Float a motor

[Art Bjornestad]

Is there any negative effects if you use the engine FAM but do not use the transmission rubber pad and casting?

[PC/SR]

I have not noticed any, except the rear pads squish down a bit over time but I thnk they do that anyway.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Art Bjornestad

Is there any negative effects if you use the engine FAM but do not use the transmission rubber pad and casting?

Art,
NO! Bill W.

[2manycars]

Actually, I do not think the rear rubber pad and casting is a good idea. the way the transmission and housings mount to the engine indicate it was designed to hang off the engine, not be a support for the engine. There is no support at the bottom of the housings to the engine, like the B engine which has the pan go all the way to the housings, and bolt to them. The A has support at the top, in the two lugs that attach to the engine where the accelerator assembly attaches. I do not use the transmission mounted pad and casting for that reason.

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by Art Bjornestad

Is there any negative effects if you use the engine FAM but do not use the transmission rubber pad and casting?

Yes they made them for a reason.

[George Miller]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Think about this
What happens when you put the brakes on. Rear end wants to stop, car wants to keep going. What keeps the rear end coming.

When you hit bump with a wheel, what does it do to the engine. It wants to move side ways, and back or forward depends if it is the front or back wheel.

What happens when you get on the gas hard. Does the rear end want to push the engine forward.

I wonder why Ford used the original motor mounts.

[bbrocksr]

Originally Posted by George Miller

Think about this
What happens when you put the brakes on. Rear end wants to stop, car wants to keep going. What keeps the rear end coming.

When you hit bump with a wheel, what does it do to the engine. It wants to move side ways, and back or forward depends if it is the front or back wheel.

What happens when you get on the gas hard. Does the rear end want to push the engine forward.

I wonder why Ford used the original motor mounts.

Very good explanation George. Also frame rail twist and flex.
Bill

[pcup]

Great explanation, I'm wondering if that is why my open cab PU now wobbles [steering] as i didn't install the rear mount?

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by pcup

Great explanation, I'm wondering if that is why my open cab PU now wobbles [steering] as i didn't install the rear mount?

It is worth a try and not that hard to do.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

My Lord, why are so many folks PARANOID about Float-A-Motor mounts?? Like, the rear end stops & the body keeps going! the front axle comes back under the car, the motor goes sideways??? Where do all these "stories" come from, and don't blame it on the wives. If all these were true, modern cars would have iron motor mounts. Float-A-Motors are great & quiets a Model A sooo much. On my '30, I had them in the front & rear, and it was so smooth & quiet! At 65 MPH the motor just hummed along so nice, smooth, & quiet! Bill W. (Geez, hope we don't get into motor oils again also, some OLD threads just get WORN out!)

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by pcup

Great explanation, I'm wondering if that is why my open cab PU now wobbles [steering] as i didn't install the rear mount?

NO, NO, NO! Bill W. (Kinda' like saying, does my rear end whine 'cause I corrected the basic timing?)

[George Miller]

Yes, yes, yes
The drive shaft is fasten to the engine with a solid torque. Which keeps the rear axle from moving forward or back. When you hit a bump with one of the tires it tries to move the end of the torque tube in a ark. the transmission and engine have to hold it. The later cars from Ford had the torque tube and transmission connected to frame cross member.
Modern cars use a open drive with a different axle mount. It is different animal altogether.

[theHIGHLANDER]

Packads and Model As are 2 cars that can be found AS ENGINEERED with 6 digit mileage. What does that say? To me it says it's best not to re-invent the things. Still, several folks feel the need to get their beloved little As closer to their new EDGE or EXPLORER. Why? Build a street rod if you don't like how Henry and his boys did it. Is it nice? Does it last? Will cause issues down the road? I may never know...

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I have worked on many A's with FOMs. The only ones with straight frames were the ones that had recently been installed. Essentially, they all were sagging much more at the motor mounts than I have found on A's with original mounts.. The ones with FOm and without the trans mount sag so bad the hood is way out of alignment. In the worst cases the frame twists out at the bottom as it drops and the doors stick. The more miles on the car with those things, the worse the cars have been.

[Richard Lorenz]

I adjusted mine with so that there was essentially no pressure on the transmission mount under normal conditions. I did not want vibrations coming into the car at that location. There would be some support there when the car is bouncing around. Works well. My engine was balanced properly, and there is not a significant vibration at any speed.

[George Miller]

I do not think most people think about what makes a car do what it does. Ford made the rear mounts the way they were, to control the front and rear axle. When the rear axle comes up, one of two things will happen. The rear axle will go back. "That is what should happen" or the engine will go forward. "That is what could happen with fool a motor mounts". The reason the rear axle moves back is because the torque tube is on a angle. When the axle comes up it has to go back. Most cars have a slip joint in the drive shaft for this reason. The model A with its buggy springs got away with out a slip joint. I think this is why the first Model A's had a solid front mount. Then they found out it would work with out a solid mount.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

I PROMISE, I PROMISE, I PROMISE, I won't "HAWK" Float-A- Motors again! Most folks never change their ways of doing stuff, ME included, up to a certain point. I always try to post helps that have been proven to be good advice or stuff that has worked for ME. Maybe I can still be a help to some that didn't grow up doodling with mechanical or electrical contraptions. Like, which is the "business" end of a screwdriver?? Apologies for being "testy," just waiting for Pat's imminent GLORIOUS HOMECOMING. bill w.

[1931 flamingo]

George: Is not the "slip joint" in an A at the U-joint?
Paul in CT

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

George: Is not the "slip joint" in an A at the U-joint?
Paul in CT

Not one on the torque tube, that is what controls the rear axle, forward, and back, not the U joint. yes there is one on the drive shaft, there has to be one there.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by George Miller

Yes, yes, yes
The drive shaft is fasten to the engine with a solid torque. Which keeps the rear axle from moving forward or back. When you hit a bump with one of the tires it tries to move the end of the torque tube in a ark. the transmission and engine have to hold it. The later cars from Ford had the torque tube and transmission connected to frame cross member.
Modern cars use a open drive with a different axle mount. It is different animal altogether.

Most modern cars are front wheel drive, just don't seem right when I see some IDIOT smokin' the front tires!! Bill W.
(If all our Model A sub assembleys shifted around like some think, the car would be unsafe to drive! Get real, they ain't some flimsy Rube Goldberg Contraption!)