Duncan Posted September 18, 2022 Report Share Posted September 18, 2022 (edited) 37 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: Of course, we can't do that because of one thing I feel compelled to "fix" that may never bother anyone but me, and that is you can see the bellhousing of the transmission in the engine bay. So I am going to scrub down (and probably paint) the transmission before bolting it on the motor. 😄 And here I thought I was the only one who liked my stuff to look good. (whenever possible) 🙂 You wouldn't believe how much time I've spent doing research on getting my '40 Ford clock back in order 😵 Edited September 18, 2022 by Duncan 2 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted September 18, 2022 Report Share Posted September 18, 2022 53 minutes ago, Duncan said: And here I thought I was the only one who liked my stuff to look good. (whenever possible) 🙂 You're not alone with that. I figure if you're putting in the time to fix/rebuild something, take the extra step and make it look like you invested the time. Crappy & rusty just don't give the "I care" vibe... There are those who'll fix something and not even get rid of the crud around it. 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, datsunfreak said: I think we are just about ready to take it off the stand and mount the transmission now... And also feel compelled to mention, the zip ties are temporary and were just used to establish routing and length. I will get some proper wire separators for them soon. 👍 Edited September 18, 2022 by datsunfreak 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 On 9/18/2022 at 10:54 AM, datsunfreak said: I think we are just about ready to take it off the stand and mount the transmission now... Spoke too soon again... Turns out I ordered the wrong clutch and it's too small for my flywheel. So it's either buy a smaller flywheel, or a bigger clutch. Since I am upping the torque by 50+, I think it will be a bigger clutch... 😄 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Clutch should be here Friday, so holding a good thought for a drop-in on Saturday... Got some wire separators and cleaned up the plug wires a bit... Spent the rest of the time scrubbing down my filthy transmission so I could get some paint on it. You'll have to wait to see what color I painted it... 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Well, I didn't say you'd have to wait long... 😄 Yes, it's the same Cadillac gold I used on the engine. Haters gonna hate... 😁 2 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted September 29, 2022 Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 All that shine is really gonna set off that patina. 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Just now, ]2eDeYe said: All that shine is really gonna set off that patina. It has long been a dream (or sick twisted fantasy) of mine to build a car that looks really rough, but with fancy wheels and a really nice engine bay. This is quickly becoming that car... 😁 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 29, 2022 Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Dang! I was hoping to get this posted before he did. Oh well. Since I'm going to get blamed for the gold... Obligatory selfie with the transmission! 2 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Clutch arrived a day early, and it's the right one... 👌 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 (edited) Well, it's in. Sort of... 😁 So, hoping nothing would go wrong, but most of it did anyway... Went to take the engine off the stand and one of the bolts broke off in the block. Fortunately, it was the one on the lower right side that the hole goes all the way through and out the other side. So I went ahead and mounted the flywheel and clutch, then bolted the transmission on. Then used a drill bit to drill through the broken off bolt and out the other side. That took a long time. Gonna replace it eventually with a longer bolt going through with a nut on the other side, since drilling out the bolt took the hole threads with it... Got the hole cut in the floor for the shifter to poke out of. We nailed the location on the first try, but when we went to put the engine and transmission into the car (which was a huge pain in the ass), it turns out the new M5R2 manual transmission is a fair bit bigger than the FMX auto that came out. So when we went to jack the transmission up to get the engine level, we can't. We are going to have to remove more of the tunnel to get it level, then rebuild the tunnel to suit the new transmission. Also it seems the oil pan is touching the crossmember a little bit on the front edge. Don't know if this is because the engine is at the wrong angle (not fully settled on the mounts either because of the bad angle) and needs to move slightly forward a little bit, or if this pan is just not going to work without modifying it, or the crossmember. We looked at it and we think we can modify the engine mounts to scooch the engine forward about 1/4-1/2" to fix that fairly easily, but we will probably first try some spacers between the block and engine mounts to raise the engine 1/4" and see if that fixes it. Raising it seems smarter since the car is really low (better oil pan clearance), and moving that much weight forward is always a bad idea... 😄 Hopefully Wednesday I can finish the floor cuts to get the transmission up where it belongs, then we will see if the pan clearance is still an issue... Edited October 1, 2022 by datsunfreak 2 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 ughh.. I feel your pain. Hang in there, that car's gonna be cool. I've never used them yet, but I bought a set of left hand drill bits for broken bolt removal. I hear they work well. I've not had the best of luck with easy outs. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 5 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Wednesday I can finish the floor cuts to get the transmission up where it belongs If the forward hump isn't large enough, I hear that a wheelbarrow bucket works pretty good for general profile. Not expensive either. My shifter ended up 3" back, had to mod the console as well. 1 hour ago, Duncan said: I've not had the best of luck with easy outs Yup, they seem to break and make the job harder. I got a set of those reverse bits and have yet to need them, when I'll need em fingers will be crossed 1 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted October 3, 2022 Report Share Posted October 3, 2022 It's always something lol 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2022 On 10/1/2022 at 10:57 PM, EDM620 said: If the forward hump isn't large enough, I hear that a wheelbarrow bucket works pretty good for general profile. Not expensive either. We will probably use sheet aluminum, like we did on Tim's 1200. It's lighter, easier to work with, and since this is not a crucial area for structure it should be good enough. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 Tried to be strategic with the cuts so that we removed the least amount of metal possible to get the transmission up to the correct angle... Looks like our angle is pretty good now... However, the oil pan is still touching in one spot, so we are going to make some spacers to lift it up 1/4" and see what that does... A side issue (which we sort of expected) is that the shifter is really far forward, well under the dash. We had previously planned to build a remote shifter in case this was an issue, so that will be happening soon... 