1985 Monte Carlo SS known as Barney

[SSLance]

One of the guys with a similar style clutch on the MCSS board

Oh yeah, I had that same exact problem with my replacement clutch...

Me:

WTF didn't you warn me in advance about it then!!!

In all of my research done about which clutch to buy for the LT1, never did I stumble across a thread talking about this issue.

As soon as I typed in "LT1 clutch install issue" into the google, 30 different threads showed up talking about the same exact issue.

I don't mind dealing with it, it just would have been easier to deal with it on the first go around, instead of the third...

Stuff happens and most everyone knows I've had to do my share of "loving" on this car to get all of the mismatch parts and pieces to play nice with each other. It's cool to be able to figure it out and fix it, but every now and then it would be super nice if things would just go as planned for a change of pace.

[SSLance]

So I drove the car around quite a bit yesterday, the weather was fantastic and I had a lot of errands to run. I really REALLY like the clutch upgrade. It is apparent to me now just how much my other clutch was slipping under a hard load. I'd compare it to a torque converter on an automatic trans.

Now with the new Ram clutch though, when the torque is applied, the tires spin first before the clutch slips. Big difference... It should make me quite a bit faster on the course too, as long as I can keep the rear end from stepping out coming off corners.

Driveability is fantastic, shifts smooth both up and down, pedal pressure is nearly identical to the stock clutch and the engage\release point is nearly identical as well.

[fleet]

That's cool it has such a noticeable improvement for you Lance.

After going through the thread, I see you've certainly added a lot of your own supply of 'sauce' too.

[SSLance]

Thanks... It's definitely a garage built kind of car for sure.

I'm at the stage now where I'm having a blast driving it and try my best to not take it down off the road for very long periods of time. I guess there will always be things that I need or want to do to the car but being limited budget and time wise keeps all of that from happening right away.

One also has to take in consideration how a change in one area may affect another area of the car (either planned or unplanned) and be ready to make it all play nice together once again. Sometimes that is easier than others.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by 65_LS1_T56

Probably flexing the axle more than the rim itself.

Well...turns out...it kind of was the axle flexing not the rim...Actually it was the axle bearing...

Check out the movement on the outer race...



This bearing started to fail in less than 100 street miles. Here in the first autocross lap I ran on it you can hear it already failing...Go to about 34 seconds in

[65_LS1_T56]

Originally Posted by SSLance

Well...turns out...it kind of was the axle flexing not the rim...Actually it was the axle bearing...

Check out the movement on the outer race...



This bearing started to fail in less than 100 street miles. Here in the first autocross lap I ran on it you can hear it already failing...Go to about 34 seconds in

Looks like a radial bearing, they don't handle thrust loads nearly like tapered rollers. I have radials in my 9" Ford, they were put in by mistake from the builder and I haven't had any noticeable issues so I haven't changed them out yet. Were they both bad? Wheel movement wasn't noticeably different from side to side that I saw. What surprised me is how much front to rear it looks like it flexes, like the whole rearend is moving.

Very cool videos, looks like it's working very nice.

[SSLance]

Thanks...

No just the one bearing went bad. It had to have something wrong with it from the beginning as it went bad on the very first autocross run. I ran the wheels off of the previous bearings and they were just starting to show wear after 5 years.

I'll replace it and keep a real close eye on the other side.

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

I was watching your other thread too. I've had similar troubles with certain bearings from "certain" countries.

Unless I have absolutely no choice, I won't use a bearing that isn't made in the US, Germany, Japan, Switzerland etc.. The metallurgy and heat treatment that is so important for bearings is what is misunderstood and/or skimped on in places like China, Mexico and India.

I'm not sure where Green Bearing makes theirs but I know even some Timkens are made in Mexico and those used to be my "go to" along with NSK

[SSLance]

I just thought I'd update a few things and report back on the upgrades I did to the car over the last winter.

This season so far the car has 2100 miles put on it, around 70 autocross runs, 15 speed stop runs, (5) 20 minute sessions of road course action, and the rest is daily driving miles. The car is currently leading the local SCCA CAM class championship points and has been invited to attend The Speedway Motors Classic American Muscle Invitational Challenge at the SCCA Pro-Solo finale in Lincoln, NE next month.

