My '76 restoration (long post)

[denpo]

Today I went on upgrading my 50$ ebay short throw shifter.
The stop screws are junk (to be changed), but the rest is pretty decent quality.

The only default is that the cross pin is much smaller than the grooves it's supposed to slide in. So there is a play when you rotate the shifter along its axis.






Press out the pin, and machine everything to 3/8, press in new pin, and the play is gone.





I spend a lot of time adjusting the half-sphere-shaped plastic bushing, if the cross pin is not perfectly centered on the rotation axis it won't move freely.
My guess is that the smaller cross pin is here to compensate with the original poor fitting of this plastic piece.



My machinist welded me a offset bracket. I'm a little concerned about its strength, this steel piece looks flimsy.
On tricky thing, the cross pin had to be pressed in after the bracket is welded.
I'll drill the holes for the shifter after a first fitting test.

Now the shifter is smooth and tight. I don't know how it would compare to Hurst's or Pro's, but I don't think I'm that far off.

 

[mrvette]

Your efforts there at redesign/engineering solutions to problems do not go unnoticed here on this end, very creative and smart.....

:1st::beer::noob:

 

[denpo]

Your efforts there at redesign/engineering solutions to problems do not go unnoticed here on this end, very creative and smart.....

:1st::beer::noob:

Thanks Gene,even if everybody here think I'm just a computer nerd my late father was a great machinist, and the city I grew up was a true machinist city (3500 people, 100+ machinist shop).
All the summer money I made was by operating CNC machine.
Spending time at my buddy's shop brings me back in time.
Don't tell anyone, but I'm having wet dream about owning my own metal lathe, used they not that expensive, more a question of space...

 

[MYBAD79]

same here, if i had the space I'd have a lathe and a mill..... looks like you did a good job on that shifter, what is it? some name brand or what? I'm thinking about getting the MGW for my C6, the stock shifter is junk.....

 

[mrvette]

Your efforts there at redesign/engineering solutions to problems do not go unnoticed here on this end, very creative and smart.....

:1st::beer::noob:

Thanks Gene,even if everybody here think I'm just a computer nerd my late father was a great machinist, and the city I grew up was a true machinist city (3500 people, 100+ machinist shop).
All the summer money I made was by operating CNC machine.
Spending time at my buddy's shop brings me back in time.
Don't tell anyone, but I'm having wet dream about owning my own metal lathe, used they not that expensive, more a question of space...

I could go back a few decades and say that was ONE of many thoughts that crossed my mind as I took 'Shop Class' in grade school.....honestly it was the only class I really liked, but was discouraged by everyone around as I was supposed to get a degree in underwater basket weaving or some such crap....

oh well.....I have gone to a machine shop here a couple years ago to get some stuff done, and thought it was the neatest place....they working on industrial stuff of some sort....ran into another forum member there....
and we had met maybe a month before....

:bonkers:h::hi:

 

[denpo]

same here, if i had the space I'd have a lathe and a mill..... looks like you did a good job on that shifter, what is it? some name brand or what? I'm thinking about getting the MGW for my C6, the stock shifter is junk.....

Shifter is noname ebay China stuff. Some sell them for 47$ shipped, so I should rather say 50$ shifter.
I got Mine for 28$ + 20$ shipping, I took this option because when I bring my stuff through the custom poeple usually don't bother including the shipping in the taxes, even if they should.:idea:

It paid for me because of the free machining, even if I'm pretty sure it can be done with a simple column drill, files and care.

Look up "T5 shifter" on Ebay sorted by cost, here they are.
Dunno if you could get something for your C6, with the tranny at the back the shifter must be particular, but I hope so.

 

[bobs77vet]

nice looking project, you have done lots of good work!

 

[denpo]

Thank you sir. :hi:

 

[mrvette]

You jogged my memory of some 20 years ago, a old hippie looking machinist that had like a 16' basement under his ~2000' house built into a hillside, he did it ALL, he was a NASA contractor building satellites for Goddard Space center just north of DC in Greenbelt....so he was the guy that modified/TIG'd up the induction for a DPFI on a old Pontiac 455 I had at the time....

should have seen his shop, I couldn't ID 1/2 the shit in the joint....his sideline was buying broken/cracked aluminum cyl heads and fixing them for resale, before head shops knew how....them being new on the scene back then....

but talk about Machine shop heaven, and to get to work, he walked down the stairs, he was making a KILLING.....

:yahoo::crylol:

 

[denpo]

You jogged my memory of some 20 years ago, a old hippie looking machinist that had like a 16' basement under his ~2000' house built into a hillside, he did it ALL, he was a NASA contractor building satellites for Goddard Space center just north of DC in Greenbelt....so he was the guy that modified/TIG'd up the induction for a DPFI on a old Pontiac 455 I had at the time....

should have seen his shop, I couldn't ID 1/2 the shit in the joint....his sideline was buying broken/cracked aluminum cyl heads and fixing them for resale, before head shops knew how....them being new on the scene back then....

but talk about Machine shop heaven, and to get to work, he walked down the stairs, he was making a KILLING.....

