ShaggyZ

Tell me more! Seriously.

Success. It was a frustrating 3hrs to get both pedals in. I'd like to blame the length of my limbs and my screwed-up left wrist. The clutch bolt wasn't actually all that hard to get in. The problem was getting a wrench on it; couldn't safely "dimple" that air vent so no socket wrench, and couldn't get a box end on it, so I had to turn the bolt about 1/8 rotation at a time with a shorter 17mm open end than what I normally use, flipping it each time. After that, getting the spring on was kinda hard using two long flat-heads; one to pull on the spring (hooked to the pedal) and the other to slide the spring toward the nylon-sheathed hook on the box. The brake pedal went much quicker, and I recommend doing the clutch prior to installing the new brake pedal, as I did. I removed the seat and laid a sleeping bag in the gap between the seat brackets to make it remotely comfortable. Also, I unbolted the bracket that holds the hood release and vent cable; think that helped a good deal. Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

The entire box? Or just the clutch pedal and its bolt? You're so close to me, maybe I should drive down and have you do it

Converting '77 from auto to manual. Want to get the pedal installed first. I got a box with clutch and brake pedals and originally thought I'd have to swap the entire thing. Read it's a bear to do and maybe impossible without dash removal. Then I read a couple posts on the internet suggesting just the pedals could be swapped out and wouldn't require dash removal. Sounds good, but I can't see how to remove/install the bolt the clutch pedal pivots on due to its length and proximity to some other interior parts down there. Has anyone actually done this?

I'm a self-proclaimed pro at fixing that situation in about 10 seconds. Way cheaper and safer than turning a single bolt, though you could end up doing that if you somehow screw this up. 1. With tension on the chain (pulling up), remove your block 2. Stick a long screw driver (or some other long rod that will allow you to see where you're sticking it) and rest it on top of the tensioner (the slider part) 3. While pushing gently on the screwdriver, gradually relieve tension in the chain until the tensioner drops down and pops in 4. Immediately pull up on the chain and remove the screwdriver It should make a gentle "thunk" as it slides in and 9 months later you're a dad. I got so good at this, I started doing it for fun, even seeing how far out I could get it before I had trouble getting back in. As I recall, I eventually let the chain kinda fall into the hole and don't need a block anymore. When I first ran into this issue, it came WAY out, as in nearly dangling and I could see the spring... I think. Obviously, these steps assume the tensioner deflected UP out of the housing, not down. If it went down somehow, you could try a bent coat hanger to pull from above; not sure about that. Another option is to remove the oil pump and push up on the tensioner from below while a friend works your chain from above.

Can we clarify this info a little further with regard to TTT's complete rear kit? I think they're unclear what, in addition to their $2.6k kit, is required to complete the conversion. Suppose I could just ask them FYI - seems MM's site is down, like their domain expired.

Hello. I'm back. Sold the 77 to buy our first house in early 2012, then got a small insurance settlement from a car I got for free and paid for a very low mile '89 Fox body coupe 2.3. Has back seats. Tried to stick a 1JZ + R154 in it without spending much money on a K-member or other stuff. Didn't work out. Lost momentum when our 3rd child came along. Got tired of looking at the Mustang and tired of not having a Z. Found another good Z here in Austin last week and bought it the same day I sold the Mustang. So the plan now is likely to put the 1JZ in this car. Already collecting parts. May just piggyback this thread...

Depends which transmissions you get. Most of the R154's you find are "shorter," coming from the MKIII Supra, but there is another version about 1.5" longer, IIRC, and then another that's another 5"(?) longer. Most of the W58's I've seen are as long as the long R154 since they come out of the SC300/Soarer or non-turbo Supra. Regardless of what you do, I think you don't need to worry much about that difference. It has a negligible impact on the work required, especially if you have the motor set way back.

What does the turbo type have to do with your ability to run a certain type of pressure relief valve? Put it on a pressurized pipe, give it a vacuum signal beyond the throttle body. The end.

... Tried to delete to no avail.

You're on the path to learning. Keep trucking. TDC is for suckers.... kinda. Losing it is no big deal; everything just needs to be in agreement when it's buttoned up.

Even with the wedge at the tensioner, I always had trouble getting the sprocket back on. I somewhat foolishly would stick a small rod or philip's head screwdriver and shove it through the bolt hole of the sprocket into the cam and give a little upward leveraging. Never damaged the internal threads but often worried about it. But first, read below to make sure your tensioner is all the way in. You definitely do NOT have to take off the front cover to get the tensioner back in all the way. I'm a pro now at getting it to slide back in; takes maybe 10 seconds. Just need a long screwdriver and good lighting down there. With a little upward tension on the chain, push down gently on the tensioner's slider with the screwdriver until it slides in the rest of the way. This should not take much muscle at all. Since learning this method, I don't try to hard to keep it from coming out, partly because the wood wedge I used would put sawdust or splinters in the oil.

... and don let the Crescent damage the valve cover mating surface. Actually, I can't even remember what that looks like so you may not be able to damage it. I still prefer impact gun instead of the breaker bar.

If you decide you can use a LONG nose 3.15 LSD from NISMO with the finned rear cover and the associated CV's, let me know. I have one I can't decide if I'm going to use so it's just sitting in my garage. It ain't cheap, though.

Thanks. It's not a weird class issue, it's just the way classes work that you can run up classes but not down. No one ever takes an SV into the 600+ classes, though, which is partly why I did it; you often see 600's up a class or two because they are so close in competition with liter bikes and 750's. The separation in acceleration and overall performance between my SV and 600's is even greater than that between 600's and 1000's.