Proof is in the Pudding!
After the first round of dry-fitting, it was time to give it another go, and this time
actually fit the assembly into the new chassis mounts (see the next page for that story.) I had
Bill make one last adjustment to the adapter - I had the counter-sunk holes for the main bolts
slightly enlarged, to take the 3/4" socket head that I would need for tightening them. I also
went to Lowe's and bought new Grade 8 bolts for the final assembly. It was time to torque
the adapter on, and see how it worked. It was like butter!
Once the gearbox and transfer case were mated, I re-attached the empty tranfer case (for weight
reasons) and installed it onto the new transmission mounts, and then added the bellhousing. As
luck would have it, my measurements actually worked! Wa-hooo!!! After jacking the whole
assembly up to simulate the necessary 5 degree nose-up for the Ford intake manifold, there was a
smidge of room. I decided that rather than wreck the bulkhead for some fudge room, I was just
going to do a little work with the angle grinder to buy myself some insurance.
The last step in the process was to get out the measuring tools and sketch pad, and go about
ensuring that everything was going to fit properly. I need to add a few washers to the passenger
side transmission mount, but that should level the whole assembly nicely.
I also was fortunate to find Arno's Custom Machine Shop in Adelphi, Maryland - he is a fella
who runs a shop in a garage in his backyard, and he agreed to do the driveshaft work (after
several local speed shops begged off or outright refused). I took a look at his work today,
and it is AWESOME! Should be done on Thursday (2 Oct 03).
While I am waiting, I have a million nagging little details to sort out to make sure that
everything is going to fit and function properly. Here goes!
Devil is in the Details...
created and maintained by
Matt Atkins
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