[HO455]

During the new motor installation I was reusing the old mounts which looked good. But after an hour of cursing and shoving on the passenger side I pulled the mount off the and found that the last time someone installed the bolt they had cross threaded it into the mount and now the mount was junk. A trip to NAPA got me two new mounts and new bolts. An hour later it was all bolted down. Although it did take removing the bolts on the tranny mount and pulling the tailshaft to the driver's side slightly, as well as leaving all bolts on the block loose until the bottom two were snugged up. After all the front mounts were tight I reinstalling the tranny mount bolts. I could have avoided that step if I hadn't bolted the tranny up while the new mounts were being picked up. So much for trying to be productive. I don't understand why Chevy stuck with these mounts for so long. The Pontiac style is so much quicker to install.
This little detour to the past leads me to the project of the day. Apparently my new engine is a torque monster as I have already destroyed the driver's side mount. While attempting to beat traffic out of the driveway at work I nailed it and suddenly the tranny jumps into neutral. Akk!!!! I see the tach swung pass 5000. Gaa!!
So I get home and raise the hood and power brake the WMB and the engine spins to the right and I get to see the cross member. Yikes!
Went down and got two new ones from Dan's Classic. I do like the design of these better than the NAPA ones I got. I believe they will be harder to tear apart due to the flange on the bottom that should catch the bottom of the rubber block. I didn't have to undo the transmission this time but I did have to loosen the motor mount stand on the driver's side to get all the holes to line up.
Two things I learned from the first time around is that chasing the center bolt threads will make starting that bolt easier. And that grinding the corner off the driver side mount makes tightening the front bolt easier.
I'm thinking it will be a smart idea to install some limiting straps like the factory did so I don't have to do this again. Although horsepower related repairs are more fun than other repairs.