Last month I said we were going to talk about motor mounts and transmission mounts. I should have been a little more specific than that, because we're going to talk about motor mount and transmission mount conversions in Tri-five cars. Now, I bet you're wondering just how much I can write about this. Well, by the end of this article you will either think that I go into too much detail about this or that I really know how to stretch out a topic.

First off, here's a brief history of how engines were mounted in 1955-57 cars when they came out from the factory. All engines, 6-cylinder and V8, were mounted the same. They were mounted in the front, using two brackets that mounted to the front of the engine on each corner. Then these sat upon two studs or stands that bolted to the brackets and holes in the frame. Rubber cushions or biscuits provided the shock absorption for the vibration. The transmissions were mounted using what is referred to as a wing- style mount that bolted to the bell housing and then to the mounts that are welded to the frame.

This was an okay way for the low horsepower ratings of the late 50's but not what I would recommend for today's high-performance crate engines, or the fire- breathing creations that some of us seem to come up with. You need to take a look at converting your car to side mount engine brackets if you're using any form of side mounted motor.

The major change is that you'll gain a much needed measure of safety and it gives you the option of moving the engine forward to gain firewall clearance. Back in the day, the way you gained clearance was by taking a sledge hammer and beating the firewall until you had enough room for whatever you were going to stuff under your hood. Well, today we have a little better idea than that.

More than one company has engineered a bracket set- up that will bolt to the frame or weld if you prefer. That will move the engine forward 7/8" of an inch. This will allow you to put in just about any motor you want. I know what you are thinking: I need more clearance for my 502 that I want to put in there. Trust me, as long as you stay with short valve covers you will have enough room to put that monster in there. The only motors that we don't have mounts available for are the LS series of engines. We are currently working on one, but will need some more time to help you with a solution for that.

Let's get on to transmissions. There are two schools of thought I want to talk about. First, is if you're using your old 265 or 283 and want to upgrade to a Turbo transmission behind it. Second, is if you are changing it out to some other late model side mounting engine.

First, let's talk about the reuse of your old engine with a later Turbo transmission behind it. Most people's first thought is that you have to have a crossmember mount when doing this. Wrong, wrong, and very wrong. This is an unsafe way to mount the transmission when still using your original front mounts. You need to buy a side Turbo mount kit. This kit will mount a transmission very similarly to the way the original Powerglide or three speed would have mounted. You will bolt one part of the mount kit to the bell housing area where the transmission bolts to the back of the engine and then the other half will bolt to the same frame mounts that the original transmission mounts bolted to. This will allow you to have some form of side support for the engine and transmission. If you don't have this type of support, then one or both of the front engine mounts can break off and cause your engine to fall off into the radiator and RH inner fender. I know that you are thinking that just because the turbo was mounted at the tail shaft with a crossmember you have to mount it that way in your Tri- five. Well, the old mounts held up that old cast iron Powerglide or three speed and they were a lot heavier than a turbo ever thought about being.

Now if you are side mounting the engine, then a crossmember is the way to go. You already will have the side support from the side engine mounts. What you need now is to balance the weight of the engine and transmission and the way to do that is with the crossmember.

Most crossmember kits will consist of side frame brackets and the crossmember. You may ask, why do I need the frame brackets? Well, considering the frame is a closed box design, you need somewhere to mount the crossmember. The biggest question we run into on crossmembers is where to drill the holes for the frame brackets. There is no sure answer that we can put on a set of directions for you there. This is because of the different year models of transmissions and designs that you are using. It is hard to give a definite answer because most of the time we don't know what transmission and engine configuration you are using. Is it a big block with a Turbo 400, a small block with long tall shaft Turbo 350 or short tall shaft, a 700R4 or a 200R? Even more difficult is a 4-speed with some form of after market bell housing. The easiest way is to get your engine mounted in the frame with the transmission mounted to the back of the engine. Bolt the crossmember to the transmission and allow a 1 to 3 degree slope for the engine and transmission. This is the best way that I know how to mount the transmission using a crossmember.

Well, that is all that I have for now. Next month will be a special issue, as we are not going to have a tech article. We will be covering our 20th anniversary open house that will be held at our warehouse on October the 12th.