I knew we'd see eye to eye eventually. :lol: :cheers:

:rofl:

You know where all those parts go..HA HA. I took a TH400 apart once, It ended up at the trans shop. Go job for trying it yourself:thumbsup:

How is Operation Transvestite going Todd? :unibrow:

They sent me the wrong slider so I'm waiting on the correct part to show up. I've got everything I need minus the part to put it back together. If the part shows up tomorrow, I'll likely have it back together this weekend.

Hey Todd,

Its lookin good :thumbsup: , Im curious, where are you buying your sliders and carbon syncros? Any gaskets or anerobic sealer everywhere?

They must use some killer epoxy to hold that carbon to the brass. Im trying to remember why Paul at Liberty talked me out of installing them, Im blank.

Did you need a bearing press to get anything apart on the main shaft or did it come a part pretty easily with removing a bunch of E/C-rings?

Thanks Rich

Hey Rich,
Tremec used anaerobic sealer everywhere but the inspection covers and shift plate originally. I'm no stranger to the technology as we used it in some GM applications way back when. I'll be using silicone on everything going back together as that's what has been recommended. Everything pulls apart by driving out a pin, c clip, or clips retained by a collar.
I'm buying all my parts from Bob Hanlon in PA. He has brand new take out parts from transmissions that he face plates which makes the sliders a reasonable price. I thought the same thing about the sychros and the bonding. I'd be surprised if your trans doesn't have them in it. From my understanding, it's technology that is used in the t56 platform.

Sat here for almost 3 hours and read about 95% of this thread until my old eyes gave out. Simply amazing car and build. Your dedication to detail and function is second to none, Your car comes off to the naked eye as a "grass parked under a shade tree trailer queen" ;) ... then you see it being used the way it is intended to be and that is very much RESPECTED! I love it!!!! :bow:

Hats off to you and your Cammy. If I still have my car and I race at LVMS at the PSCA SSCN at the end of this year,, I hope you can swing by and check out the action

BTW about your dist gear..
On my car I run a bronze gear and removed the rubber O rings You may loose a little oil pressure ( IMOHO nothing to worry about) It'll add more oil to the gear, Been this way in mine since 2005.. just check with "your eng builder" for your own peice of mind..

Also another good practice is to machine an oiling groove above the distributor gear so it has pressurized oiling to the gear, and if you do it after timing has been set you can clock it so the groove oils the distributor gear and camshaft gear It cuts down on wear alot, better life with a bronze gear also. Use moly cam assembly lube on the new gear next time you replace it for break in....(If you didn't already know)

I was wondering who built your 489 If it wasn't JP? You can PM me the name if that's ok..

Thanks for the kind words. It's been a fun adventure. I'll definitely try to make the next psca event. May run if they'll let me.

Pettis did build my engine February,2010 and I've beat the living **** out of it ever since. What a great engine builder and such a mom and pops shop with old school values. They give me better prices than jegs and mom answers the phone. I ended up pulling the lower o ring when I replaced the gear. Only lost a couple lbs of pressure. I have it out now for the trans deal and it looks good.

Just what we needed, another guy to make this guys head bigger than it already is :rofl:

Yup JP is definitely a mom N pop operation. Shop is even at the house I've even heard stories of mom bringing cookies out to the shop LOL. YES come play with the PSCA there is a class for everyone, you may want to run in Open Comp or Street Muscle

Todd, how's the tranny coming along?

I recieved the 1-2 slider I needed right before I headed out on vacation. The new slider and the old gear didn't mesh(was told it was a 50/50 shot) so I had to order the assembly right before I left. I just got back last night and the new part is here so it will be going together this week, finally.

Good luck bro, keep us posted!!:thumbsup:

subscribed. lol

Hollywood Debut
 

Dude, you were made for TV. :rofl:

Can't ya slam those gears any harder? Actually that looks and sounds pretty sweet. You must be itchin to get in there and not fiddledick around with shifting anymore.

See ya in a few weeks. :cool:

Duuuuude! <Spicolli style>


The very last thing in the world I wanted to do on a Friday morning - sitting here in Sun Valley - was to watch a video of you jacking your handle off....

The very least you could have done was to get Kelli to do the demonstration.

:willy: :woot:

The camera went dead right in the middle of my hollywood debut. :lol: If she don't leak like a siv or sound like a dump truck, should be good to go.

This is a finicky piece. The teeth were chewed up on the 2nd gear side so I ordered the new slider. It wouldn't mesh with my old gear so I ordered the slider/gear assembly. The gear didn't want to play nice with my mainshaft so I ended up using the new slider and my old gear.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...1969/003-9.jpg

I reassembled the main shaft in the vice. Also pictured is the main shaft assembly and 5th installed.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...1969/005-5.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...1969/010-1.jpg

This picture shows the broze shift pads on the outer fingers of the 1-2/3-4 shift forks.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...1969/008-6.jpg

Nice...like the video appearance. I bet you will be glad to have everything put back into the car and driving the car again...nice work man.

