# motor mount question



## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

hey guys. my name is josh and i am a newbie here and to older pontiacs. i have owned a few third gen camaros, a fourth gen lt1 trans am and have settled on my current 1996 lt4 corvette. i have learned my way around an engine bay. a friend of mine has a 1966 gto that he was given by his parents. we are both in our 30's, not kids. long story short the engine that was in the car is no longer in our/his possession. he did however pic up a late 70's pontiac 400 out of a trans am that we intend to put in the car. we got the adapter plates to allow the use of the factory 389 mounts to work on the newer style block. now here is where it gets hairy. the owner didn't remove the engine and doesn't know where the original mounts are. yet we have a few set of mounts that we have collected. yet we have an issue with the aligning the motor mounts to the frame pads.

this is a pic of what the frame pads look like.









this is what autozone says is the correct engine side mount









this is another mount we have thats said to be the right one









now the last pic is the ones we bolted to the adapters and tried dropping the engine in but this setup is too wide for the frame pads and we cannot get the long motor mount bolts in. so we are wondering what is wrong or what motor mount we should be using. i personally have never seen the proper mounts for this setup so i have no reference. i tried asking on another website and i couldn't get across that i don't know what the correct mounts look like. i tried butler performance and the guy said he didnt know what to tell me and i should call back and talk to someone else.. that is beyond bs in my book. so i am reaching out here. we are trying to get this baby back on the road so any help would be greatly appreciated.. its been in a garage for 7 years.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

so buying stock 389 mounts did not work? are you saying the only problem is the bolts are not long enough? would longer bolts fix it?


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

66tempestGT said:


> so buying stock 389 mounts did not work?


thats it. according to autozone the mounts in the second pic are supposedly the correct mounts. but there is no way they will work with the frame pads that are on the car which are identical to the ones in the first pic. and i have no idea what the stock mounts look like or their dimensions to even be able to compare.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

is it just the bolt length or does the hole not line up? maybe you should check someone familiar with pontiacs like ames.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

My `65 has the mounts like the second picture of mounts you posted.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

what does your frame pads look like?


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Besides bolting to the frame they have a raised center section with a hole through that matches up to the mouting ears on the motor mounts.
If you click my restoration pictures in my sig about the 9th pic you can see the stands.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

this is a better pic of the frame side mount. according to butler performance this is what yours should look like.. now what goes in between to make it work?


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Your engine mount should slide right on top and that long bolt should secure the two of them together.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

your photobucket is password protected. nevermind.. just sae the password


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

ok.. i see you were talking about the last pic from the first post. when you said second i thought you meant the middle one.. that is what we got. but its like an inch too wide. you can get one bolt in but the other doesn't have the clearance to side down over it.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

pr0zac said:


> this is a better pic of the frame side mount. according to butler performance this is what yours should look like.. now what goes in between to make it work?


looks like his pic to me. i think a longer bolt is in order.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Is one wider then the other?


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

66tempestGT said:


> looks like his pic to me. i think a longer bolt is in order.


bolt length isnt in question here.. we have the correct bolts to fit the mounts. we made sure before attempting to installing the engine


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

Rukee said:


> Is one wider then the other?


no. they are the same.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

You said one bolt fits but the other doesn't have clearance, I'm confused.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

Rukee said:


> You said one bolt fits but the other doesn't have clearance, I'm confused.


as if the engine was too wide.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

it threw me off when you said too wide. my 66 has 2 sets of bolt holes on the right side. about 1/2 inch apart. does yours have this. maybe the wrong holes?


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

the car is an hour and change in one direction from me. i wish i had gotten an opportunity to take pics but i didn't bring a camera nor did i think we would have an issue with installing the engine. i guess thats what i get for thinking.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

holes in the crossmember is what i mean


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

So, the stands fit the frame and the mounts fit the block, you get one of the long bolts in and the other doesn't line up?
Have you tried to loosen either the mount on the block or the stand on the frame to aid in lining up?


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

66tempestGT said:


> holes in the crossmember is what i mean


i couldn't tell you to be honest. i know that an earlier ponitac 400 was previously in the car so i would imagine it should be where it should.


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## likethat (Oct 5, 2007)

from 70 to like 73 the blocks have both mounting bosses for the 2 types of motor mounts. Here is a couple pics

















This is the 389 you can see where the mounts are that will line up with the frame mounts








I am assuming you have these mount adaptors









These are the new style mounts for like trans am









This is what you want









So when you have the adaptors in the threaded inserts should be behind each of the mounting bosses on the block. I would assume nuts toward the block.
Then the mount goes on the insert. 
Put the mount on the frame mount as a test fit with out the engine and slide the long bolt thru. Your saying that the bolt isn't long enough. If so just buy a grade 8 bolt that is.

The mounts form Autozone look like mid 60's big car mounts like Catalina. There is a stud in the middle though. The other mounts look correct.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

Rukee said:


> So, the stands fit the frame and the mounts fit the block, you get one of the long bolts in and the other doesn't line up?
> Have you tried to loosen either the mount on the block or the stand on the frame to aid in lining up?


no.. i didn't.. but thinking about it that car has been sitting for a few years without an engine in it.. i am really needing an opportunity to get back up there and look at some of this. i really appreciate this guys.


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## likethat (Oct 5, 2007)

I would make sure that the nuts on the adaptor plate where on the block side when installed. It could be that the 2 plates make the block wider. One would think it would say something about it if it was an issue from where you got them.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

likethat said:


> from 70 to like 73 the blocks have both mounting bosses for the 2 types of motor mounts. Here is a couple pics
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the block we have only has the forward bolt holes like the trans am mount you pictured. the adapters are what we have also.. its not a matter of bolt length.


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## likethat (Oct 5, 2007)

bump





likethat said:


> I would make sure that the nuts on the adaptor plate where on the block side when installed. It could be that the 2 plates make the block wider. One would think it would say something about it if it was an issue from where you got them.


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

pr0zac said:


> i couldn't tell you to be honest. i know that an earlier ponitac 400 was previously in the car so i would imagine it should be where it should.


i was just seeing the pics of the mounts on the table. possibly used the wrong holes by mistake when you put them back on. if it is too wide then you would have used the top/outer bolt holes. the lower/inner holes will be covered by the mount. just a guess. its been 15 years since i took my pontiac engine out and went with chevelle mounts for the chevy engine. i can take a pic tomorrow to show you what i mean. my engine is out now.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

66tempestGT said:


> i was just seeing the pics of the mounts on the table. possibly used the wrong holes by mistake when you put them back on. if it is too wide then you would have used the top/outer bolt holes. the lower/inner holes will be covered by the mount. just a guess. its been 15 years since i took my pontiac engine out and went with chevelle mounts for the chevy engine. i can take a pic tomorrow to show you what i mean. my engine is out now.


i found that pic on the internet for a reference.. we haven't removed the frame pads at all.


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## pr0zac (Mar 31, 2010)

likethat said:


> bump


i honestly couldn't tell you which way they were installed. i am assuming they would only go one way. but i won't have any solid input till i get back up there.


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