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as some of you know I am building a second gen T/A super series car and I am using Pontiac for a mill , I need to know is how did you determine the setback for the engine as the Pontiac motor is basically centered over the crossmember which makes them a little nose heavy is there a formula I should follow?? the engine is being mounted with fore and mid plates

the formula i use is scoot it back till it hits the firewall, mount it solid, and use a prybar to clearance the firewall as nesecary. i can't pull the trans in the chevelle without pulling the motor becuase the bolts are so close, i'm not saying this is right, just saying this is how i do it.

Stimpy,

I have seen your posts, but I am not familiar with what you are building. If by super series you mean a .90 car for drag racing?

FHB is correct, with no rules get it back as far as possible. There are a ton of things to check out, but the short version is have the pan on, the trans case bolted on, the car level. Up crank centerline helps the car weight transfer, down makes the car drive better due to the lower center of gravity, pick your posion.

Have the steering in the car and headers if you can. Then move it until you can do the sparkplugs and get the headers on and off. Use the trans tailshaft to set the rear motor plate height to get a good driveshaft angle.

Oh, and pray that everything will still fit when you are done!!

Rapid

FHB,,don't you kids remember anything from the old days? Think back to the Modifed Production Class, we always cut the holes in the firewall to access the trans bolts,,,,problem solved!

yea, but the tech inspector at our track says holes are a no no because they'll let the fire in and in my class i have to have a stock firewall and i do.................bent............but stock

its a 8.90 car , I want to keep the front down as much as possible and since the firewall isn't a issue I can move the motor back to help transfer my limitations posed by me are I am using the stock subframe for the front end and I am trying to figure where to mount the front kicks for the motor mounts or was thinking on mounting uprights in the area of the motor plate mounts and securing the kicks to the end of the frame rails in front with a crossbar

Well, there are a few chassis guys on here who maybe will pop in and see this. If I were doing it I would run the front kickers out towards the front edge of the rails. If you are removing the front x-member then you will need to add a x-member for strength.

One thing I always do on my cars. Where the front plateand mid-plate mount, make a perch for the plate to sit on. This way when you sit the engine in, it has a place to rest while you are getting the bolts in and you don't have to work around the hoist and stuff. So you can unbolt everything and the engine will still sit there.

sonds like a great idea on the perches Randy !! by the way did the early v-8 vettes have a favorable set back ?

They were pretty decent Jim. I stuffed mine way back, smoothed the firewall, put the distributer in the front of th engine. I opened the firewall up, and made the trans tunnel removable so I can service the clutch and the lenco from the top inside the car.

I removed my radiator support also. It looks like my engine in 10-miles back in the car due to this. At a Super Chevy deal some guys from Jasper racing engines were arguing with Laura. They said look, this thing has been stretched. I was gone at the time but, Laura was there. She said, no, it hasn't. It is the stock wheelbase and body. OH NO, they all said it has been stretched, one even said, I can tell!!! Then to add to it, one of them looked into the car and said, it has lighting rods to make it look like a lenco. She is sitting there, sipping her cold pepsi with Donna a friend of ours and says, sir,,that car has a REAL 4-speed Lenco in it. I know because I help pay for the damn thing! Furthermore, I personally block sanded on this car, as my husband built it. It is the stock length, go buy a tape measure and learn to use it, then check for yourself.

Thats my girl!!!