Turkster:
When it became engine installation time, I bought a set of "NOS" Ford mounts from a well known Cobra parts house, believing they would work. They did not, at least not with my Kirkham's engine mount stands. The mounting pad was too long, and interfered with the tab that is welded to the mount, making a flush fit of mount to stand impossible.
Tom Kirkham sent me a set of the mounts they make in-house, and they worked beautifully. A couple of things get done to them to ease installation and improve performance. First, the block to engine mounting holes are sufficiently oversize to accommodate some movement when fitting, and second, they were relieved to accommodate the screw-in freeze plugs that my particular block had. (Some, but not all, SO blocks feature freeze plugs that are FLUSH with the block...mine were protruding about 3/16"). They also fit a thru bolt in each to eliminate the possibility of tearing the mount and minimize flex...a nice touch. And by the way, these particular mounts are symmetrical.
Had it not been for those beautiful Kirkham mounts, the air would have been "blue" the whole time I was trying to make the other set work. If you are not using them, I would recommend you do so.
As for your pipe issue, I believe you had the side cuts done PRIOR to fitting your particular engine/pipe set-up. The variances between car to car, engine to engine, and the various brands of pipes, etc. are real, and for that reason I located and cut my sidepipe cuts AFTER the driveline was aligned and bolted up. Reality may be that you may have to reshape them slightly to have everything come together. You may luck out, however, by using a different choice of mounts. In the original type chassis the engine does sit off center to, but should align with, the frame rails.
My .02 cents worth. Good luck, Amigo.
Bud
Threaded Mode
