Oddball Engine Mounts

[curvedglass]

Looking for motor mounts / trans member that would allow me to install a 403 small block Olds motor in my 63. I have a 89 Buick Wagon that someone made in to a hotrod. They scrapped the 307 and installed a HiPo crate motor. I tried to sell it and no takers. I don't want to lose too much scratch so I am thinking about making it a donor for my 63. It came from a famous race shop in Cali called Mondello Performance. Supposedly this guys head porting tech is still used on GM performance heads. It has a mild cam, headers, HEI, and a holley 780. The beast is coupled to a 200r4.

[Captainfab]

I'm pretty sure you will have to fabricate brackets to use the Olds engine mounts in the pickup frame. For the trans crossmember you can use an auto trans crossmember from a '63-'87 pickup, Suburban, etc.. It will be easiest to convert the e-brake over to the '66-'72 style unless you can find an original '63-'65 auto trans crossmember.

[chevy2junk]

1979 chevrolet truck diesels were oldsmobile block diesels in half ton.That should do what you need.

[tincan1966]

OK just a thought here, if you have the whole 89 wagon the engine is coming out of, then I'd think you already have your mounts. Just remove both halves from the wagon, set the engine where you want it and drill holes to bolt in the mounts or weld the bottom half in.

My thinking with this is: if you ever have to replace- just use OEM parts for the '89 wagon.

[curvedglass]

That makes sense. the wagons were all the same from GM back then. The grills and the dashboards were the only difference. Buick / Olds had the 307 5.0 and the pontiac / chevys had 305's. Maybe I can combine the two types of mounts.

[curvedglass]

I was diggin on the diesel mounts so I did some research:
from a diesel site on the interweb

There is an enormous misconception that the 350 Olds is based on GM's 350 gas engine. While they share similar architectural dimensions, this is a rumor. Not only would such a design be engineering suicide, but the gas engine would never live up to the cylinder pressures created by the 22.5 : 1 compression diesel. In fact, GM's official statement regarding these rumors was that "All of the major parts: block, crankshaft, rods, pistons, and lifters have been strengthened to handle the higher compression ratio." The rumor that the engines are related likely stems from a combination of the following:
• Because of the engine's identical bore and stroke, the Olds diesel could be manufactured using pre-existing tooling.
• Not only is it easy to assume the 350 diesel is based on the 350 gas engine, but owners and outsiders alike needed to place the engine's problems on something.
Regardless, the 350 Olds was capable of up to 30 miles per gallon in the right car and with the right driver. GM continuously tried to sell buyers on its Olds diesel by identifying it with "prestige" and "status". Unfortunately, by the time most of the kinks were worked out, their customers had fled.