I have a 67 skylark, 455 block and TH400 trans. I have changed out frame pads to the TA style, and mounted the empty block, empty heads and finished trans. Need to finish up the cross member once my back is well. I am trying to make shorty headers fit. I know, shorty headers won't fit. Or will they? So on the passenger side, how much clearance do I need between header pipe and frame? Is 1/4" ok? Is 1/8" ok? How much does the header move about on a properly restrained 470cu in a 1967 buick? What about clearance from brake lines? The steel cross over lines come up onto that cross member and can get close at times. I'm trying to keep all brake lines a minimum 1" away from header pipes. It has standard 67 front disc brakes if that matters. Now is the time to make sure everything fits and not with a completed engine or painted car so any help or suggestions would be great. Jon
Properly restrained means what........if you have front plates/ mid plates the motor shouldn't really move. Factory rubber mounts and a chain....she will move around a little bit
You'll have to reroute the brake lines to obtain 1in of clearance,..as far as frame clearance is concerned just massage the pipe for the desired 1/4
I"ve replaced and modified the crossover brake line pretty much, but it is these kind of dumb things that will bite me. Properly restrained = factory rubber mounts. Maybe that should have been adequately restrained.
As big as pain as it was to put front plates on, my motor doesnt wiggle, wish I would had done it years ago.
I made mine, I can get you pics whenever I get the car out of the trailer, I was looking through my phone and I done see them there, maybe tomorrow I will surf through my cloud. Mine are .250 thick aluminum bolt to the head in all 3 holes and extend down to the frame where I I welded a tab of steel .250 thick......then drilled through both so i know they would line up for 2 3/8 ,bolts. You will also need to make a .250 crank pulley spacer to keep everything in line, my car of course is no longer a/c so the way that rear bolt goes in wont work.....you will need to space the alt upper bracket the same .250 ad well
Hope these help give you an idea of what I did.......the passengers side it's hard to see the plate behind the alternator and remote oil filter. I did need a small shim between the crank trigger wheel and the pulley, it were the inside the belt a touch b4 I made the .075 shim to square the pulley up to ve more inline........my dampener is romac and it doesn't put the crank pulley quite in the same location as the stk one does so I had to take that into account as well
Awesome! Thanks for the pics Ben! I guess the point of the plates is to stop the engine from flexing as much right? Do they help regain any parasitic hp loss due to the engine "wiggling" around ?
No clue, was done the keep all the pressure from pulling on the sides of the motors and distorting the clearances in the mains. My block isn't filled or girdles. So a few hours with cardboard to mock up a design that fit but didnt look bad.....then transfer to some aluminum plat and cut on a band saw
On my car I've noticed that when it's sitting there idling the engine periodically looks like a bucking bull shaking side to side and it seemed wierd? I do have a big rough idle cam in it but maybe the plates can help tame the "shake" down a bit?
add a restraint chain to the driver's side from frame to a bolt into the front of the cyl head. make it snug but not tight. 1/8 clearance is tight. 3/16 ok
Well my motor no longer shakes and bucks that way.......now it's the whole car that sits there and moves
I have seen these used as well. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...1EVAFa_EaiTXQOGjnhJal30aAS8LDXZBoC1MEQAvD_BwE a chain only limits deflection in 1 direction.
Chain is for protection in case a mount breaks. GM put those on cars in the 80's as a recall, remember?
If you've got a big lumpy idle cam and your car is just a street driven rig, you don't want motor plates. Your rubber motor mounts absorb a ton of vibration the engine puts out at all different rpms. Solid mounts or plates transfer all those vibes into the chassis and through the entire car. It's cool for a while, but you'll tire of it very quickly. And tightening every bolt and trim screw gets old. Race cars or cars only driven occasionally are ok with a solid mounted engine. Don't do it to a regular old cruiser unless there isn't another option.
As far as brake lines are concerned. I ran the lines on my 65 on the firewall. Just above the tranny hump. they are much more out of the way and more inline with the flex line and master cylinder. Bending and routing was a snap.
I keep forgetting that I am not trying to have a correct car, I'm trying to have a fun car that functions better than when new. Re-routing the brake lines across the firewall is a great idea, will not bug me one bit, and only an "original-phile" will know it isn't "right".
