Drive Shaft, Frame Mounts, And Oil Pan

1978Cobra2

Member
Mar 25, 2014
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I got an engine and I got it running! Now it is time for the install. I know the motor mounts are specific but what about the frame mounts? There is a chance I might be able to get some v8 mounts here shortly. How different are the v6 FRAME mounts than the v8 frame mounts? Also I am going with a 157t bell housing. I know firewall modification will be necessary but will that effect the drive shaft length? One last question. I have a regular front sump oil pan, can I modify that to fit right? I herd some where I need to take the space before the sump in like an inch. These should be my last questions... hopefully.

Thanks for any information!
 
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"These should be my last questions... hopefully."

Famous last words!! lol

Anyway, to answer your questions to the best of my ability, I believe the V8 frame mounts are different than the V6 frame mounts. I don't know from experience about the V6, but years ago I did a V8 swap in a 4 cylinder car and they were indeed different. Maybe someone else can elaborate/confirm.

Drive shaft length will be determined by the distance of the tail shaft to the differential. So, it depends on where your tail shaft lands compared to the original tranny in the car. Comparing an auto vs manual V8 drive shaft, there is about an inch or so difference between the 2. I would imagine there might be a slight difference with a V6-V8 swap.

The oil pan discussion has been discussed recently, but I think you can modify it to work just fine, or shim the engine up at the motor mounts, provided you can get that issue sorted. Shimming the engine up would probably add to your firewall modifications? If that were so, I guess it would be 6 of one or half a dozen of the other to which direction you would want to go.
 
Good call with the famous last words. Hahaha. I did some measurements and it looks like the bell housing are very close to each other. Thanks for the information. When (if) I get the engine in there I will post some pictures! Thanks again!
 
I should be soon doing the same thing, I'm picking up my engine tomorrow, I have some things to change on the motor befor I install it, and still need a tranny, and that brings me to a question, can anyone tell me for sure what year they went from 28 oz balance to 50 oz, the motor is an 82 and I plan to just go ahead and match it up, just need to know what to look for, and is it marked on the balancer? as far as the mounts, I lucked out, got a pair of mounts and frame supports on ebay for $200, thats a lot of money but it's the one thing I can't use something different or modify, so money well spent.
 
Hey, I wish you would have asked this earlier I had the info fresh in my mind lol. A few months ago when I was looking for an engine I did all the same research and had a hard time finding the exact year. If I remember correctly it was like 81.5 or something they switched to the 50oz. I played it safe and looked for anything before 79 just because of the answers I found. Not sure about any markings, you may have to look into that further. Did you buy the mounts recently, I saw a full set on ebay a week or so ago. I just picked up some motor mounts today, probably going to have to modify the frame mounts but i'm getting there. Luckily I had a c4 from the v6 (assuming it is good) and did not have to worry. If the 82 is a 50oz, I'm not sure they made a 141 tooth flexplate with that balance so you are probably going to be using a 157t bell housing.

If you have any more questions make a thread just so others can see it. I should be able to help out since we are in the same boat! Good Luck with the purchase, keep everyone updated.
 
Well the plan is to go with a full size flex and bell housing, and modify the firewall, that way I get away from having to find more II parts in the future.

As far as the mounts go, I got them some time ago, so they wouldn't be the same ones.
 
yes I did, and there is a lot of crap coming off of it LOL
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What are your plans? Going to rebuild it or just new gaskets etc? All we did to ours for now was new gaskets and what ever it needed. Ended up bending a few push rods due to stuck valves. At least now I know it has good seats and seals in the heads!
 
Well it was a good running motor when the guy pulled it from his truck a couple of week ago so the plan is I'm replacing everything outside the block and heads, I have a new aluminum high rise intake and a Holley 650 I just rebuilt, new Valve covers, oil pan {that will most likely need to be modified} and sundry other things, the plan was to get a crate 302 but the income tax check was less than I'd hoped for, so I had to rework the plan, I had another 302 from a friend of a friend lined up, he had rebuilt it not long ago but couldn't get rid of a tap {I listened to it and it was obviously a rocker arm which is one of the things he did not replace or a mis adjusted valve} so he was getting a long block for it and I was going to give him the core fee for the old one, well he kept going to the bar and spending his motor money, so I started looking again and found this one, it should do till next year when I plan to replace the block with a rebuilt with a moderate cam and 10:1 compression and a pair of Jon Kasse Racing P38 heads, which should net me around just over 500 HP, I will need a bigger carb of course, but thats the basic plan
 
Sorry about the tax check, just got to work with what we got. At least you got a "good running" engine after your searches. 500 is a tall order from a 302 but i'm no expert lol. I'm just hoping to get what I got in the car. Haha! Any idea what that engine will put out with just the intake and carb?