71 Mach1(Trans Am) 2" nose drop

[71Rustang]

Well,it's time to make the donuts as they say.You can only practice weld so much,welding on the racy go fast parts is just different.So here we go.......These are the collector pipes with the 2 inch slip fit connectors welded on. I first put together the slip connectors and made tiny filler pieces that go in between the connectors so there was no more gap in the center of the formed 3 1/2 inch transition pipe. Then I fitted each assembly to a pipe and marked them,prepped all the surfaces and tacked them together. The final welding started out a bit slow and then the more I did the more confident and better I got. I'm pretty happy with them overall. The plan is build the tail pipes first and fit the car to them,with tunneling the floor,then build the header pipes to the collector pipes. That's that plan..........anyway............the order could change.

 

[71Rustang]

Well this is happening.I installed a Lakewood bell,it moved the transmission rear by 3/16'' ,which changed my u-joint angles,which were already pushed to their limit because of how low the car is.So I figured I would lower the engine,Bud Moore style using factory mounts with the rubber removed,that all worked well.Then the passenger inner tie rod hit the starter with the wheels cranked to the right half way through the suspension travel. After thinking about solutions and talking with friends, I decided to do the most practical thing and just move the whole engine back 2 1/2'' for now,that's how I have it mocked up. I could go more,but then its some tunnel mods and holes in the firewall for bell bolts. So now I have to build the motor mounts,modify the transmission mount,clutch linkage,again.....shifter hole and modify and shift rod and figure out an oil pan at some point......The exhaust just became more complicated also,but I wouldn't have it any other way...

 

[71Rustang]

Hi everyone. So apparently when you move the engine back you need motor mounts,so I built some. Last week I took a new set of small block mounts,cut the rubber section in half,set all 4 pieces on fire,watched it burn,then scraped off what was left of the rubber. Then I cleaned the metal and set to adjusting the engine in the car. Here are the results. They are built in the Bud Moore style that he used to change the position of the engines, mine are just way more off set.There is a 1/4'' plate that is 1 3/4 x5 between the two parts of the mount. It's a spacer,a tie plate to weld to and a support for the offset .So the engines final resting place is 1 1/8'' lower and moved back 2 1/2''. On to the transmission mount.

 

[71Rustang]

Evening all.We're just moving right along with complicating life by moving the engine. Here we have my newly built transmission crossmember,patterned after the one from the Warren Tope Mustang. The fella that owns it ,was nice enough to send me some pictures of it.I used the ears off of the original crossmember and built the rest using 1/8''. It bolts directly to the transmission using no rubber mount,so now all three mounts are solid,just like Tope's car. Merry Christmas

 

[Sheriff41]

More amazing metal work! Merry Christmas to you also!

 

[Brn2drl]

So nice ! Wow!

 

[droptop73]

Nice work... as usual

 

[71Rustang]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm currently working on making my Hurst shifter work better and fixing a design flaw it has.

 

[71Rustang]

Hello once again,making more progress. I cut out the area around the shifter hole and moved it back 2 1/2 inches. I reshaped the sides of the tunnel and made a filler for the front of the panel and a small filler for the passenger side. I then set my sights on the shifter. I built the shifter that Hurst should make but doesn't. Not being able to remove the handle is just a flat out pain in the butt,so....I fixed it. I based my new shifter receiver off of the factory 71 shifters. I built and offset to center the stick with a bolt on handle. I used to the top of a 3 spd receiver and made the offset from 3/8, set it up with a slight angle to the driver like the factory shifters and welded it together.I also installed a different shifter mounting plate the better locates the shifter and bent and new set of rods using a pile of Hurst rods I have. Now on to the Z-bar bracket.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

WOW - super nice job all around and that's some impressive engineering work on the shifter! That's next level stuff to make a special needs piece like that.

 

[71Rustang]

WOW - super nice job all around and that's some impressive engineering work on the shifter! That's next level stuff to make a special needs piece like that.

Thank you.

 

[7173Mustang]

Super nice job indeed!
Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[71Rustang]

Super nice job indeed!
Can't wait to see it finished.

Thank you. I just keep plugging away at it, I'll get there

 

[JJU9507]

Thank you. I just keep plugging away at it, I'll get there

Just incredible project you have done, bro! Our shock towers were built for boss 9 heads, how do your towers clear them, any pics? Keep up the great work, welding was never my skill set, I really admire anyone who can weld thin sheetmetal

 

[71Rustang]

Just incredible project you have done, bro! Our shock towers were built for boss 9 heads, how do your towers clear them, any pics? Keep up the great work, welding was never my skill set, I really admire anyone who can weld thin sheetmetal

Thank you for the compliments. I changed directions with the engine last winter while working on my AMX. I decided to go Trans Am racing and install a Boss 302, that's the mock up engine in the car now. I have seen pics of these cars with B9s in them and they do look right at home.

 

[protouringstang73]

Amazing work you are putting into it! Love the set back of the engine. Did the same to mine with a 526 stroker in it, not much space to work with but it works

 

[71Rustang]

Amazing work you are putting into it! Love the set back of the engine. Did the same to mine with a 526 stroker in it, not much space to work with but it works

Thank you.Your car is really slick as well. I had no intentions of doing a set back engine at the beginning of this odyssey,but here we are. It should be really fun stuffing big pipes into now,what is an even smaller area.....

 

[protouringstang73]

Thank you.Your car is really slick as well. I had no intentions of doing a set back engine at the beginning of this odyssey,but here we are. It should be really fun stuffing big pipes into now,what is an even smaller area.....

Thanks a lot yeah things changes along the way sometimes, that’s the fun part with getting an idea and then bringing it to live! It’s not funny at all, my headers was a pain in the ass, damn!

 

[71Rustang]

Hello everyone. Last part of unscrewing up stuff that was caused by me moving the engine. I have the clutch linkage sorted now. I'm staying with mechanical because,I like it,no matter how big a pressure plate I use,I just like mechanical linkage. So........first,I lowered the ball pivot on the frame mount 9/16'' to account for the engine drop. Then ultimately decided to build an entirely new engine side z-bar pivot bracket,because the more I tried making the stock one look good the more I just didn't like it. It's positioned directly across from the frame side pivot. Lastly I had to tweek the arm on the Z-bar closest to the frame to get back the clearance I lost from lowering the pivot,so I had room for the heim joint and bolt for the clutch rod. Then I had to adjust the clutch rod longer. Now I have functional linkage again.................for the third time.Now to stuff a cut up oil pan back in so I don't accidentally run a header pipe into the crank case and we may actually be able to start building some header pipes.

 

[Sheriff41]

More amazing work, as always.