QWKDTSN Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 I am contemplating sliding my motor forward 3/8 or 1/2 inch... It has been basically resting against the firewall since I installed it. I was happy with this location until I realized a couple of things: I can barely run wires behind the distributor, and I'm not sure how far I'm going to have to turn it to get my timing dialed in. I'd hate to have the dizzy rubbing the firewall. Now, there are a few things to worry about: the tranny mount will have to be slotted, either on the crossmember or on the bushing, so that I can shift the transmission forward without having to drill new crossmember holes (PITA). I may have to lengthen the braided fuel lines from my regulator to the carb. Damnit.. that means I'll have to buy about $10 more. Finally, what worries me the most: the driveshaft. I have just the right amount of spacing for the yoke. If I slide the motor forward 1/2 inch the driveshaft is suddenly going to be 1/2 inch too short. There is no way I'm going back to the driveshaft shop.. my bank account has $80 in it at the moment. What other considerations are there? What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 Can you indent a space or fabricate a box in the firewall enough to turn the distibutor and do what you want with wires. I apreciate your post since I want to leave adequete space between firewall and distributor in my project and I do not like slotting holes in mounts for them to roam in or short changing driveshafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted March 24, 2002 Author Share Posted March 24, 2002 I don't really want to do anything to the firewall.. I don't have time to do any major mods. My crossmember motor mount posts are slotted as per JTR already.. do you guys think it'd be okay to slot the hole in the tranny x-member? It's not like it's a tight precision fit as it is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thurem Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 So how far back is too far back VW......Sorry, could'nt help myself.I don't see why you shouln't be able to slot the trans x-member, unless you slot it so much you cut it in half. More money, less work might be to get a pointstype distributer with an electronic conversion. Thure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 hey i'm new on the board and just want to say you guys rock, but i'm pretty sure that if you do a chevy vega v8 swap, that part of the installation is to knock a big ol dent in the firewall for the distributer. may be the low buck fix you need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 Nion, If you are running a GM HEI distributer you could replace it with a smaller diamater MSD distributer later on when funds permit.Or you could slide the engine ahead only 1/4 of an inch and make sure you distributer is installed correctly, then when timing adjustment is made it would only need to be turned a small amount. John C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 Survey says! Modify the firewall. I would want as much set back as possible for the weight distribution that would inhance the handling and negate the additional weight of the V-8. IMOP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 If rotating the distributor causes the electrical connector bulge to strike the firewall, you can always re-index the distributor another tooth on the cam in the direction you need to go. The only relationship that is critical for a distributor is the alignment between the cap and the rotor. As long as #1 fires when it is supposed to, you could have the distributor aligned so the electrical bulge faces any direction you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedRacer Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 I agree with John C - if ya got a few bucks then drop in the small MSD billet distributor http://www.msdignition.com/ part number 8570 (about half way down the Chevy page. I had trouble with the size of the stock (non-HEI) distributor because of the Tri-power on my car so I switched to this distributor. It's like half the size of an HEI unit but, since it's MSD, it really works great. Sounds like a lot of work when installing a new distributor should fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
383 240z Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 Hey Nion I have a points type dizzy that has been modded with a MSD hall effect trigger that would help you out and with funds being tight I could trade you for??? Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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