Thanks! It would look better in the hot rod, HA! Work continues albeit seemingly slow. I have now run the engine on the test stand several times as I was working on the carbs setting them up to run non progressive. Along the way discovered that one of carbs would not idle down sufficiently to be in balance with the other 2. After fiddling with it I gave up and change the base to a spare which solved the issue. The previous piece would not allow enough adjustment of the idle even with the idle screw completely removed. Appears the shaft and the throttle arm are misaligned. Another project for a rainy day I guess. I pulled the engine out of the stand and attached the offy bell housing with the empty tranny attached. I had to reinstall that in order to make adjustments to the rear trans crossmember. As it turned out the Ford top loader mount was a 1/4 inch further to the front of the car and an inch to high. So, I cut the mount plate off the support and moved it from the bottom to the top of the crossmember and redrilled a couple new holes and that was done. I like the new color against the black car Engine is back out now as I need to rebuild the tranny. Those parts are due in this week. I picked up a used drive shaft from the local yard and it will need to be shortened by 3 inches. I've cut that apart and will have to wait now until the engine is back in to dial in the length and the I can finish that job. I did locate a 57 Ford clutch throw out arm on the auction site. It is quite similar to the one in this photo Not crazy about the fact that it just rocks back and forth on the aluminum tab in the housing. Guess I am just used to the pivot ball set up. Question how it is going to wear on the long haul. I have considered a hydraulic release but there are a lot of horror stories out there regarding them not working out. My friend runs a McClean? unit that was $350 but he swears by it being the best thing he has done. Another small surprise along the way was the test fit of the top loader bearing retainer into the bell housing. Yea, doesn't fit. The bell is for 49-64 Ford and the 68 retainer is 5/32 to big. Took it up to my friend's shop and he turned the retainer down so that is behind us now. Only other issue is what throw out bearing to use. I purchased a 11 inch E100 (1971) disk that fits the tranny input shaft since the E100 used the same transmission. I am using my new Ram Olds clutch similar to a long style B&B. Have to see if the E100 bearing will work. That is on the list for this week. So in between other projects I am making some progress. Hopefully it will come together quickly now. .....
Could your friend be using a McLeod thowout bearing? I remember those from my drag racing days (1970's).
yes, in fact talked to him this week and it is a McCleod. Got the bell housing back yesterday so everything fits as it should. Set up a trial fit to have a look at where the shorter top loader input shaft sets. It looks to be a long way from where the Olds input would be. Definitely going to need a pilot bearing extension. Will try to get a better idea today of the distance.
Mock up revealed just how short the input is compared to where it should be. measurements would indicate an extension of 1 inch with 3/4 of an inch inserted into the pilot bearing. Lot of conversations on the web regarding pilot bearing wobble when over extended. I don't know what the alternative is to that in this case. I am certain that there are many vehicles running extended pilots out there. I talked to Brad at SpeedGems yesterday and sent him pics and dimensions so he can do a little work up on the extension. Might hear from him today. There is enough space for a shoulder if an extension could be machined that way which would help to reinforce the extension. I have seen a few like that in older catalogs. Guess we will see what Brad has in mind.
Working on the 303 toploader rebuild. My kit came in the other day from Transmission Parts Distributors in NJ. I started with the 1st/reverse gear and found that the kit did not have the correct retainers for the new shoes. They sent the one on the right and it should look like the one on the left x 2 so I called them and got their automated answer system (that sucks) and had to leave a message. Later on I got this email asking for pictures and info which I immediately sent to them. This was Thursday and still no reply. Guess I could reuse the 1968 retainers. They seem in good shape. I will give them today to respond and then I will have to make a decision as to what to do. Meanwhile here is where I am at......................waiting again!
Speed Gems came back with a solution which appears to be the answer Basically their 101 kit with a bronze Ford insert. Told Brad to ship it. Now back to concentrating on the trans rebuild!
managed to get the main shaft back together. I ended up using the old shoe retainers. Just could not wait another day for the customer service folks to respond to my 2 emails. If I get time today I will assemble all the new needle bearings in the cluster and get that installed. Notice the 2 grooves on the front of the synchro drum. Not sure yet what that indicates but I will be looking closely at it when i get further into the assembly. ...
