[Don 79 TA]

i have butlers WRP-MM6 bracket on the engine block (69 400) and trying to get the solid motor mounts BPI-F61287 installed on passenger side.
i had OEM replacement rubber mounts in it before (on both sides, no real issue). last summer i put the solid mount on the drivers side and it went in super easy and greatly reduced engine movement. just lifted engine, swapped out and done...

i had sometime this weekend and decided to put the passenger side in, and running into an issue. it doesn't want to line up. seems like its off, where the bolt for the bracket to the frame mount goes into, like 1/2-3/4" or so
i have kept all bolts loose as well, nothing seems to help.

it was a 403 originally (K in the vin), but has had a 78 400 and this 69 400 block with the adapters.

do i need BPI-F10774 for a better fit?

do i need to loosen the drivers side and muscle it around?
this is for a 79 TA

[68hotbird]

Ok here is what I found with my butler mounts for my 70 firebird. The solid mounts appear to have been made like the rubber mounts the difference being the rubber mounts will compress to allow the thru bolt to go in. The solid mounts do not allow for the movement to get the bolt in. You can run either mount by itself but the other mount will not go in place. I cut my steel mounts and recessed the plate to allow it to fit. I will post a picture of what I did to resolve the issue. Hope this helps. I could not find anyone else who had the problem when I tried to install mine. The thru bolt was about a half a hole off on one side or the other depending on which mount I put the thru bolt in first.

[68hotbird]

I looked up your mounts and they are different than the ones I used. Sorry for the misinformation.

[Don 79 TA]

sounds similar to my issue about being off
spoke with Butler today, Gregg said i need the BPI-F10774
so i ordered that
seems like a sturdier bracket compare to what i am using now
and he said to put it on both sides

not sure why the drivers side went in painlessly, but the pass. side is a freaking nightmare
he said the current setup i had wont work with both solid mounts, so we shall see

[Dragncar]

Do not run solid mounts with a stock block if you care about it.

[jonmachota78]

Originally Posted by Dragncar

Do not run solid mounts with a stock block if you care about it.

Eeeek! To what horsepower level? How about just a solid mount on the drivers side?

[Dragncar]

Well Macho with your engine I would not even think about it. The vast majority of my Pontiac education came from long telephone discussions with Dan Whitmore in the 80s. And he told me not to ever run solids because they can ruin your block. Especially with a 2 step and trans brake which I now run.
He has never steered me wrong. My car is fast for what it is. 10.90s with iron heads, pump gas 455 TRW piston engine. Heavy all steel 69 GTO, nothing special. But it has north of 1200 passes on it and is still going as quick as ever. But when he tells me something like you need to drill your main bearings so they line up with the oil shot I listen. If you only have a round hole the oil shot has to hit the back of the bearing, move over and go though the hole. They have 3 holes that intersect in the block and the one on the side with the tab gets the shot of oil. Drill a hole matching the one on the tab side and file the bur with a jewelers file. You will starve your rod bearings for oil unless you do this or the bearing has a slot vs round hole. I have never spun a rod bearing in my life.
My buddy just blew his 400 to bits. It was a nice engine but he used as is main bearings, did not restrict the lifter bores and ran the RAIV oil pump as is without blueprinting it. If he had done the oil system modifications I learned from Dan his engine would still be running I bet. He had rod bearing issues, resized the rod (forged) and put in new rod bearings and unmodified mains. It had 62 heads so he did not rev it.
When that guy has advice I listen. He could have been like Jim Butler if we wanted too. He was Jims machinist in the early days. The Butlers have a ton of respect for Dan.

[jonmachota78]

Thanks for the insight, Dragn. I've been running a solid mount on the drivers side for a couple years now. It keeps from jamming the shaker up into the hood during WOT. I did find conflicting opinions on doing this when I researched it back then. Oh well I guess I'll look into alternatives. Sorry 4 hyjak

[Don 79 TA]

that's what i have been doing, using the solid on drivers side
greatly reduced the movement
for some reason when i try the solid mount on the pass. side frame it seems like i need to drill holes about an inch or so higher on the frame
it's been way to hot to take both side engine brackets off, so i'll wait till fall/spring to continue the work. i did try the new bracket but didn't help (although i didn't get a chance to swap the drivers side bracket so perhaps that could be a culprit too)
anyway at over a 100 degrees in the garage i just decided to go back to what worked (stock mount on pass side) and left the drivers side as is, and i'll tell you getting that pass side mount to line up was no easy task either, i put a fresh mount in since the old one showed its age.



i don't use any launch control/2steps/etc... and not making super massive power, so i don't think there will be issues. i know many people running solid mounts with more/less power and various makes/models and no issues, but as with any modification, anything can happen

[jonmachota78]

Don, how much power is your engine making? Why do you want a solid mount on the passenger side?

[Don 79 TA]

maybe around 600
as for why i want the mount on the pass side is, the one in there was bad, and i had this one around. i personally like the "feel" you get with solid mounts, again just a personal thing and figured if the drivers side was a 15 min swap this one should go quickly.... big mistake thinking that (especially in the high heat we've been having)

i also don't care for the adapter brackets that are on there now, so after speaking with Greg he said the brackets i bought with the mounts should work.

but.. doing a little more research online, seems sometimes the 79's have some issues with the mounting locations when using older style blocks (especially with the solid mounts).