulod say to tack the metal spacer in just a few places. it wouldnt move and could always be removed if needed to be removed. too bad we have to go through all these crazy alterations to get a nice fit for the v-8s. i just cant see why GM didnt make the centerlink with a little more clearance. even monzas out of fsctory have minimum clearance, and that clearance decreases as the factory frame mounts begin to sag. art

[day2vega]

Don Hardy Mounts and a Monza oil pan clear the stock steering linkage and K-member with no bending of the pittmann arm.
Sanderson headers work well with the Hardy mounts also.
the Hooker/Transdapt mount kit requires a lot of firewall/trans tunnel reshaping with a BFH to get the trans in the right place so the oil pan will clear the drag link.
I see a lot of cars with spacers to drop the trans and raise the engine then the headers dont fit right for some reason.

Will the Hooker 2129 headers work with the Hardy mounts?

[chevyart]

i would have to say definitely not. they only work with the hooker front mounts because of where they are located down along engine. i believe the hooker 2135s may work with the hardy mounts.. don hardy headers would work(they are not made anymore) and the sandersons would be best bet to use because some of the members say that they clear all the obstacles very well. the 2129s are for masochists like myself who enjoys the pain of installing these pain in the neck headers. art

[day2vega]

Thanks Art
I will stay with my 70's Hooker headers and fight my way thru...

[astre75]

I wanna thank all you guys for your thoughts,I had a friend over last night and I think I have come up with a plan.I'm gonna get a couple of energy suspension polyurethane pads to put on top of the frame mounts,the spacers are 15/16 in height then I will have my engine shop friend weld in about an inch of steel on the under side of the motor plate then you wont have things stacked up to high and have a nice poly pad in there to keep it all solid but still have a bit of cushion,those rubber pads that are supplied with the hooker kit are to soft,they kinda sag and I think the poly is the answer.

[astre75]

I'm in total agreement with you harry dont wanna have any more than about an inch of spacer in between the frame mount and motor mount.so I think adding some metal on the underside of the motor plate is gonna be the right way to go and like art was saying tack the metal in there and your good to go.I'm thinking with my early front engine plate that is shown in previous pics I should use it to fab up some mounts off of cause it was a good height when I used it in the car before,it only required a 3/4 inch spacer under it to get the perfect oil pan clearance.it was cracked and it had been in the car since 77 so that is why I wanted to lose it and get the new mount setup.

[chevyart]

sounds like between myself, harry and astre 75 we have the front height of engine worked out(in theory). curious to see what happens to rear angle of engine and how the tranny bleehousing bolts clear the firewall if the motor is brought up to near level, and if using the 2129 headers, how much they will hit the lower control arms. im just so negative about the whole picture when using the hooker front mount, or any mount and getting centerlink clrearance and a fairley level engine, which is also very important., i had mentioned that with my new centerlink i get adequate clearance, but cant get engine level, but close enough for my satisfaction(2 1/2 degrees down in back). anything closer to level than that and the 2 tranny bolts on drivers side start hitting the firewall and the rear of tranny is up almost into driveshaft tunnell. i have a tight fit, but it works. i had also mentioned that my front mount is exactly where it is supposed to be according to the hooker(TD) mount instructions with just the one 3/4" rubber spacer. ill be curious to see how astre75, install works out and how close it gets to level with his alterations and altered heights we all learn from this process. art

[day2vega]

This is how I'm going to deal with the issue of the front mount being to low, instead of stacking a bunch of spacers to get the height, just make the platform to the correct height and leave room for a rubber mount...also looks like you could easily move your motor forward or back to find the correct location...

[chevyart]

dya 2 problem is that there is no room to go back or forward(firewall in rear and rad to fan clearance in front. going higher causes clearance issues and you cant go lower(hit centerlink).best solution but least likely to be done by our members is centerlink alteration. and secondly is to cut out firewall and move radiator more towards front. the last two ideas take alot of time and effort and probably shouldn't be done by average v-8 build. 1st choice is the no-brainer, but nobody seems to want to do it. you will see. there is no new, undiscovered solution. cneterlink is the area to wok on. good luck art

[day2vega]

Art, did you install the hooker mount as is, by this I mean did you install the mount with provided materials in the kit and let the motor sit low than modify the center link? I my last post was just a solution to get the motor close to height without stacking a bunch of rubber pads or whatever to get the height close...and modify from there...using the L shaped bracket or platform to desired height and location seams pretty straight forward, I will modify my Trans tunnel even if I have to cut it out and rebuild the tunnel for clearance of bell housing....the center link issue I'm still pondering....
Just see no reason to stack a bunch of crappy rubber or poly washers to get the height when you can just raise the platform
was my suggestion to astre....

[chevyart]

hey day 2. in my earlier posts i started off by saying i installed the frame mounts exactly as specified by hooker(or TD). pass side frame mount gets bolted in with the idler arms 2 bolts, level across with the hooker front mount and weld drivers side frame mount where it fits into place, and go back to pass. side and also weld that frame mount. from there , bolt the front mount to engine block with the 3/4" inch rubber spacers in place abn try and clear the centerlink. just doesnt happen according to plans. thats where ther guys start adding shims or raising up the 2 frame mount positions, or adding the metal shim to the bottom of the crossmember as discussed with fred and astre 75. yes, this does raise the FRONT of the engine up, but opens up another whole basg of clearance problems, especially with hooker 2129s around the front crossmember and lower control arm and probably with steering shaft and drive tunnel and inability to level the engine to a decent angle. using other headers may lessen some of the problems, but not all of them.. also starter motor clearance with 2129s around header, and a little cut is needed on frame with certain starters with square block on front of it. best bet is to try what you think is right and see for yourself. no easy cure, except the dropped centerlink. art