Hood Clearance

[Jespinosa]

As some of you know, I am in the process of putting the Godzilla in the MK4 Cobra. I did some initial measurements and wanted to make sure that Godzilla intake would clear. I plan to change the stock intake to either a Holley intake or the BTR intake as this would give me additional space under the hood. My question is regarding the hood clearance. I have sent my motor mounts to be modified but I want to make sure that the motor won't have any clearance issues.

Does the top of the intake have to be flush with the 3/4" bars or do I have some additional space since the body will be on the bulb seal? Since the Godzilla engine is so tall, every 0.5" counts.

Thanks

[Alec]

As some of you know, I am in the process of putting the Godzilla in the MK4 Cobra. I did some initial measurements and wanted to make sure that Godzilla intake would clear. I plan to change the stock intake to either a Holley intake or the BTR intake as this would give me additional space under the hood. My question is regarding the hood clearance. I have sent my motor mounts to be modified but I want to make sure that the motor won't have any clearance issues.

Does the top of the intake have to be flush with the 3/4" bars or do I have some additional space since the body will be on the bulb seal? Since the Godzilla engine is so tall, every 0.5" counts.

Thanks

The body does not rest on the 3/4" tubes, especially towards the front; it sits well-above. Added to that, the hood is crowned, peaking in the middle (plus there is a cutout for the scoop). Those factors create quite a bit of clearance for the engine above the level of the 3/4 tubes. I used levy hard mounts which lowers the engine quite a bit compared with the stock mounts. It worked great for my 427 with efi. Ended up shimming the engine back up partway to get the oil pan above the frame rails. Hood closes no problem.

[Jespinosa]

The body does not rest on the 3/4" tubes, especially towards the front; it sits well-above. Added to that, the hood is crowned, peaking in the middle (plus there is a cutout for the scoop). Those factors create quite a bit of clearance for the engine above the level of the 3/4 tubes. I used levy hard mounts which lowers the engine quite a bit compared with the stock mounts. It worked great for my 427 with efi. Ended up shimming the engine back up partway to get the oil pan above the frame rails. Hood closes no problem.

Well, that is great news. I was under the impression that the body rest on the 3/4" tubes and the bulb seal and body would give me about another 3/4" above the 3/4" tubes in terms of clearance. According to my current calculations the intake should sit about an 3/4" to 1.5" max above the 3/4" tube depending on the intake that I choose, and the oil pan will only be about 0.5" inches under the 4" tube. If there still is clearance, I might be able to raise the motor like you were able to with your 427.

[JJK]

"the oil pan will only be about 0.5" inches under the 4" tube. If there still is clearance, I might be able to raise the motor"
I would argue your priorities may be askew as keeping the oil pan under the 4" tubes is asking for a lot of problems. These cars are fairly low to the ground and you do not want your oil pan to be the skid plate. I would work from the bottom up ensuring the oil pan is above the 4" tubes.

[Mike.Bray]

^^^what he said^^^

[Norm B]

Here are some pictures that show hood clearance and a mod I made to protect my Canton road race oil pan that was a little deeper than advertised.

HTH

Norm

[Jespinosa]

"the oil pan will only be about 0.5" inches under the 4" tube. If there still is clearance, I might be able to raise the motor"
I would argue your priorities may be askew as keeping the oil pan under the 4" tubes is asking for a lot of problems. These cars are fairly low to the ground and you do not want your oil pan to be the skid plate. I would work from the bottom up ensuring the oil pan is above the 4" tubes.

When I made my initial measurements, I was under the impression that I only had about 3/4" to an inch clearance from the 3/4" tube so I positioned the motor accordingly. The goal is for everything to fit perfectly but the height of the motor, even with the modified oil pan and intake, is the biggest problem to getting the motor to work in the chassis. Now that I confirmed that there is more clearance, I can lift the motor accordingly to make sure it clears the 4" tubes and I should have the necessary hood clearance. I was hoping someone had an idea as to how much clearance I have, but for now I will make sure the pan clears the 4" tubes and worry about the hood clearance later.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Measure 26" forward from the firewall and lay a 2x4, straightedge or whatever across the 3/4" square tubes. Go to the midpoint between them and measure up 2 inches. Now pull a line from that point back to the center of the firewall. Stay below that and you're good to go!

Jeff

[cv2065]

What oil pan did you end up going with? I know the Indy Power oil pan for the Godzilla is a 6" rear pump sump pan. Not sure if you have to buy the entire Indy system to use it, but I think so.

[Jespinosa]

Measure 26" forward from the firewall and lay a 2x4, straightedge or whatever across the 3/4" square tubes. Go to the midpoint between them and measure up 2 inches. Now pull a line from that point back to the center of the firewall. Stay below that and you're good to go!

Jeff

Thank you, Jeff.

Those are exactly the measurements I needed.

Using those numbers, I can clear the oil pan and make it under the hood using the holley godzilla intake.

[Jespinosa]

What oil pan did you end up going with? I know the Indy Power oil pan for the Godzilla is a 6" rear pump sump pan. Not sure if you have to buy the entire Indy system to use it, but I think so.

I ended up using the oil pan that was already on the motor when I purchased it. The previous owner that sold me the motor had already told his engine builder that the motor was going in a Factory five so they installed the Danbury Competition Engines oil pan that is about 2" shallower. Indy Power products sell a few different oil pan configurations for the Godzilla but the one used in the cobra is their Cobra style pan which measures 1.6" for the base and 2.8" for the sump for a total of 4.4". The one I currently have is 6". According to Indy Power products measurements, using their Cobra style pan and the stock intake the Godzilla motor has a height of 28.5". According to Holley, if you use their low-profile intake which is only 5" high and use their oil pan which is 6 1/4", very similar to mine, the motor height will be a total of 28 1/4". So, they are almost the same height, the difference being that I have to raise the motor to clear the 4" bars. With the motor being raised and using Jeff Kleiner's measurements the oil pan will clear the 4" frame and the intake will fit under the hood.

Now, will raising the motor the 1.5" cause any issues with the transmission fitting correctly or driveline angles? There looks like there is ample space as the TKX does seem like a small transmission, but I first wanted to see if the engine fit.

[cv2065]

By the way, great job paving the way for this engine combo. I wasn’t willing to take on the extra headache for fitment, but I’m sure others will benefit from your journey!