Bojo's 73 Project

[jbojo]

8/24/13

Today I cleaned the transmission mount and tightened all the bolts holding the motor and transmission in place. Installed the passenger side header and used stage 8 lock bolts to keep them from backing out. Also put in the transmission dipstick, a high torque mini starter and reassembled the steering linkage. The mini starter hit the steering linkage so I had to remove/install it a few times while I adjusted the clearance. Tomorrow I'll take measurements for the new driveshaft and get that on order. With that the whole drive train will be complete with the exception of wiring it all up. A few pics from today.

-jbojo

 

[Totalled]

Do you think you'll be able to drop the trans pan with the headers in place? I was looking at mine, and it looked like it might take some work to do.

 

[jbojo]

Do you think you'll be able to drop the trans pan with the headers in place? I was looking at mine, and it looked like it might take some work to do.

Totalled,

Yeah it's a tight fit. I was worried on the passenger side header and thought that I would have to notch the flange a little. It would be tough but I believe that it can be removed. I hope that I never have to do that though. I'll take more detailed shots of it today to show you what it looks like.

-jbojo

 

[jbojo]

Totalled,

Removing the transmission pan would be difficult without removing the headers but I think that I have ample clearance on the drivers side to angle it out. I have about 2 to 3 inches to work with on that side. There is a drain plug so hopefully I can change oil and not have to ever remove the pan. I attached a couple of pics but I don't think they give an accurate view of the clearance that I have.

8/25/13

Got the car on the ground again and am surprised how much clearance I have. I used to have to watch going over speed bumps because the collectors would hit, don't have that problem anymore. Also took the measurements for the new driveshaft. With the GV addition the total length is now 36". Will get that on order tomorrow.

-jbojo

 

[hyena429]

Those fit real nice...Im a bit worried about my long tube hookers....But i do got shackles in the back still.

 

[Totalled]

That's pretty much how they fit on mine.

 

[jbojo]

8/29/13

Today I picked up the final piece of the drive train. I had to get a custom driveshaft because of the GV addition so hopefully it fits with no issues. The overall length is shortened by 14" and the cup to cup center length is now 33".

-jbojo

 

[Doug The Dog]

With the shorter drive shaft, the transfer of power from the transmission to the differential should be easily felt. I love that feeling when you mash on the gas pedal and the seat starts wrapping around you! Looking good!

 

[jbojo]

With the shorter drive shaft, the transfer of power from the transmission to the differential should be easily felt. I love that feeling when you mash on the gas pedal and the seat starts wrapping around you! Looking good!

Thx Travis,

Got another delivery just a while ago from RCCI. I sent them a amp meter to be converted to a voltmeter and it came back looking good. I got the donor amp meter off of ebay and it wasn't in the best of condition but RCCI fixed that. The needle is no longer in the center so that's the only visual difference. Also bought another Tach from them with new electronics so that I can use it with the MSD ignition and not have to get the tach module to get the OEM tach to work. So now with the 1 wire alternator and the voltmeter I think I don't need the voltage regulator anymore. Car will be going to paint in another week or two.

-jbojo

 

[Doug The Dog]

Nice! I'm anxious to see your car. April will be here before you know it!

 

[jbojo]

8/31/13

So I discovered that the tranny that I put in has the wrong shift lever installed so I need to change it out. Wasted the whole day trying to figure it out and it winds out that I have to remove the pan and valve body to remove the lever. I posted the question in the Tech Forums / Engine, Drivetrain and Performance section and got the answers I needed. Also did some research and found a video on replacing this lever and posted it in the tech forum so others can benefit from it too.

So tomorrow I will remove the old lever and install it into the new tranny. Hopefully it will go smoothly so I won't have to pull the tranny out of the car. I'll post pics of the different levers and the installation.

Totalled, looks like I will find out if I can get the tranny pan out without having to remove the headers.

-jbojo

 

[jbojo]

Totalled, The trans pan can be removed without having to remove the headers.

9/1/13

After yesterdays fiasco I was able to take out the old shifter lever and swap it into the new tranny in about 2 hours. It pays to ask questions and research things instead of trying to figure it out on the fly.

When I pulled the pan on my original tranny I found this plunger on the bottom of the pan, not sure what it's for so if anyone knows I'd appreciate the info. Didn't find any metal so I guess that's good. Going to clean up the case and wrap it for storage in case I want to do a concourse resto in the future. Next I removed the valve body, 8 bolts I believe (3/8") and then you have access to the bolt that holds the lever to the case. Remove this bolt and the shift lever slides out of the case.

This is a pic of the levers that was on the new transmission (right) and the one that came with the car (left). It appears that the lever on the right was for a column mounted shifter and the NSS switch on the column.

Finally the new lever installed on the tranny in the car. The "C" shaped lever is for the kick down and it activates a plunger on the valve body to downshift when you romp on it and the other is the shift lever that moves a shaft that selects the gears you want. Valve body is reinstalled and ready for the pan.

Lastly, I installed the NSS and adjusted it, attached the shifter linkage and set the adjustment for that and the attached the lock rod and set it up so that the steering wheel and shifter lock when the key is removed. I also went wit the Lokar downshift cable instead of using the rod that came with the car. You can see this cable on the pic with the NSS switch.

Tomorrow I start the body prep to take it to paint Hopefully it will go out in two weeks.

-jbojo

 

[Totalled]

That is the factory dipstick hole plug, that gets shoved into the pan when the dipstick is installed. So, either your trans was never serviced, or if it was, they threw it back into the pan before sealing it up. I've never seen one with that long of a stem though...

I keep them for plugging that hole during R&R or storage.

 

[marks73]

Freind of mine called them panic plugs. Folks would drop their pans and panic wondering where it went.

 

[Doug The Dog]

I'm really glad you didn't have to pull the trans, That's not much fun the second time! Looking forward to pics from the body shop!

 

[jbojo]

Freind of mine called them panic plugs. Folks would drop their pans and panic wondering where it went.

Marks73,

I looked all over the valve body trying to figure out where that plug went. I guess it was too much trouble for the guys on the line to put them in the trash

Travis,

Yeah I was bummed on Saturday after I found the problem and had to stop and calm down and start researching a solution. Luckly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

-jbojo

 

[jbojo]

9/7/13

Well I started the body work today to get it ready for paint. Hopefully in 2 weeks it will be off to the paint shop and while its out I'll do a good clean up of the garage and clean some parts.

I am using a product call Icing to fill all the pin holes and dings in the body. This was recommended because it uses a hardner and doesn't shrink like glazing putty. It's like cream when you apply it and sands really easy. Light blue in color so its hard to tell where I used it. Anyway I got the drivers side done today and tomorrow I'll do the passenger side.

 

[jbojo]

9/8/13

Spent the day doing the passenger side and roof body work. I think that I found all the dings and small nicks and have taken taken care of them now. Next week the door jambs, front bumper and front fenders.

-jbojo

 

[Doug The Dog]

9/8/13

Spent the day doing the passenger side and roof body work. I think that I found all the dings and small nicks and have taken taken care of them now. Next week the door jambs, front bumper and front fenders.

-jbojo

It's looking great, John!! I'll bet the body will be laser straight when you're done with it!

 

[mach71351c]

Looking good!