I finally got the car I always wanted...a 68 firebird. When undernieth the other day, just to inspect and admire , I noticed my oil pan resting on the cross member. The mounts appear to be fine. The rubber seams firm and intact. The oil pan is the original. I just can't see new mounts giving me much added clearance. How much clearance is normal? and what are the other possibilities?

New mounts will put you at least 1/8 of an inch off the frame. Some of the aftermarket motor mounts also make the engine sit low.

There was a similar discussion a couple months back. Maybe this will help: https://firstgenfirebird.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=004885

if your mounts are in good shape and firm , maybe loosen them up, add in some big washers to 'adjust' the ride height?

I did that on one side on mine , since mine was sitting crooked for some reason....(subframe?)

I had about 1/64" between the pan and cross member. Changed the mounts and increased the clearance to almost 1/4" MAX. I guess they are supposed to be tight... figuring the sub frame mounts would absorb the rest of the torque.

The gap gets bigger when you torque.

I guess you're right...

Man! You can't get away with anything on this sight! Its like when you were in grade school and those old nuns were patroling the classroom. Not that you're an old nun Jim but, you know what I mean.

LOL Greg. I remember the crack on the knuckles with the yard stick! And the pulling on the ears. I didn't want to come off as pointing out fault. I was pointing out that if you have any gap at all it just gets bigger when you hammer it. I get the same feeling at times. One thing for certain, you can't get away with any wrong info. I have seen a question sit there for hours and then I make a response and WHAMMO there are three right after mine in 5 minutes 'adjusting' what I wrote.

Its all good!

Sister Thomas made me slap myself when I was in 3rd grade. I didn't hit myself hard enough so, she grabbed my wrist and commenced to beat the crap out of me with my own hand!!!

Nothing like a Catholic education.

You guys are awesome! I recieved all the info I was hopeing for with this question...and more. That's some funny stuff right there!
How does a rookie like me get a cool little car under my user name?

Click on your 'Olsufka1'. Then click on 'my profile'. Then click on 'edit profile'. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page, right between 'your birthady' and 'your signiture' is a place where you can click on 'choose an avatar image'. That's the one, avatar image.

I was suffering from the saggy motor mount syndrome, too. I just made spacers as the mounts were less than 3 years old. I used 3/16 aluminum bar stock to make the spacers. They fit the face of the mount just right and are glued in place.

Basically, the same thing as washers....just cleaner.

We'll see how they work when the motor goes back in the car later this week.

Drew

BTW... I did buy the Butler mounts mentioned in the previous thread and they work fine.. about 3/16" clearance..

Well guys the verdict is in...I ordered up a set of mounts from my local NAPA store and they gave me about 3/8" of clearance. When I had the mounts off and inspected more closely you could see that the metal was bent down. Maybe the previous owner was the Dukes of hazzard type.
Thanks for the help!
Jeff

Well, the spacers I made did exactly what I wanted them to do....now have about 3/16 inch of clearance between the pan and the crossmember.