Shimming the K-member

I have a 440 in my Dart with the Schumacher motor mounts. When I put the NOS plates on I needed a 1/4" more hood clearance. I put the 1/2" spacers between the frame and k-member with no problems at this point. No issues with TB's, exhaust, steering, fuel, throttle cable, trans cable, cruise cable, wiring, hoses, or anything else. My only concern was the fan shroud clearance and it turned out I had plenty. Check out the pic of the spacers I made. I countersank one side of the holes in case they came in contact with the bolt. I loosened all four bolts, took them out of one side only, pried the k-member down slightly, slid in the spacers, replaced the bolts but not completely tight. I then installed the other side the same way. Torqued all the bolts and good to go. Hope I didn't forget anything:)

What causing the engine & trans to sit up so high?
I had a similar issue, but not quite so much. It turned out to be a bad set of Dynatech aftermarket interlocking motor mounts. They were warrantied and the replacements fit right and dropped the motor down to the stock position.


If you do shim the K-frame, be sure to check your driveline & pinon angle in relation to the crank/trans centerline.

Those Schumacher mounts are very handy, but they don't put the engine in the stock location...exactly. I used a set of hemi conversion mounts in a challenger and the air cleaner just clears the hood (like, by a millimeter). I never got around to shimming the K member, but at some point you have to do what you have to do. Also, at some point you will really start screwing with the geometry of the front end. The 68 SS cars used special components (lower ball joints, etc) to correct the geometry. Those parts, so far as I can tell, are not available for a 68 SS car let alone a B/E body.

Shimming the K member up is a bad idea. The self centering feature of the bolts is lost too. This "fix" is like buying a hat that is too small, then going to get your head shrunk to fit the hat.