Motor and Trans Below Frame Rails????

Andreas · #1 (**permalink**) 03-28-2006, 11:22 PM

hey guys,

i am running a small block ford with a lakewood. my pan is 7.5" deep and is about 1" below the frame rails. the lakewood is hanging below that. I have read in other posts that you can cut the lakewood a little bit but it will still be below the plain of the frame rails by at least an inch.
what is typical for these cars in terms of how low the drivetrain is compared to the frame? any scraping problems???

-andreas

kajun · #2 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 11:23 AM

I can't go over a speedbump!

pmfranke · #3 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 11:24 AM

my milodon 9 qt. oil pan is 2" below the frame but not the t-5 trans. the driver side water hose goes under the frame also about 2". how tall is your trans mount? mine seems high ,a little over 2.5 ". Whats yours?

Andreas · #4 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 12:00 PM

there is a slot on either frame rail where the transmission mount bolts to. i have it bolted (from the bottom of the car up) through the transmission mount w/ the c channel opened upwards and then throught the slots on the frame. The bottom of the tranny mount seems to mount about flush with the bottom of the frame rails. i may have done it wrong so if you have any input let me know.

kajun where the car sits right now with the bellhousing uncut and the body off the bellhousing is 3/4" off of the ground and the oil pan isn't more than 1-1/2" off of the ground. i'm thinking of maybe making a skid plate to protect the oil pan and the ridge on the lakewood (after it's cut)

lnfletcher · #5 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 01:56 PM

Mine is pretty low, but not that low. http://lnfletcher.homeip.net/66Cobra.../clearance.JPG
Also, that is how my transmission is mounted and works fine.

pmfranke · #6 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 02:12 PM

wish i knew how to put pics on the posts. I Just put some on the little camera showing some clearance.

RobV · #7 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 02:39 PM

There have been a number of posts on trimming the lower portion of a scatter shield. It's a good idea because you don't want to hang the bell housing on something and bend it. Here is how mine looked after trimming. It's a Lakewood scatter shield and the other bolt was installed in the open left hole.

Also, here is a couple of pictures of my lower radiator hose and where it is in relation to the frame.

The lowest part of the front end of my Cobra is the lower radiator hose followed by the oil pan. You can see how far the oil pan extends below the bell housing. One of the last things I have to do is to put one or two "bumper" strips on the lower frame to protect (sort of) the oil pan. I will use some angle iron and a strip of polyurethane. The idea is that it will hit before the oil pan and hopefully either protect the pan or give a warning. I hope it will also provide some protection to the lower radiator hose. I saw a picture of this here on Club Cobra, but I looked and I can’t find the link for you. Also I just finished adjusting my front coil overs to provide some additional under-pan clearance. The added benefit was the extra room under the front fender edges that were very close to the tires in a turn.

pmfranke · #8 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 05:19 PM

great pics,worth 10,000 words

kajun · #9 (**permalink**) 03-29-2006, 07:42 PM

My mechanic didn't like my lower radiator hose. He said its to low! He welded me up a very nice lower radiator pipe that bolts to the frame. I mean nice. I'll take some photos as soon as I can and get them on this post. I'm a little busy lately so be patient. My car is so low that a rock about 3" X 4" fell off a dump truck and ripped my oil pan and my tranny pan off. I posted the whole story on this site about a year ago. I'll also measure so you know where you stand compared to mine.