I love the big hammer! Might I recommend instead of shimming between the engine block and mount plate, you add the shims under the biscuit at the crossmember. Less chance of bending or breaking anything that might have torque applied to it.

And, if the drain plug is causing the interference, that's easy enough to relocate to a more handy area on the sump.

 

Reed and I considered that as well. But here's the issue there. That shiny silver cup that the rubber pad sits in has a circular downward flange through the hole below it and that communicates with the rubber piece on the bottom coming up to meet it. That flange holds that mount so that it cannot just slide sideways. I have some BIG strong washers that are used on mining roof bolts that I considered putting there. But I'm afraid the washers will lift that flange out of its seat and the whole mount could slide out of position.

 

I see what you're saying. If you weld the big washers to the crossmember, that'll solve the problem. They don't have to be welded solid, just 3 or 4 good stitches around will work fine.

 

That's a really good idea. I like that. Thanks everybody for your help. I'm gonna dig those big washers out and see how well they fit.

 

shane,

is this how your front end is configured ??? with the rubber mount holding up the engine mount ???

can you shim under the rubber

 

One other thought; shim the rack forward.

 

Yeah that's what Wayne has suggested above, which is becoming a good option. I'm afraid to shim between the bottom of that cup and the rubber piece because it would allow the rubber piece to move sideways too easily. But I'm pretty sure I can get some good shims under that cup and weld them to the top of the mount on the crossmember. I'm gonna need preferably a round piece of steel that is 2 1/2" wide with a 1 1/4" inch hole in the middle. I just looked again. I'm thinking I will need at least a half inch of elevation. Either right under that cup with the rubber biscuit or under the motor mount holes themselves on the block above that plate.

That's a really good thought, and I thought it may be the best until I laid a ruler on that thing a few minutes ago. If I shim the rack, it will not only come forward, but also upward on a slight angle. In order to get it out in front of the pan and away from that corner, I would have to shim it something like 1 1/2". This thing is very hard to photograph. But here is a side shot showing how much it hangs over the rack.



One other thing that reed1951 just mentioned is the possibility of just making a thicker plate. We both have access to a machine shop that could probably do that. But I worry that it would have to be 7/8" thick. And it would just be too much on the rubber biscuit and the block attachments.

 

I think the quickest, best solution would be to cut in a section of tube on the front edge of the oil pan. Can you pull the pan to see how much clearance there is to the pump? A quarter-section of 1" tube would give you plenty of clearance I think.

 

Yeah I can do that too. That would eliminate the front oil plug, which is fine by me. What little bit of oil that would get trapped there can stay there for all I care. It just really makes me mad that this problem happens over and over with everybody who uses the really "rare and exotic" 302 engine. By the way, that guy in the BFH pic above is not me. I just found that pic on the net and thought it was cool.

 

Hey Doc, those those Jag engine mounts are 3" in diameter x 1.5" tall. mine are used so they may be squished down a bit, the bolts top and bottom are 3/8" NF thread. good luck!

 

Ah crap. The ones on it are approximately 1 1/4" tall already. Plus they're only 2 1/2" wide. So probably wouldn't help much. But I appreciate it.

The redneck in me just wants to lift that whole thing up and say "oops" as I let it crash down on the steering rack 3 or 4 times. I'd bet it would have a nice little recess then that would allow everything to clear.

 

Okay here's another possibility. I kept reading that an econoline van oil pan from the late 70's to early 80's might work. Well low and behold here is one. Check this out. Stupid question--which end of this thing is the front where the oil pump would be located? And I'd imagine it would have its own special pickup?




Here's another picture of it from the side.

 

The square end is the front. I don't think you'll gain anything by using that pan. I do think you're best option would be to put the 1/2" spacers we discussed under the motor mount biscuit to get the clearance you need. It would be the easiest, quickest, and least likely to add additional problems, imho. It would be the least costly, too.

 

Oh okay. I figured the square end was the front, but I was kind of hoping I was wrong. That sloped end would have been easier to modify. I've got some spacers on their way to lift up the motor mounts like we discussed. And I agree that sounds like the better plan. I just saw this oil pan today and remembered some people mentioned it on another forum.

 

I think it's actually worse, because it's deeper all the way back to the sump, may just trade one interference for another.

Check this out:

Trans-Dapt Performance Products 9314 - Trans-Dapt Performance Biscuit Mount Pads - Overview - SummitRacing.com