[fubar: didn't mean to scare you with the details on the distrib mod, lot less to it than it sounds...probably take me an hour to do the next? one...you probably are ok with stock anyway now that crossmember is chopped (tryin real hard not to chop mine, its a street aaaa driver).....timing belts and sprockets (they dont use the p word) are available at local ''power transmission distributors'' everywhere, almost any tooth count/diameter and 1'',2'',3'' belt widths x any length you'll need--industrial stuff is usually malleable iron not alum like the high buck "racer" but weight penalty won't be much--timing belts have very high load capacity vs small size, but need lots of guide rollers and careful sprocket alignment to stay in the game...belt vendors have load capacity info .
i've got a spare crossmember made into a mock-up to get everything to fit before i yank the mouse, can't see that gettin the bolts into a single v-belt pulley will be fun, double looks bad.

fatvette: thanx for the pump info, guess i need a new Edel cat

 

well that is good news about the v-groove pulleys...except for I already have the rack brackets about 1/2 way seperated from the crossmember. I really think the cog system will be less headache in the end...

how is your distributor clearance did you mod anyhing to fit?

also, I got a big present from tony today. the headers! except for one boo boo I overlooked...the high capacity hamburger style pan...I might have some issues there unless my exhaust shop is very gifted...otherwise I might have to order long tubes...no skin off my back though...this thing is begging for them! lol....

I should have the motor in on a semi-permanent basis as soon as my poly motor mount inserts get here...then its time to button things up

 

That fits under the stock hood, right?

 

a single groove fits without issue...double...ehh....not so much...anything cog/serpentine needs the rack pushed like im doing. i'll have pics of this tomorrow...

i gotta order some standard 3 bolt flanges and some 2.5" tubing and get to work on my turn-downs...or else this could get real ugly.



as for stock hood? eh...i'm shooting for everything under a 3" cowl...or i'll just go dragster scoop if i switch to a tunnel ram

 

Well, the plate to fill in my crossmember is ready to go...the rack mounts are totally off and the crossmember cleaned of all excess welds & such and ready to go...my Mad Dog 700R4 needs a bit of cleaning up (been in storage for a year) but is ready to go. i test fit the tailshaft housing from old transmission and all is good. one thing i do have to say i hate...the frickin speedo gears...

i was out there till roughly 4am just puttin my time in...it feels good to know it's coming together smoothly and according to plan so far...and to look back at all i've done so far...amazing...couldn't have done it without you guys though...so i'd like to take this time to thank all of you for all the input, and for pushing me to get it done...

 

I only needed a 5 inch cowl to clear that plenum . Made right turns a little challenging

 

Distributor fit fine; I used a small cap, external coil HEI

 

Congrats on the continued success w/your conversion. Check your e-mail-gotta question.

Eric
84 Z51 Auto

 

well guys, another major pictorial update, and yet random ranting at the same time

removed steering rack last night & removed brackets from crossmember. now i knew i had to move it exactly 1" forward so i made some reference points and scored them on the crossmember for today...

today i head out and cut some pieces of 1" square steel stock. these were exactly 1" square. i cut 2 pieces about 3 or 4" long and stacked them ontop of one another. my dad did 99% of the welding BTW...

then he welded this to the front face of the crossmember. so basically my crossmember grew 1" forward. this is part of where i'm getting at with my rant....

the other bracket on the passenger side...well...was slightly more difficult. i forgot that the one bracket face was at an angle...sooooo...instead of a 1" spacer i only needed about 3/4" on the face of the crossmember. more fabbing needed there. top of bracket is welded in place and new bushings installed so it's not going anywhere...

now for the rant

i have that 1" thick steel on the front face of the crossmember, so i know the drivers side rack bracket was moved exactly 1" forward...thre's no way around it it's 1" forward end of story. everyone's saying i need to extend my steering shaft...well...guess what...

IT SLID RIGHT BACK ON AS IF IT WERE NEVER TOUCHED!

now either my estimations are incorrect, or i have a frickin mutant car.
i checked every reference point i have, and indeed that bracket was moved 1" forward from stock...so how the hell do i not have to extend that shaft? WTF? GRRRRRR....nothing ever goes as planned, but this time it was in a good way....

2nd rant...

was the rack in out cars "offset" from the factory...I.E. was one side farther forward than the other? i'm seeing the passenger side of the rack being angled toward the front ever so slightly...now both brackets moved the same distance, so what gives?

but enough ranting...the rack is back in, all new bushings for it installed (that was a PITA btw...), and the crossmember welded closed practically. a very sucessful day i must say. now pics for you all...