Todd Nice job. Did you have to adjust any shims or were they right on with the new parts?

^ Ha, totally agree! :lol:

So I'm standing around @ RTTC2, Todd, Dave and Dr. Renner shooting the breeze before the cold start of the road course and the conversation went like this:

Todd: So how's your car coming (Todd smirk)
Me: Uh, ya know...still in paint jail (red face)
Me: Did you decide what you're gonna do about that tranny?
Todd: Prob pull it after the season and send it to Liberty. I just want to drive it for now.
Me: I don't blame you. Dude, why don't you just pull it and put the parts in yourself?
Todd: I would, but nah, there's a bunch of tight tollerances in there and I think it's a job better left for the pros.
Me: It's just a tranny. I think you can do it.
Todd: We'll see...

....Props Todd...:thumbsup: I dig that you stepped up your game. You are in the pro ranks! :yes:

Great job Todd!! I think your ready for Hot Rod TV, just need a better camera man, lol.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather watch Todd on TV than Stacy David. :rofl:

Wayne, the end play checked out at .0005 so I'm good to go.

Ron, I'm cheap what can I say. :unibrow: I just couldn't stomach the shipping and investment into this transmission. I'm not thrilled to have stuck another $750 into it but it's the most economical solution. You'll be loving me when you start rowing gears with that 56.

Guys, got my hair cut today but I'll start working on my mullet pronto. :lol:

Trans is back in and I did take it for a 20 minute rip today even though it was 4000 degrees outside. Everything fought me from getting the trans to slide in, pedal return spring, exhaust. Just one of those deals. :unibrow: I ended up taking half my jack rod and wedging the clutch pedal down and it slid right in! Haven't had that problem with the real input shaft clutch alignment tool in the past.

As usual, I can't leave anything alone. I decided to swap to an aluminum flywheel. I had Jason Pettis balance it before sending it my way. He always recommends balancing anything from a manufacturer.(Clutch pack, flywheel) He has better equipment and always finds them to be out of balance to some degree. The old steel flywheel was 30 lbs. The new McLeod aluminum comes out to 14 lbs.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...969/003-10.jpg

The trans feels sharper and the shifter has really shortened the throws. 3/2 & 2/1 downshifts are definitely better. 3rd seems to find home easier while 4th/5th feel about the same. The work definitely netted me an noticable improvement. Buttonwillow next month will test out the repeated high rpm shifting. My 1-2 shift still isn't perfect. It's still the notchiest gear but it has improved. I'm going to adjust the clutch a hair tighter for more disc disengagement. I'm happier with the trans and that was my goal. :thumbsup:

I regards to the aluminum flywheel. I love it!!! This engine isn't radical and it eats up that aluminum flywheel with NO problem. I can still take off with very little throttle. It's really changed the whole feel of the car. It revs so much faster and has really upt the anty in terms of a performance feel. The car even seems to take off better. It's crisp and more fun to drive! RPM matching is easier. Man, I wish I would've done this a long time ago. High reving big block torque and aluminum flywheels should sleep together every chance they get! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :D It just doesn't feel like 489 cubic inches..... I can't wait to drive it again.

Aluminum flywheel :thumbsup: Now it's a a real race car!

Indeed it does change the whole car, for the better :) The revs just seem to be more connected to your right foot. The only downside I've found on the track is that when downshifting, the revs fall to idle so quickly with the clutch in...requiring a quick efficient heel-toe technique. I've almost had the rear end come around a few times when I let the clutch out with too little revs.

You will never want to drive a car with a heavy flywheel again.

Not that you have a problem with rolling burnouts, but you can probably add 10mph to your burnout speed now :). Looking forward to seeing you at BW.

-Steven

You always said if you ever pulled the tranny you'ld be throwing in an aluminum flywheel. Hell the damn things out why wait right? Your clutch disk will last you a ton longer.

You wont be using 1st to 2nd much on the road course, I'm figuring mostly 3rd and 4rth.

I could never figure out why those trannies are so much notchier in the shifting but i guess its just the nature of the beast.

Anyhow, looks like it's time to take that thing out for a few good rides, get everything to mesh, and make friends with its new components.

My car is pretty much ready now. All fluids changed except for brake, alignment redone last Friday. Lowered the front another inch and had to do the old baseball bat roll to the front fender lips again, lol. Looks like **** but oh well, it aint no show car. I'm 22 1/2" from floor to fender lip now.

