Hooker Blackheart 1967-72 C10 Truck LS/LT Swap System Info Thread

[toddoky]

Originally Posted by 72MARIO

Just wondering what the engine angle.has been set to ? My dirty dingo mounts have my engine down 4.5 degrees. That angle.is causing drive shaft vibirations in my suburban. I cant get the engine lower without alot of cutting and fabricating. Your exhaust stsyem and transmission crossmember look really nice.

Thanks for dropping in to check out the images and give a comment. You’ve discovered what a lot of users of adapter plate mounts have and that is that their use comes with an engine height penalty in most applications that does not permit U-joint operating angles to be optimized in a bolt-on manner. Your case would be even more amplified due to the longer wheelbase of your Suburban compared to a short bed C10, especially if it’s lowered, The engine mounting brackets in the Hooker Blackheart 1967-72 C10 swap system were designed along with the transmission crossmember to provide desirable U-joint working angles on trucks that have been lowered with the typical 4”/6” drop kits that are commonly used on these trucks. I don’t recall what the relative engine inclination angle that resulted from that effort is off of the top of my head, but I will find out and report back on it for you.
Posted via Mobile Device Follow-up: the resultant engine inclination angle ended up being 3.5 degrees relative to the bottom of the frame rail.

[toddoky]

This would be a good time to post some other depictions of the exhaust that can be used for comparative reference to what others may be used to seeing on their own trucks. The first images I'll put up are side shots that show the Hooker Blackheart 3" exhaust system, the 4L80E transmission pan and the coming Hooker Blackheart long tube headers on the development truck.

[BlueJeep]

Todd, can you educate me on how your hooker engine mounts compare to the poly leaf-spring type bushing mounts for vibrations? Thanks!

[toddoky]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Todd, can you educate me on how your hooker engine mounts compare to the poly leaf-spring type bushing mounts for vibrations? Thanks!

I can’t make a comparison to the cylindrical poly mount inserts you are referring to as I’ve never designed a set of swap mounts that use them or driven a vehicle that has been equipped with them. I can however make a direct comparison to GM factory 4th-Gen F-Body mounts, because that’s what I design all the Hooker Blackheart LS and LT engine swaps to use. That gives the user the option to use stock rubber replacement mounts, or aftermarket poly inserts in the clamshells, both of which will be available from many sources for years to come.
Posted via Mobile Device

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by toddoky

I can’t make a comparison to the cylindrical poly mount inserts you are referring to as I’ve never designed a set of swap mounts that use them or driven a vehicle that has been equipped with them. I can however make a direct comparison to GM factory 4th-Gen F-Body mounts, because that’s what I design all the Hooker Blackheart LS and LT engine swaps to use. That gives the user the option to use stock rubber replacement mounts, or aftermarket poly inserts in the clamshells, both of which will be available from many sources for years to come.
Posted via Mobile Device

I bought the Holley mounts, and have a quick question for you. Any idea why the poly insert is offset to the right as it's mounted up in the clamshell? I see the OEM F-Body mounts are the same, so I assume to make a direct replacement you had to, but I'm wondering about the reason for it. Thanks!

[toddoky]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

I bought the Holley mounts, and have a quick question for you. Any idea why the poly insert is offset to the right as it's mounted up in the clamshell? I see the OEM F-Body mounts are the same, so I assume to make a direct replacement you had to, but I'm wondering about the reason for it. Thanks!

Yes, the Hooker Blackheart mounts are designed off of the geometry of the stock GM 4th-gen mounts so as to be interchangeable with them. I can't say for sure why GM built the offset/bias into the inserts, but I would figure it had something to do with the architecture of the 4th-gen cars that required it to be that way. They could have also done it to have a single part number fit both sides of the engine to increase their order quantities and lower production costs.