64 Vette….Rebuild 2.0

[Big Ray]

Happy Birthday you sexy red beast!
Not you Dave lol

Saw a beautiful baby blue 58 over the weekend. Wish I had a camera with me....it was gorgeous!

 

[76zimmer]

can hardly hurt a th400. What stall ?

Ive had great performance from this one, now the T400 in the Maiden is another story….
Approx. 3400. Had a 2600 in it.

Happy Birthday you sexy red beast!
Not you Dave lol

Saw a beautiful baby blue 58 over the weekend. Wish I had a camera with me....it was gorgeous!

I guess I should change that….it’s birthday is April 23!
I like the dual headlight look of the 58’s!

 

[76zimmer]

Got the car put back together today and noticed a few issues that will need to be addressed in the near future.
the driveshaft (not oem…this one is bigger diameter and has 1330 joints replacing the 1310’s) is rubbing the underbody in a few places. I think if I can keep the pinion from climbing by using a bracket from the diff housing to the main crossmember, like a traction bar, it should alleviate those issues. That'll be a winter upgrade with the new trailing arms/axles and driveline parts.
Greg Ducato’s convertor is a nice piece. The old unit is a Coan unit. No issues with it, I just want to try the higher stall speed piece from Greg.
I want to make some tie down brackets to attach to the frame. Something more secure than the holes in the frame I’m using now, and something easier to attach the winch cable to in front.

 

[max 02]

Just a thought for the driveline rub.
What about a pinion snubber like Dodge had?

Big difference in size from the previous converter to the New Greg version Eh!

 

[76zimmer]

Right on Dean. There is a oem rubber bushing pinion snubber (yellow) that I replaced w a poly bushing. I will use a solid aluminum bushing in the near future. Also the rear cover on the diff housing solidly mounts (blue) to a crossmember that is bolted to the frame and has rubber isolation donuts (yellow) to help with vibration. I put steel plates in those donuts to more solidly mount the diff. crossmember.
Ive been doing some research on better ways to solidify the mounts and have some good ideas I’ll work on over the winter.
Due to the expected increase in trans temps from the new convertor, a new bigger and more efficient plate type cooler will be added as well.
The issue with rubbing is mostly caused by the bigger replacement driveshaft. The original was a 2” diameter .095 wall with greaseable 1310 joints. The replacement is 3” .083 wall, w solid 1330’s….a bit wider than the 1310’s.

 

[imiceman44]

Right on Dean. There is a oem rubber bushing pinion snubber (yellow) that I replaced w a poly bushing. I will use a solid aluminum bushing in the near future. Also the rear cover on the diff housing solidly mounts (blue) to a crossmember that is bolted to the frame and has rubber isolation donuts (yellow) to help with vibration. I put steel plates in those donuts to more solidly mount the diff. crossmember.
Ive been doing some research on better ways to solidify the mounts and have some good ideas I’ll work on over the winter.
Due to the expected increase in trans temps from the new convertor, a new bigger and more efficient plate type cooler will be added as well.
The issue with rubbing is mostly caused by the bigger replacement driveshaft. The original was a 2” diameter .095 wall with greaseable 1310 joints. The replacement is 3” .083 wall, w solid 1330’s….a bit wider than the 1310’s.

View attachment 458135

You can make a custom shaft that is a little smaller to eliminate the rub.
Just replace the trunk with a smaller tube that slip fits inside the tube you have now. It shouldn't cost more than a hundred dollars.

 

[76zimmer]

But the Ujoint/Yoke hits worse than the shaft does, and I’m not taking the diff apart for a smaller yoke.

 

[imiceman44]

But the Ujoint/Yoke hits worse than the shaft does, and I’m not taking the diff apart for a smaller yoke.

View attachment 458140

Oh ok then.
I didn't see that

 

[Bent77]

When is the tentative go fast date?

 

[76zimmer]

My first opportunity will be Oct 21. The track has specialty events until the 14th, and I have my halloween bonfire party that day. Test and tune the last 2 Saturdays from 12-6.
FAST is supposed to run on Friday the 27th. Might talk w Donny about running w them again.

 

[Bent77]

My first opportunity will be Oct 21. The track has specialty events until the 14th, and I have my halloween bonfire party that day. Test and tune the last 2 Saturdays from 12-6.
FAST is supposed to run on Friday the 27th. Might talk w Donny about running w them again.

I’m sure Donny would love to have you

 

[76zimmer]

It helps feed their fix, and I can usually run as much as I want.

 

[Wes Harden]

Beauty of fiber glass, It'll self clearance

 

[Bent77]

19 more days

11.87

 

[76zimmer]

You’re Dreaming!

Got the bigger transmission cooler mounted. Had to do some ugly fab using the supplied mounting plates. A little cutting and welding to mount them to the radiator support on existing holes. Should hold up good, got about an inch between the cooler and the radiator. Did a bit of cleaning bugs while the grille was out. Car is driven occasionally, so I expect that, but I also remember when it was freshly rebuilt and everything was spotless! checked the cap and rotor, and the cap looked good but I have a better one as well, but the mounting is different…see next post for that comparison. Replaced the rotor, still need to do plugs and lash the valves.
Got it all put back together, and fired up, checked the new fluid levels. Using DEX VI this time around.
Engine got Valvoline full synthetic 10-30 w a bottle of zinc additive as well.

 

[76zimmer]

Two MSD caps. Look identically except for the hold down screws. The cap for my mechanical tach drive has screws that go thru the cap and into the bodymof the distributor. The other cap has the quarter turn hooks attached with a spring in the same holes as the other cap. So I can cut the 90* hook off the hold downs, or is there an easier way to get them out?

 

[max 02]

Dermal with a cut off wheel would be my guess. Or a torch! Lol!

 

[76zimmer]

I had been using a couple bumper mounting holes in the front frame horns to tie the car down, but they were less than ideal so I made a couple frame tie down brackets. Also elongated a couple holes in the rear framerails to allow the use of factory type anchors for tiedown points.
Once the car came off the lift, it was nice enough out today to go for a rip. So I did! Once it was warmed up I did a few launches in the driveway to see how the new convertor felt….seat of pants tells me nothing, although I can see the tach needle jump higher before gradually sweeping the gauge face. 60’ time will tell the story if it hooks up.

 

[folkenheath]

Nice work Dave! I like the changes.

My guess is the new converter will kill the tires.

 

[76zimmer]

Ive ran 20# in the rears, thinking about 15 next time out. Thoughts?