:yahoo::crylol:

Next time I visit him I'll take pic of his shop, be prepared, he's almost messier than I am.

 

[mrvette]

You jogged my memory of some 20 years ago, a old hippie looking machinist that had like a 16' basement under his ~2000' house built into a hillside, he did it ALL, he was a NASA contractor building satellites for Goddard Space center just north of DC in Greenbelt....so he was the guy that modified/TIG'd up the induction for a DPFI on a old Pontiac 455 I had at the time....

should have seen his shop, I couldn't ID 1/2 the shit in the joint....his sideline was buying broken/cracked aluminum cyl heads and fixing them for resale, before head shops knew how....them being new on the scene back then....

but talk about Machine shop heaven, and to get to work, he walked down the stairs, he was making a KILLING.....

:yahoo::crylol:

Next time I visit him I'll take pic of his shop, be prepared, he's almost messier than I am.

We need start a MESSY GARAGE thread.....

lay odds I win....

just ask TimAT.....or DAmoroso.....prrtt::crylol:

 

[phantomjock]

Nothing to be proud of - but, "I COULDA BEEEN A CONTENDER," too.
I spend more time photochoping pics to post that clean it up - than cleaning might take. Somewhere under the junk is my CNC machine and 2 work benches! No room for a lathe, and all the wood working stuff is stacked like cord wood.

Cheers - Jim

 

[denpo]

I made good progress those two last week.

I removed the front clip and hanged it to the ceiling


removed the engine.
Even if I knew how to propertly pullout/put back a distributor, I didn't want to do that. So I tried to remove the engine with the distri still on. To my surprise it was totally doable.


While the motor was out I started refreshing the front accessories, they was quiet an eyesore compared to the rest of the engine, the main pulley and the PS bracket will get the same fate shortly.


The TH350 is down, let's put my T5


Engine protection shield pilot bearing and flywheel installed. I checked the specs of those ARP bolt, no lock washer require, an little oil and a 85 lb/ft torquing and they should be fine.


Test fitting of the bellhousing


I was then pleased of a "why not" purchase I made : long dowel pin.



The automatic dowel pins are way to short to align the bellhousing.

Tested the runout, 0.0025 at worst, well within the required 0.005. Phew.


The Zoom pressure plate, ARP bolt again torqued a 35 lbs/ft with red loctite.


Put the bellhousing back and the trans, et voila.



Next steps : shortening the driveshaft an fab the crossmember brcaket.

 

[JeffP1167]

How come you don't convert to a serpentine drive?

 

[denpo]

How come you don't convert to a serpentine drive?

Excellent question, I would have liked to but over there V8 engine have pretty much disappeared from the scrapyards.
"Serpertine" is along "100w alternator" and "external reservoir PS pump" in my mod wishlist.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

I'm not sure if I told this before but since you mount the tranny straight up instead of angled @ 17 deg, yiu must use the lower of the 2 fill plug/level plugs. I hope the case is threaded for that one.

 

[denpo]

I'm not sure if I told this before but since you mount the tranny straight up instead of angled @ 17 deg, yiu must use the lower of the 2 fill plug/level plugs. I hope the case is threaded for that one.

Yep, you told me that TT, and to be frank I didn't really watched out for that point. Would the fact I'm using a G-force case change anything to that?
I will post picture of the right side of the case today so we can have this detail sorted out.
Thanks for insisting, those are important details.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

If you use the upper hole with the tranny straight up there wil be way too much oil in it. The 2 holes or bosses are near each other but a little offset

 

[denpo]

If you use the upper hole with the tranny straight up there wil be way too much oil in it. The 2 holes or bosses are near each other but a little offset

:crap::crap::crap:



What's bugging me is that the case is sold as a Ford case (straight install), it doesn't even gome with the GM holes drilled, still only the upper fill plug is drilled.
WTF G-force.

Is it that bad to have the tranny overfilled? I could still fill is up and remove some afterward. See I'm looking for way to avoid to open it up once again.
*sight*

 

[denpo]

This week I took care of my driveshaft, cleaned it and pressed in some new non greasable U-joint. They are structurally stronger than those with a greasing zerg. It's now reading to head to the shop for a 3" reduction and a balancing.





I was kindof pissed having to fork out yet another 20$ for a new clutch rod boot, so I went to the scrapyard and picked a bunch of random boot and made a new one. Cost : 3$


I also had a -AN6 plug welded to the return port of my PS pump, so I can finish the plumping of my hydraulic setup once for good once the engine is back in place.




To finish, a pic of the press I bought a couple of month ago, it's small, only 6tons but at 70$ it's the best bang for the buck you could expect, I could press my U-joint, my transmission parts and my wheel stud.
Anyway a 10 or 20 ton press would have been too big for my cramped garage. I wish I bought that earlier.