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g6civcx · 08-13-2010, 12:45 PM

Step 3 - picking the engine mounts

IMHO, this is the most important step. As of right now I'm only familiar with a few kits.

Mounting options

Before selecting a kit, decide how you want to mount the engine. Ideally the best setup is to notch the firewall and shove the engine back as far and as low as possible for better weight distribution. This is what I did.

Now keep in mind that most drifting sanctioning bodies no longer allow notching the firewall.

Hinson Supercars - Hinson Super Cars

Back in the early 2000s Hinson was pretty much the only company offering swap kits for 240s. They only support GenIII/IV though. They don't have a kit for Gen0/I/II.

Pros:
* technically sound kit
* no modification to the vehicle body (other than subframe)
* they offer turnkey installation
* good support

Cons:
* price!
* you have to chop up your subframe, which means you'll have trouble going back to KA/SR if you wanted to
* No T5 support

I avoided Hinson mostly because they don't support Gen0/I, and because of price.

Sikky: High Performance Auto Parts :: SIKKY Manufacturing

They've only been around a few years. I've only seen one of their car in action in person so I can't comment much. Just from what I've seen:

Pros:
* price
* no subframe modification
* good support
* no firewall notching

Cons
* awkward engine placement. The LS1 I saw sat really high compared to the Hinson kit. This may be an early pre-production kit so I didn't know if their actual kit was going to be that bad.
* no T5 support

McKinney Motorsports: 350 Chevy 240sx Products McKinney Motorsports

I really like this kit because they support Gen0/I/II. You can search the Tech forum for the build thread.

Pros:
* support for Gen0/I/II
* price
* no subframe modification
* decent engine placement
* good support
* no firewall notching

Cons
* no GenIII/IV support
* only supports Tremec TKO, B/W, Muncie. T5/56 support still in development

I would love to see more products from McKinney. Their pieces look really high quality with good R&D.

I would not hesitate to use their kit in my car.

Custom

This is the best but most expensive way to go. You can design your engine placement, but make sure you know what you're doing or you have a good shop backing you up.

This is the route I went because back when I did this swap, no one offered support for the Gen0/I/II.

I wanted the mounts to do the following:

1. Place the engine as far back and as low as possible
2. No modification to the subframe.
3. Minimal modification to the engine.

This is the shop that did my engine mounts: B&T Motorsports Online

They cut the firewall and shoved the engine a good 6" back. The subframe remains unmodified. The only other body mod was slight relocation of the windshield wiper connecting rod.

The only modification that I had to do to the engine:

* oil filter relocation kit, oil filter hits the frame rail
* custom oil pan to clear the subframe. I started with a Moroso 7qt oil pan. I had the shop cut out the bottom of the pan and reweld a new bottom to clear the subframe. The final result ended up with a stock capacity oil pan of 4.5 qt and no subframe modifications.

No other mod was needed to fit the engine and transmission into the car.

Some pix for comparison.

This is a stock single cam KA. The front of the block is 12.25" from the radiator support and the valve cover gasket is 2" below the ledge on the firewall.

This is the V8. The front of the block is actually 15" away from the radiator support. The top of the valve cover is actually 4" below the ledge on the firewall.

Approximate dimensions of the Gen0/I: http://www.enginefactory.com/chevdimensions.htm

Height from front sump to top of valve cover: 20.5", dimension C
Length from back of block to front of block: ~25", dimension B minus pulley

Go measure your own KA length and height and see how my custom mounts measure up.

08-13-2010, 12:45 PM	#3
g6civcx Post Whore! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 5,764 Trader Rating: (5)	Step 3 - picking the engine mounts IMHO, this is the most important step. As of right now I'm only familiar with a few kits. Mounting options Before selecting a kit, decide how you want to mount the engine. Ideally the best setup is to notch the firewall and shove the engine back as far and as low as possible for better weight distribution. This is what I did. Now keep in mind that most drifting sanctioning bodies no longer allow notching the firewall. Hinson Supercars - Hinson Super Cars Back in the early 2000s Hinson was pretty much the only company offering swap kits for 240s. They only support GenIII/IV though. They don't have a kit for Gen0/I/II. Pros: * technically sound kit * no modification to the vehicle body (other than subframe) * they offer turnkey installation * good support Cons: * price! * you have to chop up your subframe, which means you'll have trouble going back to KA/SR if you wanted to * No T5 support I avoided Hinson mostly because they don't support Gen0/I, and because of price. Sikky: High Performance Auto Parts :: SIKKY Manufacturing They've only been around a few years. I've only seen one of their car in action in person so I can't comment much. Just from what I've seen: Pros: * price * no subframe modification * good support * no firewall notching Cons * awkward engine placement. The LS1 I saw sat really high compared to the Hinson kit. This may be an early pre-production kit so I didn't know if their actual kit was going to be that bad. * no T5 support McKinney Motorsports: 350 Chevy 240sx Products McKinney Motorsports I really like this kit because they support Gen0/I/II. You can search the Tech forum for the build thread. Pros: * support for Gen0/I/II * price * no subframe modification * decent engine placement * good support * no firewall notching Cons * no GenIII/IV support * only supports Tremec TKO, B/W, Muncie. T5/56 support still in development I would love to see more products from McKinney. Their pieces look really high quality with good R&D. I would not hesitate to use their kit in my car. Custom This is the best but most expensive way to go. You can design your engine placement, but make sure you know what you're doing or you have a good shop backing you up. This is the route I went because back when I did this swap, no one offered support for the Gen0/I/II. I wanted the mounts to do the following: 1. Place the engine as far back and as low as possible 2. No modification to the subframe. 3. Minimal modification to the engine. This is the shop that did my engine mounts: B&T Motorsports Online They cut the firewall and shoved the engine a good 6" back. The subframe remains unmodified. The only other body mod was slight relocation of the windshield wiper connecting rod. The only modification that I had to do to the engine: * oil filter relocation kit, oil filter hits the frame rail * custom oil pan to clear the subframe. I started with a Moroso 7qt oil pan. I had the shop cut out the bottom of the pan and reweld a new bottom to clear the subframe. The final result ended up with a stock capacity oil pan of 4.5 qt and no subframe modifications. No other mod was needed to fit the engine and transmission into the car. Some pix for comparison. This is a stock single cam KA. The front of the block is 12.25" from the radiator support and the valve cover gasket is 2" below the ledge on the firewall. This is the V8. The front of the block is actually 15" away from the radiator support. The top of the valve cover is actually 4" below the ledge on the firewall. Approximate dimensions of the Gen0/I: http://www.enginefactory.com/chevdimensions.htm Height from front sump to top of valve cover: 20.5", dimension C Length from back of block to front of block: ~25", dimension B minus pulley Go measure your own KA length and height and see how my custom mounts measure up.