Buick V6 modification, Info on transmission mount spacer size. Options

[pistonboy]

I am trying to complete a 914 that was never properly modified. It has the Buick V6 4.1L engine. The back half of the floor and many other parts have been replaced using parts from the Canadian company (Restoration? I cannot remember their name.) It is now stiffer than factory. Pinched one inch heater hose between engine and radiator has been replaced with 1.5 inch steel tubing. Many other things have been done to.

I have a question about the transmission mounting because it appears a spacer is missing at each. Present is the bolt from the transmission mount to the offset block. The offset block is present as is the bolt through it holding the transmission. What is missing is the spacer between the transmission mount and the offset block. Can anyone tell me its size? I can make a new one. I assume it is a segment of steel tubing but I do not know how long it is. Perhaps a stack of washers will work if nothing else. Does anyone know what size this spacer is?

It is a Renegade kit with their name and phone number molded into the adaptor plate, but I question how receptive they will be to someone with one of their old kits.

Thank you?

[Phoenix-MN]

I am trying to complete a 914 that was never properly modified. It has the Buick V6 4.1L engine. The back half of the floor and many other parts have been replaced using parts from the Canadian company (Restoration? I cannot remember their name.) It is now stiffer than factory. Pinched one inch heater hose between engine and radiator has been replaced with 1.5 inch steel tubing. Many other things have been done to.

I have a question about the transmission mounting because it appears a spacer is missing at each. Present is the bolt from the transmission mount to the offset block. The offset block is present as is the bolt through it holding the transmission. What is missing is the spacer between the transmission mount and the offset block. Can anyone tell me its size? I can make a new one. I assume it is a segment of steel tubing but I do not know how long it is. Perhaps a stack of washers will work if nothing else. Does anyone know what size this spacer is?

It is a Renegade kit with their name and phone number molded into the adaptor plate, but I question how receptive they will be to someone with one of their old kits.

Thank you?

I think my blocks are about 1" thick and spaced back about 1.5". I made mine from square aluminum stock.

[Coondog]

[quote name='pistonboy' date='Jan 1 2017, 08:47 PM' post='2439914']

It is a Renegade kit with their name and phone number molded into the adaptor plate, but I question how receptive they will be to someone with one of their old kits.

Thank you?



Call them up, if Renegade sent me a bill for all the time I spent talking with them and visiting there shop I would owe 1000s. Good people who will help you, they been around for 30 years so they must be doing something right !!

And no I didn't go with the Renegade conversion.

[TC 914-8]

I have a Rod Simpson kit with the same setup. The offset blocks mount to yeh car first then install the engine/ Trans assembly with the single bolt on the trans mount ears.

What is the linkage from behind the carb down to the trans ??

[Phoenix-MN]

I have a Rod Simpson kit with the same setup. The offset blocks mount to yeh car first then install the engine/ Trans assembly with the single bolt on the trans mount ears.

What is the linkage from behind the carb down to the trans ??

Cross bar for the throttle linkage

[pistonboy]

Thank you guys for your help. The blocks mounting to the transmission mounts are not flush against the mounts. They hang about one inch lower on a long bolt. I incorrectly thought a spacer was suppose to be between the mount and block.

Why is the block hanging one inch below the mount? It is because the muffler was incorrectly mounted too high on the transmission. If the blocks were up against the mounts as they were suppose to be mounted, the muffler would hit its heat shield. We are studying options regarding this.

I called up Renegade and they said there was no one there who knew about this engine kit and thus no one there to help me. They suggested I go on the internet and find people who could help me. I thought it was interesting they thought there were people on the internet who knew more about their own products than they did.

Thank you guys.

This car has a stage 3 Kennedy clutch and was too heavy for a daily drive. (All my cars are daily drives.) I live in the same town they are in, Palmdale, California. They solved my problem and were extremely helpful.

The home made muffler is interesting. It of course has two input pipes from the engine and four smaller output pipes in the middle, placing these output pipes in the center of the car's rear. It was very loud. Why? Because it is a simple hollow pipe (about 8 inches in diameter) with absolutely no baffling in it. To save costs, I had the shop doing the chassis work (an excellent muffler shop known for doing custom chassis and frame work) run a perforated exhaust pipe through the length of the larger pipe. It protrudes out each end and was welded in place so exhaust gasses could escape only through this pipe, out both ends. Then a curved exhaust pipe was welded to each end directing the exhaust out from under the car at each rear corner. It went from being very loud to having a much more pleasing sound.

I like homemade designs. Anyone can spend money. It takes more talent to make something than to buy something.

A note about my cars which are all daily drives and not show cars. I have three 914s, three Corvairs, Opel GT, 912, a street legal VW based dune buggy, a street legal VW based EMPI Sportster which is the first dune buggy kit, and a street legal VW based dune buggy with high clearance which holds one person sitting over the tunnel and shifting through their legs. These are vehicles between the years of 1959 and 1972. All are registered and insured. When I get a Christmas card from my insurance company, they mean it.

I also have a 1997 RAV4. I need something reliable to get me to the auto parts store.

I also have deposits on two Elios. (If they happen.)

I tell my coworkers "Old cars are more interesting than new cars. With new cars, you always arrive at your destination---Where's the excitement?"

You are a great bunch of guys. Thanks again for your help.

[Chris914n6]

I called up Renegade and they said there was no one there who knew about this engine kit and thus no one there to help me. They suggested I go on the internet and find people who could help me. I thought it was interesting they thought there were people on the internet who knew more about their own products than they did.

Needs clarification. RH has had 2 owners. The current owners from 2000ish didn't continue the Buick or any v6 swaps, just the SBC and later the LS & Subaru.