Plus I got a new tool, when I built the Studebaker I had a hard time finding a shop that would put it on their front end rack. Hopefully I can do without them this time.
This takes care of both sides ! now to see where the alignment numbers are at and then I have to decide on how to mount the trailing arm bushings.
The sway bar is all finished, bolted in place and good to go. I spent some time using the caster/camber gauge and setting the toe just to see where things are at . Which is all fluid until I get the trailing arms secured . After setting the toe in and measuring the distance from the rotors to the frame rails both sides are within a 1/32nd of a inch , meaning things are centered and square . The most important things is all four wheels going in the same direction. So I am pretty pleased with that. Now I need someone to come by and put the trans on the motor for me. As my body won't allow me to do it , lol
So I have had a break for a Cardiac event and getting a fifth stent placed, recovery has been very slow nothing like the others. This is three in the widowmaker. Me and the bride had been working on indexing the bell housing with her reading the numbers and me turning the crank. I ended up with some .007 offset dowels and needing to move the bell sideways so with that completed and the trans now slides in and out as smooth as silk. My first experience with one of these transmissions. They have a much tighter input shaft and couple that with a pilot bearing over a bushing which can be loosened up with a hone you have to be dead on. I ended up being within .002 and a race shop I frequent their spec is 001 but they are set up with a dedicated measuring device that goes in the end of the crank where I was coming off the flywheel face. With that said it is no surprise when you Google " Pilot bearing " you read about them burning up in short order. Then you read about the hack installing the trans. and all the questions are answered. I called the company the owner purchased all the parts from about a plug/cover for the hole where the fork would have been. The tech guys answer was they recommend leaving it open for ventilation ? how crazy is that. I can see a rock getting in there with that thousand dollar clutch and causing all kinds of havoc. Lakewood does offer a boot for that hole but I went with a home fabbed piece that still needs a final fitting around the lines and some red paint . Next will be getting the motor and trans. in place to fab some mounts and a crossmember. If I make it that far lol !
I got a little therapy today, I set the motor and trans. in place and smoked all that over. That was my day.
Prayers for Continued Heath Improvement! Curious to hear how your young Protege' is progressing. Glad your sharing your experience Here!
I believe this is what we will go with. I stepped it up to a bigger piece of tubing ( with one side removed ) and you can use a wrench to remove the bolts ( might still change style of fasteners ) moved the motor to the right a inch or so to keep easy access to the bottom bolt on the block . Now for some clean up and welding ! He bought a crossmember in this transmission kit and it is way to lite for this truck but it has worked out to keep the trans located as I moved the motor around. The way it sits now the chassis is level, the motor is down 3 degrees in the rear ( checking it off the face of the balancer ) and it is within a 1/16 th of an inch of being square in the frame rails. So it all looks pretty good to these old eyes. As for my Protege this is more involved than he planned on so we will see where it goes. Next will be a real crossmember, not sure what but it needs to be more substantial than what we have now. But I think most all the crossmembers I see guys use are to lite .
I got the motor mounts finished other than the final weld them solid ! You can see the whole set up here , with the round piece going up in the X member and the mount sitting on top of a post on the X member.
I might mention something that I have done in the past that didn't work out as well as I wanted. I have used 2" square tubing of 12 gauge thickness. The tube was sleeved at every attachment point to avoid crushing. I mounted them on top of a bracket mounted on the frame similar to your pic. To remove the trans, you have to either raise the trans enough for the bolts to clear if the mount has studs or unbolt the trans mount from the trans. I used an oem mount on my last t5 install that had studs. After unbolting the mount from the trans, I wondered why I was paranoid about bolting the trans crossmember under the frame attachments. When we use nylock nuts and maybe locktite, the chance of a fastener coming loose is close to zero. I feel like I caused myself extra work. It wasn't the 1st time either.
Right now I am planning on putting flat stock on the ends and bolting it through the side of the frame. The crossmember needs to come straight down for easy removal. But you know how that is , sometimes the whole idea won't work like you hope. I know how the extra work is ! it might all end up as scrap lol
On my Studebaker I started out with a crossmember from a 97 Suburban. So this time I thought I would start out with a fresh idea.
I spent a little time on the Ford today, tacked a couple pieces together. Now to get my brain running , maybe break a piece of 1/4 in. plate for the center .
I would use 3/16" but it is your build. Keeping track of total weight is important for performance and handling. That looks like 3/16" tubing. Is there any reason to use heavier metal on such a short distance????
The Jalopy Journal