Knew it was only a matter of time after you were revvin my motor in Dougie's garage.. :unibrow:

So how bad out of balance was your new flywheel before Pettis fixed it up?

With the stock synchros and the 30 lb flywheel, it was a real bitch downshifting without upsetting the car. I haven't started working on heel/toe and it really wasn't an option until these changes. Now that I have the brake pad knockback sorted, I can work on the pedals one of these days. The gas pedal is splined so all I'll really need to do is fab up a pedal stop and bolt it to the floor. Looking forward to Buttonwillow. :thumbsup: I may hit up a local SCCA autocross the weekend before as well.

I definitely didn't need to tear the bellhousing off to update the trans.:D Glad I did, I found that a few of my pressure plate studs had actually lifted the center disc ring slightly. I switched out the hardware. Evidentally the lock washer were missing in the kit and when I torqued the nuts, the studs moved.

I still need to bleed out my brakes. I've got the Wilwood 600 fluid this time around. I cooked my front fluid in Fontana last month. If I have time, I'm also going to put the car on the scales and lower it a little out back. I've got 3/16" to spare according to my O-rings. :lol: Gaetano, your car is waaaaaay lower than mine.

I didn't ask how far the flywheel was out to be honest. I can see where he drilled on it along with my pressure plate. Jason's Mom said most manufacturers spin them on somehing similar to a tire balancer. Jason can spin it at high rpm. If he recommends I do something, I listen.

I've got some new rubber that's going on this week as well. My rears are heat cycled out really bad. They are noticably harder than the fronts and I've noticed a really loss of lateral and forward bite lately. They are just plain wore out. Fronts aren't far behind so I decided to replace all four at once. Picked up a good deal on the rear thanks to our resident liberal Ronnie..:lol:
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...969/002-10.jpg

Todd,

Is the Wilwood fluid 5.5?

What gas pedal are you using? The Camaro brake/gas pedal relationship is far from optimal IMO. I'm trying to get a setup that allows me to use the left and right sides of my foot vs heal and toe. I can heal and toe it now but its too extreme to trust.

I'm guessing my pedal needs to come up 1" and over .5"-.75" and maybe take the rubber pad of the brake and use a thin abrasive material.

It's their 600 racing fluid. http://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/290-6209/10002/-1

I have a lokar throttle arm and sparco pedals. I'm not sure I can make it work either at this point. The lokar arm does move the pedal over closer to the brake pedal.

Hey Todd, you have the Lokar pedal too? I messed with the splines for days to get the height right but it wasn't coming out right, so finally just added ~5/8" thick worth of plastic sheets underneath the pedal pad. The spacing between pedals isn't so bad, it's the height offset.



Nice rubber!

My thought is to get the brakes bleed back out so the pedal is normal and figure out the right height under max effort braking. Then I'll add a throttle arm stop to keep the stress off the throttle cable. I'm sure it's going to be tricky and doubt I get to it before buttonwillow. I'd rather have Dave's set up!

'Liberal Ronnie...,' Gigg-ady! :lol:

So glad you finally came over to the aluminum darkside. Big Torque + fast R's = Title Contender! :thumbsup: Also, +1 for the flywheel balance. I made the mistake of not doing it one time. Never again...

I remeasured heights and wrote them down this time and these will be from floor to fender lip:

Passenger side front 22 1/2"
Passenger side rear 22 7/8"
Driver side front 22 3/4"
Driver side rear 23 1/2" Due to Fays 2 Watts link plate sandwiched under leaf spring/shock plate.

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/a...8-30-11004.jpg
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/a...8-30-11003.jpg
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/a...8-30-11002.jpg

Do you have any shock travel left?:unibrow:

Are you kidding??? With all that flex in my stock subframe.........I got tons :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Actually, measurable travel up front is barely 3" and rear is probably a bit above 4".

I can gain travel if I relocate front sway bar above subframe like on the Penske/Donahue '69 but it hasn't been an issue yet with the 700 lb springs.

Bringing the hub out 2" with the spacer for the vette wheels may cause some issues due to increased leverage but I'm going to bring my Torque Thrusts out to Buttonwillow just in case.

Finally some pics of T Junkies car. I've been looking and could never find a thread about it. Looks great, More info please!! :cheers: Sorry for the high jacking of your thread. Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

What fluid were you using before? This reminds me to upgrade that stuff.

Absolutely. People keep commenting on my track vids to use heel/toe... I welcome them to come try in my car. My height difference is so far off it's not funny.

Well yes you could cheat and join the really really dark side..... Todd, I am your father.... :cheers: :D

Sorry for the hi-jack Todd.

Thanks for the kind words, I'll throw a little something together when I get a little more time.