I don't know about weak Stacey, if they're in good condition the ol 283 can smoke the tires without any problems
the bellhouse mounts should absorb the torque - I think the reason they changed to side mount was because of increased front mounted accessory options and more common use of automatics, which put the rear support point much farther back under the trans .... the cars used the side mounts from the beginning
I
would like the extra room at the firewall tho of having the engine forward rather than the rad back
Bill