Dang Walt, you have definitely overcome some major setbacks with this build. I hope it goes back together smoothly & works out well for you this time around!
Actually, while i hope it does, I am not above tearing this thing apart again. As is said it is a work in progress. I already have a change in mind for the rear suspension Mail brought me my speedo drive from Rusty @ Speedometer Service in CO. He has gadgets! This is one, a conversion piece going from the 303 top loader insert to GM style speedo cable. This save me from changing out my existing cable and messing with the 50 Ford speedometer. One more thing off the list...........
Yesterday I cleaned the cluster gear and shaft in preparation for installing it in the case. I slid the shaft into the case and immediately was surprised at how much play there was in the shaft. I have never seen a gear shaft this loose. Something is amiss here I fear. I did notice on tear down that someone had been in this tranny before as the roll pin for the cluster gear had been brutally hammered to death. Had a bitch of a time getting it driven out of the shaft and into the bottom of the case. Borrowed an inside micrometer and measured the case holes. Those came out to be .882 but the shaft is at .868. Looked all over the web and cannot find any tech info or spec on these dimensions. Probably will have to call the tech guys at one of the premier top loader service companies. Oddly, there does not seem to be any unusual wear or witness marks inside the tranny or on any of the existing gears. Really a mystery at the moment. Hoping the Ford guys can give me the straight scoop.
Met with my machinist friend last night and he is going to set the case up on his mill. He believes he can line bore the case and insert sleeves to correct the loose fit. Feels he can get it within 1 thou. Hope he can as these trannies are in short supply around here. Talked to David Kee down in TX. He has a NOS case still in the box from Ford but it would not be inexpensive and then the shipping would add another 50 bucks. Got my fingers crossed that we can fix this locally. Should know tomorrow. The adapter came from SpeedGems right on cue. Looks like it is going to be the right fix.
Looks great and great to see someone taking their time to do the job properly! Obviously multi talented and knowledgeable. It’s a treat to follow!
Success! Got the case fixed with sleeves and have now assembled the tranny. My only hold up is the speedo drive gear. I had purchased one a while ago on the auction sight from a vendor over in NH. It was advertised as a 3 speed toploader 7 tooth. It showed up as a 7 tooth but for the 4 speed tranny with the opposite tooth design for the speedo being driven on the passenger side. We have been going back and forth for two weeks trying to get this resolved. Yesterday I sent in a return request, and I will send it back. Will reorder the correct one from another vendor this morning then I can install that and move on. I installed the new pilot and mocked up the adapter housing with the input shaft set in the case to ensure that we were getting a good interface with the pilot tip into the pilot bushing. Fits perfectly so that part is now history. Won't get much done now as the kids are coming in from CA for a week. Back with more updates later. ....
Hi Walt, it's been way too long but I guess sometimes it gets that way. Late congrats on this project, I just found the thread, sounds great. My coupe with the Rocket was sold several years ago and gets very little use. I still have visitation rights and have taken it out a couple of times, great combination! Dave
Thanks for the kind words Dave. Glad to see you following. Got a little bit done in between family sessions. Been going back and forth on what to use for the clutch linkage. The Ford clutch arm is at such a lower position in the bell housing that I had to scrap my previous hydraulic slave set up. Really leaned hard on having a McCleod (sp) release bearing but unfortunately in this build the engine must come out to pull the transmission ( an error i will not make again) so if there was an issue with the release bearing it wuld require a lot of work. In the end it appeared a puller slave would be the logical answer so I ordered one from Wilwood which surprisingly came in one day. After some thought it looked like a add on bracket welded to the crossmember would allow the correct angle while taking the least amount of room. built that out of 1/8 inch plate and welded it to the cross member this morning while the kids were shopping up at the discount mall. Looks like I am out of the woods on this now. My speedo gear is in so I am actually going to be able to put this all back together later this week. here is the new slave with an aluminum extension And the bracket And how it looks almost done. just need a couple spacers and final adjustment which will wait now until the engine is back in the frame.
