Fubar569

also looks as if the mid plate mounts through the bellhousing bolt holes. wouldn't you then need to compensate for the quarter inch difference with a slightly longer input shaft or something? or would it still fully engage the converter? i just don't see how the plates couldn't interfere with that...essentially putting a 1/4" spacer between the motor and trans...

redrose

never had to hang one on an auto trans,could be an issue with the pump drive...standard trans don't seem to notice

xrcrx

Didn't realize that was you i was picking the intake up from. Ambitious project! I'm goin' the other direction, understanding the limitations of the x-fire set-up, but figure if I can make it run relatively respectively it'll be fun. the car runs great, dead reliable, and handles, just needs more go-hence the modded manifold etc....

If the headers aren't coated you might consider it, every little bit helps, not to mention the life of the starter.

Eric
84 Z51 Auto
05 CBR Repsol Rep
00 TLR 1000

Fubar569

yeppers that's me...and a big reason why the top end ws for sale...i'm simply going to have no use for it anymore. i think the single plane team G with an 850 will be just about right...

any other thoughts or experiences with auto trans/motor plates?

redrose

not a fully devoped idea, but thinking about the reinforcing bars on my 4x4 auto trans...bolt to the trans and engine block side mounts...might not need a rear motor plate with something like those?

Fubar569

now there's an idea...but tie in the C-Beam too maybe? we could be onto something

redrose

yeah, gotta sleep on this one...i know gm wouldn't have spent $2 to put em on the truck if they didn't work

Fubar569

use motor plates...

run from block side mounts down through to trans down to diff? that would be a hell of a brace to cut & weld with no guarantee it'd work...

but from the block sides or even the plates down to the trans tail would keep it from flaxing that far back and relieve alot of stress i'd think...

what i'm most concrned about is using the rear mount plate and mounting up the auto trans...fronts obviously are no issue...and if all else fails i can just forget the idea and use stock mounts...but the motor plates seem like a good idea if i really wanna stiffen things up...

Deakins

You can use the rear engine plate if you shim the flywheel a little to help make up some of the difference. Then you can shim the converter to make up the rest. We have run stuff like this in the past in very demanding conditions and have never had a failure. Hope this helps.

Fubar569

what did you use for shims? and did you just split the difference 1/2 & 1/2...like 1/8th for the flexplate and 1/8th for the convertor?

Deakins

The shims we use come from Jegs and are part number 890-399100. They are manufactured by TCI and are .030 thick. We generally would shim it out as far as we could and then make up the rest on the converter side. Generally with most high end converters they have you pull the converter out a set amount to assure that it is not bottomed out against the pump. We take this into account to determine what amount of shim to give the crank side and then how much we need on the converter side. I don't want this to get too long so if you have any questions just send me a pm and I can send you a longer one. Good luck.

Fubar569

PM sent.

well looks like soem vacay might be opening up. don't want it to, but it may. hopefully i can make some expedited progress if so.

Still debating on the motor plates. seems like a plan if i can stiffen the rest of the car up to match.

Also, paging ski...got a few more questions for you.

TONYDEE64

I made room for the blower drive by notching the bar that crosses right in front of the water pump. I also had to move the steering rack and front sway bar forward by 2 or so inches (which of course meant resetting the angle of the steering box and lengthening the steering shaft). Not that big of a deal really. The only things I had to do to make it work was bend in the ends of the sway bar one inch on each side so they did not hit the rims during a tight turn, and also use heim joint end links for the sway bars. As you can imagine, the measurements here are pretty crucial. My supercharger straddles the modified cross bar perfectly.

Fubar has sent me his shipping info. so the headers will be on their way to him shortly.

Fubar569

It's a ong long way from being done, but thought some of you might get a kick out of my new liscense plate frame i had custom made for it...

Cory@LS2PortWorks

The front plates are aluminum and mount between the water pump and block. Those would attach to the frame with bolts or they would be a nightmare to get aligned properly. They are a 1/4 inch thick.

The mid plate is not 1/4 inch. It is pretty thin steel so it might not interefere with any of the transmission components. Worst case a couple of small spacers would fix it up. You would not have to run regular motor mounts with these. That would be a great benefit because it opens up a lot more space for headers... something you need the room for. And it stiffens the chassis.

You really need to look up the motor plates on the Art Morrison website if you are considering them. All this other talk and guessing doesn't help when a lot of it is not correct. Some of the later guys talking about the motors plates know how it works. It might be a good solution for you. It also might not be. You should look into it and be sure though.

Cory

Fubar569

i'll gladly take those plates off your hands...i'm PMing my info now...

i ws simply concerned about the thickness of the rear plate, and i did research art morrison parts last night. i think they'll fit nicely...

the stock mounts will more than likely be gone, but i have other ideas for those bolt pads anyways

Fubar569

money sent & deal done. Tony's the only one left to pay when he readies the quote.

weather supposed to get bad here...maybe it'll warm up for at least one of my days off this week and i'll be able to yank the 350 out for good.

Fubar569

Tony, just checking in man...how's the seach for those headers comin along?

Fubar569

DAY 3:

Final prep for engine removal

i have one question...

HOW DO I GET THE FLIPPIN C-BEAM OUT OF THERE?

it looks to be damn near impossible...i know it can be done. what is the best way to get it out?

also, any problems with pulling motor & trans in one piece?

Fubar569

DAY....oh hell with it....DAY Something UPDATE:

Motor and Trans are OUT OF THE CAR!!!! finally the easy part is done and the hard stuff can begin. kinda forgot to disconnect shifter cable till a little too late. didn't break, but it WILL support the weight of a 700R4 pretty well

other then that, it wasn't anything a couple friends and a 30 pack of beer couldn't fix...had a couple here, went out for 50c drafts to celebrate, and woke up at my friends in the spare bedroom. overall a good night!

motor plates came in. rear will have to be radically modified to work around the drivers side firewall and extended to mate with the frame on both ends. fronts will have to have custom bracketry so as to not box in the front suspension bolts/pieces.

let the games begin my friends!