engine and trans placement on A&C kits

[cobrabritt83]

When placing the engine and trans into the frame, does the engine sit pretty level? I noticed when I was setting my engine and trans into the frame, I had to tilt the engine back a little bit to get the trans to line up with the rear end. I though about getting a different trans mount to lower the back of the trans. I'm currently using a 3" tall rubber mount on my TKO 600.

[saltshaker]

You need to wait till the body is on with doors hood etc and wheels are on sitting on the ground. Set your shocks and adjust body height...now set your pinion angle. You should be able to use a standard transmission mount. Also, if you have adjustable lower control mounts make sure your wheel base is 90 inches ...Very important
Jon

[cobrabritt83]

Got the engine and trans mounted in the frame. I bolted the engine mounts in the center of the frame rails and sat the engine in the center of the motor mounts. I have about 2 1/2 inches in height difference between the trans yoke and the rear end pinion. I also noticed the front wheels have a positive camber to them, is that normal for this kit.

[H-Rod]

Originally Posted by cobrabritt83

Got the engine and trans mounted in the frame. I bolted the engine mounts in the center of the frame rails and sat the engine in the center of the motor mounts. I have about 2 1/2 inches in height difference between the trans yoke and the rear end pinion. I also noticed the front wheels have a positive camber to them, is that normal for this kit.

When I built mine, I was more focused on the 22 1/2" callout from the front cross member to the center of the pass headers. (so the sidepipe cutouts would be before the fender flare)
Holding that measurement, I let the motor mounts fall in the frame where they were.

As for a trans mount, I got a kit from Summit (or was it Jegs? Lol!) that had the motor mounts and trans mount as a set.

Once you get the body on, gas tank mounted, seats bolted down, interior in and wheel and tires on the car, like Saltshaker said, then you can check your pinion angle. I ended up using a 3/8" piece to shim up my trans (TKO 600) to get roughly a 5* pinion angle. Remember, you don`t want your driveshaft perfectly level. You`ll chew up (brinell) your u-joints.

As for the positive camber, when they ship the kit, they just throw enough shims on the upper a arms. When you go to have it final aligned, they`ll add whatever shims will be needed to get a good camber.
Oh, when it comes to that, you may have to buy longer bolts. (I had to) Where I had my alignment done, they added a buttload of shims to get the proper camber set.
BUT..you can cross that bridge when you get to it.

[Jaydee]

As h Rod said you don't want the tail shaft dead level but the most important thing is that the pinion flange and the gear box yoke are within 1degree parrallel to each other.
JD

[jkilstrom]

I had a similar issues when I was installing the engine. Following the manual for the rear shocks lower bracket placement. The rear was to high. Before I order my drive shaft I contacted Joe for advice and he replied with a measurement between the cross member above the rear housing and the housing tube. He stated it should be set at 9 inches. Once I adjusted each lower shock bracket down to achieve the 9 inches the alignment for the drive shaft came into the proper angle. This was all done with out the body installed. I had to adjust the rear coil-overs back to the 9 inch gap once the car was completed. Hope this helps.