Ordered a 7 tooth speedo gear from PATC in Louisiana last week and that arrived Thursday. It is the correct one, so I slipped that on and buttoned up the tail shaft. Ran a dry run on the clutch linkage and discovered quickly that my '57 Ford clutch arm does not function correctly. The TOB keeps popping off when you go to full travel. After looking this over closely it appeared that the arm was not long enough to make the full travel without forcing the bearing off. Hate to cut my new arm but it had to be extended to fix the issue. I made up a 9/16 strip from 3/16 plate and tacked that together so I could check the fit. 1st go on this indicates that the section was too large, so I cut it apart and narrowed the section by half and it appears to be just the answer. Now the movement is consistent and smooth. Will finish burning it all together tomorrow as it was just too hot in the shop this afternoon to work. Couple pics of the surgery.
Got out to the shop while it was cool although humidity was 92 % and finished the clutch arm. Blasted some black paint on it and let it dry. Will revisit this again tomorrow. Now trying to locate my clutch alignment tool which I have misplaced. Common issue around here lately it seems. Guess I will go up to my friends shop as he is more organized than I am.
Minor interruption yesterday. Seems the throw out bearing is a tad bit narrow and does not ride on the fingers of the clutch properly. I am using my new Ram clutch designed for the Olds. Been researching this to find a larger bearing that is compatible with the 1 1/16 input shaft and that fits the fork that I have just extended. The new bearing that I have is the 614038 unit with a face diameter of 2.550 whereas the Olds was 2.90. Looks like the 614034 is larger by spec and might fit. Mike at Ram clutch is going to look today when he gets into the shop. We will wait to see what he finds.
I turn 77 in December. I see Trembling Hills in both our near futures. Hurry up and finish that rod!!!!!!!
Solution at hand! Mike at Ram Clutch came through with their Ford big bearing that fits the 1 1/16 top loader but is big enough to cover the fingers of the Ram clutch and fits the fork. Should be here Friday. Link to the specific part: 485 – Release bearing Ford for long style 1.5″ clip style - RAM Clutches
Update! Shortly after my last post I injured my lower back trying to be a 20 yr old. Trying to lift a flywheel on to the end of the crank in an older Chevy 235 in liner while laying on the floor in 90 degree heat. It didn't end well, and I did not complete the job. Since then I have been unable to function, had many visits with the dr's, xrays, mri's etc etc. The short side of this story is that I apparently injured a ligament that is attached to the L4 and was informed that it will take up to 12 weeks to repair itself. They were not lying. So, I have been absent from the scene for some time now. Feel like a "couch potatoe" as I rarely get further than my bed or the couch. On the mend now and feeling much better but am being overly cautious. I managed to get out into the shop yesterday and indexed the bellhousing with some offset dowel pins (.014), installed the clutch and used the engine hoist to lift the tranny so I could get that attached to the engine as I am not to lift more than 20 lbs. I then attached the Wilwood hydraulic slave to the clutch fork and decided that I had done enough for the day. Maybe today I will attach a temporary line from the master cylinder to the slave to check out the clutch operation prior to putting the engine back in the car. Passing that test I will enlist the help of some friends to get the engine back into the car where I can slowly pick away at all the little stuff. Still have to make a drive shaft but I have all the parts to do that. Here are some pics of the engine with the tranny attached and the new puller slave. Fingers crossed that all goes well in the next week or so. I might get this done in time for some late fall runs!
Great work Walt... but yes.. please heal up..... we all think we're 20.... again. Your progress is magnificent.
Hi Walt, your progress is admirable, everything you have done looks great. I still set unrealistic timelines on how long something should take, but when it's FINALLY done and I'm satisfied with it, it's all good. Age does make it more challenging to do what you used to do but that's part of the deal. It's important to do what you enjoy. Best, Dave
Glad to see you on the mend and making progress! Take it easy. Man, it sure looks good, can’t wait to hear that the transmission transplant is a success and you’re putting some miles on it.
Glad to see you are up and about. Be careful don’t get in a hurry and hurt yourself again. Hope to hear it running soon. Keep us posted.
Glad your are on the mend and getting back at it. I know first hand how debilitating back injuries can be. Stay healthy and keep the updates coming!
The Jalopy Journal
