I tried the head pipes from Pypes. The would not ship to CA. so I had them shipped to a friend in Ariz. and picked them up there. The had very nice bends but the flare to manifold wasn’t even close. The flanges were both stamped wrong and would Slide right over the flare. There was no way to use them so I sent them back. The only positive was that they did accept the return. I had some custom made.
How new and what type are the brake flex hoses front & rear? I have had the hoses swell internally and trap pressure in the calipers in the past. Just something to think about.
Another option is to go manual transmission. There is a new version of the Tremec 5 speed that fits better in the tunnel. That will provide tons of overdrive. There are different versions with different gear ratios. All the parts needed for the clutch, clutch pedals, and linkage are all readily available.
Hello, sounds like a beautiful example. Gold is one of those different then the norm colors on our first gens that I love. I understand what you are trying to accomplish given your driving conditions But as Bob said there are other factors that need to be considered even if you are moving forward with the Trans change. There are 2 main ways people tend to go when using preexisting transmissions. The first is a 700r4 and the second is the 2004r. Those are the two that you need to type in for your swap research. Just the basics: I believe you will need to do crossmember and driveshaft mods for both, most 700r4's need an engine to trans adapter, the 700r4 is designed to handle more torque then the 2004r but with your drivetrain I don't think that would come into play. Both use different gear ratios and that is where your rear diff ratio and engine torque curve come into play. Pick the wrong combo and you could find yourself with too numerically high of a first and second ratio or worse for you have too numerically low of a final drive ratio so that at highway speeds it's too far below its optimum torque curve. Most find that the 2004r fits their needs the best, but you need to do your research and decide for yourself. One last note either trans. can be built to handle high amounts of torque if you are thinking about future engine swaps.
I had reached out to Lee Power Steering in Valencia CA in addition to First Generation Firebird. One of their service people called me yesterday. He said the Saginaw power unit is longer than the manual unit. He said look inside the car at the column, loosen to small bolts that hold the column to the fire wall. Next he said, just under the dash there are two nuts on studs in slotted holes, loosen those. In the picture the nut and slot are at the top. I was able to pull the steering wheel outward the length of the slot. This provided enough room to install the Saginaw box with the rag joint attached. I still have install the rag joint bolts and connect hoses. I haven't attached the pitman arm yet, but will shortly.
To me it entirely depends on how the car was born. What is (or was) it? If you were like most of us back in 83 numbers matching meant and was worth far less, then it does today.
After thinking about this I hate to assume but I think it might be an installation error. When I remove a box on an original setup with a 2-piece, coupler I split it to get the tight-fitting pins out of the column slot/holes. and then back in. With your new coupler rag joint is this even possible? I believe most aftermarkets are one piece. If you can't split it, you have to loosen the 3 self-tapping bolts on the firewall plate that holds the column and also loosen the two nuts that hold the bracket support under the dash. the bracket support holes are slotted fore and aft for adjustment. Also, if needed the plate down at the firewall has a clamp around the column that once loosened can also be moved fore and aft a little if needed. I suspect once you move the column backwards for installation it will probably bolt right back in without any adjustments needed. Here is an exploded view of the mounts I am talking about, they are numbers 2,12,13 and the 2 nuts for the bracket support are number 3. http://www.teufert.net/partbook/67-76/6-i.pdf
I've noticed that there are 2 different couplings, one for man and one for power, could that cause the length difference he's seeing?? I don't think anything else could cause it.
Kind of in a spot. Finished the resto-mod on my 68, but I have a few left over original parts.
Have had the car since 1983 and the drivetrain is original except for rebuild.
Do I keep the parts around and take the grief from the significant other or sell them for someone else's factory restoration? Seriously doubt that I will ever try to take the car back to factory specifications.
I have a chance to buy a 1969 Pontiac GP. Motor is a 400- 350hp motor with auto trans. Car is complete. Body and seats are shot I do believe. Car is numbers matching. Anyone know what this may be worth?
I wish I had something more for you but without being able to put my own hands on the job I don't know if it's an installation problem or an aftermarket mismatch part problem. the only thing I can say is after verifying it's neither be very careful if tapping on the bottom of the column shaft flange as it will only move if previously damaged.
Very nice setup. Another thing I forgot to mention is if you can reproduce the problem and it's in the rear and opening a bleeder does nothing. When you pull the drum look closely at the wheel cylinder pistons. If one is sticky when you hit the brakes normally the pressure will just move the non-sticky side but when you up the pressure by standing on them unless it's completely seized it will apply the shoe. then the problem is that the return spring doesn't have enough umph to return it. This is a very common problem on old cars because they use aluminum pistons with a cast iron cylinder. It can also be exasperated by lack of maintenance Because the dot 3 and 4 used in our cars is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air and all the heating and cooling cycles. Brake systems should be flushed at least every 5 to 7 years to help keep internal hydraulic corrosion at bay.
