blueovalz
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Posts posted by blueovalz
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I installed a full cover dash that lasted for 10 years with no cracking or deformation. The key to successful installation is prepping the OEM dash. Many times the OEM dash will be raised where cracked. First, use a solvent to remove any silicone or oils on the dash (do this first to keep from sanding any oils and silicones back into the surface of the dash). Then make sure you sand (I used 36 grit on an idiot stick) the OEM surface completely flat (Knocking off the high raised spots next to the cracks), then once all this is done, you can trial fit the cover, trim any place that may not be fitting perfectly (mine needed timming around the glove box and A/C outlet), and then glue on. I had to use 1/2" X 6" X 3" plates of steel to set onto the cover to keep it down on the OEM dash correctly until the adhesive (silicone) was set.
Terry Oxandale
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My V8 Z has a jack tube running laterally from left to right side spaced exactly half way between the axles. With the car setting on these tubes (bar through tube sitting on stands)I can bounce the car onto either axle with only a few pounds of pressure. But I have the battery in back, and 45lbs less in the front than stock due to the engine swap. In other words with no driver weight, my car in particular, is exactly 50/50.
Terry
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Is this a "front steer" rack? Most racks these days are rear steer (rack is behind the axle centerline) and thus would make the wheels turn opposite to the input at the wheel.
Terry
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Many examples of live axle cars with excellent smooth surface handling are everywhere. Where the IRS advantage comes in is the unsprung weight at the wheels, which aids traction in bumpy or less than ideal road surfaces. The camber adjustment is also very important, but as said earlier, a correctly setup live axle suspension can be hard to beat.
Terry
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Just my .02 worth. I built a 302 using the 2v Cleveland heads. They were fantastic for this displacement. The port sizes are bigger than the 351W but smaller than the 4v Cleveland heads. The torque will be very good for the street 351ci displacement with moderate to good upper end with the proper components to go along with it. It is a closed chamber head too. Don't discount this head, it is really just shy of optimum in the porting compared to the overly large (IMHO) Cleveland heads (street duty).
Terry Oxandale
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Like Pete said, 2 hoses exit the T/O bearing. They are about 10" long. I drilled 2 holes in the bellhousing to exit these hoses. I also used a Girling 3/4" master cylinder which has about 1.125" of travel, which works out great. As far as the plate is concerned. If you only use one plate (front one obviously) it can ride right on top of the OEM Z rubber mounts on the pedestals with the use of simple "L" brackets. This will locate the motor about 1" forward of the firewall, and give you plenty of room for certain types of exhaust. In fact, depending on which side you mount the "L" bracket on the plate you could have several inches of room to play with on the longitudinal spacing of the engine. I believe the shorties will cause some problems with interference with the firewall unless you immediately bend the exhaust downward at the joint, to run under the firewall where your dead pedal is.
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I currently support the engine in my Z with 2 engine plates I made out of 1/4" aluminum plate. I do not have any templates, but if this is the way you want to go, and you have the engine out to where you can get easy access to the front of it, I could talk you through making at least the front plate. I don't think you will need a rear plate unless you are going to do some heavy duty driving (drag racing, etc).
Terry Oxandale
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My entire engine, trany, and rear end are all solid mounts (used to race this beast). I would be extreemly cautious about a rubber front mount and solid rear mount, because the aluminum cover will crack if the the front mount flexes any. Use all rubber or all solid but don't mix them. In my particular application, I used 1/4" single, very wide, aluminum plate that replaces the two 4" wide steel suspension supports, the mustache bar, and the sway bar supports, all in one piece. The diff cover bolts onto the middle of it, and the sway bar bushings bolt onto each end, just above the rear suspension pivot points (rubber bushings). To mount this plate I simply used 6 bolts. 4 that held the original 4" wide steel uprights to the chassis, and the 2 bolts that held the mustache bar in place on the chassis. With the front diff mount being solid, it makes for a very stiff set-up. Unfortunately, it does make a little more noise this way, but it is not objectionable.
