Three additional pictures supplied by Miike:

Update to my conversion:

Got the upper transmission mount cut off and spotted the engine in place, attaching it to the front (above alternator) mount and lower transmission mounts using the new two-piece mount, but the existing bracket. I was hoping that this would show the exact location for the two new mount brackets (upper transmission and upper right) to be welded in and they would conform to factory spec settings. After setting the engine in place, I'm getting good height with proper oil pan clearance and it appears as if I can resolve the angular orientation that I was having. However, as best as I can tell, the lower transmission mount, due to its position, is pushing the transmission too far forward which will not let me weld in the two new mount brackets (upper transmission and upper right) in the correct position based on the factory specs that Mike provided, resulting in improper clearance for the manifold. For example, on the upper transmission mount the best I'm getting is a weld position that is 7/16" short of the factory spec and that is just WAY too much to be considered an acceptable variance.

Therefore, and very reluctantly, I think I'm going to have to cut off and replace the lower transmission mount also so I can get it to let the transmission mount rearward enough to allow proper positioning for the left and right mounts.

Any thoughts from the group or does anyone have experience cutting off the lower transmission mount bracket? From visual inspection, it appears to be a bear of a job due to the amount and location of welds, position of the brackets, and tight space in which to get a grinder or cutoff wheel.

I had an issue with my conversion. Chassis 670. The upper trans mount had separated from the frame and was basically useless. I didn’t notice this before, perhaps it happened at TWS in November. I ordered a new upper trans mount from Nikki. I took measurements from the other 3 cars at the shop and used the firewall bar/hoop as the baseline. I tacked it in place, double checked everything then buzzed the rest of it in.

From there the hard parts were getting the upper engine mount & firewall mount holes aligned. The firewall engine mount flared out a bit making it hard to align the second hole in the mount with the bolt. 1.5 hours later we got it.


I had to open up the hole in the frame mount on the right side of the chassis to get the 1.75 dimension correct. It’s snug as a bug now.

A LOT more work than I anticipated!!!!!!!

AZC wrote:A LOT more work than I anticipated!!!!!!!

We just keep telling ourselves it will pay off for a long time to come!

It's confirmed.... existing lower tranny mount bracket has got to go!

Look for updated as soon as I can get the existing bracket cut off and be ready to spot the engine in as a reference for where THREE out of the four new mounts need to go! I'm sure learning a lot as I go (and finding other anomalies with the car that I'm getting the chance to rectify in the process).

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Jparris wrote:It's confirmed.... existing lower tranny mount bracket has got to go!

Look for updated as soon as I can get the existing bracket cut off and be ready to spot the engine in as a reference for where THREE out of the four new mounts need to go! I'm sure learning a lot as I go (and finding other anomalies with the car that I'm getting the chance to rectify in the process).

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

It's painful, but you will feel good about it when you are done.

dave wrote:

Jparris wrote:It's confirmed.... existing lower tranny mount bracket has got to go!

Look for updated as soon as I can get the existing bracket cut off and be ready to spot the engine in as a reference for where THREE out of the four new mounts need to go! I'm sure learning a lot as I go (and finding other anomalies with the car that I'm getting the chance to rectify in the process).

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

It's painful, but you will feel good about it when you are done.

Dave - I agree! When I'm done I'll know it will be 100% right without having to wonder about any legacy issues. I'm enthused again. After more studying, it doesn't look like cutting the lower tranny mount bracket out will be quite as bad as I had first suspected.

Thanks for your support and words of encouragement!

Update: Three out of four mount brackets removed! Ready to re-fit engine and determine the proper locations for the brackets.

New mount brackets are in! Everything fits perfectly now. Next step is weld clean up, paint, then drop the engine back in (hopefully for the last time).

The GEN3 engine is in!!!

Everything lined up, it's square, it's level, and I even have decent clearances under the pan, at the manifold, and the shift linkage! With the new mount brackets welded in the proper locations, it basically slips right in now.