Hey guys, why is it 73 motor mounts are different than 71-72? Whats the big difference if any? Why do i see some parts vendors offering "tall" and "short" mounts? Why are coupe/fastback mounts different than convertible ones? just wondering.........
The short of the answer is Federally Mandated Safety standards.
Now as to why the coupe/fastback are different than the convertible - let's hope Don from Ohio Mustang or another one of our resident experts come by to answer that one for us. I don't know. Yes, they are different.
The motor mounts and the pedestals are both different. If I understand correctly one can trade out both for the other and all will be okay but you cannot mingle the two.
If you want to use the earlier mounts in your 73 then you will have to get some of the mounts that bolt to your crossmember out of a 71 or 72 or a Cougar. They don't make new ones apparently but when I was looking I found some Prothane Polyurethane captive mounts that looked similar.
Thanks for the reply. My 73 has a 351c and i found out that i cant use the short "2286" mount after i bought some back in the 90's. So now I'm gonna try the "2257" mount which i hope is taller and should "bolt rite in" as they say..
Hi all, I am reviving this tread, because I have been dealing with this design change problem for about a month and a half. I bought motor mounts for my 73 off Amazon about a year and a half ago. They were listed to fit 1965-1973 mustangs with 289/302 and a whole lot of other stuff. They looked like the mounts my old 71 four speed car used to eat until I chained the motor down, so I scrapped the mounts that came off the engine when I pulled it.
Fast forward a year when I am setting the engine back into the 73 and WTH the mounts don’t line up. After a closer look at the Transdapt box, it says use with crossmember blah, blah. Okay, it didn’t say that in the listing, but it is way to late to send them back. Besides, I left the bolt in the driver’s side mount/frame bracket with the engine hanging from the hoist and over night the tire that always goes flat did its thing and broke that mount anyway.
Next I look them up on Rockauto. They look the same, but it says they will fit and they are $4 each, so figure what the heck. Maybe they are a little longer or drilled in a slightly different location. When they show up I match them up to the transdapt mount and they appear to be the same. A quick test fit and sure enough they are. Now back to the black hole of the internet. Almost all listing show there is no difference in the 1973 mustang until I find a listing on Ebay saying “NOTE: some 1973 mustangs use different mounts. Please look closely at the pictures and compare with your old mounts” This was the first time I seen this. Now I come to several forums and this one was the only one I could find this information in this exact post.
After I read it, I say to myself “no way” they don’t make them anymore. I promise you they didn’t use this mount on one car line for only one year. I just have to figure out what other cars they fit. The cougar is a sister car and you can still get mounts for it. I have the 1973 Ford factory service manual so I looked through it and this is what I found.
Okay this makes sense to me; the Cougar uses the same 6038 mount along with the Torino and Montego. So, I looked up mounts for a 1973 Torino. They are EM-2370 and EM-2371. The 2371 is the RH mount, so I ordered two of them for ~$14 ea. to test fit. When they showed up I ended up with two 2371 and a bonus 2370 mount. I compared them to the old style mounts and sure enough they appear to be offset and drilled in a position to fit better. However, when I test fit them the saddle that fits down over the frame brackets was about 3/16” to wide on all mounts and both 2371 mounts are slightly bent where the block bolt holes are out of alignment by about a 1/8” or so. Since I have one broken old style motor mount I tried the saddle part inside the saddle one of the new mounts and it fit perfectly to take up the space. So, I tore the saddle off the other mount and used it on the 2370 mount (see photos). I had to slot the bolt holes for the block mounting on the 2371 and then it fit right on. I think this was just poor quality control.
I set the engine down in and it fit like a glove. The only hassle was lining the two saddle assemblies and bracket holes up when putting in the long bolt. I should have tack-welded the two saddles together. I torqued all the bolts and was done. I’m not sure if the saddles are too wide as designed or it is a quality control issue with the manufacturer. My instinct is as designed.
Well after all that rambling on, what have we learned? The 2370 and 2371 mounts fit, but will require some sort of spacer to the saddle. The will fit a 302, 351W, and 351C. Both mounts are interchangeable. It doesn’t make any difference what side they are on. I put the 2370 on the driver’s side because the “capture assembly” looks to be a little more robust. This is how the Torino is called out anyway.
Working on resizing photos.
The lump installed. Yeah its not pretty, but I just want to get it back in and running/moving under its own power. I am moving this year and I have several other cars that still need work. Like putting the interior back in my SVO and timing chains on one of my V8 S4s.
Good Deal, glad you got it worked out. I had to laugh when you spoke of your 71 ripping motor mounts apart. My 71 was 500+Hp and the drivers mount didn't last long either. I resorted as you did to chaining the left front corner down with a piece of 1/4 inch chain. It would take it a week or two, and I'd have to shorten the chain, as it had stretched to the point, when you let off the gas, you could feel, and hear the motor fall back down onto the mount . Fun Times.
JTS