motor restraint?

[6t7gto]

how do you guys chain, restrain, tie down your motors.
70 lemans, hoping for the 12's.
and i don't want to break a motor mount.
any pics?
thanks,
david

[6t7gto]

how do you guys chain, restrain, tie down your motors.
70 lemans, hoping for the 12's.
and i don't want to break a motor mount.
any pics?
thanks,
david

[Mr. P-Body]

Indian Adventures sells a nice set of solid mounts for the A-body. A pair of "plates" that tie the frame to the front of the heads is also a very popular method. Chains and cables are from the '60s...

[ventura7211]

All pontiac.com front plate, TCI midplate is what I'm goin with.

[bmpmdf]

My Vega and 69 Firebird are front and mid plate cars now. I got tired of halfway done jobs.

[6t7gto]

i looked into the front and mid plates.
don't you get a lot of vibration from this kind of setup?

[ventura7211]

Depends on what the primary use of your car is, if its mainly strip action then plate it. Street/strip solid mounts and maybe a torque strap, street stock mounts and maybe a torque strap.

[6t7gto]

thanks for the replies.
i think i'll go with the plates and be sure.
david

[Jim Hand]

67GTO,
We modified a stock mount to provide a positive stop while retaining rubber cushioning for normal driving. It has worked perfectly for over 10 years on my wagon. It takes a bit of work and welding but that is what hot rodding is about.

This information is courtesy High Performance Pontiac, August, 1993, and my son Joe Hand. The hardened rod (referenced in the article) we used was a section of an engine mounting bolt.

Jim Hand

[larry davis]

Jim's "limiter" is nice and (as with all his stuff) very methodical.
I use a threaded tensioner assembly. Turnbuckle and two hiem ends that have a bracket welded to the passengers side subframe. Use a mount plate that bolts to the three holes in the end of my E-heads. Allows me to preload the engine to a degree.
I would take some pics but the cars all taped/masked up for painting.

[Schoust]

Who sells a torque strap for a first gen Firebird??

[455firebird1969]

Schoust, Someone sells a solid motor mount for the first generation Firebirds, I think it is Indian Adventures? but, I am not sure. The first generation motor mounts have a built in mechanical stop similar to what Jim Hand posted. When you buy motot mounts take them out of the box and ensure you are buying the good ones, because the cheap ones do not have this feature. See it in my pic below.
Note: it is covered in rubber.

[lugnutt]

Does anyone make a solid mount for the first generation firebirds?

[6567GTO]

Great idea Jim. Thanks for posting the article.

[Jim Hand]

Although the article does not mention it, it will be necessary to heat and bend the tab on the motor mount to allow space for the hardened rod. And the .030" clearance figure is very nominal.

The real advantage of this setup is that we have the positive retaining of the engine under full load, but it does not transfer the roughness and noise into the cabin as does any kind of solid mount. That is not a problem with a race car, but is quite important with a quiet muffled car that will be driven on the street. I tried solid straps, chains, and cables before Joe came up with this idea. And the original mount has now been in service for about 13 years and thousands of dragstrip runs.

Jim Hand

[Jim Hand]

Here is a photo of the modified mount in place. The location and black paint makes it a bit difficult to get an ideal photo. But notice the shiny spot where the added rod has contacted the solid part of the mount (under full acceleration).

[ErikW]

Also, if you go with a mid plate you may have to modify some header tubes to clear the plate. I would go with Hand's mod if you are driving on the street.

Erik

[Brian '74]

Here is Jim's pic that I lightened up to show more detail:

[issach428]

thanks for posting this modification, I drive my car on the street alot and couldnt bring myself to puting solid mounts on it. Thanks again Jim

[Schoust]

69 455,I have already purchased a set of urathane engine mounts from energy suspention,will these mounts do the job?I still have the originals and they look Ok but I was figuring the urathane was the way to go?? The car is a stick and I am worried about a lot of engine rocking and thats why I was woundering about a strap

[455firebird1969]

I have never seen the urathane mounts, can you post a pic? I ran a 455 and a muncie w/410 gears for years. I went through lots of motor mounts and trans mounts over the years. I made a strap that helped, if you design it right it will do the job and make your mounts last longer. I guess the way you drive it makes a difference as well...

Thats why I went through many...

[wrench]

I just switched from stock mounts to solid on my 72 firebird. It is a street/strip 474, e-heads with a 4-speed. I was afraid of breaking an engine mount. I have to say that the added vibration is very noticable while crusing and also very irritating. I have seen urathane mounts for Chevy's that have a safety feature built in as shown in the earlier post. Do they make one for Pontiac? If not, I will buy new rubber mounts and modify them the way Jim Hand described. Thanks for the tip http://forums.performanceyears.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif