Yes. I use studs to mount the engine backplate, with nuts to hold the backplate on. Then I put large washers on the studs, and then the studs go right through the firewall and get washers and nylock nuts on the inside of the firewall. Most of us don't do any type of soft mounting. I have read that soft mounting causes power loss, though I have never done any testing personally to prove it. It will work fine hard mounted.

I got my last Homelite muffler from www.wackerengines.com Ask him to put slightly larger exit tubes than normal. I put larger tubes in one of his mufflers and gained 400 rpms.

AV8TOR