I am in the process of removing the engine from my recently acquired 914-6 conversion to rebuild the motor. The engine mount is a bar of square tubing which fixes to the original 914 engine mounting points. From what I have read on the board a bulkhead mount is preferable and obviously this would be a good time to fit one.
However I dont really have the $400 to $450 to spring for one at this point in time.
I am looking for opinions as to whether I should bite the bullet and fit one or whether I can live with the existing until a later stage.
P.S the car I bought is not a driver so I have no idea as to how it shifts e.t.c

Robert

I don't think you have any option since you've already got the engine out: bite the bullet!

...to save money, don't look at the cool, very sexy, must-have nikasil setof p/c's offered by this boards very own Charles Navarro (do a search)... or a James Adams RennShift... or a...

...well, you get the idea. And whatever you do, don't look at anything Karl ahs done with his six (you'll know why when you see it

First of all, welcome to the club!

If the ratio of engine removal PITA to your wallet's ability to provide for a decent mount is such that you can live without doing it now, than don't worry about it. If you find out that that 6 motor/trans is heavier than a 4 and kind of a PITA to remove and you don't want to do it again anythime soon, then pop for the good mount.

how big is the engine ?

if it's still in the 2-liter range, or maybe even a mild 2,7, do what you have to do to get the car running, save your nickles and dimes (or the Aussie equivalent, i'm sorry i'm not conversant with all the currency names worldwide...) for a Rich Johnson mount.

nobody much likes the crossbar mount but the reality is that there are a lot of them working okay. but they were designed in the days of the 2,0 911T engine, and i wouldn't trust it in my car for anything bigger than a 2,4 ...

Just to be different and because I'm running a 3.6 engine and I know this mount works with the 3.6, I went with a Patrick Motor Sports firewall mount. Here's a pic....

Don't use it! You'll spend 40 hours trying to make a shift rod that fits. In the scope of a six conversion project, $450 bucks is a spit on the griddle. Don't try and save money on one of the most critical components of the conversion. The other thing is if you ever plan (or hope) to put heat exchangers on the car, most crossbar mounts will interfere.

I did a conversion with one of Patrick's chrome moly bycicle handle cross bar mounts. It works OK, but that chrome moly bar is like a spring. When you go over bumps you can feel the power plant bouncing.

The other thing is routine maintenence. The crossbar mount makes working on the car more of a hassle. If you use a firewall mount and cut the four cylinder mount consoles off the car, you gain a little room underneath.


This is just my opinion. Which is derived from some experience. Also I do sell Rich's mount, (and have them in stock btw).

PK

And when the Patrick MS mount breaks, they don't stand behind.....another reason to NOT buy from those dickheads.....

I have the patrick bar, and it seems to be fine. It's not the firewall one though. But I haven't broken it yet. And drive it like you stole it, that phrase is below how I drive typically.

- Brett Smith

We have had 2-3 cars running around the tracks here with 3.6's mounted to the stock 9146 single bolt mount with NO issues. I dont recommend it, but I also dont recommend using anything that bolts into the tub. The factory welded the stock 6 mount in for a reason. I weld ALL the RJ mounts I use. I like the looks of the newer Patrick setup, but price comparison stops me from using it. I like the fact that the RJ mounts can be used with solid mounts or 911 sport mounts.


B

B, I plan on welding my mount to the firewall. They're available in bolt-on or weld-on, I opted for welding. RJ had some concerns with using his mount for a 3.6. I actually bought one from him and he told me it wouldn't work, so I sold it. I'm not sure Rich has done a 3.6 with one of his mounts. Don't get me wrong, RJs a great guy and has great parts, but when it comes to the 3.6 there's a lot of uncertainty.

The 3.6 is different animal. He would need to change the nose cone setup, but the current weld in mount would stay the same. I may help him out since I have a 3.6 that needs rebuilding. My comments werent really aimed at you.. just a FYI for others following along. I fully expected you to weld yours in.

Somebody mentioned the "boucing" of engines on the cross bar mount... they where 100% dead on. It feels hilarious.. until the mount cracks..


B

How do the V8s get away with a crossbar mount, is it just more beefy?? I would imagine that a V8 would wind up a cross bar pretty well !!

The V8 is triangulated in the mount. The V8 wants to lift up and out of the car when on the gas much more so than a flat 6. I HATE the Renegade cross mount, but it does work and I havent seen one fail... but they do flex big time. I duped it out of chrome moly ages ago and did a guesseted triangualtion to the block. I also got rid of the cheezy 1 inch wide steel pieces that go across our outboard engine mounts and hold the cross bar. I went to a delrin round block. Works slick and you jack the car up from the cross bar with NO FEAR. It wouldnt bend.


B