LS1 motor mounts and transmission cross member

[bjtreasures]

I am ready to build my 55. It has been off road since 1978 and in my garage, basement, house and anywhere else i could store a part. I purchased a LS1from a 2000 z28 including trans, and have changed the oil pan, added an ls6 intake and mild cam. can anyone tell me what motor mounts and transmission cross member to use on my 55 and how far from the fire wall the engine should be placed?I have been told it has a one piece frame. also i have a am using a corvette power brake booster and master cyclinder. Rack and pinion steering has been added to the car. thanks bj

[chevynut]

Welcome to the site BJ. Right now is a great time to consider a C4 Corvette front suspension conversion. We have done several of them with LS engine mounts. Check my ad in the classifieds.

If you already have the sidemounts for a SBC, the easiest way to mount the LS engine is with engine mount adapter plates. Holley and others have them. They have different offsets, so you need to decide which to use.

I have mounted the LS engines 2 1/4" forward of "stock" and they fit well there. That is measured at the bellhousing face. Somewhere I have the distance to the center of the LS mount pattern from the bellhousing face, if you need it. Or you can measure your own engine. I have the distance for the SBC in an engine drawing.

Here's one engine we did at 2 1/4" forward. The owner said it was a perfect fit.







Here's the same chassis with a T-400 transmission mount and 4L60E transmission:



And finally, here's a pic with the C4 Corvette front suspension, LS-1, and 4L60E :

[bjtreasures]

chevynut, thanks for the input. i would love to change to the c4 suspension, but funds are limited. I removed a 265 from the car with the original motor mounts. The Ls1 has no mounts on it. ebay has several mounts but i don't know which one to purchase. can you recomment a part number or site to visit. I have zero experience with this. thanks bj

[chevynut]

If you don't have any side mounts in the car now, I would probably go with the mounts like these that I think are from Chassis Engineering. One place that sells them is Street and Performance in Mena, AR. There may be others but I don't know of them.

http://www.hotrodlane.cc/56chevyinst...156install.htm

Their catalog kinda sux, and I don't know why they don't put together a decent organized website. They do a LOT of LS stuff and I've bought parts from them. Mark (the owner) is a great guy, and a high school friend of mine works there too!

http://www.hotrodlane.cc/

[5Clint7]

Give these people a look. http://www.williamsclassic.com/products#!__products

[NickP]

Can't see your pics or avitar Laszlo - are you in stealth mode? Nevermind - now I can. Is there no way to delete a post?

[Rick_L]

Earle Williams has LS1 plates that work with his new side mounts.

Hooker Headers also has plates that work with the long tube LS1 headers they sell.

There are many other LS1 plates that work with side mounts. Some are even adjustable (probably not the best). The trouble is figuring out where they really put your engine, vs. what you need.

The good news is there's lots of options. The bad news is how do you tell which option works best for you. Never been clear to me, but I'd trust the vendors I mentioned for at least a good starting point.

[57tech]

Has anyone tried the Speedway Motors side motor mount conversion kit? It looks like a copy of Eckler's and Chassis Engineering biscuit style mount. Eckler's site will ship but it will be $70 more and Chassis engineering wont ship to Canada. Wish I lived in the US for better parts availability.

[chevynut]

The Speeday mount kit probably IS the Chassis Engineering kit. Eckler's makes virtually none of their own parts, and they're about the most expensive place to buy parts so I typically avoid them unless I can't find parts elsewhere. I know Speedway sells a lot of Chassis Engineering parts.

[Rick_L]

Ditto on what cnut said. Eckler's and Speedway are selling the Chassis Engineering kit.

The only downside I know of that setup is that some version raise the front of the engine compared to stock. This may have been cured. If you have one that doesn't have the fix, it's easy, just use thinner rubber biscuits.