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 (edited) Glad to finally see the front end settled back down to a workable height, also... We think it needs a tiny bit more rake, though. Since the rear springs are a bit too soft compared to the fronts, we will probably just raise the rear 1/4-1/2" via swapping in stiffer springs. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll just be forced to lower the front a little more... 😈 Edited October 6, 2022 by datsunfreak 5 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted October 6, 2022 Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 So good. B) 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted October 6, 2022 Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 10 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Glad to finally see the front end settled back down to a workable height, also... We think it needs a tiny bit more rake, though. Since the rear springs are a bit too soft compared to the fronts, we will probably just raise the rear 1/4-1/2" via swapping in stiffer springs. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll just be forced to lower the front a little more... 😈 Damn that thing looks so badass! Too bad there's a Galaxie in the way!😝 1 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2022 (edited) Got some aluminium bar stock and made some spacers to raise the engine. We made one 1/4" thick, and one 1/8" thick. Ended up needing both for a total 3/8" thick lift, and also had to buy some new bolts that were 1/2" longer... After looking at it from underneath, we could see it was only touching on the corners. The 3/8" spacer was enough to get us just over 1/8" gap between the pan and crossmember, which should be plenty... I had to trim part of the trans crossmember to make it suit the new (bigger) trans, and in all the raisings and lowerings of the engine, it seems I bent it in the middle. Turns out the bit I cut off was a lot more structurally important than I thought... 😄 Decided to leave the trans propped up on a jack stand for now so we can modify (and strengthen) the crossmember to fit the new (also longer) transmission. No pics of said carnage to protect the guilty... 😁 Edited October 9, 2022 by datsunfreak Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted October 12, 2022 Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) John, There is a relatively new show on the Motortrend Network called "Roadworthy Rescues". This guy gets cars that have sat for appx 30-ish years, then gets them running and cleans them up. He's done a homebrew finish treatment that is BOILED linseed oil, mineral spirits, and penetrating oil that wipes on with a clean rag. He doesn't measure it, but the majority of it is the boiled linseed oil. (He stresses to use the BOILED stuff) He then adds what appears about 10-15 percent mineral spirits. He says the mineral spirits will tone down the gloss, and add to suit. He them adds just a small amount of penetrating oil. I am just assuming it keeps the other stuff from evaporating. He cleans the car really well before applying, and I gotta say, it looks really good. I know we've talked about patina finishes in the past, so I thought of you when I saw this. Anyway, check out the show if you get Motortrend. So far, he's done this to a '67 Mustang, and a '66 Pontiac, and (I think) a '50 Chevy 2-door. All looked really great. I really dislike fake patina, and I don't like clear coated patina, either. His system looks really good, IMHO. Your Galaxy might have a bit too much surface rust, but it's worth checking out if you can. I forgot the guys name, but I'll check and see if there are any Youtube clips. Found it. I didn't realize he is the Vice grip Garage guy.. Edited October 12, 2022 by Duncan 4 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2022 Got some 1x1 box tubing to reinforce the transmission crossmember. Cut to shape and Tim welding it for me... Hard to tell what's going on in this photo (this thing is constantly shedding dirt), but this is the bottom side rear... And top side... This definitely made it stiffer, and you can see what I removed for clearance that caused it to bend in the first place... 😄 This is just phase 1 though. We will be adding more box tubing to the middle for more reinforcement, adding a flange off the rear for the trans mount, and removing a bit off the front edge for transmission clearance. Now that it is stiff and (relatively) straight we will put it back on the car to map out the rest of the mods to it. I am also considering reworking the ends since Ford designed it to only have one bolt on each end holding this to the frame. I don't like that design, so we will at least drill an extra hole in the end so it bolts up with two bolts instead. Or maybe weld an extension to the flange for same purpose... 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2022 Time did a bit more (okay, a LOT more) welding for me... Got the front trimmed a bit, added some 1" box underneath for bracing, built up the back with another layer of 1" tubing, then added a flange to connect to the transmission mount... To fix the sides, we added some "ramps" to help it sit level and spread the load more evenly... At this point it's about 90% done, we just need to drill the holes for the mount and trim the flange down some. We made the flange well oversized to make sure we had plenty of space/options for the mounting holes. It is very stiff now, but it also a fair bit heavier than before... 😄 I know it's also a bit on the ugly side, but as long as it works, I do not care one bit... 😁 After that, I used the jack to lower the transmission a bit to try and find out where it's touching the tunnel so we can get it a bit higher. As it happens, 3 out of the 4 things touching the tunnel were mounting bosses we did not need. Thankfully, we were able to cut those bosses off the transmission from the top side. The fourth was the reverse light switch (that we're not using), so I cut off the plastic outer half and left the metal inner half. Now the transmission will come up high enough without hitting anything. Hopefully Wednesday we can get it all installed permanently so we can move on to fixing the floor and building the remote shifter... 😁 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2022 My angle on the flange was about 5 degrees off from ideal, so I decided to fix it. We figured we'd just chuck it in the vise, heat it and bend it to where it needed to be. Yeah, wasted over an hour on trying to do that. It was just too thick to ever get it red hot. So the "easy" way wasted over an hour and didn't work. The "hard" way took about 8 minutes and worked just fine. 🙄 Decided to do the old cut and shut. Used a cut-off wheel to cut a groove in it about 3/4 of the way through. Then I bent it to where I needed it and Tim closed the gap with some welding... Sorry for the poorly focused pic. I was kinda pissed and did this on the way out the door without checking it... 😄 It does fit much better now. Should have it installed in the car soonish... 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted October 20, 2022 Report Share Posted October 20, 2022 That plate does look beefy. I think in acoustic guitar building, they call that kerfing. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
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