Question for those that have installed a Mendy

[frankenford]

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this thing just isnt fitting. Is there a different subframe shipped out for the G50 vs mendeola? Mind had 2 support brackets the very rear bottom side that i cut off. Hopefully i didnt screw up but I didnt see any ways that those could remain on there. should i loosen the engine mounts and just force it over. As of now the thermostat is about a 1/4 inch away from contact and the top of the trans is about a 1/4'' away from the crossbars. Also, my "instructions" seems to be from maybe the original design and looks like a few revisions have happened since. Im guessing the Tilton throwout bearing replaced the external slave cylinder? Thanks in advanced.

[Shoeless]

Yes, you needed to cut the brackets off the rear transaxle frame bracket, so you are good there and if I remember correctly, you should have an Mendy install bag of parts.

You do have some pretty close gaps, but I know for sure 1/4" around the thermostat housing is perfect. Shoot, I had an LS3 T-Stat housing on an LS1 water pump and that results in just under 1/8" clearance LOL. It was promptly swapped out for an LS1 T-Stat housing, and I got proper clearance.

It's hard to tell from your pics, but looks like maybe you have a Stage 2 SDR-5. I was given the Stage 1 by Ian and was able to follow that with the supplement of the Tilton Manual for the specific throw out bearing they used on yours.

[frankenford]

What is the difference between a stage 1 and 2 physically? And yes I do have the install kit. Thanks again for that. I was actually about to sandblast the bracket and cerakote it. How much gap do you have between the top of your gearbox and the x crossbars?

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

214076214077214078
this thing just isnt fitting. Is there a different subframe shipped out for the G50 vs mendeola? Mind had 2 support brackets the very rear bottom side that i cut off. Hopefully i didnt screw up but I didnt see any ways that those could remain on there. should i loosen the engine mounts and just force it over. As of now the thermostat is about a 1/4 inch away from contact and the top of the trans is about a 1/4'' away from the crossbars. Also, my "instructions" seems to be from maybe the original design and looks like a few revisions have happened since. Im guessing the Tilton throwout bearing replaced the external slave cylinder? Thanks in advanced.

Yes, you do have the wrong sub-frame from FFR. That is the G50 subframe. In the second photo in your post, the very rear corners of the subframe come to a sharp point and are welded pieces. On the Mendy subframe that 1" tube is bent/formed instead of welded.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

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[frankenford]

So does the g50 use a similar bracket that attached to the subframe? The bracket with the rubber bushings and washers for the mendeola seems to line up with this subframe. I'm thinking about buying those oil cooler brackets you show in those pics. I can't find a better spot to mount the oil coolers than what you got going on there.

[Shoeless]

Great catch on that Shane!! Not unsurprising that I didn't pick up on that as I have never seen the G50 sub frame and assumed you had the correct sub frame with the kit.

Physically difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2 is how much HP they can handle, and I believe the throw out bearing is different. Stage 1 is up to 500 hp and Stage 2 is up to 700. My engine dynoed at 625 so Stage 2 for me.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

So does the g50 use a similar bracket that attached to the subframe? The bracket with the rubber bushings and washers for the mendeola seems to line up with this subframe. I'm thinking about buying those oil cooler brackets you show in those pics. I can't find a better spot to mount the oil coolers than what you got going on there.

Every G50 I've installed used these mounts:


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In the first pic, the holes in the chassis brackets didn't quite line up with the hole in the transaxle mount bushing.....which is what I was taking a photo of.....but I've never had a GTM with a G50 that used those outboard, horizontal mounting brackets like the Mendy does. I have seen photos of a big, cast aluminum mounting bracket for the Porsche transaxles that were supposed to use those GTM chassis brackets, but never saw anyone actually use them.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

The Porsche bracket I'm talking about can be seen in some photos here:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/765543-1987-911-g50-transmission-mounts.html

[frankenford]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I just need to figure out if I need to try to get the correct subframe or modify the one I have to make it work. Thanks Shane it has been a blessing to have you active in these forums.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

My best guess is that it won't be possible to get the Mendy sub-frame.....if it's true that FFR scrapped all of their GTM fixtures.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Here is the other reason for your clearance issues. On the G50 sub-frame, the 1x1 tubes that angle down to the chassis are straight. On the Mandy sub-frame, they have a dog-leg bend in them.

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[frankenford]

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here is a pic from the instructions to add to the confusion. not sure how they got the mendeola in there without cutting off the g50 mounting tabs but my guess is they were trying for a subframe that would work for both gearboxes. since I've got #37 this hiccup probably wasn't realized yet. so if I create some clearance on the doglegged part all should be fine unless I'm overlooking something.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Yeah, that's interesting. The car that are is in my shop now with the Mendy subframe doesn't have the vertical/welded G50 mounting brackets like in that pic. I'd guess that FFR tried to come up with a "universal" subframe, but ended up having issues, so ended up having to have both a G50 subframe and Mendy subframe.

If your GTM is SN 37......the Mendy transaxle didn't even exist yet, so what you have is definitely meant for the G50.

[frankenford]

Well I seem to have lost my notepad with my measurements. Can someone tell me if the top on the subframe is parallel to the bottom main frame of the car ? It makes sense to me for it to be but just wanting to double check before I weld the last 2 pieces in.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

My level says that yes, the top surface of the subframe is level to the bottom of the main chassis.

[frankenford]

Thanks for the confirmation.