Tips on dropping in a 351c into a 70 Mach 1

[Monticore]

Gonna keep this brief to get the ball rolling.

Lakewood motor mounts, confirmed by Lakewood to be correct model
351 Cleveland motor
1970 Mach 1

Issue:
Having a REAL tough time getting the motor mounted.

Lakewood mounts are bolted to block.
Motor mounts and frame mounts line up fine but I cannot get the holes aligned to get the bolt through.

It ALMOST lines up if I drop the motor to just a little weight being on the frame, then I go to the drivers side and pull up on the motor to twist it a bit. THEN, I have to pull the engine hoist away from the car to influence the motor to "nose down" a bit. My father in law and I spent 2-1/2 hours wrestling the motor. Still not bolted in.

Questions:
Should the motor self center itself into the V of the frame mounts?
If it does not, does that necessarily mean that I have a bent frame?

Please, please, please offer any tips to get this in.
Zac

[Oztrailer]

Have you tightened the mounts to the block? If so maybe leave them loose so you can get some small movement to align with the other holes?

There isn't a left and right is there?

[BLACK JADE 69]

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM PUTTING THE 351 WINDSOR IN MY 69. LUCKILY MY COUSIN HELPING ME WAS AN OLD FORD MECHANIC WHICH WE DID JUST AS OZTRAILER SAID AND LOOSENED THE MOUNTS TO GIVE US ENOUGH "PLAY" TO LINE UP ALL THE HOLES. GOOD LUCK TO YOU

[Monticore]

Thanks guys. We stopped trying at midnight, and didn't think about loosening the bolts until we had had enough "fun" for the night.
We are also goingto try to get a philips screwdriver in on one side to help align the other side. Get the other sides bolt in correctly then swap the screwdriver for the real bolt. This may be unnecessary with the loosening technique.
Thanks again.
I'm sort of glad I'm not the only one that has had this.
I was starting to get real worried there was more going on with the frame.

What I found weird is that the springs up front did not seem to compress much when the motor was fully on the mounts (though the bolts were not lining up). Maybe in a few weeks when the car gets driven it will bounce into shape.

Thanks again guys!
Zac

[Steven Harris]

It looks as though you have been given some sound advice and should be able to make proper headway on your next try.

Let us know how you make out with the work.

[Monticore]

On another forum I found someone had the same problem with a 67 Mustang. A PDF was shared with some good info. Here is the link:
http://www.mustangbarn.com/PDFs/1964-66%...Mounts.pdf

Here was my last post:

Just to reiterate the previous advice given...
Loosen the mounts.
Loosen both the mounts to the block and the mounts on the vehicle.
Be sure to check the mounts on the car against the PDF in the link offered in this thread.

After confirming the mounts were good we loosened the bolts for the mounts. The motor was resting on the mounts, just not lined up to bolt it down. After loosening the mounts we lifted the motor just slightly off the mounts. The mounts were easily moved towards each other and the bolt run through them. Dropping the motor a hair more allowed the other side to be done.

So easy. Do yourself a favor and loosen the mounts.

[Steven Harris]

Ah Sweet Success!

Thanks to the help of some friends.