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Hey all, my '68 442 came with a 455 and no fan shroud. I ordered a fan shroud from Fusick's, which fit quite nicely onto my 4 core radiator. Unfortunately the fan hits the top of the fan shroud and there is about 1-2" of room below the fan. It doesn't quite hit the top of the shroud but as soon as throttle is applied and the motor squirms a little the fan immediately rubs. I didn't see anything on our forum but did see some ideas on a Chevelle site to include engine/tranny mounts. The motor does appear to tip upwards towards the front but this is my first A body so I don't have anything to compare it to. Any ideas?
Someone probably installed mis-matched engine and frame mounts, resulting in the engine sitting too high.
Prolly later model 455 engine mounts used with the original frame mounts.
how much room is between the frame and the oil pan? If it has more than 1/4”-3/8” it’s sitting too high
^^^THIS!
If whoever installed the 455 used the so-called "455" engine mounts, then that's the problem. A 1968 with orignal frame pads must use the 2261 style mounts with any Olds motor. See if you can get a picture of the rubber motor mount bolted to the frame pad.
Someone probably installed mis-matched engine and frame mounts, resulting in the engine sitting too high.
Prolly later model 455 engine mounts used with the original frame mounts.
was gonna say this. You need big block frame and engine mounts or it will hit,,,,,,,ask me how I know, LOL
For one thing your fan is way too deep in the shroud at the top. If you have a spacer get rid of it. That doesn’t even look like a 68 shroud. Where’s your top plate? Your radiator doesn’t look like it’s at the correct angle either. The top plate holds the radiator at the correct angle. I’d make sure you can’t fix the problem by moving the shroud before I changed the motor mounts. Nothing else appears to be “correct” so just try to make it work.
Last edited by allyolds68; Sep 26, 2018 at 04:47 PM.
was gonna say this. You need big block frame and engine mounts or it will hit,,,,,,,ask me how I know, LOL
Sorry, no.
Once again, in 1968, there was no such thing as "big block mounts". EVERY SINGLE A-body Olds with a V8 that year used EXACTLY the same 2261-style motor mounts and matching frame mounts. This applies to the 350 in the Cutlass, the 400 in the 442, and the 455 in the H/O. And as I've written literally hundreds of times here in the last decade, all that matters is that the motor mounts match the frame mounts, NOT the block. You might find this thread educational.
Thanks Joe and everyone. Before I replace all frame and motor mounts, is there any way to identify whether I have the correct frame and motor mounts? The engine was rebuilt in the last 2 years so it’s possible some of the mounts were replaced. I’d hate to go through the hassle and expense of replacing all 6 and find out that wasn’t my problem.
Thanks Joe and everyone. Before I replace all frame and motor mounts, is there any way to identify whether I have the correct frame and motor mounts? The engine was rebuilt in the last 2 years so it’s possible some of the mounts were replaced. I’d hate to go through the hassle and expense of replacing all 6 and find out that wasn’t my problem.
Don't waste your time and money replacing frame mounts. Simply measure the distance from the top bolts that attach the frame mount to the crossmember to the hole for the cross bolt that attaches to the motor mount. If this dimension is about 1.5", use the 2261 motor mounts. If this dimension is about 2.25", use the 2328 motor mounts. People make this MUCH harder than it needs to be. Again, review this thread.
For one thing your fan is way too deep in the shroud at the top. If you have a spacer get rid of it. That doesn’t even look like a 68 shroud. Where’s your top plate? Your radiator doesn’t look like it’s at the correct angle either. The top plate holds the radiator at the correct angle. I’d make sure you can’t fix the problem by moving the shroud before I changed the motor mounts. Nothing else appears to be “correct” so just try to make it work.
I don't see a spacer on that fan clutch, but for sure the top plate is missing and would help hold the shroud up higher than it is now. That is probably all the OP needs.
Years ago when I upgraded my radiator to a 4-row (recore) and added a clutch fan, I had rubbing problems, except it was at the bottom. One of the tabs on the shroud where the speed-nut clips at the bottom had broken off and allowed the shroud to flex upward enough to hit the fan under certain conditions. I fixed this by drilling a hole in the shroud near the tab and used a tie-wrap to pull the shroud down to the radiator support cross-member and that eliminated the interference.
I removed top plate right before I took photos. I am looking into the motor mounts to see what I've got and hopefully that has the answers I need. Thanks again for all the great input.
You might look to see if the trans mount has collapsed or try putting washers/spacers between mount and the trans. If it doesn't cause a vibration in the drive train your good to go. Experiment, its a lot easier to do than changing motor mounts and it should lower the fan so it does not hit.
Just installed new motor mounts and dropped motor in this week. What a frustrating experience as new motor has a 7 quart Milodan pan and it wouldn’t clear cross member with tranny installed. Motor dropped right in by itself and bolted up nicely. The old mounts were definitely different than the correct 2261 mounts and motor sits a bit lower. I’m sure that is what caused the fan to interfere with the top of the shroud. I’m in the home stretch now and hope to fire her up in the next couple weeks. Thanks for all the input.
My first thought is "collapsed radiator support mounts", not engine/trans mounts.
How old are the body-to-frame bushings and hardware? My '68 El Camino's body mounts--including the rad support mounts--were HORRIBLE. Rubber crushed, hardware corroded down to nothing.
Body mounts/bushings and radiator support mounts are in great shape. The body and frame overall are in incredible shape but I'm finding there were some mechanical issues, which is what led to this unplanned project. Everything has gone together beautifully. Only regret at this point is converting to E85 and the brain damage associated with a complete fuel system overhaul. I'm sure I'll forget about it pretty quick the first time I release 530 ponies!
Joe, I dug up this old thread and had a question. My 1968 442 had a 350 Chevy so I am returning it to stock. I purchased frame to motor mounts for my application from an Oldsmobile parts house and theysent me what you showed in the pics as a type 2 mount. Is this correct for my application?
My 1968 442 had a 350 Chevy so I am returning it to stock. I purchased frame to motor mounts for my application from an Oldsmobile parts house and theysent me what you showed in the pics as a type 2 mount.
Well, that's a shock.
Sadly, even the Olds specialty vendors get this wrong. Those are not the correct mounts for a 1968. Those mounts were not used until the 1969 model year. They will work fine in your car if you use the Anchor 2328 motor mounts. Essentially that duplicates the 69-72 mounting hardware. It won't be optically correct for a 68, but it will work. If you want to be correct, you need the Type 1 frame mounts and Anchor 2261 motor mounts. Either combination puts the crank centerline in exactly the same place relative to the chassis, but only the latter is correct for a true 1968 restoration.
Unfortunately, it appears that there isn't much of a market for those brackets. The correct frame pad looks like this.
There are vendors who sell them as 65-67 400 mounts, and while that isn't wrong, the same P/N 383563 brackets were used on every 1964-1968 A-body with an Olds motor and all 1969 A-body Olds with 350. Any one of those cars is a donor. I've found a few on ebay but the sellers are asking stupid money because they incorrectly claim that the mounts are unique to the big block cars. These are not, and I've bought complete parts cars for less than the $125 that one vendor is asking.
Fusick and Parts Place sell these 1970-72 brackets, and while they are dimensionally the same as the earlier ones, they are optically different as you can see.
