Haven't seen anyone comment on the use of a motor plate.

When I raced a small block years ago, I went through all of the above issues and settled on a motor plate. I would have been even smarter to have used a mid plate as well ,but did not. Instead, I used solid motor mounts to limit fore and aft movement.

No question, the motor plate worked really well and stabilized everything. Super easy to install as well.

If you use any kind of solid mount for the motor, use a stock mount for the transmission.

Loren