Engine Mounting Position - 302. Help please

Hi All
I have just dropped my 302 and UN1 combination into my (bespoke) chassis (made many years ago by someone else) to look at getting the engine mounts made up. I could do with a bit of experience please. I have lined up the driveshafts with the output shafts on the UN1 so they are straight. I assume that is right. At the front the 302 inlet manifold carb mounting face is sitting about 40mm below the bottom line of the cockpit window. Does that sound about right? I could lift it up to give the engine a flatter position, it is currently tipping forward a little. That is what I am minded to do. Any advice out there? The standard 302 sump pan is above floor level as it is. The output shafts on the UN1 are 13mm above chassis height.
The chassis was originally made for a BMW V8 which had engine mountings much lower on the block. So once I have the height sorted I will weld in another chassis member to pick up the 302 engine mounts which will also have the added bonus of stiffening the rear end. I just need to sort the height out.
I am running an EWP so no issues with water pump in the cockpit! As the engine is sitting with the driveshafts lined up I am thinking its about right in that direction.

On my GTD the engine is inclined slightly down at the front - about 4 degrees. I use a 4 degrees aluminium open wedge plate to bring the Holley back level when the car is on a level road. The idea of setting the driveshafts to establish the engine. transaxle position is the way to do it. There are various schools of thought on whether the driveshafts should be in line or slightly out of line. I set the ride height to be 4" front and 4.5" rear chassis to ground. With the wheels on the ground, set the chassis to these heights on blocks and check the driveshaft angle for horizontal and forward/aft angle.
Cheers
Mike

Thanks Mike, really helpful. I am making the mounts so I can get some adjustment which will hopefully get me somewhere near. I reckon I am OK forwards/backwards, but might be able to tweak the height a bit. I like the idea of the wedge.
Chris

I tried to do a phenolic spacer to reduce the heat transfer to the car from the aluminium manifold. It is possible but the plastic is extremely brittle and splintery. It can be done with a very small milling cutter run at a fast speed but it then takes forever. The open spacer has some useful side effects as it makes a dual plane inlet act more like a single plane at the top end of the rev range. The Edelbrock air gap manifold has some of the divider machined away to get the same effect.
Some info here

Cheers
Mike

Your cv joints must have a slight operating angle, 3 deg or so to avoid premature failure.

Hi Chris, congratulations on your KVA acquisition. As the KVA practically launched the whole GT40 replica industry you are the custodian of a truly significant car. There's a vast knowledge base available on this forum from members on both sides of the pond just for the asking.

As you described, "I have lined up the driveshafts with the output shafts on the UN1 so they are straight. I assume that is right. At the front the 302 inlet manifold carb mounting face is sitting about 40mm below the bottom line of the cockpit window. Does that sound about right? I could lift it up to give the engine a flatter position, it is currently tipping forward a little" indicates the engine is slightly nose down, is that correct?

If so, there's another matter you may not thought of regarding engine angle you may find helpful. Here's a link to one of the posts from 2010:

https://www.gt40s.com/threads/loss-of-coolant-and-running-hot-cure.32108/post-303319

I had the good fortune to ride in Ken Atwells' own KVA Mk1 many years ago, about the time when Ken was supplying KVA Type C Body/Chassis to RML (Ray Mallock Limited) for Rays limited run of RML GT40s. Kens personal car had a mild 302 engine topped with Weber carbs and the Renault transaxle inverted. The engine looked to be level, sounded great and the car was very comfortable.

As a general rule, the engine should be as low as possible in the chassis. A Ford 302 with a stock oil pan will have about a half inch hanging below the chassis in that position. An Armando or Aviad (OE FAV JWA GT40) oil pan that is a half inch shallower so no issues if you can get down that low. I've sectioned many oil pans over the years for the same reason.

The rear horse collar bracket of the chassis in some replicas can foul on the starter or bellhousing, preventing you from putting the engine in the original location without some major reworking of the chassis. We just went through this with a MDA GT40 to lower the engine/transaxle (302 SB Ford - Porsche ZF 915 inverted) by 1.5 inches.

There's no limit to how far you can go building or resurrecting a GT40 replica, best of luck with your project.

Cheers Ian