It's surprisingly rust free and is all original. That's the only thing keeping me from tubbing the back. :LOL:
Printable View
Today my brakes and front coils arrived.
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I removed the dash and the toe board, and the center floor trans tunnel. Not much holds the dash in. i was really surprised. Then I started drilling the spot welds that hold the fire wall in. My brother jumped in and did the LH side. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the old one out. There is a lot more work to replacing one of these than I originally thought. Go figure, right? :LOL:
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Here's a picture of the mods made to the X member to get the TH400 in there years ago....
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I think I may shit can this wire harness too. Can anyone recommend a good reasonable price one? I see them advertised in street rodder and other mags for under $200. Anyone ever use any of them?
I used the EZWire EZ 21, 18 fuses, 21 circuit in Color Wiring Harness . I had zero problems with it, but I did call their tech line once to clarify a detail on one of the circuits. The guy was very courteous, and very knowledgable about different ways the circuit could be wired to function right. I will use them again.
Thanks Roger! That's exactly what I'm looking for! On my Corvette I used a 21 circuit harness, but I can't find the same brand now. The harness in this car now uses old glass fuses, and all the wires going into the main block use screws to secure them. The biggest complaint I have with it is that the wiring runs out of the fire wall to the front and rear inner fenders, and have junction blocks which are open to the elements. Not a real ideal setup for a car that will actually get driven.
I use the Speedway 20 circuit harness, works fine for me!
Attachment 57811On my 40 body mount resides these exposed wiring runs. They aprear to be an early Ron Francis package done by the former owner years and years ago. I have been waiting for them to fail for about 15 years now.
I need to remove my dash. I see where it must be bolted in the upper corners in your photo, can you tell me where else? Thanks
Scooting, I think this one might be a Ron francis as well. 2 years ago the blocks in both inner fenders were christmas tree green. I removed all the wires and cleaned them and sprayed a protective coating on them. But I think it's time for it to go. :LOL: On the dash, you're right. There's supposed to be one bolt on the lower dash at the a pillar per say, per side. Then under the windshield garnish mouldings there are supposed to be 2 or 3 screws on each side that hold the dash to the body. Mine was missing half of them all.
I've been trying to fight off a cold the last couple of mornings, so not a whole lot has gotten done. Today I got part of the firewall out and tomorrow hopefully I can get the new one installed. My new balancer and key showed up too.
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Nice to see you keep making progress in spite of weather not yet being favorable.
Here's wishing some of the weather we're having now blows your way. Today it was 61F and sunny, tomorrow sunny but a few degrees less, Sunday sunny and mid 60's, Monday and Tuesday sunny and into the low 70's.
Thanks Nick! We did get a couple decent days. It's supposed to be real nice tomorrow and wednesday, then 40 and snow/rain on Thursday. Hopefully I can get the engine and trans to the shop before the ground gets more saturated. :LOL:
Over the weekend I got the new firewall installed. Today I cut off the old engine mounts and the strut rod mounts on the frame. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get the engine sitting in the frame to see how hard the trans install is going to be.
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Here's my little girl helping out.
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Wow!!! What an improvement! The new firewall looks great! Neat helper you have there, too!
It's shaping up real nice! Those really cute little helpers are handy to get into all those cramped places a big guy just can't reach ;)
Thanks. I was really nervous about how it was going to look right after I removed the rest of the old one. Really, it looks pretty nice. I really like it. Yeah, the little helper sure is a cutie. Her mother isn't crazy she is picking up the car stuff so soon. I told her not to worry, she still has her girly stuff too. :LOL:
This morning I sat the hemi in there to start getting an idea how it's going to go. Now I need to put the steering column in so i can get the steering back on to set the engine height.
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Here's why the X member will need to be redone. This trans is pretty dang long compared to the TH400 that was in here before.
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I'll pull the engine back out after I make a mark on the fire wall so I can start cutting for the bell housing clearance. Once I get the engine and trans where I want it, I can remove the body and get to the X member.
Hemi----------------------------------------------------
I use centerline of crankshaft at top edge of frame rails for mounting target-----will have decent ground clearance for oil pans and lower edge of bellhousing----also drive line angles toward 9 inch ford rears wth most tire sizes----------
Thanks Jerry! I think that will give me the most room for the steering and exhaust too.
starter and oil filter ---remote oil filter helps on the right side---a newer gear driven smaller starter helps on left------
I have a fixture for mocking up a block with a heavy wall tube thru the mains and with a dummy niner center section on the rear for angles and alignment--with chassis at planned ride height then do the rear trans mount, make just enough adjustment up or down at crossmember to get u joint desired angle and adjust rear housing the couple drgrees to complete driveline specs---------
Sounds good Jerry. I'm doing a remote mount oil filter and using a gear reduction starter. Denso type.
