460 swap motor mount towers
 

I've got a 72 F100 4wd that had a 360 and I am swapping to a 460. I've already worked through all the common bellhousing, clutch, flywheel, etc issues. Now I'm trying to get the motor in. I bought a set of transdapt conversion motor mounts (PN 4226) and I'm having issues. I think that the stock mount towers are too tall and too far forward. I've been searching and reading and I think I might need to get the towers out of a 73-79 pickup with a 400 or 460. Is this correct? Or do I need to buy special conversion towers? Right now I'm considering cutting and welding the towers I have. Anyone done this? I'm 17 and this is my first swap.

here's a thread i started you should check out and should answer your question i'm about to do this swap on my 71 f250 4x4 i ended up going with the autofab engine mounts as they are more sturdy then l&l's but either will work and havent heard anything bad on either. i just ordered my mounts yesterday so i can't say much yet but will update my thread with pics of the mounts and the install in my truck within weeks so if you can hold off buying for alittle while you can see how i made out. link to thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...or-71-4x4.html

Does Transdapt have a tech line that you can call? I think you are correct that you will need to get towers out of a 73-79 pickup or 78-79 Bronco that had a 351M, 400 or a 460.
I found this site that maybe you haven't seen. It has info on motor mounts.
1973-1979 Ford Truck 460 V-8 Swap

also another thread to check out is this one https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...-f-series.html read through the pages theres a crew cab that got the 460 swap done to it by a guy i asked for pictures of what he did for motor mounts he posted them in this thread it's acouple pages in i think

Thank you! I read your thread and it answers most of my questions. My Tansdapt mounts are exactly the same as the L&L mounts judging from the pictures, so I think I just need towers. From what I see on the autofab website it looks like the towers and mounts mate differently, so my L&L/Transdapt mounts wouldn't work with their tower. Is this right? Will the L&L towers move the motor back from the stock tower position a couple inches and lower it? I can make my motor mount onto the stock towers with my mounts but it needs to move back to completely mate to the transmission and the transmission has to be jacked up all the way to the firewall. I know thats not right. Towers need to be lower and with the motor mount bolt hole farther back. If it bolts up stock with no fab work I'd definitely go autofab.

I haven't got an exact answer about the L&L towers I'm pretty sure they do drop the engine down and back to the correct location or else I would of read some complaints about them which I didn't hear any bad about either company. As far as the autofab engine towers they won't work with any other mounts except there own from what I can tell. The thing with the autofab mounts is if you try getting your engine mounts to work with there towers you'd actually weaken the solid structure they built as your putting your rubber mounts on in there place of solid metal where in a lot of cases when stock engine mounts break they pull the metal backing plate or the stud out of the rubber that's your main weak link in the stockers most of the time. If I was you and your at all worried about breaking mounts I'd sell the transdapt mounts and go with autofabs

I've been looking at the autofab mounts. I think I could make those. The only thing would be getting the polyurethane bushing but I could use a leafspring bushing in a piece of pipe. (I ran out of money:-X03) As far as getting towers from a 73-79 f250 they won't bolt in. I went and looked at a 77 truck and the bolt holes arent spaced the same. I think Autofab is the best commercial solution. I'll be interested to see how your swap goes.

I'm not really worried about breaking mounts, at this point I just want my 460 bolted in as soon and cheap as possible. If its weak I can upgrade later. I have a NP435 4 speed so I'm unlikely to break anything there if the mounts break like the guy with a C6 on your thread. I'm going to watch your thread to see how you get along with the autofabs and at the same time try making some myself.

Since there was no such thing as a 460 with 4WD until 1983, the 1973/79 F100/350 460 2WD towers will not work w/a 4WD conversion, as they bolt to the engine's front crossmember, not found on 4WD's.

4WD's: The R/L engine supports bolt to the frame rails.

There were no 351M/400 engines installed in F100/350's until 1977 and the 2WD towers are different than the 4WD engine supports.

checkin in.
 

checkin in on stuff. On the mounts if you break one you can crack the bell housing between engine and np435. broke that also twice! Later broke some crossmembers also in 1/2 ton frame. What usually cracks is the clutch fork hole up to engine. Once it cracks it can make a strange snapping/popping noise from the cast iron rubbin on itself. broken motor mounts really suck and sometimes you don't realize what gets broken till later. adios amigo's!!

Rick Russell is installing a 460 in place of a 400 in his 1978 4X4 in this thread. He is using the stock 4X4(?) towers that bolt to the frame. The picture shows that they are original and have not been replaced with aftermarket pieces.
Installing A 1988 EFI 460 V8 Into a 1973-1979 F-Series Truck .: Articles

Go to post #20 in this thread to see a photo of the towers. They are the same that I have in my 1979 with a 460.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-71-4x4-2.html

Numberdummy did narrow the search down a bit it you want to get stock perches at a salvage yard. 1977-1979 F100/350's 4x4's or 1978-1979 Bronco 4x4's with a 400 engine.

My stock perches won't work because I'm doing a 72 f100. The frame is different between a 72 f100 and a 73-79 F250/350 so the stock towers from one of those won't bolt up. I've already looked at them from a 77 F250 4WD. Also I'm coming from an FE motor not an M series. Don't know if thats where the difference in height and placement comes from but I know that in those trucks stock towers work but in mine they don't. Autofab is looking better and better.

I was going to use the mounts out of a 79 f250 4x4 that I got the 460 motor from but the mounts won't bolt up to my 71 frame some of the holes would need redrilled and others are half a bolt hole off even if I decided to use them I still wouldn't know if it would of been back far enough and sit low enough so I went with the autofab ones so it will drop right in should soon get them ill post pics when I get them and engine installed

Since you are putting a 460 in a 72 F-100, just find a 77-79 F-150 with a 351M/400 in it for the towers.
They have the same basic frame up front with just the bolt holes being different from an FE to a Cleveland based engine.

From the research I did, there was a frame change during the 1977 model year so what I had hoped would fit for you.....won't.

The F250 4WD frame change in 1977 (from serial number Y20,001) had to do with the rear frame rails behind the cab increasing from 33 1/2" (High Boys) to 37 1/2" (non High Boys).