Speaking of flywheels, are they available in Europe? Are you trying to find one with a lower clutch face or do you want me to ship you this flywheel?

 

Yes, plz . Flexplates you could conceivably find here. Flywheels... not so much. I'll PM you.

That turned out to be a white rabbit. He only had two-piece seals.

 

that pressure plate should fit either type one or two-piece flywheels. clutch face is the same.

 

Closer still

 

be careful posting stuff like this. next thing you know there will be a whole pile of crossmembers arriving at your house...

 

Beer plz.

With the booster in place there was no space for a reservoir on top of the clutch master cylinder. I needed to install a remote one. To do that I needed to drop the horn relay, brake booster and vacuum storage tank .

While I was at it, I patched the cracks in the vacuum storage tank.




This is the only place I could find that, for the moment, seems to work.




The vacuum lines clear. Booster clear. Clutch master cylinder good as well. I hope it works.

The kit provides sheet metal screws but this is glass, so I went with bolts.

 

Hurry up and wait





Well, I suppose I have a mess of other details to attend to. It’s frustrating nonetheless.

 

The master cylinder/pedal action is smooth. The remote reservoir clears everything nicely. The brake booster is reinstalled.






Then there’s always that nagging feeling that, as I wrench, pull and fasten... I am knocking wires loose and releasing a few more gremlins.

 

Interesting. I don’t think I read of anyone else running into this issue.

I mocked everything up. The removable cross member seems to clear exhaust pipes without too much trouble.

The issue now is the tail shaft housing. This bit here is contacting the cross member and preventing it from fully seating.





It seems to be some sort of a bolt mount hole. It looks like it can be cut off without any issue.

 

I had the same problem. Sawzall worked quite well. But with my 80 crossmember, I also had to notch it. I also had clearance issues with the speedometer cable attachment. Without notching the crossmember, I couldn't get it threaded on. Don't think you'll have that problem with your early style crossmember.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-problems.html

 

there is a weight that bolts to them and hangs off the back. supposed vibration dampener. like this. https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.co...sionthemeid=26 but it is from a C4 ford. useless and in the way.

 

Still a long way to go, but this is a big step... particularly with mocking things up. It seems to fit nicely.



Pilot holes drilled and lift in place.



No washers yet, but you get the idea.



I don’t like that I’ll have to cut up and fit the horseshoe exhaust hanger. There must be a way to support/hang the exhaust pipes other than at this cross member. Any ideas ?

 

Driveshaft needs to be shortened by 3.25 ~ 3.50

 

Exhaust hangers are pretty Universal. You could probably get one in Boulder right the floorboard and ensure to in front of or behind the crossmember and then put a clamp on it and give her the position so holds it in the middle of the cutout. Along these lines. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Hi Derek,

what did you mean by “get one in Boulder right the floorboard...” A few typos might have found their way in there.

I’m trying to visualize but failing.

Thks !!!

D.

 

voice to text and didn't check it. get one and bolt it right to the floorboard. or right to the crossmember itself. cuz you will be holding pipes right to left as much as up. pretty much to keep the exhaust where it is, not actually support it.

 

Low profile clutch came in. I should be able to install and bleed the clutch this weekend.

 

So, installing the pressure plate was of course the easy bit. This time I fiddled with the installation tool. It’s plastic. Junk. Too much play.

I gradually tightened the pressure plate and, by touch, made sure that the pressure plate was lining up with the clutch disc. This attention paid off later on !


Oh how nice. It’s also blue. Nice to know

I measured the clearance and from a 0.200 overlap I went to 0.480 air gap. This meant I needed 4 shims to get me 0.120 air gap.



You are shooting for 0.150 but no more than 0.200 and no less than 0.100. So we are good ! So far, the low profile pressure plate was the right solution. To be seen if it works.

Before the trans went in I added two quarts of ATF. Experienced folks can see this one coming.

I also rigged the easiest bracket I ever made for the speedo.



Then I needed to fab some sort of connection for the reverse light.

Then came trimming the bolt holes on the tailhousing.



I HATE ATF. I thought I was DONE with it going to manual from auto. Not so fast. As I got ready to line up the trans... 2/3rd spilled out on the floor. When yer on your back the car inches away from your nose... that’s really annoying. Lesson learned.

I thought I could leave the bellhousing on there but no... the HRC will not clear it. The trans needs to be installed together with the bellhousing.



With the bell now on there, the installation was surprisingly easy... except for the ATF all over the place.

And then I saw it: Fuuuh...



There is no way to get the hydraulic line on there while the transmission is installed. Off it comes.

As easy as it was to go on, it was a nasty battle getting it back off.

Then the next problem was the pivot ball. Groan. I tried sawzallling it off but the steel is too strong. So the bellhousing has to come off again for me to remove it.



After a loooong battle (this time it was less easy) the trans is back in there. Hopefully for good.

 

the trans saw the line on the bench and said "watch this." irritating. .100 better than .200 clearance. is that release bearing spring loaded to pull back to the stop? or like a brake caliper. it will stop returning when the pressure plate stops pushing it? cuz if it opens all the way up, that is that much farther wifey has to push the pedal. and a LOT of this conversion is making Mama happy so you get to keep it...

 

I thought I heard my trans say: hold my beer.

It’s not spring loaded. It’s supposed to self clear like a brake caliper.

We won’t find out fully tomorrow but at least I’ll get an idea of the pedal feel as I bleed the system: press pedal slowly down, then bring it back up. Wait ten minutes for bubbles to rise. Repeat but only halfway. Wait another 10 min and it’s done.

Right like everything else on this... it’s gonna be that easy.