ive modded my xmember with angle iron. 3/16" thick.

i made sure to tackweld 1/2" thick steel under the member before cutting adn welding to help with keeping it straight.

ive installed the gto oil pan on the engine.

now, ive taped 1/4" pieces of aluminum on the xmember and jacked the member up to the oil pan. butting the 1/4" pieces against the pan.

now the xmember and pan have 1/4" clearnance all around.

i slipped in the mounts i made (2.5" x 2.5" x 3.75") to get idea where the holes are going to be.

the passenger side fit as i expected, but the driverside wouldnt fit between the mount and the member's pod.

it needs to be cut down ~3/8"

anyone else see similar results, or should i assume the member twisted that much and should wait to mount it in the chassis before making these mounts?

ill try to post camera phone pics later. best i can do.

 

mine are about a 1/4 inch taller on the pass side. i thought it was because i was using a R33 crossmember. the pan is level with the crossmember so i didnt put to much thought into it after they were built.

 

thats what i thought. as long as the pan and xmember are level.

i remember fouz? saying his was the same.

 

well its good to know im not the only one who sucks at fabricating if its wrong

 

well i dropped it in this weekend. and the driverside needs to be cut down. with the engine level with the chassis, the passenger side mount isnt touching.

another question though.

how did everyone (especially those who did s13s) get it so far back?

my passengerside head is hitting the heater nipple and i cant fit my sway bar in there.

 

im using a leveler, but i will remove the bracket from the passengerside head. you can see its hitting the firewall now. that should give me a little until im completely butted against the heater nipple.

 

i don't remember an problems with one being bigger then the other. if it was it wasnt much. i did the same thing you did with a spacer on the pan (i used a ATV jack on the oil pan, was real handy). i wouldnt worry about it much. make sure the car is fairly level and the motor then make the mounts work. a 1/4 inch aint going to hurt i dont think.

as far as getting the motor back. the firewall was the only thing stoping me. i didnt beat enough and i just jammed the motor till it hit. then i thought i would let the tranny make it bigger on its own. as long as some plastic/sensor aint whats hitting. the only thing i took my time on was getting it lined up. i moved my motor for 2 weeks before i was happy. 1/8 inch here and there. then made my mounts. but i had hinson headers which made it harder cause its tight every where. pass header/frame rail, driver header/steering rack, intake/radiator, oil pan/cross member. its tight at all them places.
just dont get in a hurry. i wish i could have got the motor another inch back. but with hinson headers you cant. im still happy with everything.

on a side note i found the ticket where i weight the car again. after removing the jack, spare tire, power antenna and a few brackets in the trunk. i did have a alum drive shaft in the trunk that i was selling. maybe 10 lbs.

front= 1580 55.6% i somehow gained 20 lbs in the front, was on a diff scale
rear= 1260 44.4% lost 100 lbs. 1/8 tank gas
total= 2840

 

yea, it was actually ls1neezy that said that.

i tested it again today.

i cut the brackets off the leveler so i could go back further. its still not lettign the sway bar clear and the mounts are hanging off the back of my crossmember.

i think im going to take out the member again and cut it down more. the ridge between the steering mounts mostly.

im contemplating cutting the bottom out so the engine can go lower, but i dont want to pu the pan below the guard of the member.

eh. todays daylight is gone. tomorrow is another day.

 

mine are even and i have no problems glad to see your making headway on that thing =]

 

thanks brad.

i mocked it up again today. hood wont close. looks like i might have to hack that xmember more.

 

Run without a hood.

 

nah. to give you a hint to what my car will be, it will have a/c and ascd

 

i had to notch my hood alittle. lay some tape upside down on the throttle body and close hood. cut where it sticks. im sure its hitting on the throttle body. or cut the x-member some more. you going solid mount?

 

im emulating CHIN mounts. and ls1neezy.

sbc adapter plates, sbc rubber mounts, 2.5x2.5xT tube mounts.

i just cant see lowering the pan withtout moving it back too. if i lower it ill get hood clearance but not swaybar clearance. if i move it back my crossmember will look like a pencil.

the hood isnt on hinges, just sitting there latched, and i can see it sit on the TB.

ill have to figure something out with this member.

CHIN hasnt responded to my swaybar question, but depending on how he did it, i might copy. (if anyone else knows how his swaybar fit..)

 

another problem.

cut the angle iron back to drop the engine lower to clear hood.

now the engine sits forwad 1in farther than before and the steering rack is hitting the pan.

any suggestions. following chin's build is not working at all, and it seems im gonna end up cutting the hood to make this fit, and the possibility of using a sway bar is slim

 

i had to move sway bar and cut hood. as far as chins and mikes, i guess the s13 is diff. some of the s14 arent having any problems. but cutting the hood aint that big of a deal unless thats not your thing. moving the sway bar is a bit of a bitch.

 

 

i settled on the driverside being 1/8"shorter, btw. that gave me good clearances.

hope to have tranny mount in next two days.

 

If it's not too much of a bother could you snap a few pics of the mounts you made? I'm still trying to decide on what route I wanna take. Thanks.

 

all the important dimensions are listed in case you decide to use a solid block of aluminum instead of my steel construction.

HOW YOU SEE THE MOUNTS IN THE DRAWING IS HOW THEY MOUNT TO THE SBC MOUNTS WHEN LOOKING AT THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE. NOTE THAT YOU CANT MOUNT THEM ANY OTHER WAY THAN SWAPPING SIDES, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU STEERING RACK CLEARANCE PROBLEMS.



i got a pdf version and an autocad2007 version if anyone wants them.

i dont have anything more than a cell phone to take pictures with, and i havent taken any pictures yet, BUT this is how i made them.

materials-
2.5" x 2.5" (x2.5"Pass and x2.375Driv) square steel tube
2.5" x 2.5" x 1/2" steel flatbar
3/4" OD x 7/16" ID x 2.5" L steel round stock

(using steel because i dont have aluminum and steel is easy to weld)

cut materials to above specs.
welded the square tube to the flatbar.
drill with 3/4" hole saw in appropraite locations.
slid in the round stock.
welded the ends of the round stock to the square tube.
cleaned up, bolted up, mocked up, marked up.
drill and tap with your preference (i chose m10 because most of the car and engine is metric. also thats about the size of the hole in the crossmember)

when you do the crossmember, do it like mmdb. ONLY way to do it. i did mine twice because the first time the clearances were too tight the first time.

ill have tranny mount autocad put up by thre end of the week.