Terry Oxandale
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When my engine was in my old '66 Stang, I had a 4.11 rear that drove about 3800 rpm at 60mph with a 1:1 4th gear and normal (205/60R14) tires. I cannot see how 5 grand at 60mph is happening with any Z rear end. Perhaps the torque converter is slipping more than ususal or the tach or speedo is off (wrong speedo gear in the transmission). My 4sp Z with a 3.54 rear never went past 4 grand at 60mph no matter how small the tires were. With a 22" tall tire, the rear wheel rotates at about 916 rpm. Multiply this by the diff ratio, and you get the engine rpm (provided you are in a 1:1 gear ration in your transmission). With this in mind you would have to have a 5.45 ratio rear gear at 5 grand at 60 mph. Something else is amiss.
Terry
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The long one is only about .4" longer than the short one, the the difference is only on shaft part that is inserted into the diff. Both should "snap" in when inserted correctly, and not be able to pull out without some amount of prying first (once they are correctly installed.
Terry Oxandale
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High horsepower is great, but in these little cars, lots of torque can be more fustrating than fun. My 302 is a moderately high rpm hp motor with less torque on the low end of the rpm range, which even with 315/35R17's, I still can have traction problems. I can't even image what more torque and less traction would be like.
Terry
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The Ford rack is about 41" wide. This is with about 3" of the 9/16" threads on each end. Some racks on the T-birds have a longer treaded portion, but the inside edge of the threads to the inside edge of the threads on the end rods is 37". If you use 1" of threads for your rod ends on each side, then you have 39". Now you have only about 3" on each side left for the rod end.This makes the rack a little on the long end, but can work with the right kind of fabricated ends.
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FYI. Those peened axle nuts that are a pain in the rear to remove can be replace with the ZX self tightening flange nut. This can then be removed at a later time without damaging any of the treads on the axle.
Terry
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Pete has a good reply here. I would like to add that with the extra fluid transport of the larger 7/8" master cylinder, you also will have a decreased mechanical advantage. The ratio in bores is related to the mechanical advantage of the system. Increase the MC bore, or decrease the SC bore and you decrease the mechanical advantage (higher pedal pressure). I use a high pressure pressure plate on my T-5 equiped Z, and found that I had to use a 3/4" inch bore. Anything bigger started bending rods and flexing the firewall. The biggest limitation of the smaller bore is that the stroke must be long enough. Pete was correct in that a 1" stroke (in general) must be used. This is where swapping parts is tricky. The ratios of MC to SC are important for correct "feel" and operation.
Terry
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McCleod makes, or used to make, a good quality hydraulic throwout bearing that slips over the input shaft/front bearing retainer of the T-5. It can be used with a 3/4" (the OEM 5/8" will not provide the necessary amount of fluid) hydraulic master cylinder which I bought from Girling. It (the master cylinder) used the same bolt pattern as the OEM part, but needed some tinkering on the under the dash part to mate up with the Z pedal. The feel is not noticably different from the original feel, and it has been a reliable part for over 10 years now.
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I used a T-bird power assisted rack (I believe it is the same as the mustang rack)from '84 I believe. Anyway it was too long, but this was good because each end had 4" of 9/16" treaded rod. I had to cut about an inch off each side, screw on a spherical rod end and put a 1/2" grade 8 bolt through the steering arm and the rod end. Long story made short, but this rack has almost the same steering ratio as the Z rack had. I think I remember slight differences in the length of these treaded ends, but they all seemed to long (T-bird vs Mustang).
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My experience when I swapped the L24 with a 302 was the L24 weighed 428lbs complete. The 302 weighed 380lbs complete. This was with the aluminum J302 Motorsport heads and an aluminum intake. This encluded the alternators and exhaust manifolds on both engines.
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Pete Paraska alerted me to what appears to be a wonderful sight (thanks again Pete). Just wanted to say Hi to all. Its been a long time since I published the data, but I will try to participate in helping anybody with a 5.0 conversion. My originally published data is at www.Zhome.com, and some pics were in an old Z-car publication some years back. If possible (I'm not computer literate) I would like to get this same text published on this site for you guys. I do not have a web sight available for better pics, but would be happy to help anyone with some if needed. Take care
Terry
stupid nutt...
in Drivetrain
Posted
Heat is real important here. Unfortunately, the case aluminum, and therefore, the amount of heat (torch) applies must be limited. Get it nice and hot first, then twist on it.
Terry