1" steel on face of crossmember



crossmember welded shut



driver's side rack mount



passenger side rack mount

 

well i went out and triple double checked mywork, and indeed the one rear corner of that bracket is off a bit...how i dunno, but the front face is square with where it was taken off, and everything bolted back up...oh well...i guess we'll see onthe first test drive if it'll matter at all...

also, with the rack moved forward an average of 1" across the board im really hoping the cog drive will fit now...i believe it will. it's actually not as deep as the stock SB serpentine pulley which measures 2 5/16" out from the balancer. this brings it about even with the backside of the waterpump pulley hub. as long as that is about 1" back from that cross brace in the engine bay (last i checked it was...i think)...i should be good....

i really won't know more about the accessory drive for a couple weeks at least till i see if i have any cash out of my next paycheck to devote to mods. i know if the stock smallblock serpentine pulley clears the rack with the BBC in the bay then the cog will clear too since it is smaller. i'll know for sure next test fit...if all is good, then i'll ordr the parts for the cog kit and get crackin on that.

the HVAC cover is my next victim. i gotta clearance that and get it back in and sealed up.

 

i do have some experience in suspension design...i don't think you'll notice any problem driving due to the rack being not quite square, maybe slight tire wear...the whole rack relocation thing will likely increase front tire wear rate a tiny bit whenever you go around a corner anyway.....are you doing anything to shield the fiberglass spring from welding heat?...''closing up'' the end holes in your crossmember patch would increase the stuctural integrity of the modified crossemember signicantly....can the spring still be removed with the patch welded in?

 

Good point, Rerose,

I cut almost the exact same relief in my cross member and the heat caused the spring to collapse! In my case it did not matter as I was in the process of changing over to coil overs.

Fubar,

It goes without saying that you will need an alignment once you are up and running again.

 

the spring was not shielded from the heat per se, but i did maintain a water hose and spray gun to continuously cool the insides if the crossmember between welds. the spring did not collapse and made it out without a mark. there is still plenty of tension there. i'm not real worried.

and the alignment was to be expected. you don't play around with steering and suspension without having one done...it goes without saying...lol

buuuuutttt...did not check to see if i can remove the front spring with the patch in. it seems pretty butted up against the spring so i'd anticipate that i would now have to pull the motor and remove the patch to do a front spring change. however, with my oil pan i needed that much clearance. problems could've been avoided with the use of a stock BBC pan.

the end holes will be closed up prior to final reassembly. that was alot fo work for an 8 hour day especially when factoring all the checking, rechecking, bull****ting, pissing & moaning, etc...lol...

 

thought i'd check in with everyone...little progress the last couple days. thinkin about gettin up early and putting some time in on porting the intake. weather is supposed to be real good this week so i'll see if i can get the motor motor in and take some pics

 

Steve,

If you only moved your steering rack forward one inch and at the same time rotated the rack back towards the steering wheel at a steeper angle than before, perhaps your steering rack may fit without being lengthened. I moved my rack forward at least 2 inches, which required lengthening the steering shaft.

 

there was no way to phyisically tilt the rack because of the driver's side mount. i think it may have opened up a little but the front face is exactly 1" farther forward than before. perhaps i just got lucky with mine? either way, i'll know wednesday for sure if i moved it enough...if not i have some more grinding and welding to do. i only needed 2.25" out from the face of the balancer to fit the cog system. the stock pulley is a little more than that. so if that fits, i know the cog drive will.

 

well good news bad news...

good news is another test fit with the headers ent very well. all clears as anticipated...

bad news

remember how i wended the rack forward about 1"?

well...1" ain't gonna cut it for the cog system...

try about 2 to 2.5" needed

so i have to cut all that back out and weld in some more steel supports and move the rack a total of almost 2.5" forward to clear this belt system. i might as well fab a new crossmember...lol...since basically from the looks of it by time i'm done the front of that thing is gonna be bulletproof with 2" of additional steel plating. likc to see it get mangled in a crash now! not only that, but i think it'll make up for the notch for the oil pan...which BTW had to be further modified and i won't know if those mods worked for clearance tillthe nest test fit which is one week out.

till then...i get to finish porting my team G intake which is a chore...

 

Looks like you have something you want when you are done.
I hope you have lots of money for fuel I dropped down from c-16 to
c-14,the difference is $10.00 a gallon vs $8.00 a gallon.
I get a wooping 2 gallons to the 1/4 mile.You better chain down the motor ,the TQ will be a ton.Build that cross member strong the TQ will cause the hood to try to hit the drivers door.
I would realy get that rearend set up good.
I would like to know if you get that wiper motor in place and if the headers fit between the frame and motor on the passenger side.
I have 17/8 tubes and after cutting the frame and a few alterations to the frame ,I just wacked the tube on the header to make them fit.
The header collectors against the trans are alot of fun to play with also.
I burned up some trans blankets,before I wrapped the pipes.
Good luck!I know you will have fun when you are done.
Watch out for those trash cans the neighbors throw at you.

 

Ahhhh, that explains the rubbing marks between my passenger door and hood. It doesn't rub when I open the door.... makes sense to me now.

and,

He's not lying about those trash cans...

 

trash cans...bah! that I'm not worried about too much... my neighbors are pretty tolerant...the local cops are another thing...

sounds like i'll have to realy work on the chassis stiffening aspect of this project...