Spoolinsteve

Hey all, I am no pro fabricator by any means but I figured I will try to contribute to the forum. I hope this will help people decide which K-member to go with if they are going with an lsx specific K-member or the 4.6 one.

Just seeing what needs to be done will help alot I hope.

The problem lies where the aluminum ls1 block has a boss for the 4.6 motor mount, the iron block does not! Don't worry though. Its really simple to correct.



First take a dremel or some grinding apparatus and just barely slot the mounting holes to fit onto the lsx mounts as you would with the aluminum block.





Here is a look at what you have to work with.


Before I go into anything. I want to say I did not make this pretty, they are going to be under the headers/manifolds anyway. I just made them as simple and easy as possible. Besides goofing around with the first mount, the second mount took me a whole 15-20 minutes if that to make. The are functional and I used no other materials then the mount themselves.



First step I took was to straighten out the bend in the big vise, you could obviously beat it flat with a hammer, or use a shop press.




I scribed a line along the bend to make a relief cut in order to form the mount into a 90.




Make some quick measurements and trim off part the the mount so you can bolt it to the block, remember you can always cut more off. It is a pain to add material.





You can use the tab you just cut off to avoid drilling holes. You will see on the back of the mount that wraps around the polyurethane is marked to be ground out for bolt clearance. Make sure you slot the tab for the inner bolt. This is an old trick I learned with 4-bolt and 5 bolt turbo downpipe flanges. Just loosen the bolt enough to slide the mount in and it takes minimal turns to snug up.






Tack weld it up, bolt it all down and weld it up. I clamped it to a big hunk of steel plate so it wouldn't warp too bad. Watch you do not burn the mount up, even though they are fairly resistant to heat.





Break out a cold one and enjoy your new mounts.

As I said before, this hopefully will let you see what you have to do and a simple answer to the problem. Remember knowing what your'e up against is half the battle.

dmracing

iTrader: (80)

How much would you charge to supply and modify the mount ready for use?

Brad@NANO Direct

iTrader: (18)

Im with him. I need solids. I can send you a set of solids. How much to convert them exactly like yours?

Spoolinsteve

Hey guys, Sorry I did not really plan on making them as that was not my intent here. I wanted to show your average joe that you can tackle it very easily. Really you only need to make 2 welds and a couple cuts!

negrado

iTrader: (1)

Well if u do let us know im also interested in a set

joker120

Thanks for some tech Steve, this answers a few questions I had that were buried in build threads...

imajeenyas

iTrader: (19)

Where were you last week? I don't have the fabricator gene, i took out my perfectly good tubular fox k member and replaced it with the AJE stuff!!
Nice write up, just need to work on your posting speed...lol

5-0stank

iTrader: (6)

I used 4.6 mounts for my 5.3, but I just used an adapter plate in between the block and the mount. Just food for thought if you don't have access to a welder.

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

not to take anything from what you did , but i was going to say the same , you could place a plate on the block and drill it with holes that correspond to the block holes , then drill it with holes for engine mount - that way you use two bolts through the plate and mount holes and a seperate bolt on the block and plate , and another on the plate and engine mount .

that way you don't need to weld anything.


only thing is it looks no where near as nice as the ones you made

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

very informative indeed.
do u think the there is enuff room for truck manifolds hotparts build and dp with those mounts and kmember?

Spoolinsteve

I never even thought of that! I imagine the plate would work quite well. Especially if you dont have a welder. I am happy the way they cam out. If they were out in the open more I would have done them nicer for sure. It didnt help that I ran out of MIG gas and had to try to fill up the gaps with my tig and some GIANT filler rod.

I am sorry I am a bit slow : ( The mustang shoulda been done but as you guys know if anything can go wrong it will. I actually bought all my 4.6 parts without knowing the boss on the iron blocks did not exist. My friend told me about it like the day after I ordered all the parts!

Does the plate idea raise the motor up some? I think it would be minimal but I am going for every inch of clearance I can get. I even put 1/2 K member spacers on the car because I am going to run a carb style intake with a 4150 TB. My 4 inch cowl hood is already painted to match the car and I think 4 inch is too big as it is. Driving it really sucks because I am short enough. Maybe I'll run a booster seat to help me out!

5-0stank

iTrader: (6)

Yea, the plates will raise the motor a tad bit, I guess just the thickness of the plate. I used 3/8" if I remember correctly.

The funny thing is, i bought 4.6 motor mounts that were extended to bolt right onto an ls1, and I ended up buying a 5.3, since it was a LOT cheaper. I'll get some pics of my mounts/plates. They aren't real pretty, but they work. Hell this car that's getting the swap ain't pretty, and its staying that way, haha.

bgblockelcamino

iTrader: (9)

nice write up steve.

sn95swap

iTrader: (1)

This will only work with aftermarket 4.6 mounts. The stockers are of a slightly different design.

hpbob1

iTrader: (1)

Hi Guys,

I am just about to start my build by dropping my iron LQ4 into my 1988 5.0 hatch. Is it possible to slide the motor back using the AJE k member and these LSX mounts with a home made drilled adapter plate. What about using the AJE LSX mounts and the stock k member? I am running a power glide which I understand is 3" shorter than a turbo 350 or 400. I was hoping to keep my FMS ford aluminum drive shaft and swap out to a chevy front yoke. To keep this drive shaft I have to move the LQ4 back 3" which is also better for drag launches with better weight transfer. This will be and 1/8th mile drag only car. Any input for you guys who have already delved into this will be really appreciatied. Thanks guys!

Hpbob

flippincamaro

iTrader: (23)

Sweet thanks man for the write up!!!

livefast1

iTrader: (1)

wow thats exactly what i did except with solids. using the stock k member right now the motor dropped right in.

Inbred

iTrader: (5)

does anyone have a link to the writeup using an ls1 block?

orangenotch

iTrader: (1)

You'd be better off making the driveshaft fit rather then move motor back. Theres no possibly way without modifying the firewall, different mounts, etc...

With the aje kmember and lsx mounts my motor sits about an inch from the firewall.

It shouldnt cost that much to get the driveshaft lengthened.

kdavis

iTrader: (14)

I didn't see anyone answer this. Is there enough space? And will a 3-3.5 in down pipe fit?