Accessory brackets when using front horseshoe mount

[bhap]

I have an L31 that will be going into my 62 C10 short step. It is currently a 235 3 on the tree. I have the V8 horseshoe and rear V8 bell housing and was hoping for a "bolt in" swap. I was looking at serpentine kits to add power steering and A/C eventually. Unfortunately it looks like the lower GM serpentine bracket uses the same bolt holes as the horseshoe mount. Can anyone confirm this or offer asuggestion on which v-belt brackets (or serpentine if there is one) will allow me to use the front horseshoe mount and allow for power steering and eventually A/C? Would the exhaust manifold brackets be an option? Thanks for any help.

[bhap]

An alternative is to go to side motor mounts. I have seen reference to the 67-72 frame stands - usually with a spacer. Has anyone tried these from Classic Muscle? They are listed as "60-62 C10".

[Captainfab]

Those parts in that pic are only part of the original style '60-'62 side motor mounts. You would need the rest of the assembly to use those. The original '60-'62 side mount engine mounts typically go for $250+. And that's when you can find them. They were only used in trucks with an auto trans. The '67-'72 small block engine mount brackets are hard to beat for the cost. You shouldn't need any more than a 1/4" spacer on top of the frame. You might try them without and spacer at all.

[bhap]

Thanks Captain - they didn't look like there was enough there. I'll look at the 67-72 mounts. Am I correct that the front horseshoe mount will be in the way of serpentine brackets?

[Captainfab]

There is no way you could run a serpentine accessory drive with the front mount. The most you could run with the front mount is an alternator and A/C compressor with the short water pump. You wouldn't be able to run power steering unless you combined the PS brackets with the front mount.

[bhap]

My cast aluminum serpentine brackets bolt holes line up with the front horseshoe mount bolt holes perfectly. To my surprise, the driver side mount for Alternator and power steering pump almost completely cleared the horseshoe angle with only small amount of the edge needing to be ground down to clear the pump body - maybe 1/2" on the edge for an inch or so. On the passenger side there is about 2" of the angle that would need to be removed, but this is from the section which tapers down from 1 1/2" H to about 1/4" H. The horseshoe mount itself is about 3/16" thick. My thought would be to shim the upper mounting points on the brackets out by the same 3/16". If I shimmed the water pump pulley 3/16", I'd be aligned. The question is whether cutting the front mount will weaken it too much or if there is a way to strengthen the end once the angle is cut away. When I look at the 67-72 side engine stands, I don't think they are near 3/16" thick. The driver side only needs a small amount removed, the passenger side is the concern. In the picture below, the metal above the tape would need to be removed to let the passenger side bracket sit flat on the mount. In the driver side pic, the pump body is just touching the angle. There are two bars that go from the alternator and A/C compressor to the heads that would need to be "adjusted" by the same 3/16" which I think is workable. Thoughts?

[Captainfab]

Trimming the horseshoe mount will weaken it to a certain extent. It may not fail since you will have the bellhousing bolted to the crossmember which will help hold the engine. Once you start shimming out the accessory bracket, it snowballs. In addition to what you already mentioned, the crank pulley will also need to be shimmed out. It would be simpler to have the accessory brackets milled down the 3/16" or so to allow for the thickness of the horseshoe mount.

[bhap]

Thanks Captain, that does make more sense. I went out to mock up the brackets with the horseshoe front mount and ran into another issue. The 8" harmonic balancer is too large for the horseshoe mount. At this point, I think I am going to surrender to the 67-72 side stand/motor mounts - too many "accomodations" to make the horseshoe mount work. Since I'm going to stay with the three speed manual for now, can I continue to use the rear bell housing mounts? Will the bell housing mounts put the engine in the right spot to locate the side engine frame stands? Any tips on making sure the engine position and angle are correct? Thanks for your help.
Bob

[Captainfab]

Yes you can keep your crossmember mounted bellhousing as long as you have the correct bellhousing to accommodate a small block. The 235 bellhousing will not work. You can check your engine angle by comparing your trans output angle yo the pinion angle. They need to be within 2*.