<VV> 1964 Spyder powertrain install

[clynn66 at bigpond.net.au]

Thank you to the members who responded direct regarding my query.

For others interested, the outcome and findings were as follows.

It is not unusual to have a slight tilt in the engine, so my case is not
necessarily a problem.

The critical thing is that the distances between the body and the top of
transmission mounting cross member should be the same side to side. Which in
my case it is.

Jim BECKER sent me a great diagram to illustrate and if anybody wants to see
it drop me an email. I don't know how to attach it here.

Some people have corrected the tilt by welding up the holes in the
transmission cross member, where it mounts to the transmission, then
redrilling the holes for better alignment .

Some have loosened the bolts in the same area, jacked up the low side of
motor, then retightened the bolts. 

The first method would seem the more thorough way, provided it was done
accurately, because over time the motor would probably want to sag back
down.

If doing anything with the transmission mounting holes, keep in mind that
any variations at the mounting points will have a greater effect out at the
side rails where the fabric seals make contact.

But the bottom line is that a slight tilt is not altogether unusual and any
correction is probably not necessary.

 

Changing the rear motor mounts can be very hard to do even with specially
made tools.

My old mounts seem to be ok so I decided to let sleeping dogs lie and run
with the old ones.

The problem if changing, is the proximity to the floor of the inner bolts.

A solution is to cut or drill a hole in the floor under the rear seat so the
nut/bolt can be accessed very easily from the top, inside the car.

The suggestion was to hit the underside of the floor in the vicinity of the
problem nuts with a long punch, to create a dimple as a marker for where to
start drilling/cutting on the top side, inside the car.

One member mentioned that he glued a patch over the hole when he was
finished and I expect if a neat round hole was made a grommet might work
well. 

Thanks again to the members who have given me comfort to press on.

 

Regards

Colin LYNN

Perth, Western Australia