Spool Mount BB A-Body Swap

I have a '74 318 Duster I want to swap a 383 into. I've seen that Schumaker is NLA but have heard rumors that factory B/C body spool engine mounts will work. Anybody have first hand knowledge? TIA

I swapped a 413 into a 360 Dart Sport many moons ago. Used stock big block spool mounts to do it and it fit manifolds and all albeit after making manifold clearance with a BFH.

No idea if the engine was sitting correctly height wise or not but once the manifolds had clearance, it dropped into the Kframe and the trans mount lined up.

Kevin

If it was that easy then Direct Connection would not have built the BB swap K frame. It isn't difficult to move the mounts back on the K frame. If you don't have the time/talent/tools then you can find a local fab shop to do it. Jim Lusk has videos showing how to do it. https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopa...dy-small-to-big-block-conversion.470292/

What prompted my question was several people chiming in on another site, that they have done it. I had a DC K-member 40 years ago, but that was replacing the earlier style small block piece. With Mopar's tendency to re-brand assembly line parts with a "performance" part # I never discount the possibility anymore. Thanks for the info.

I have done it in my 71 dart. It requires cutting off the motor mounts on the kframe and moving them back a specific distance. I got the measurements from bigblockdart.com when I built the car in 2006. It worked great and I used hedman b body headers with the 400 I put in. It must be a V8 kframe that you use

Cut and move the mount 3/4" and it works. As said above, Jim Lusk is the man and his video shows what you need to do.

I guess it boils down to who you are going to believe. Here is a picture of my Duster with a DC type of K frame. The transmission lines up with the transmission mount and I have enough room in front of the engine for a clutch fan, full size radiator and a shroud. If you drop it in on the stock SB mounts you'll be fighting clearance issues all over the place. It can probably be done that way but don't be surprised if a lot of stuff doesn't fit.

I've seen enough of your work, I don't doubt anything you say. That image speaks volumes, everything looks to be where it "belongs". Thanks!!

No real need for me to chime in, but check out my videos. My Youtube channel is 1968GTSJimLusk.

If I ever did another one of these cars I'd do it differently. The next time around I'd leave the engine mounts as a variable and solve for them. This time around I accepted the DC K frame as a given and I made other stuff fit. Next time I'd use the cooling system and the headers as fixed points and I'd allow the engine mount location to float until I was positive that everything else fit. Once it all fit I'd weld the ears on the K where they needed to go.

I did a 400 in a 73 Duster years ago. I used the sb mounts, but I think I needed to trim the left side bracket to clear the oil pump. Ours was in a dirt track hobby stock car, so fit and finish was not a high priority. The SB mounts worked for what we needed.

I believe the biggest issue was the amount of variation in the body structure allowed by Chrysler at the time, If the variation was shifted one way, it worked out pretty well, but if it was shifted the other direction, it may not have worked at all. That is why you hear conflicting reports. I believe the DC K members were probably built with the desired shifted variation and sold as a performance part. Gene

Small block mounts will NOT bolt up to the big block ears...

Besides, unless you're doing major mods to relocate the engine, it all starts with the trans mount. That and using a factory mount on the passenger side determine the location of the saddle on the k-member. The driver side has a third factor. You can't just modify the engine mount (like you could on the passenger side) because the oil pump will not clear the saddle.