I am getting the engine ready to reinstall with the sideshift transaxle. I know that the front engine bar needs to be switched, but does it bolt up to the same engine brackets? Or do those need to be changed out too? If so, can it be done without removing the cooling system? I am sure I missed a thread somewhere along the way.

Different bracket. You'll need the rubber mounts that go between the engine and the bar.

It's much easier to install the rubber mounts with the engine out as you can slide the fan shroud out of the way. Kinda a PITA.

Just to make sure, you did get the solid outer mounts for the sideshifter bar, correct?
And the whole shifter assembly? And the firewall conversion bushing?

Andy

I have the rubber mounts already on the bar. But the brackets are different as well? I am not sure of the mounts on the body. They seem to be a rubber material. What do the right ones look like?

The transmission mounts seem to be the same as the other ones for the engine. Do they need to be changed as well?

Here is a picture of all the hard parts needed to make a side-shift conversion.

Click to view attachment

The four parts just to the right of the engine bar are the ones we're talking about. The rubber chassis mounts at each side of your car need to be replaced with the U-shaped pieces about 4 inches long. The outer holes are where the bolts mount the piece to the chassis, the center hole mounts the engine bar. The two pieces between the chassis mounts in my picture are the pieces that go on the engine under the cooling fan. The rubber engine mounts you have attach to these and the engine bar.

The "soft" parts not shown include various bushings you can buy. The bushing in the firewall must be specifically made for conversion projects since the firewall hole in tail-shift cars is a different size. Fortunately this is a common modification so the part is readily available. There is also a rubber boot that prevents water intrusion but it is less than effective in a conversion since the boot attachment to the firewall is different. And there is a plastic cover where the shifter attaches to the transmission. You already have the other soft part, the rubber engine mounts. If you're missing any of these parts I'm sure someone on the board here can help you, plus the soft parts are probably available new through one of our board vendors.

I have all of those pieces and the bushings. Right now it looks like I need to know the correct engine and tranny mounts that go to the body.? The ones on the car went to a tailshift setup. I assumed they would be the same but I wanted to be sure. My other question was the brackets on the front of the block. I know now that those need to change and I already have them. Which body brackets do I need for the setup? The bars you mention that are 4 inches long don't look like anything I've seen on any parts site. Is there a puck that goes in between the bracket and mount?

Here's the PET for the two mount bars.

And there it is, no rubber or any other kind of puck. Thanks everyone, that will take care of my questions for now! I am sure to have many more later!

You can make the outboard mounts oout of steel flat stock. I made one out of 3/8" by 1.5 - drill 3 holes and you are good.

If interested I have your Trans mounts in "My Garage Sale"

I did the side shifter conversion on my 72 model and tried to install that rubber boot at the the firewall side and it fell of with in a couple of days and I lost it What is the solution to fixing that problem? Are there custom boots available for the 72 and early cars that have been converted to the side shifter like mine?

And if anyone is reading this and has some parts they can part with (I live in Japan) please contact me as I need the boot at the firewall, also the boot on the end of the linkage is broken bad and I also want to redo all of the bushings while I am at it. Thank you and cheers

Jamie

I got all my bushings at Pelican Parts. I believe they have the boots as well.

Thanks mate, I will take a look there from now.

The shape of the boots are different for the tailshift vs sideshift at the firewall. They are not interchangeable.

Yes, it is possible to change the engine mounts without removing the cooling shroud!!! It took a while and some searching for the right size tools, but it is done! One more step closer to Tahoe!!