Thread: I'm raising my engine this week-end - words of advice?

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speak now or remain forever silent LOL.

I will be replacing my motor mounts bushing saturday.

The goal is to get rid of the old bushings which are worm out and more "thin" now and to put in the new bushings and play around a bit with engine height in the process. Not sure how high we can really go before the transmission has no more room to go upwards, I think I "might" have 1/4 inch or a hair more for transmission to move up, so the front of engine might go up a bit more (triangle effect) - not sure how much. Since my new kit arrives with some metal washers (not sure how to properly call them) and I still have the ones that came with the car, we might use the extra set to further play with height?

I have been doing a lot of push ups over the last few days to prepare for the lifting so I feel ready to lift up the engine myself with my bare two hands.

Really?

No, not really Jeff has an engine hoist and everything needed, including the muscle power I so greatly lack . He's done plenty of engine work before, but not on a 32 roadster so I figured I would ask for your advice BEFORE we get in wayyyyy over our heads.

Words of wisdoms, DOS and DONTS or anything else you wish to share would be great . Oh, and wishing me luck would be great too .

I would check to make sure your drive shaft angle is correct once you make any changes. Incorrect D/S angle will wear out u-joints prematurely.

I may have missed a thread somewhere, but I'm wondering why you want to raise the engine?

PS: this is the step one in resolving my clearance problems, step two being Hollywood hotrod shop replacing my front leaf spring and playing around with height some more. I have priced and will order tomorrow the Hollywood Roll. Does anyone know anyone who has bougt one and if they liked it? Posie said it behaves the same way as their other tefflon spring... but I'd rather hear it from a fellow hotrodder .

Originally Posted by pro70z28

I may have missed a thread somewhere, but I'm wondering why you want to raise the engine?

Yes, see the recent "suspension and clearance" thread - In short my crank wheel is scrapping on my tie rod so we have been brainstorming to find ways to work this problem out...

Well ... you could have a dropped drag link ... and leave everything else alone ...

Any decent rod shop could make one ...

The rod comes from the spindle ... drops drop a inch or two and goes straight for a foot and then comes back up ... to the other spindle.
I tried to find a photo on the web ... without sucess ...

Originally Posted by HiboyGal

Yes, see the recent "suspension and clearance" thread - In short my crank wheel is scrapping on my tie rod so we have been brainstorming to find ways to work this problem out...

ahhhhhhhh

. . . and raising it a half inch to an inch isn't likely to adversely affect the driveshaft/pinion angle.

We used to raise the engine in the sprint car to help with the weight transfer, maybe your roadster will hook up better and of course more ground clearance is always nice, too. Check for level on the Intake Manifold where the carb mounts. It's best performance wise to keep this surface level. There are angled carb spacers available, or any machinist with a mill could shave one at the proper angle to keep the carb base parallel with the ground.

yep, 3* tilted to the back is standard, original manifolds have it milled in the carb mounting surface ( keep carb leval ) . you can see it really good on my '67 200 I6 intake manifold, it has a raised section where the 1bbl mounts, and you can clearly see where it is milled off at an angle.

You won't be able to raise the engine enough to afect the driveshaft angle nor the carb. base angle.

Originally Posted by brianrupnow

You won't be able to raise the engine enough to afect the driveshaft angle nor the carb. base angle.

Not knowing the history of the build, or the present angle of anything, it would probably still be a good thing to check. Nothing sez it was built right in the first place and this would be a good time to check both.....

well, here's my thought, more than likely the engine angle may have dropped a bit over the years because of the mount bushings getting worn out and flattening out some. hence by replacing them I might actually bring the engine back to the level it shoud have been at. Now adding more plates might be a different story, but then again they are so thin we are talking about just a few millimeters at best I think.

Talking to Sean, I realize the engine hoist will not be needed for this project, he mentioned he will will jack engine up from underneath.

I have bought a good amount of small misc parts for the week-end project. Otehr than bushing on engine mounts, I will also be replacing my engine oil pan (which is beat to death), the seal that goes with it (leaking), the trans pan and its seal (also leaking), the drive train yolk (however you spell this) seal (leaking) and one of my valve covers seals (also leaking). Yeah, the ol' beat is showing some wear and tear. After this though, I should be tight as a submarine and should have a clean, dry, immaculate underbelly .

I am a bit concerned about the removal of the old engine oil pan and replacing it with the new one: Will tie rod and halfrack be in the way and prevent us from doing it (I am darn sure they are and will) and if so do we need to take everything off and if we do, will Sean know how to put them back properly so my car runs OK and I don't kill myself???

HOW WOULD YOU GUYS GO ABOUT IT?

Originally Posted by DennyW

I always liked the cork and rubber mixed gaskets. They make the thicker ones that do a real nice job. Just tighten them with care, and let them sit for awhile. Loosen them, and re-tighten them. Seal them on one side only. The rubber ones always stretch out of shape after you run them.

Actually, I read your post after the fact, as I have completed all my repairs over the last 4 days. More on this later. but for now, a few questions:

1- Why seal them on one side only?
2- Where do I buy the best quality gaskets? Not knowing any better, and thinking that I should find the best quality by ordering right from the Chevy dealer, I ended up with the cork gasket. I am now learning that I will from now on, need to do more homework and not just rely that Jeff will let me know if his dealership carries the best I can find for my car or not. I ended up with an oil pan that cost me $100 and looked (brand new) like it had been a pinata in a previous (and not so distant) life . WHAT THE needless to say the Pinata went back to Chevrolet and I had to do an emergency run to P.A.W to buy an aftermarket oilpan that was a little more up to my standards (straight and free of dents).

Live and learn...

So now I order all my own parts and drill all the manufacturers with 1000 questions before making any decision/choice/purchase...

I always glue the gasket to the cover. That way when its time to change them the gasket(hopefuly) will come off with the cover, and you can clean it off outside the engine bay. Less mess in the engine. You'll probably find dealer prices are a bit more than your parts store.

Faith,
Fel-Pro amongst others make good quality gaskets. Some prefer cork, others rubber. I prefer rubber impregnated cork as I feel it combines the best of both worlds. It is imperative that the surfaces are clean and free of any gasket residue. I have found that spray brake parts cleaner is cheap and very effective as it leaves no residue and that is very important on the head and block surfaces. I spray a thin coat of Form-a-Gasket on the valve cover/oil pan and use plastic clothes pins and old bolts to hold the gasket in place until the sealer has set up. Use the brake parts cleaner on a clean dry rag to clean the mating surfaces on the engine and don't over torque the bolts.