Crooked Engine?

6ghia5 · Samba Member Joined: July 17, 2012 Posts: 5

Hi all,

We have had our 65 Ghia for a long time - 10 years or so. maybe put 200 miles on it since we bought it, have always had thoughts of it being a daily driver during the spring / fall months. Anyway it had a header on it that just hung down and looked ugly. I wanted a performance two tip exhaust, purchased one from CP1. It's actually louder than the header but has a much deeper tone to it. Anyway on to my problem. Putting the new exhaust on it highlighted something that I didn't know about our car, the engine sits really crooked. It has always been very hard to shift and now maybe I know why. The left quarter of the car has been replaced at some point in time, and probably bent the frame horn. How do we fix this? Does the whole engine / transmission have to come out? Looking for suggestions.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Thanks for the help!
Marty

swavananda · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 11:25 am Post subject:

I have seen this when there was a Hp engine and a previous owner who liked to do burnouts.The frame horns get tweeked. There are truss bars (now) to prevent this. You will probably have to take it to a shop with a frame alignment set up to fix it. I helped a friend once, to switch pans on a bug because of this. It was the easiest fix in that case at the time.

helowrench · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 11:40 am Post subject:

you need to look at the transmission bellhousing mounts. One side may be partially gone.
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e&m_ghia · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 12:58 pm Post subject:

There could probably be a few things that can cause this...

Our Ghia had a somewhat crooked engine when we bought it, but the engine also sat at a bad level - so we didn't get a very good seal around the tins...

When we had the engine rebuilt to better suit the way we drive, we found out that a previous owner put the engine/transmission on a non-stock hard mount. Our engine builder put it back to a stock mount on re-installation... Among other improvements after the rebuild: the engine sits square & level now...

Angus Dowrie · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 2:29 pm Post subject:

As per above, the rear transmission mounts are a likely cause.
The alignment of the gearbox determines how the engine sits, as it is simply bolted up to it.

Gearbox has three mounts, one at front and two at the back. Front one is less likely to cause this, although should also be checked. It supports the front but also fore-aft position, which doesn't appear to be your problem. Rear ones are at about 8 and 4 o'clock, and cradle the rear of the transmission. Likely one of those is stuffed, replace as a pair.

Otherwise it is the more serious issue of bent frame horns, which will need re-alignment.

swavananda · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:43 pm Post subject:

I like that you guys are optimists Smile

But i think if it was a that bad of a mount ,the post title would say'' terrible sound every time i release the clutch or step on the gas''. But i'll hope for ya the easiest as well.

6ghia5 · Samba Member Joined: July 17, 2012 Posts: 5

Thanks for the reply's! I'll check the mounts but am really afraid it's a bent frame horn. On the plus side I am really liking the new exhaust. It's a bit loud but has a much more sporty sound.

Marty

danielsan · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:21 am Post subject:

I'm also on the side of checking the mounts first but if it is the frame horns a high tension, adjustable kafer bar can correct the problem.

Just make sure the bar fits your set up -- the bars interfere with high torque starters, with autostick trans and some require 'clearancing'. Also be aware that the car might have been rebuilt around bent horns and getting those right could come at the cost of having the rest of the car looking wrong.

Good luck.

Brassneck · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:31 pm Post subject:

It may be the picture itself, but is the right side sitting lower overall? Not just the engine?

Shifting may be as simple as a shifter plate adjustment... or bushings, etc. on the shifter rod...

6ghia5 · Samba Member Joined: July 17, 2012 Posts: 5

The right side does sit a bit lower than the left. Worn out torsion bars I guess.

I have replaced the shifter bushing, the shift coupler is one of those red polyurethane units and looks to be in good shape. Readjusted the shifter many times. It actually is shifting better than it ever has, just really hard to down shift into 1st, and going to 3rd is sometimes a complete mystery. Just aggravating to drive.

Hope to get it on a lift this weekend and check the bushings.

Thanks
Marty


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