During all of this I had to replace the clutch finally and refresh the rear axle seals and bearings, both upgrades came with issues during installation, but once corrected have performed flawlessly ever since.

Last winter I rebuilt the Power Steering system replacing the stock style pump with a reman unit and adding a power steering fluid cooler inline between the steering box and the pump. The fluid was replaced with Royal Purple power steering fluid and I have not had to think about the power steering system once since then...it has stood up to a LOT of abuse this year and kept on running like a Timex. Successful upgrade...

I added 9.5" rims up front and Falken Azenis 615K 275/40/17s on all four corners and this might have been the best upgrade yet. They just flat out work and the extra width up front along with the ability to rotate them around to even wear has been a great combination. They are currently starting to get a bit thin...they might get me through the Pro-Solo and Nationals, but I have canceled my registration for our local events 9 & 10 this weekend as they are going to be at Heartland Park Topeka once again and that surface there just chews tires to pieces and mine won't last through another weekend of that abuse. I've put out some feelers trying to get a little bit of help with some new tires for Nationals, we'll see how that goes. Love the Falkens though...definitely the go to performance tire for the type of driving I have been doing.

The body bushing project...I can't really say it has made a huge difference in the car's performance, but I can say that I'm pretty certain the old bushings would not have held up to the abuse I put the car through this year. I'm glad I did it...and I'm glad I won't have to do it again any time soon.

Things currently being considered are some more front end alignment changes. I need to get less static camber in the front which will involve removing a nut between the driver side UCA shaft and the frame and then all new alignment procedures. I also need to 4 corner weigh the car again and get it set to be balanced with just the driver in the car. At the Pro-Solo and at Solo Nationals you can't take passengers so I need to set the car up to be at it's best with just me in the car.

I also recently split a sway bar end link bushing and instead of just replacing it, I've ordered a RideTech MuscleBar front sway bar. I'm hoping I'll have time to get it, get it installed and get all of the other alignment and ride height settings updated before Nationals in a month...along with some time to test n tune on the car. This bar is around 30% stiffer than the bar currently in the car and will necessitate a rear spring rate change as well...but should make a huge improvement in the handle of the car on the track. It still just rolls way too much as it is now.

Overall the car has been fantastic to drive this year, everyone that rides with me on track has a blast in it, it always gets lots of pictures taken of it, and overall the response to it has been a lot of fun. I wouldn't change any of that.

Plans for next year are kind of up in the air right now...I really REALLY had fun at the USCA event and told the wife right after that if I could do a few more of those a year, I'd give up the local SCCA racing. That would necessitate at least a 4 point roll bar addition as well as some race seats and harnesses. I'm still mulling that around...

[Ron Sutton]

Hi Lance !

Originally Posted by SSLance

Things currently being considered are some more front end alignment changes. I need to get less static camber in the front which will involve removing a nut between the driver side UCA shaft and the frame and then all new alignment procedures. I also need to 4 corner weigh the car again and get it set to be balanced with just the driver in the car. At the Pro-Solo and at Solo Nationals you can't take passengers so I need to set the car up to be at it's best with just me in the car.
Yup ! Sure do!

I also recently split a sway bar end link bushing and instead of just replacing it, I've ordered a RideTech MuscleBar front sway bar. I'm hoping I'll have time to get it, get it installed and get all of the other alignment and ride height settings updated before Nationals in a month...along with some time to test n tune on the car. This bar is around 30% stiffer than the bar currently in the car and will necessitate a rear spring rate change as well...but should make a huge improvement in the handle of the car on the track. It still just rolls way too much as it is now.

Yup ! We will need to increase the rear spring (or sway bar) rate to keep the FLLD/RLLD correct ... which is what the key to the car's balanced/neutral handling!

Overall the car has been fantastic to drive this year, everyone that rides with me on track has a blast in it, it always gets lots of pictures taken of it, and overall the response to it has been a lot of fun. I wouldn't change any of that.

Lance,

Post up the diameter & wall thickness of your current bar ... and your new Ridetech Muscle Bar ... and I'll run the calcs to figure out the rear spring rate increase needed. This way everyone can learn along with us.