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Engine plates not for street cars?

1552 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  thecustommuffler
I was just taking a look at a few places that sell front and mid plates for my small block, and they all seem to say that they are for drag use only. Is there any truth to that, or are they just saying that to cover their asses? And one more thing.. How do you guys deal with the water pump pulley being out of alignment with the others? (once you add the front plate behind it) TIA
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Motor plates when run on the street will cause viberation from the drive train that the rubber mount usally take care of.Pulley out of line put a electric water pump on or a elactric water pump drive on it.
"For racing use only" The main reason is they will sell the product to Joe Shmoe and he will whine and bitch about the vibration or harshness of the part. It's kinda like a swim at your own risk thing. I have seen spacers offered by a few companies for correcting the alignment.
I was just taking a look at a few places that sell front and mid plates for my small block, and they all seem to say that they are for drag use only. Is there any truth to that, or are they just saying that to cover their asses? And one more thing.. How do you guys deal with the water pump pulley being out of alignment with the others? (once you add the front plate behind it) TIA
I made a spacer that went behind the crank pulley. If the motor plate is 1/4" thick, the crank pulley spacer needs to be 1/4" thick. Of course, you'll need to space your accessories correctly too.



When my BBF Mustang was running, I put thousands of street miles on that motor plate setup. My next BBF is going in a 2003 F150. That's getting a motor plate too. IMHO, they are streetable. My standards vary from the next guy though :).

Have a good day!
Michael
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Mine works great

I thought it would vibrate like hell and make my butt cheeks go numb. Nah! It actually works very well, front plate is behind water pump and tranny is on a urethane mount. Crank pulley is custom so no spacers. Motor makes 808hp with a 5speed, idles @ 850, sounds like dynamite going off every time it fires, but does not feel like it is a solid mount.

I think bad rubber mounts that let two metal parts vibrate against themselves is where you get the real harsh vibration. Good balance on motor parts, balanced driveshaft with a small angle @ both ends and it will work. Mines as smooth as any rubber mounted hot rod I have ever ridden in.

If the engine fouls a plug, you will know it in the seat of your pants immediately.
I have a `89 Mustang and run solid eerything. No vibration at all. I finally did get vibration when I installed solid aluminum plugs for the crossmember.
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