FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: Mark Bliss on September 02, 2026, 05:05:58 PM
-
Its been a while. I am dreading revisiting my memories.
I recall years ago seeing images of Shelby American installing FE drivetrains in '67-'70 Mustangs by jacking the rear of the car WAY up and slipping the assembly in to place. If I recall correctly, with headers in place. I realize they would have been 'Tri-Y' style tubes.
Does anyone know if it is possible to remove this oversized mess with Hooker Super Comps in place? This car has been together for ever and I have bad memories...
-
Yes unfortunately my motor has been out multiple times in the last 3 years. And yes it goes in complete with hooker super comps. If it wasn’t for the steering box it would slip right in. But with a little finagling it goes right in c6 and all. I jack it up about a foot off the ground. Take off the steering. Ross is who showed this.
-
Thank you!
Dropping the drag link, possibly crossmember and sneaking around the steering box sounds for better than another round of dealing with all those header bolts again...
(Reason enough to postpone any progress for far too long)
-
Yes drop idler and tie rod ends and slide over. And definetly crossmember
-
I unbolt the idler arm from the body, then I turn the wheel until the pitman arm brings that end out of the way. Then let her rip!
I got some credit for doing it, and have done quite a few, but Jay was the one who got us hooked.
-
I can't take the credit, somebody on the old forum told me about doing this so I tried it. Worked really well, of course...
(https://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/492instl.JPG)
-
For the record, the original image I referred to in my question was from Shelby American in the 1960's at their shop.
Thanks for the confirmation folks, it eases the dread having installed and removed the headers the hard way too many times.
-
I have done three with 6114 Supercomps, including my own, a 1968.5 CJ and a 69 SCJ. The others were with FPAs, none were easier or harder.
-
That method also works for Shelby Cobra replicas and Fox Mustangs...
It's pretty universal.
-
So first post here but I'm building an S-Code Mustang right now. This method for installing everything has me intrigued.
Walk me through this a little more. You jack up the rear of the car, slide the engine and transmission in all in one shot then what? Do you prop up the tail of the transmission to install your motor mount bolts or do you lower the car back down to install the motor mount bolts or some other method here I'm not thinking about?
-
I slide the motor mount bolts through the mount, go under the car and lift the transmission into place with a floor jack, install the transmission mount and bolts, install the drives shaft and tighten the U bolts, lower the rear of the car, and install the nuts on the motor mounts and begin connecting all the lines, wires, hoses, belts, etc. Your method may vary. Works for CJ/C-6. Joe-JDC
-
I slide the motor mount bolts through the mount, go under the car and lift the transmission into place with a floor jack, install the transmission mount and bolts, install the drives shaft and tighten the U bolts, lower the rear of the car, and install the nuts on the motor mounts and begin connecting all the lines, wires, hoses, belts, etc. Your method may vary. Works for CJ/C-6. Joe-JDC
That's more or less how I saw that process in my head.
-
So first post here but I'm building an S-Code Mustang right now. This method for installing everything has me intrigued.
Walk me through this a little more. You jack up the rear of the car, slide the engine and transmission in all in one shot then what? Do you prop up the tail of the transmission to install your motor mount bolts or do you lower the car back down to install the motor mount bolts or some other method here I'm not thinking about?
What I've always found necessary is to get the engine in about a foot off the mounts with only the driver's side header installed. Once it is in that far, you can attach the passenger side header; the bolts are easily accessible at that point. Then slide it in the rest of the way. I also always remove the bolts and drop the idler arm down a bit to make clearance a little bit easier. Simple to reattach that after the engine and trans are in position.
-
So today I put the 428 Police interceptor into my 1970 CJ Cougar. I have a little interference with the driver's side shock tower and the top header bolt for cylinder #5 See the video to see the problem.
https://youtu.be/rP3P4KLpY4Y (https://youtu.be/rP3P4KLpY4Y)
The headers are Hooker super comps. I found I needed to put the header in from underneath. I also removed the frame mount on the passenger's side to make more room. Outside of this problem it went very smooth. The last big block I put into a Cougar was a 390 with Stan's headers. I did that one by myself. This one I had my son help me with it. After all, I'm not getting any younger.
-
You need a Monte Carlo bar. Your shock towers are bowing in. There isn't enough room not just to get the engine to set down, but when running, those bolts will be hitting the towers making for a very noisy chassis. If you have access to a port-a-power you can move the towers to get the engine to set down.
-
I agree a Monte Carlo bar is needed, but top bolt interference is typical with cylinder #5, especially with the extra bracing on a CJ car. Ford never used the top/bottom bolts on those cars for that reason.
On mine, I was aware of this issue when I was restoring the body, so I took a rosebud torch and a 4x4 chunk of wood, heated it cherry red where that bolt is and beat it back against the shock tower. Usually there's about a 1/4" gap or more there where you can gain a little room. I managed to get all 16 bolts in, but that #5 top bolt still pecked at the brace, and yes, it's annoying. I fixed the problem by making a turnbuckle strap to go from the head to the sway bar mount. It's a perfect lineup, easy to make, and it stopped the pecking. It also helps the motor mount to live longer.
-
GerryP and cjshaker,
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. As for a Monti Carlo bar, I have a Scott Drake reproduction export brace. We installed it and it fall into place. That leads me to believe the shock towers are very close to where they belong. I may still try a porta power. I'll keep looking for other ideas as I don't need to get this done tomorrow.
-
I fixed the problem by making a turnbuckle strap to go from the head to the sway bar mount. It's a perfect lineup, easy to make, and it stopped the pecking. It also helps the motor mount to live longer.
It also keeps the clutch linkage happy in a three pedel car :D
-
I fixed the problem by making a turnbuckle strap to go from the head to the sway bar mount. It's a perfect lineup, easy to make, and it stopped the pecking. It also helps the motor mount to live longer.
It also keeps the clutch linkage happy in a three pedel car :D
You're absolutely right. There's a multitude of benefits to keeping the engine from twisting.on stock rubber motor mounts. At the very least, they should be through bolted. It'll save a lot of damage from happening should it break.
-
I notched the shock tower reinforcement today and now the engine sits down in to place.
https://youtu.be/O3o_VCAAo8E (https://youtu.be/O3o_VCAAo8E)