Refurbishing my '73 after 48 years of ownership

[Idaho Chris]

Piper Cub in that hangar???

Yeah. 1946 all original. No electrical system so it need's to be hand propped, but with all of 65hp it turns pretty easy!

 

[AcesArneson]

Beautiful car! Thanks again for pulling this thread together from the “what have you” thread. The car is truly stunning.

I gotta admit though, when I first looked at these last two pics the shop geek inside my head yelled… Holy Smokes look at that floor!!!

Second that!

 

[AndyMan_Tx]

June 29, 2021

Busy day today. Installed new gas tank, rear leaf springs, rear brake hose, new rear shocks and rear sway bar bushings and end links.

In the middle of the afternoon UPS brought me a present from Modern Driveline!

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Oh man, I am so stoked to see this. I am planning on a T5 conversion for my 73. After I get through this winter and into next Summer.. is when I am planning on doing the conversion from auto to 5spd.. pls pls put lots of info up on this.

 

[AndyMan_Tx]

July 21, 2021

I installed the new Tremec T5.

Once I got the bell housing installed I needed to index it. The opening needs to be aligned within .005 of the crank shaft. This is normally a two person job, with one person spinning the crankshaft and the other watching the dial indicator. Since I don't have any convenient help I had to do it solo. By taking a reading every 45 degrees I was able to verify that I am within spec. Good news since I really did not want to try and remove the 50 year old locating pins!


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Here's a shot after clutch and throw out bearing installation:


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Now ready to slide in the transmission. With everything lined up it slid in like butter!


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Next, transmission cross brace installed and the clutch and speedometer cables hooked up.


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The shifter came right up through the stock automatic transmission shifter hole without modification. Oh yeah!


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How wonderful it is when everything goes to plan. All in all I'd say the most difficult part of the whole conversion was pulling the pedal box to install the clutch pedal.

Next step is to install the new rear end so I can get the driveshaft measured and ordered.

Sorry I got excited when I saw the T5 on the table. I am very glad to see all of this detail in the high Def pix. It is so helpful. Thanks for the postings.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

Damn my friend, all that work is top notch. The engine looks great. I'm actually starting on my clean up, now that I have done all the work getting her running the way she should. Nicely done. Looinf forward to seeing more.

 

[Idaho Chris]

Sorry I got excited when I saw the T5 on the table. I am very glad to see all of this detail in the high Def pix. It is so helpful. Thanks for the postings.

There are a number of members that have made the T5 swap. It is easier if you are starting with a top loader.

For the transition from an automatic car, the hardest part is adding the clutch pedal to the pedal box. Do yourself a favor and remove the seat and steering column. Really helps with access!