motor placement question

what is the ideal placement of a bbf in a foxbody mustang using stock location rear suspension? I just had front facing exhaust put on the car and lowered the engine anotherer 1 1/2 inches for a total of about 3 1/2 inches.

Or better question would be, how many inches from the ground to the centerline of the crank shaft should there be(at ride height) for stock location suspension cars? thx.

For SS cars, there is a bit of a difference but.....

But generally speaking, as far back and as low as you can. People wonder why the forward facing exhaust prevailes on these cars. With traditional header location it's tough to get the engine low enough while maintaining ground clearance. Working angles are important as are parallel lines. Old school thought is that the tail shaft should be higher than the pinion. In line seems to be better for these cars.

Pinion and crank should be parallel. SS gurus seem to like 11-13 inches from the ground to the cl of the crank.

deliveredfast wrote:what is the ideal placement of a bbf in a foxbody mustang using stock location rear suspension? I just had front facing exhaust put on the car and lowered the engine anotherer 1 1/2 inches for a total of about 3 1/2 inches.

Or better question would be, how many inches from the ground to the centerline of the crank shaft should there be(at ride height) for stock location suspension cars? thx.

As I look at your location in your avatar, why not call Dave @ Team Z and ask him? Better yet, stop over. Nice guy... 

How the height of the trans output shaft? I had to raise mine a bunch (32" tall tires too) to get the drivetrain to point at the pinion. When I did that the headers got pulled up nice and close to the floor as well which in turn lowered the nose of the crank too. Worked out real good for me.

But my trans/driveshaft tunnel is also missing so you may not have the room to do all of that.

not to hi jack the thread

but can motor plates be setup in the car while its on jackstand vs at ride height ?

Wouldn't a higher engine mounting help with weight transfer on a small tire car?

IDT-572 wrote:Wouldn't a higher engine mounting help with weight transfer on a small tire car?  

Center of gravity too high. The small contact patch wouldn't take the hit and it would blow the tires off. Also seen them dead hook and put them on the bumper.

5pointslow wrote:not to hi jack the thread

but can motor plates be setup in the car while its on jackstand vs at ride height ?

We set them up with the chassis square and level at the rocker sills. So yes, on jack stands

jbozzelle wrote:How the height of the trans output shaft?  I had to raise mine a bunch (32" tall tires too) to get the drivetrain to point at the pinion.  When I did that the headers got pulled up nice and close to the floor as well which in turn lowered the nose of the crank too.  Worked out real good for me.

But my trans/driveshaft tunnel is also missing so you may not have the room to do all of that.

Yea I got 29.5's I ended up lowering the motor 1.5 inches and spacing trans 1/2 inch. from floor to centerline of crank measures 14.5 inches. only 1 way to see how it works out(get it to the track). 

I think it just depends on the type car and what it's intended use is.

There are a lot of small & big block Super Gas/bracket type cars out there where the engine is placed back & up a bunch because they are looking to dead hook & pick the front tires straight up-out of the beams. But you would have a hard time getting that same setup to work well on a faster car with a lot more power without having to deal with the wheelie bar unloading the slicks (or bending/breaking the w/b) or dragging the bumper.

Some of the P/M guys these days are moving the engine forward a bunch more than they used too looking to use the increased nose weight as another wheel speed adjusting tool so they don't have to do it all with the 4-link/shocks/wheelie bar/air pressure out back. Some are also hanging the fire bottles out on the nose looking to move a little more weight up front. They seem to talk more about the mid plate's distance out from the rear housing centerline, and less about the #1 sparkplug's placement in reference to the front spindle centerline.

yellowhorse7 wrote:

5pointslow wrote:not to hi jack the thread

but can motor plates be setup in the car while its on jackstand vs at ride height ?

We set them up with the chassis square and level at the rocker sills. So yes, on jack stands

So are you setting the car on the suspension and leveling it or are you setting them on the rockers and leveling it?

Mike R wrote:

yellowhorse7 wrote:

5pointslow wrote:not to hi jack the thread

but can motor plates be setup in the car while its on jackstand vs at ride height ?

We set them up with the chassis square and level at the rocker sills. So yes, on jack stands

So are you setting the car on the suspension and leveling it or are you setting them on the rockers and leveling it?

On the rockers, suspension hanging for now. Once placement is "set", weld in brackets.

Tony

Are you trying to get the driveline all in line while the car is on stands and the suspension is hanging?

Or is it a situation where the engine is just where it is due to fitment issues and the driveline angle isn't really paid attention to?

jbozzelle wrote:Tony

Are you trying to get the driveline all in line while the car is on stands and the suspension is hanging?

Or is it a situation where the engine is just where it is due to fitment issues and the driveline angle isn't really paid attention to?

My bad. I assumed that you had the rear end in already. Rear end must be in first, centered and squared and in place at ride height (or close to it). This doesn't mean bolted in but you have to be sure that where it is mocked up is the exact place where it will be bolted/welded. Use blocks and jack stands. That will start to determine your working angles. Driveline angle is important! Then you can get the engine where you want it. Be cognizant of the crankshaft centerline (see my other thread). But when dealing with factory firewalls and frame rails, our choices are limited. Once the engine and rear end are "in", you will have defined your driveline angles.

Sorry to confuse earlier:oops: 

Gotcha. Thanks!

X2 thanks