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01-15-2014 #41Registered User
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
Been slow processing my pix and getting my web pages updated. Here's the motor "dummied up" in the car, Earl Williams side mounts in place, Super Comps fit nicely, today installing the cross-member for the tranny support....
Got a bunch more pix on my web page HERE....
With the LT1 distributor in front, I tucked it up pretty snug against the firewall. I'll be modifying the firewall to give me plenty of room to get the valve covers off, and will be checking clearance with the brake master cylinder.
Aloha,
WillyI get older n slower = My cars get older n faster
Picture Trail
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01-20-2014 #42Registered User- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
Not much to add, the motor mounts are partially welded in place, will weld some more on them after pulling the motor/tranny back out:
Meanwhile I cleaned up the old tranny mount that was in this car and located it for the T56, and welded it in place. This car had a "wheeezy" 350/350 combo leakin' all over the place when I got it, sold that for $350 to a guy who is now rebuilding it! The exhaust openings in this one just happen to match up with the Hooker collectors quite nicely!
I have a good Strange Engineering 3-1/2" driveshaft that had been in my '55 gasser, but I broke the front U-joint at the track and messed up the front of that one. With the T56 I can shorten it a little and weld on a new front yoke and be good to go!!!
Aloha,
Willy
My Webpage
01-21-2014 #43Registered User- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
Just a couple of pix, crawled under the car and took one of the tranny mount. A cobbled up pos the previous owner put in, but it's actually pretty solid, so I cleaned it up a bit and put it back in service under the tail of the T56 in my '55....
Now I gotta patch up a Strange Engineering driveshaft I broke in my '55 "gasser", and shorten it to fit in this rig...
After the brackets for the exhaust system are welded in place on the frame rails, the motor is coming out, and the body is coming off....
And, YUP, I'm still havin' fun....
Aloha,
Willy
07-07-2014 #44Registered User- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
My other rigs keep demanding my attention, breaking something or needing adjustment....
But I got both trucks, the 55 4x, and the 58 pro street; and the 55 gasser, all running again...
YaHoo....
Now to work on the 55 Sport Coupe and the panheads for awhile...
Put a 1350 pinion yoke on the rear end, and measured the old driveshaft from the gasser to be shortened. Sent it to Strange, they will put on a front 1350 trans yoke for the GM T56, and cut and weld on a new 1350 rear yoke to fit the pinion yoke.
Then pulled the motor/tranny out so I could finish welding the motor mounts in, do some mods on the firewall to provide more clearance for the valve covers, cleaning smoothing and painting.
Yesterday pulled the T56 apart and swapped out the main shifter shaft for a modified shifter shaft from Keisler Engineering that I've had around for awhile. The new forward position of the shifter will clear the bench seat in my '55.
Wrote it up and it is here (Link) if you want a look...
Some highlights:
Pulled the rear tailshaft housing off, it also houses the reverse gear set and the 5th and 6th gear sets...
Removed all the gears in this portion of the case, reverse, 6th and 5th, then pulled the main gear case off the front trans plate:
One of the guys in our crew hauled home that "Wombat" sign from a recent trip "down under", no we don't have wombats on Maui....
You can see the long shifter shaft, it runs the full length of the gearbox. I pulled it out and installed the modified shaft I got from Keisler Engineering, which splits the shaft in half at the appropriate spot under the forward case inspection hole, and puts a piece of hardware in that will accept a new shifter and operate all six gears and reverse properly...
Unfortunately I forgot to take a pix of that modification Keisler did to the replacement shaft, will look for something I can find to show it.
The truth is, I misplaced the new shaft, and we were going nuts trying to find it so we could finish the job, I finally did find it, and it was getting late, so we buttoned everything back up and then realized we forgot to photo it !!
Stuck this short shift lever on it to check it out, it shifts good, hits all the gears it is supposed to. I'll find a nice curved shift lever to use in the '55....
Actually, that original main shifter shaft could be modified to the forward position if you had that piece that goes in that location to match up the two halves of the shaft after it is cut and a piece removed.
Now to figure out where to cut the hole in the floor for this shifter....
Aloha,
WillyI get older n slower = My cars get older n faster
Picture Trail
07-07-2014 #45Looks like your coming along pretty well. Is that tansmission going to fit without cutting up the hump in the floor board?
Tony H.
07-15-2014 #46Registered User- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
So far, yes, when I was working up the motor/tranny mount points, I pushed the motor/tranny combo back about as far as I could, and the motor mounts I had bought from a California source dropped right onto the sides of the front cross member very nicely, as the photos above show. By then I had the tranny up pretty tight against the floor, but with about a 1/4" clearance between the floor and the closest point on the tranny. Right behind this new shifter location is a rubber bumper bolted on the tranny, and that's just under the floor. Mounted the cross member there with new holes in the frame, reinforced the frame to make it nice and solid.
This photo from above is not too clear, I was under the car with poor lighting, but you can see my home brew cross member with clearances for the headers, and the tranny location.
The old driveshaft from Strange Engineering that I busted up one end at the drags in my other '55, the blown Olds powered "gasser", was sent off to Strange to be redone to fit this setup.
When I get it back I can put it all together and measure the u-joint angles and get it all in sync, hoping the angles will not be too large, but just eyeballin' it, it all looks pretty dang good !!
The motor is out now also, doing final welding that's needed, like the motor mounts, then cleaning and painting the frame, some reworking the firewall to give me a little more clearance for my "oversize" (read, tall) valve covers so they will be easily removed when needed. Also took some measurements and will cut a hole for the new shifter location.
Then install the flywheel, clutch, hyd release cylinder; fit on the tranny, and reinstall the motor/tranny. Then I can install the "new" driveshaft and check the driveline angles.
The car presently has relocated leaf springs, aftermarket springs, stiffer, to allow my "mini-tub" job and run 12" wide rims in the rear. Presently have slappers on the leafs, but have a CalTraks setup that I will install. Have used those before with good results.
I have a whole bunch of other projects going on, so I get to this one as often as I can, which is not as often as I would like, but it's coming along nicely.
Want to get it running well, handling well, then will attack the paint and upholstery side of the project.
I really have been amazed so far at how well the new power steering box, the headers, the side style motor mounts, the tranny under the floor, have all fit together so well. I keep waiting for something to come along and bite my butt, maybe I'm just livin' right for a change....
Aloha to all from Maui....
Willy
07-15-2014 #47Registered User- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Hawaii
- Posts
- 225
Ordered this Hurst stick:
and this boot:
have used this stick before in a '55 and it cleared the bench seat quite nicely...
from Amazon, prices were quite reasonable...
07-15-2014 #48