Just a question for you Chassis GUY'S

I was wondering what all I would have to change to set my engine back in my 84 Mustang 3 or 4 inches from where it would sit now? Just wondering if it would be good to do?

Dan

well until the firewall gets in the way.............

For sure your gonna have fitment issues with headers, oil pan, possible trans tunnel,....................then all the little things like linkages, driveshafts etc.

The fox platform does not have a lot of room up front as it is, if your fab skills are in good shape I see no reason it cant be done............motor setback is a good thing, but these guys around here with them as they are seem to get them to work pretty good.

I really wouldn't mess with it unless it was a tube car. You can get pretty good weight bias in these rides as it is. Anything less than 54% nose will work.

whatbumper wrote:I really wouldn't mess with it unless it was a tube car. You can get pretty good weight bias in these rides as it is. Anything less than 54% nose will work.

Ok I did talk to another guy who said that the Certification change also as the firewall would have been modified. Just thought that it would give me little more hood clearence?

Thanks Dan

The funny thing is a lot of people only look at the engine setback number in relation to the wheelbase & front wheel C/L. This is probably because of the assorted rule books out there using the WB & front wheel C/L as a reference point for measuring/finding the "max" percentage setback allowed.

But another way to compare engine setback numbers (and their effect) from car-to-car-to-car-to-car-to-etc is to look at the mid-plate to rear axle C/L numbers, especially on faster and/or wheelstand prone cars. This is a way to compare engine setback numbers while taking the wheelbase out of the picture since any arbitrary WB number is meaningless while the front suspension is unloaded & the front wheels are in the air. This is one way Vanishing Point used to reference engine setback numbers to better compare engine placement on different assorted types of cars and/or different assorted wheelbases.

looking at engine setback numbers this way offers another way to look at different combos, like supposedly "nose heavy" short wheelbase cars like the BBFox stuff & how they can still leave with the nose in the air. Even though the Fox stuff is sitting there with it's engine sitting out on/over the nose, the engine is also sitting at a workable distance from the rear axle/suspension centerline as well (when compared to other cars).

Or look at a long WB truck combo. Even with the "max rule book" 10% of WB setback from front axle C/L allowed, the engine it's self can still end up sitting a decent distance from the rear axle/suspension C/L.

Using both methods together gives a better picture of what's going on with a given combo.