Time for a change.
- Thread starter Stretch
- Start date
TheIronSausage
Two brain cells left.. rubbing together for warmth
Guess I've never stuffed headers into a B body before..
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
The headers were already there, and nothing about the suspension was changed. What we removed in terms of suspension, we put right back in when we were done.
The clues he left are very subtle--one of them is actually in a picture regarding the Oakland he's restoring... :toot:
The clues he left are very subtle--one of them is actually in a picture regarding the Oakland he's restoring... :toot:
TheIronSausage
Two brain cells left.. rubbing together for warmth
4 speed swap?
Wow! That'll be a lot of fun.
Stretch
Hey! There’s no easy button for a body like this!
I've been planning this sense last fall. The auto started to slip in drive & the torque converter has been acting up for years so rather than spend the money rebuilding the one thing I never really liked about the car I made the decision to cut it.
I ran the idea past Jass and he didn't respond the way I expected. I fully expected him to say "Don't do it! It's to original." He was all for it. In fact he helped me compile a list of needed parts. I had the transmission "in Stock" It is a 1970 big block unit. with the good SR307 synchro rings and the super awesome 2.66 1st gear. The Big block trans required a OD bell housing to fit the bearing retainer. I had the bell housing "In stock".
Jass found a auction on E-Bay for most of the tuff stuff to find which I won. (Truth be told only two bids were placed, his then mine. Jass bid on it first just incase I got busy and forgot to. What a buddy)! It had the bell crank, bench seat shifter bracket, shift rods, levers, shifter (that I didn't use) and a super nice original pistol grip shift handle. Next thing to acquire was the floor hump. That Jass guy bought me a AMD piece and gave me it and the dash revers light with wire harness for my Birthday. So I'm guessing he is on board with the swap at this point. I had an A-Body manual column here that I picked up in our favorite salvage yard years ago. I molested it for the non column shift parts and swapped them over to my B-body auto column. Yes. Its that easy. They all swap over!
The rest of the parts came from Brewers Performance. I bought the pedal set, transmission bearing and gasket kit, clutch rods, shifter boot and trim ring, clutch fork pivot, hardware for the trim ring and shifter boot, Reverse light wire harness, and clutch inspection cover from them. I can't say enough good about these people. They are super helpful, super fast on shipping and they answer every E-mail within minutes. Every damn business out there can take lessons from these people!
The clutch, paint, & seam sealer & ARP flywheel bolts were purchased through work (Breeze Auto). The clutch bolts and pilot bushing were bought through Mancini Racing. The carpet set is a ACC set that I bought through Rock Auto. I had my neutral balanced flywheel drilled for the cast crank 340 balance at Flemming Fab. The shifter I used is a Jefferson Swap meet find. Its a factory rebuilt hurst super shifter.
The majority of the work happened the week my Dad passed away. I had pulled it in the garage, got it on stands and pulled the carpet set. The next night he fell and hit his head quite hard. He passed the next day. The next two days I threw myself at the project to keep my mind busy. It worked. I was able to have some time to myself and just stay busy.
I wish my Dad could see the result. He too surprised me with his response when I told him my plans last fall. He said "Cool" I'm surprised you didn't do it sooner!"
Restoman was a huge help through this. He was at a key flick away with advice and moral support every time I needed it. Thank you so much for that. You are a hell of a internet teacher. I wish I could spend "hands on time" learning from you in person. Jass was a huge help too. With parts searching, moral support, and a extra set of hands when I needed it too. Chrissie's Dad helped a ton as well. He was right there with me when I was silently cutting and wrenching, working my way through my Dads passing. Trent is a hell of a guy and I'm damn honored to be his son-in-law.
I ran the idea past Jass and he didn't respond the way I expected. I fully expected him to say "Don't do it! It's to original." He was all for it. In fact he helped me compile a list of needed parts. I had the transmission "in Stock" It is a 1970 big block unit. with the good SR307 synchro rings and the super awesome 2.66 1st gear. The Big block trans required a OD bell housing to fit the bearing retainer. I had the bell housing "In stock".
