Hey all,
The next update……
First off today I saw one of my best friends for a far to brief visit and when he asked about project roadster I directed him here for progress updates so if you are now reading along ……Hi Shawn!
And in answer to your comments Larry I did not know about the other tail shaft options for the T5, so thanks again as I ended up checking those out too.
The most amazing thing I saw was Tremec’s new TKX
if you have not checked it out it looks like they have finally answered all the classic muscle car guy’s needs, stronger gears, smaller case, GM and Ford mountings and 3 shifter positions including one that should line up nicely with all the T-10, and top loader types at about 16.5 inches back! Very nice indeed! I don’t think it is currently in my budget but wow what a nice option.
I will stick with my current plan of hanging the engine and trans in there and see how my current 2 tail housing options line up.
I was also looking at MDL again and considering one of their forward or rear offset shifter bases, they can move it 2 inches if there is enough clearance to the top of the tunnel…….. Stay tuned……
I did manage to get the steering sorted, those little adjustments took more time than I expected and I did revamp my fixture holding the rack with some threaded rod for easier and more precise vertical adjustments and improved my setup for checking the bump steer. With the dial indicator clamped to the king pin and indicating at about one foot from hub center I can watch the change as I move the arms through their travel with my trusty floor jack.
In the end I found a very happy spot, more forward then I had thought but it ended up about half an inch further forward and an inch lower than the original chassis had it mounted and that’s OK clearance wise so we will go with it.
What it really all means is from theoretical ride height it toes out about .003 in the first inch and in the second and third inches it gets to about .025 progressively so I think that will be quite manageable and predictable. I got the same on both sides and it’s quite repeatable so I am sure it is not a fluke. I did a small celebration dance and moved on…
I then remounted the rack so the steering shaft was facing the right way and had to clearance the main tower a bit to get it back in the right spot, nothing to radical and after a couple of refits I like it.
Then on to brackets, I used the same angle as the original mounts and made the appropriate spacers. Then using CAD again, made up some modified original style mountings from 3/16 plate and tacked it all up….
Then I took everything back off and got down to some welding.
In the end I re-mounted the rack and ….good news……. is it still fits perfectly
Now on to finishing up all the little bits on the front and most of the major welding so after another after noon in the shop with steel and grinders I give you ……..
Gussetpaloozza!
Hopefully next time I will have them all welded in place and be moving on to the engine mount towers and such things. But that’s enough for now….
In other news my SWF turn switch arrived and looks good.
A quick check with the multi-meter says all the switches are working correctly so I will freshen it up at some point in the future and check it off my parts list.
BTW It was -31 Celsius here this morning
so stay warm my friends!
Cheers,
Hudson
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