Hey guys. After 2 LS swaps, I decided to stop hand fabricating my motor mount brackets, and I now get them laser cut, and I weld them together. These brackets put an LS motor exactly where the old 305/350 used to go and don't move the driveline at all. This worked perfectly when I put together my Z71. No relocating anything, easy as pie.
If you use mount adapter plates, it moves the centerline of tabs on the clamshell, and they don't really fit the motor mount cushions without wrestling them in, or slotting the holes. Once you slot, the locators don't line up, and you have to trim those up.
Here's mine. I eliminated the need for clamshells, and made a simple, bolt-on mount.
A couple other features. This mounting location allows you to use stock truck manifolds, even the LS y-pipe if you need to still run cat's. If you are on a budget, or simply prefer the mechanical cooling fan, this setup places the engine right in the middle of the stock V8 fan shroud. This lets you work your way up to E-fans and headers later if the $$ is tight. The stock truck oilpan is a great fit on the 4WD trucks, and the sump is protected by the skid plate and front axle. On 2WD trucks, you might want to consider the F-car or Holley pan. I ran a truck pan from 2006-2010 with no issues, but it does hang below the engine crossmember, and I was never really confident with that.
Here's a few pics of my last LS swapped truck, almost 3 years since conversion, daily driven and going strong.
PM me if interested. I'm making these in small batches right now, we'll see how demand is. Cost for these is $80+shipping for the pair, uncoated.
The slotted holes allow for some adjustability for some other applications they work with. On an 88-99, or really any V8 truck that uses clamshells on the engine, you would use the forward side of the slot. The tabs are made with the stock locator features from the clamshell, and really make it easy to fit the motor right onto the frame mounts.
Here's a shot of them aligned like they would be on the side of the motor.
Here's a pic of a hand fabbed set I made for my 94 Z71. It was my daily driver for 18 months, and the new owner is still running these brackets, towing and occasionally wheeling the truck. Note how the locating tangs on the motor frame mounts fit the features on the bracket.
Here's a shot of the motor going in for the final time.
My old truck.. motor in and running. Still needed some wiring cleanup. And.. my fantabulous PVC intake that was supposed to be temporary, but got run for 18 months..
And a couple of shots with the truck at work. The Caprice on the trailer is LS-swapped too.
After being hooked to a wood chipped, and hauling 3 yard loads chipped bamboo.
Originally Posted by beertestr
Hey guys. After 2 LS swaps, I decided to stop hand fabricating my motor mount brackets, and I now get them laser cut, and I weld them together. These brackets put an LS motor exactly where the old 305/350 used to go and don't move the driveline at all. This worked perfectly when I put together my Z71. No relocating anything, easy as pie.
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