1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod

[ryeguy2006a]

Got a little cleaning up done around my garage and the motor and trans. I also got some of my swap parts ready to install into my car. Here are the Dirty Dingo engine mounts, DSE hydraulic clutch bracket and a new Hurst shifter knob.









Here are some before and after pictures of the engine clean up.





And after a little Purple Power.







Not a bunch of updates, but I was busy parting out the Camaro, and didn't have a ton of time for the TA.

All for this weekend.

[ryeguy2006a]

I got my motor and transmission in for a first test fit. Overall I was very happy with the fitment. I will have to take the motor in and out a few more times, but it fits really great for a first test. Here are some pictures.

Here is a picture of the Dirty Dingo engine mounts. They fit great and they are a very great company to work with. I ended up buying the wrong engine mounts, and needed to exchange them for the right ones. They were great and I was able to ship mine to them and get the new ones in less than a week. Excuse the oil on the engine.



Here is one of many times the motor will be on the engine hoist, but this is the first test fit.



And here it is in with the Corvette Fuel Rail Covers. I like what I am seeing. And for those of you that may ask, the motor is tilted towards the rear because the shifter won't fit into the interior...yet. So for now it is tilted towards down in the rear.







Here are some pictures of the ground clearance.





Now, the big debate I have been having is which headers to buy. But since I had the engine in there, I thought why not check and see how the stock manifolds will fit. And to my surprise they fit great! I have at least a fingers width around everything. So, for now I am just going to use the stock manifolds and save some money.









And now it was time to see if we can get that shifter into the car, so I got out the sawzall and started cutting a little at a time. And I ended up with this.



I know that the cuts aren't that clean, but I will make some panels and weld them in to make it look good. The reason that I cut through the factory 4 speed hump is because it was already shot. You can't see it, but before I ever got the car someone tried to change the shifter and decided to crudely cut a hole in the side of the hump. So, for now I am just cutting it up, and will probably drill out the spot welds and patch in a new panel.



Now, a test fit of the console. Another surprise to me is that the shifter is very close to the stock location. Not sure what an auto console will fit like, but I may end up making an adapter for the shifter to have it come out in the factory 4 speed location.



As you can see it is only about 2-3 inches back from the stock location.



That is all for now. Won't be long and I will be uploading a video of the first start up!

Ryan