Solid motor mounts for a street car.

[jimzilla]

Hello everyone. Hope all is well. I have a question that I am posting on a few web sites and I would like your opinion. I am in the process of building an 88 Mustang GT, 327 stroker with a Procharger. This will be a street car. My question is on solid motor mounts. Due to blower belt longevity I want to run solid motor mounts so I can run a bar from the strut tower to the blower bracket for support. I have had people say that the noise and vibration from solid mounts can be so intense that my fiberglass hood will rattle, lite bulbs crack and so on. Others say there is hardly any extra noise. Can I get some opinions from people that have went from the factory motor mounts to the solid motor mounts and what I can expect. Thanks’ Jim

[StangFlyer]

Hi Jim,

The people that are telling you this have probably never actually had solid motor mounts themselves. I can't imagine anything like that unless you have just a horribly out of balance rotating assembly or something. I've been running solid motor mounts for many years. Originally on heavily built 302's and now on my heavily built 377 stroker. My only advise is find a quality, trustworthy machinist who specializes in Ford engines to do your machine work... and, get a nice balance job. Use solid motor mounts, but use a heavy duty rubber transmission mount. This will eliminate torque twist on the engine, but allow the tranny to move some rather than twisting on the case.

I use HP Motorsports 351W solid lowering mounts, which put the 351W nicely into the same location as the 302. But there are considerations with what oil pan and k-member you are using.

[jimzilla]

Thank you for the input Dan. What are your thoughts on running a bar from the strut tower to the blower bracket for support? Do you think that will adversely increase the noise and vibration?
Thanks Jim.

[StangFlyer]

I've seen people do that before. It depends on the blower bracketry. The design of these blower brackets, their material, and thickness vary between manufacturers, and on some of them over time they can flex out of shape. So, doing that basically anchors it to the chassis to add extra sturdiness and strength to prevent flex. But, if you already have solid engine mounts then I wouldn't think doing that is going to increase noise and vibration too much more than the having solid mounts themselves.

However, if I were you I'd call Procharger directly and talk to them about what you are doing, and about the strength of their brackets. See if they feel doing that is required to keep the brackets from flexing or warping out of shape over the long haul. I know that did happen sometimes with the Procharger setups years ago, but I am not sure of their bracket design currently and if they've updated it all over the last few years. I run a Paxton NOVI 2000, which has some serious brackets and that sort of thing isn't a problem.

[88workcar]

I have run them for the last two years, I love them.