[poolhusler8]

Has any one ever put a 1st gen motor into a 2nd gen bird.If you have would you have any dimensions off of the brackets so i could fabricate my own to save some money.Also can i use the motor mount off of the 389 to bolt to the adapter bracket?Thanks for any information.
Kelly

[Overkillphil]

First gen birds didn't come with 389's as their last year was 1966. You can certainly use the adaptor mounts available from several sources like Nunzi and I believe even PY has them these days. That would allow you to run a 389 or pre-70 400.

As far as the brackets go, I have used the earlier power steering pump and brackets which worked fine. But it is not difficult to make a simple adaptor piece to bolt the later brackets onto the earlier heads. I seem to remember there only being one less bolt hole in the cylinder head, otherwise the other holes lined up and worked.

[Will]

The adapter brackets are not that expensive, save yourself some time and just buy a set. You will have to use 389 engine mounts because the 2nd gen engine mounts won't bolt up to the 389 block. The adapters are designed to allow the pre-1970 blocks/engine mounts to bolt onto the '70 and later frame mounts.

But BEWARE: Some adapter designs raise the engine an inch or so. This is really not acceptable on a 2nd gen as it causes hood clearance issues. Be sure to check with the vendor first to find out if the brackets they sell raise the engine or not. Even if they say they don't, I'd still close the hood very carefully the first time.

You will only have an issue with mounting the power steering/alternator brackets if your car is '72 or newer. Even then, it's really not much of an issue. The hole for the long bolt that goes through the combined alternator/PS pump pivot is missing from the head. It's easy enough to just slip a nut behind the bracket so that the long bolt has something to screw into. Use large diameter hardened washers under the bolt heads that hold the PS pump bracket to the engine and you will have plenty of stability. This is what both I and a friend have done and it worked fine.

Hope that helps.