Factory Five Roadster Build Part 9: Engine And Transmission Install

At the rear of the transmission, we used a urethane transmission mount from Dallas Mustang (PN 9756; $29.99) to secure the transmission to the chassis. Due to driveline angles, it is often required to shim up the transmission, so we used a trick, billet-aluminum spacer kit ($36) from Forte's Parts Connection. We also used one of their speedometer block-off plugs ($18) since we'll have the electric speedometer connection from the transmission.

Before permanently tightening the engine mounts, a measurement was taken from the header collector to ground and compared side to side. A nudge of the engine on its mounts was required to get the two measurements identical to level the engine, at which point we tightened all mount fasteners.

In order to start the engine, we needed all drivetrain items to have fluid in them. The engine was filled with regular 10W30 per Smeding's break-in recommendations, and we filled the transmission with Royal Purple's Synchromax fluid via a section of 31/48-inch steel fuel line through the parking-brake handle opening. A perfect shot!

The optional FFR 4-into-4 headers do not have provisions for oxygen sensors if you are planning to use them with fuel injection (as we are). So, we had to drill holes into the headers (one on each side of the engine) following the Mass-Flo EFI instructions to weld the supplied fittings into place.

Starting the engine successfully requires throttle control and all of our wiring in place. The included FFR throttle cable was installed to the Mass-Flo EFI throttle body, and the Mass-Flo EFI harness was temporarily laid in place and connected.

After connecting the fuel lines, checking our wiring, and hooking up battery cables, we were ready for the first engine start. The Smeding 427 fired right up and settled into a nice, throaty idle.

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