LUVTruck.com

what is the best way to design your own motor mounts with out buying the hooker motor mount kit?

just get some from another vehicle that comes with the stock v8 you are using and weld them in.

Actually it is pretty easy, I made mine and then took them to a welder to get them all welded together.
First of all set the engine in where it is going to be, then install chevelle motor mounts on the engine, now make a 3/8" plate about 4 inches long and the same width as your luvs frame, this will be the outside of the motor mounts. Position this piece of metal on the frame directly in line with the already mounted rubber mounts on the engine. Drill a 3/8 hole all the way through the plates and the frame to hold it in place. One bolt will hold it in place easily.
Next take some cardboard and make the templates for the side frame mounts to the engine. You simply cut out the cardboard so it will fit between the pice of metal you have made for the frame and is lined up with the holes in the motor mount. Looking at it from the front these pieces of cardboard will be about 5 inches long, and wedge shaped, wider at the frame end and narrower at the motor mounts.
Transfer the templates to some 3/8 flat stock, and trim them to fit tightly from the frame mount to the inside of the motor mount, you will need both front and rear plates and these will differ from front to rear. Use another small piece of stock and fit it inside the rubber mounts. Mark everything how it fits, take it apart and have it welded and you can them bolt the mounts back in, but when you are done, be sure to have the frame plates welded to the frame! You will also have to drill a 3/8 hole for the bolt that will go through the rubber mount and the frame adapter.
Hope I didn't confuse you too much, it is easier to do than describe!
If you want pictures I will send them to you?
If you want information on doing this on a 81-81 I can provide that too.

dusty

You could go here

http://www.luvtruck.com/Information.htm

and scroll down to the miscellaneous section to find drawings of the hooker mounts.

Thanks for the above article , It is GREAT! I wish that I had it back in 1974 when I swapped in my first sbc! There are many, many bits of information that will help anyone do it now. I especially like the info on the larger fuel line, alternator, and exhaust system.
I moved my fuel tank to the rear rear, under center of the bed and bought a 15 gal. fuel tank off e-bay for 40 dollars. The stock fuel level sender was very easy to install in the plastic tank. This allowed me the space to run dual exhaust to the rear.
As far as making the mounts, I agree that buying something already prefabed is a good idea, but I thought the person asking the original question about motor mounts wanted to make his own and save the money?
By the way the stock LUV fuel pump on my 78 ran for more than 10 years without a problem. I did use 3/8" rubber fuel line from the pump to the carburetor though, never did starve for fuel. But then I am "old as Dirt" and drive quite conservatively.
When you don't have much money to work with on your car you learn to improvise, for example I had a stock 70 Mustang radiator sitting in my garage so I took it to a radiator shop, had the outlets changed to sbc size and installed it. I've never had a problem with cooling, (for the past seven years), even with the a/c on and 110 degree So. Cal. summers.
My battery is also under the bed on the passenger side, with a lift up cover. Sure saves the battery from the underhood heat!
Thanks again for posting the information, I am sure it will help a lot of other guys too.
dusty-scjconv pinkertondusty@aol.com

yea if you wold i would like to see them mounts.

OK, I will take some pictures tomorrow and forward them to you.
There is another slightly different way to make your own mounts.Use 68-72 chevy pickup motor mounts instead of chevelle. The mounts are just a flat square rubber mount mounted to the steel motor mount that bolts to the block instead of having a bolt ran through it from front to rear.

Again make a plate that will fit along the inside of your trucks frame. Now make another plate the same size as the chevy pickup mount pad, drill a 7/16" hole and using a short 7/16"
bolt fasten it to the rubber mount.
Set the engine in place, making sure it is level. If you look at the plate on the motor mount and the plate on the frame, you can easily see all you have to do is make two wedge shaped plates that will fit between the two mounted ones and weld them all together! Your mounts are done, but be sure and have the frame plate welded to the frame as mentioned before.

again will send you some pictures tomorrow.

good luck,
dusty

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FIAA!

SFPP!

First gen Camaro mounts with homemade supports .

is there any way to use the old motor mounts on the frame?and what did yall do about the trans and drive shaft?

Hello,
I would recommend you read the complete article posted in the LUV truck bulletin board, It is full of great information, for example, to answer your question about driveshafts, there is a reference to using a Camero driveline, one that fits right in if you use an S-10 rear end.
If you have a 81 or 82 you can weld new mounts right onto the stock motor mount pads, but to my knowledge there isn't any way to use the earlier LUV mounts, in fact they need to be trimmed off and ground down smooth.
Again look up the information that Ben and the Hooker installation kit has posted, it will definetly save you a lot of time and perhaps as importantly a lot of money!!!

Yes , some make adaptor pieces to bolt the motor to the old frame mount .

In regards to using the original LUV motor mounts? If you have an 81-81 you can build off of them, but on all pre 80s, I have found that the original frame mounts will have to be removed, (cut off and ground down smooth to the frame) because they are in the way of the new engine. The same thing goes with the emergency brake cable pulleys and their brackets as well as the heater control valve. They all have to be removed and re-made. Take the time and study the Hooker engine swap article, as well as the information that Ben has posted, both of which aare available on this site, they both goes into great detail about what has to be done in order to install a sbc in your LUV. But believe me it is worth every bit of the effort!!! You can spend 50K for one of the Chevy super pickups, (forgot the exact name of them,) and you won't have nearly as much fun as you will with a V8 LUV!!
Glad to communicate with you, I've been doing LUV-V8 swaps since 1973. I bought a new one back then, took it home, removed the old Opel engine and dropped in a built 327, and have been doing them ever since.
dusty-scjconv

does anybody have any way to tell the size of the mounts? im having troble on how to tell if the motor is in there straight or not.did anybody have to meke there own trans mount?

I believe almost all these guys made there own trans mount

here this is what i did for my 81 v-8 swap

I am not much of a fab. guy so where can I just buy a hooker kit?

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For the love of the LUV!

I believe you can still buy these swap kits at Summit Performance, they also list the special headers as available from them, but others have said these are no longer available.

Just as a bit of information, it is a lot easier to simply make your own motor mounts and trans mount than to use theirs!
Go to the topic already posted on this site and read it first. I think it will enlighten you quite a bit. The headers are also quite expensive, but no other headers will clear the torsion bars, so you either modify some others to fit, but the Hooker Headers or use factory ex manifolds.
I will be glad to send you pictures of my installations but I can't seem to get them to transfer to this site. So e-mail me directly and I can send you a dozen or so pictures that may help.
Good luck, believe me when I say it is worth the swap, I have a 78 and a 81 Luvs, and I really enjoy driving both of them.
Also when you get to the point of choosing a radiator I have found what I consider the perfect one to use. You have to re-enforce the front crossmember because you will need to trim it for the bottom hose, but after doing dozens of these swaps I have never had a problem doing it the way I did, and can show you again in pictures.
Or if you have the money, you can buy an aluminum radiator and use it, don't know how these work though. It has been my experience that you need a much larger surface area than the stock configuration will allow in order to cool anything bigger than a small V8 or V6.
Good luck

pinkertondusty@aol.com

You can get a bolt in mount kit cheaper given your time and the cost of steel. If you have all the parts you can do a V8 Luv in less than 30 hours.
PM for more details.

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The light at the end of the tunnel, may just be a train coming!

Here's pics of mine.