1973 Vega

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1973 Vega

Postby DBurns1 » Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:58 pm

I have a '73 Vega, I am dropping in a V8 with a transdap motor mount kit also have installed the Moroso Vega oil pan. I am having trouble with the steering and the cross member clearing the oil pan. The motor doesn't seem to sit back far enough to clear the cross member. As far as the motor mounts, even if I put two rubber pads on top of the motor mount to get the motor as high as possible the passenger side steering linkage hits the side of the pan.
I am also using the four speed trani. This has moved the trani back a few inches. I am looking for a cross member I could use to make this thing work, or determine if I need to modify the original as well as the shifter, relocate or buy an after market one? If anyone has run into these problems or has ideas repy. I can also be reached by phone, 661-201-1195. Thanks!

Darrin
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Re: 1973 Vega

Postby 73astregt » Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:44 pm

i had to put an extra piece of plate steel with the rubbers on top of the mount to get clearance for the centerlink and i used a moog replacement inner tie rod( right side) that has the grease nipple in the back cover instead of the side to clear my moroso pan. for the alt i modified this march bracket ( http://www.jegs.com/i/March-Performance ... ProductId= ) by cutting out the center cross brace and oblonging the hole in the back side to allow the bracket to use the inner lower hole in the front of the head wich allowed the bracket to lay more horizontal instead of having that downward slant. for the adjustor arm i used an old school chrome arm at the time to make up for the extra length needed to adjust the belt tension. i am going to lengthen the adjuster arm that came with the bracket as i finally found a piece of stainless to match it. you can get that bracket for either the driver side or the passenger side (different part number) depending on your setup. ive seen where a couple guys tried welding a tube for a bracket on the engine mount but i couldent say how that worked out. my setup with the old school arm on it has been on the car since 06 and has never thrown a belt yet. good luck! p.s. watch what you get for valve covers dont go too high even with my setup i still could not clear the edelbrock elite series ones. use a short water pump as well. here are a few pics of the bracket, some are a bit dark.
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1973 Pontiac Astre GT

Re: 1973 Vega

Postby 73astregt » Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:04 am

couple more,
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1973 Pontiac Astre GT

Re: 1973 Vega

Postby DBurns1 » Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:47 pm

Thanks a lot for the info. That really helps! I wasn't able to see from the pictures the rubber pads for the motor mounts. Were you able to use one on the bottom and one on the top with a steel plate? It hardly clears with 2 rubber pads on the bottom. Also, the cross member, did you have to modify your cross member at all, or remove it? Thanks again!

Darrin
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Re: 1973 Vega

Postby 73astregt » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:37 pm

the rubbers and the plate i made all went together in between the engine mount and the frame bracket, that gave me 1/4 inch or so of clearance for the center link wasnt much but it was enough. i run a t5 trans in my car so a custom crossmember was needed. the crossmember was actually built when i had a th350 in the car but we had to mod the trans mount on it for the angled one on the t5. ill post you a link to my journal there are some pics there, not the best but youll see what we did. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=26282 pg 1 in the journal shows the trans crossmember with the th350 and on pg 2 there is a pic with the t5 trans.
73 astre gt 355 small block 435 hp 435 torque edelbrock performer rpm power package
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1973 Pontiac Astre GT

Re: 1973 Vega

Postby DBurns1 » Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:57 am

Thanks for the link! I have one more question for you. Did you have any problems with the oil pan clearing the front cross member?
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Re: 1973 Vega

Postby 73astregt » Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:56 am

no my pan cleared fine. as said i have the moroso 6 qt pan made for a vega.
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1973 Pontiac Astre GT

Re: 1973 Vega

Postby DBurns1 » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:31 pm

Thanks man. Appreciate the help!
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