Jass found a auction on E-Bay for most of the tuff stuff to find which I won. (Truth be told only two bids were placed, his then mine. Jass bid on it first just incase I got busy and forgot to. What a buddy)! It had the bell crank, bench seat shifter bracket, shift rods, levers, shifter (that I didn't use) and a super nice original pistol grip shift handle. Next thing to acquire was the floor hump. That Jass guy bought me a AMD piece and gave me it and the dash revers light with wire harness for my Birthday. So I'm guessing he is on board with the swap at this point. I had an A-Body manual column here that I picked up in our favorite salvage yard years ago. I molested it for the non column shift parts and swapped them over to my B-body auto column. Yes. Its that easy. They all swap over!
The rest of the parts came from Brewers Performance. I bought the pedal set, transmission bearing and gasket kit, clutch rods, shifter boot and trim ring, clutch fork pivot, hardware for the trim ring and shifter boot, Reverse light wire harness, and clutch inspection cover from them. I can't say enough good about these people. They are super helpful, super fast on shipping and they answer every E-mail within minutes. Every damn business out there can take lessons from these people!
The clutch, paint, & seam sealer & ARP flywheel bolts were purchased through work (Breeze Auto). The clutch bolts and pilot bushing were bought through Mancini Racing. The carpet set is a ACC set that I bought through Rock Auto. I had my neutral balanced flywheel drilled for the cast crank 340 balance at Flemming Fab. The shifter I used is a Jefferson Swap meet find. Its a factory rebuilt hurst super shifter.
The majority of the work happened the week my Dad passed away. I had pulled it in the garage, got it on stands and pulled the carpet set. The next night he fell and hit his head quite hard. He passed the next day. The next two days I threw myself at the project to keep my mind busy. It worked. I was able to have some time to myself and just stay busy.
I wish my Dad could see the result. He too surprised me with his response when I told him my plans last fall. He said "Cool" I'm surprised you didn't do it sooner!"
Restoman was a huge help through this. He was at a key flick away with advice and moral support every time I needed it. Thank you so much for that. You are a hell of a internet teacher. I wish I could spend "hands on time" learning from you in person. Jass was a huge help too. With parts searching, moral support, and a extra set of hands when I needed it too. Chrissie's Dad helped a ton as well. He was right there with me when I was silently cutting and wrenching, working my way through my Dads passing. Trent is a hell of a guy and I'm damn honored to be his son-in-law.
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Diplomat_Wagon
Hiding In The Bushes While
I remember that torque convertor problem!
Glad to see you fixed it!
Glad to see you fixed it!
Stretch
Hey! There’s no easy button for a body like this!
Oh yah! Its a hoot. The thing is a complete blast to drive. It like it isn't even the same car! Love it! Love it! Love it! Zero regrets!
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Not only was I supportive of this change, I actually did my best to push him into doing it. That was the real shock to him, I think. My reasoning went something like, "You've had the car almost 17 years, so it's clearly not going anywhere anytime soon. In that time, your only complaint about it has been 'I wish it was a 4-speed'. Other than the somewhat-unusual color, it's not rare or particularly valuable, originality be damned. It's never going to be a $40,000 car in our lifetimes anyhow, so you might as well do whatever makes you happy with it. You're not exactly cutting up a Hemi Daytona SE."
He's like a little kid at Christmas with the car now. It's like a different car to him, and it's adorable to see. Plus, though he's driven them in the past, he's never owned a Pistol Grip car previously. It's funny as hell to see him finally fully grasping (pun intended) what all the fuss is about.
He's like a little kid at Christmas with the car now. It's like a different car to him, and it's adorable to see. Plus, though he's driven them in the past, he's never owned a Pistol Grip car previously. It's funny as hell to see him finally fully grasping (pun intended) what all the fuss is about.
Stretch
Hey! There’s no easy button for a body like this!
Being a 4-speed car, whether original or not, makes the car much more desirable in my eyes.
You are not the first to say that. In fact that very point came up in Jass and my original conversation about it. I think he said something like, "Anyone looking for a car like this if it was for sale would likely say Cool! It's already a 4 speed!"
A few other friends have mentioned the same.
Now for the fun part. I didn't tell anyone what I was doing. You guys are the first I have told. Now to drive it and see the reactions of people who notice the change and or the confused look from people who thought they knew it was a auto.
Just so we are all clear here. I never intended to pass this off as a original. If asked I will tell people I changed it over. My goal was to make it look as original as possible & bump up the fun factor while making it what I want. I think I accomplished all of that.
68R/T
I got drunk and swallowed my teeth, now
But it's still green.......:shifty: [smilie=g: