Motor plate questions.

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Cope

Cope

Fusing with fire
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I have been looking at different plates (mid and front) and have a few questions.

First I like the idea of aluminum motor plates but how would I go about attaching an aluminum plate to a steel fire wall or cage/frame?

Second, what brand plates are you folks running?
mid?
front?
or both?

Third, When running a mid plate how dose that affect the converter to crank spacig?

I like the idea of both ends of the motor solid mounted. Pros, Cons?

Thanks again for all your time and advice.
 
I run a magnum force front plate and no mid plate. The only thing I dont like about the magnum force plate is that it's only 1/4". I have since copied it and made a 1/2" plate.
 
our iron head 360 and our W8 engine both have 1/4 motor plates and no mid plate, but both engines are set up with a fore/aft brace from the block to the frame. We have the car set up to swap quickly from one engine to the other so everythings been built around that. Until the floor was cut out to accommodate the CSR shield, as I was making the car 9 sec legal, it would have been a bear to remove the trans with a mid plate set up imho. Torque converters can be made to accommodate the thickness of the midplate.
 
so you guys running steel plates?

half inch seems like a lot of weight up front?...

Magnum force is right down the street from me.

I do have a nice plasma cutter and have thought about just making plates...
 
Absolutely get a template and make one...
For my vertigat bracket I had a member send me an outline of one and cut it out myself and it works great
 
no need to get a template. i would just set the block on paper with chalk and transfer to steel.

aluminum realy tickles my fancy, just wondering how best to make it solid?
 
Actually since mine was the opposite and made out of aluminum originally I was able to make it out of a thinner piece of Steel which of course it's just a little teeny bracket that holds the shifter in place not like what you're talking about a massive piece of Steel.
 
my thoughts are, I can weld steel and I can weld aluminum but i can not weld the two to each other...

How to attach a aluminum plate to steel?

i would lile to see pics of your plates and how they attach to frame and or fire wall.

Thanks again.
 
Just spit balling - welding large tabs on each and drilling and bolting together ?
 
no drilling into the cage allowed.

i figure folks funning aluminum plates must be bolting them in?...

J Par, pics of your plate?

please and thank you.

I want to set the mid plate as far back as I can and build from there. Fire wall and cowl be damed... i can fix that...

my buddy had his 3" back and 2" down. (in a B Body)
 
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The motor plates are aluminum. I was still flexing a 1/4" plate so that's why I made a 1/2" one. I have a 1/4" magnum force plate sitting here that is sell if your interested. It has bushings in it also.
 
Thank you.

if your bending it, i dont think it would make.me.happy...

I doubt ill make your numbers but i want to build as if i would...

How is your plate attached?
 
Cope said:
no drilling into the cage allowed.

i figure folks funning aluminum plates must be bolting them in?...

J Par, pics of your plate?

please and thank you.

I want to set the mid plate as far back as I can and build from there. Fire wall and cowl be damed... i can fix that...

my buddy had his 3" back and 2" down. (in a B Body)
Click to expand...
LOL I was just spit balling. I was thinking of welding a tab to the frame or roll cage and then bolting to the tab. I don't have anything like that in my 11-second car LOL . But I will post a picture of my hold down system ...
20160429_211227.jpg
 
These are a few pics of the old set up but you can see how the plate is attached to the frame and the front bars.
 
Your supposed to use a limiter to keep the motor from moving front to back. The motor plate only keeps the engine from rotating, you use limiters to stop movement front to back.
 
And that's exactly how I was imagining it at any rate some tabs welded to the frame And rollbar that you would connect it to....
 
A lot of guys don't tie it into the cage as it's not needed but in my opinion it helps tie everything in better and is a better set up.
 
Thanks guys!

Dartsport, That is some sexy work!

2 questions. Is that a 1/2" bolt with spacers or is the hole in the plate 2"?

Also why did you plate and stop the front tube and not run it through the fire wall?

Thanks again!
 
The motor plate has 4 bushings in it and 1/2" bolts going through them. The tubes stop at the firewall because it is a Magnum Force kit. At the time of building the car I never expected to be making this much power.
 
I have two nut inserts per side into the frame. From there an "L" bracket bolts to the fram and then motor plate. I have a separate fore/aft limiter from the engine block to my K member. Just be sure to put the mount behind the plate. Makes for easier engine removal.
 
car is in the trailer and the wife isn't here to help me get the hood off... to hard to do solo in the trailer. I'll get some this weekend as I need to unload it anyways.
 
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