Today I messed around with trying to see how things are going to fit. Well first issue. I got a flaming river power rack, and of course, the steering shaft is different on this one. Plus it didn't come with the bushings. WTF? I put the old one back on for now, and I might just get a non power stock type rack to see how I like it.
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I might bring the engine a little farther forward to make it easier to get the valve covers off and get to the bell housing bolts. It appears that I have the room.
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I also got a smokin deal on a pair of speedway fiberglass rear fenders that are 3 1/2" wider! Now I can drop the car farther. :LOL:
I'd suspect a manual rack with that elephant motor won't be a pleasurable experience!! I've got a manual rack and a small block, it's okay when you're moving, no fun when stopped.
That's kind of what I was thinking too. I have some buddies that claim a manual rack is the only way to go. One guy has a Blown BBC in a 41 Chevy Coupe and I drove his car and it is the same as my Corvette which has manual steering and the heavy cummins. Yeah, my wife won't drive that like that. :LOL: So maybe I had better just buy the correct joint to go to their rack.
Didn't they call it an elephant motor for a reason?!?! HAH!! :whacked::):LOL:
OH, if that's what it takes to stop my wife from driving it!! Then I'm definately going with a manual rack! :LOL:
Mine says the coupe is "claustraphobic"!! AWWwwww to bad... I guess I'll have to cruise by myself! HAH!! :LOL::LOL:**):LOL::LOL:
I'll "suffer" in silence too! :D:whacked::D
The ELEPHANTS were the 426s------------
The valve covers will come off easy if you pull out the spark plug tubes a little---------
Jerry, how much heavier are the 426's compared to these 354's and 392's? This SOB weighed 785 with the original ps pump and generator, and a/c components.
those original generators, ac compressors and starters weight a TON---go alum BBC waterpump and alternator with gear reduction starter you will yake 75 lbs off--
Today I pulled the engine back out and put the steering column back in. I also hooked up the steering shaft and cut the begining hole in the firewall for the trans to pass through. Then I bolted the TR Waters adapter to the Hemi. Next I bolted the engine to the transmission. I removed the overdrive housing so it would fit in the car. I placed it back in and got the engine sitting where it fits this car the best. I tacked the RH mount in and will have to add to it tomorrow. That's all the time I had today.
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I didn't get much time to work on the car this weekend due to family stuff and getting our taxes done. The engine is sitting on the mounts now! I have to finish them still but I ran out of welding gas. I also cut off the water cross over off of the stock water pump, and mounted my alternator bracket from Jeff Sullivan. Thanks Jeff, it looks like it's going to work out perfect! I also removed the rear fenders and started removing the body mount bolts. Holly crap, they didn't want the thing falling off for sure!
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That'll be sweet when done!
removed coolant crossover where it exits front of heads??????????
Yes. I cut it off the original water pump. On the 354 and 331 the cross over is part of the water pump housing. On the 392 it is seperate. I could buy a 392 one for $100 or more, or cut the water pump, braze or tap a hole and plug it and have one for my time. I will take pics of it tomorrow. I have to cut some more material off of it and smooth it off. It'll look almost like the 392 one when I get done.
Well, the wife's daily driver, (97 Caddy with a Northstar), is starting to blow a head gasket. So, now I get to make the big boy decision and put the 40 on hold and get her 2000 Excursion running. This car will be on hold until June I'm guessing. I did get the body seperated from the frame though. :)
Well, you better take care of the one who takes care of you!! Sometimes life gets in the way right?!?! LOL..
Real life gets in the way sometimes and you just have to take care of it. Mine is in pause for a family reason also. Just keep daydreaming on the 40, we will be waiting for news.
New here but really like what your doing on your ride. Sometimes, while it doesn't seem like it at the time a little break from the project can be a good thing. When you get back after it you might attack it in a slightly different way. Or just be a bit clearer on what your doing. Looks great! Just dont wait some 30 plus years like on my project! LOL
Yeah, life can throw you a curve ball. Right now we have the transmission out of the corvette trying to fix it, my brother's 92 F-350 has a triple disc clutch in it and it is making some awful noises. We went to Torque fest and that was pretty cool. On Monday my injection pump crapped out on my daily driver, on Tuesday I figured out the engine I rebuilt last year is locked up. Some how water got in the intake and the #6 intake valve was open and filled the cylinder with water. Guess what? This was the engine for the excursion............ So now I'm taking the fuel system stuff from this engine and putting on another. Boy oh boy. :LOL: