I just bought a 1972 Dodge Coronet, 400
2-Bbl, automatic on the column. I have
had a few other Mopars but I would not
call myself an expert.
I want to change the motor mounts
which look kind of oozy. On the left side
there’s a strange looking gizmo on the
front, it sort of hooks under the mount.
What does it do? Should I put it back?
Yes, put it back, for sure. This is a rollrestraint
restrictor which prevents the
engine from moving up more than a
small amount, under throttle, if the left
mount fails. It was a TSB item for 1971
B and C-body cop cars, and was factory
installed on all ’72 fleet cars (cop and
taxi). I have also seen quite a few civilian
models with this clever gizmo.
On earlier cars, this function was handled
by a cable with 2 crimped lugs.
This became a required item after so
many ’60s Chevrolets crashed when
they went WOT after their mount failed,
they used rod-type throttle linkage which
would then jam. Not fun; but this is one
of a million reasons why we (and anyone
with some smarts) drive Mopars!
These restrictors would be a great item
for the repro houses to re-introduce. In the
meantime, Schumacher (engine-swaps.
com) makes a bolt-in urethane strut setup
that performs a similar function.