Bric Rods » Drivetrain

Mustang Radiator Supports

bric — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:27:03 +0000

On a recent project, notably the 1970 Mustang Mach 1 shown elsewhere in this site, a decision was made to facilitate an easier method of engine removal and installation, as 385 series engines were never meant to be put in these cars in the first place. This “enhancement” involved the removal of the upper radiator support member located at the front of the car. Yes, this is a stiffening member, however, with the installation of a removable fabricated aluminum support, this support is returned to the front end. Also involved in this removal is the problem that the hood latch assembly is removed along with the upper support, as it attaches here. Therefore, this must be rectified as well.

To get to the nitty gritty of the process, cut off the support at both the left and right sides of the radiator opening, making sure to cut off the corners remaining so the remainder is flush with the fender bolts. Once that is done, one must figure out how to attach the hood so it will not flip up upon driving the car for the first time. This is accomplished a variety of ways, though the way chosen here was simply to install hood pins, as the car has a fiberglass hood and this was the previous method of fastening anyway. Again, even hood pins can be installed however one chooses, and here the desired method was to weld a threaded rod – a.k.a. Bolt – to the lower frame at the front of the car and extend a hollow rod up through the front sheet metal with female threaded portions on either end. One of these was then threaded onto the bottom male threads, and the upper end was used to thread the hood pins into. Making sure these line up correctly with the holes in the hood is really the hard part, and the most important.

Once those are installed, one can fabricate a crossmember/radiator support out of sheet stock – here aluminum was the metal of choice simply for its light weight. The important thing to remember is the 90 degree bend on the back side to mount the radiator, and a slight bend on the front just for strength. Also of note is the correct location of the holes for the hood pins (as they are used to hold the crossmember in place) and for the holes for the fender bolts on either end, as these are used to mount it as well. Once the angles are bent and the holes are drilled, it’s ready to install and there you go. Fasten radiator and drive away, knowing that the next time the engine has to come out, the job will be oh-so-much-easier.

Hydraulic Clutch Conversion

bric — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:44:51 +0000

This particular post deals with installing a hydraulic clutch on an old Z-bar (equalizer bar) car. The old style mechanical linkage, though reliable, has one inherent problem – it takes up too much room in the engine compartment. This is explained a bit in this post which tells about the design of Mustangs in accordance with their particular engine displacement. To summarize however, this 1970 Mach 1 needs more room for headers with better flow, and to this effect a rack and pinion was installed, and then a hydraulic clutch was intsalled. There are a few ways one can go about this, which include putting in race-bred throwout bearings (slave cylinders), installing a later model Ford slave cylinder from the likes of a ‘94 pickup, or by taking the route we took here, which involved the use of (I know sacrilege) GM parts.

First allow the comparison of pros and cons among the differing systems. To go with a race bred bearing is pricey, with kits costing close to $500. The bearing itself is close to 200 for a cheap one. Also, it involves specific master cylinder applications and is mostly difficult for parts procurement short of ordering them and waiting for their arrival.

In reference to the Ford stock parts, it involves the use of a plastic mounting surface for the slave cylinder, and would involve the replacement of the input shaft bearing on the trans. This could prove detrimental to the overall reliability of the transmission, and was not an option of choice as a result.

The third option, though frowned upon by purists, is one with sound reasoning. The GM system used on ‘88 vintage full size trucks involved the use of an external slave cylinder, and a common master cylinder. What this means is that with a simple bracket, fabricated and bolted to the bellhousing, and a slight extension of the clutch fork, one can install this system on any vehicle. A couple bubble flare fittings and two flare fittings along with some brake line with a built in flex point allows the connection between slave and master cylinders, and a simple bleeding of the line produces a dramatic reduction in pedal pressure, as well as increased clearance in the engine compartment for the headers to be routed. Thus, the primary objective is achieved, and for a grand total of roughly $120.

Dana Disassembly

bric — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:40:50 +0000

Today’s topic differs from some of the more ‘old school’ topics normally covered, but most of the information herein can be transferred to most Dana assemblies. The 9.25″ rear differential used in 90’s era Dodge trucks has a basic assembly, though it can prove difficult to remove. What goes wrong with these differentials is housed in the center section, among the shims used to correctly space the limited slip gears. One of these shims on each side is load bearing – taking the majority of side loads incurred from cornering forces, otherwise known as lateral movement. These then wear and crack, sending little pieces of shrapnel throughout the assembly. Luckily there is a magnet to catch most of this, however, the longer this continues, the worse the damage.
That said, to disassemble, one must remove the cover plate, remove the rear wheels and brakes (for ease of removal, though this can be done without the removal of the brakes), and remove the retaining pin in the center of the housing. Once this pin is removed, push either axle inward, remove the C-clip, and pull the axle out; repeat this process for the other axle. once these are removed, one can attempt to remove the differential assembly simply by pulling it out. If it does not come out easily, one must turn the adjusting collars in either axle, which necessitates a special hex tool. Once it is all removed, it is a simple matter of replacing the shims (which are not just shims, but that’s another matter) and reversing the same steps to reassemble the rear end. Don’t forget to fill the case with gear oil though, or you’re back at it shortly.

Four Speed Support

bric — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:11:07 +0000

For those of you out there who are interested in putting an old top loader four speed behind a big block in a Ford, this may be a helpful tidbit to avoid the hardships I have dealt with. first of all, make sure that your input shaft is not bottoming on the pilot bushing, and secondly, be sure to dial in the bellhousing, especially if it is off an unknown vehicle/year. My specific problems were on a 429, with a bellhousing obtained from an online auction. There were no visible signs of distortion or of misalignment, but the trans opening, did not center when installed on the engine. This bellhousing also necessitated the use of a .500″ spacer plate between the block and housing to supply adequate clearance for the input shaft splines, a problem which can probably be rectified more simply with a correct year bellhousing for the trans. the particular aplication to trans is not so much an issue, as this particular combination was going into a Mustang, and the trans is a wide ratio four speed from a full-body car, hence it had the long tailshaft and housing. It was still able to be mounted in the Mustang location with the use of a specialized plate mounting the shifting unit. Most people will tell you that one needs a short tailshaft trans for a Mustang. Just be awate that this is not the case.

As for the driveshaft in this setup, it needed to be shortened as well, but that is not a terribly problematic undertaking. A Lakewood scattershield is a must to run on the track, as the 5.13 gears in this 9″ are intended. There is quite a bit to modifying the 1970 Mustang 351 Mach cars to accommodate the insertion of a 429, but that is a topic for another time.

Early Mustang T5 Conversion

bric — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:11:32 +0000

Currently in the shop is a 65 Mustang. Originally a straight six car with a three speed on the floor, deluxe interior and as everyone with an old mustang knows, four lug wheels to go with the six. The story begins when the owner decided that he wanted a new set of tires, and since he didn’t want to maintain the four lug wheels with his new tires, he bought aftermarket mag 500’s and new tires for the car, Cooper Cobra radials. 195’s in the front and 225’s in the back, courtesy of the local tire Guru, Jimmy’s Tire and Auto out of Galesburg, Illinois.

So begins the saga of converting a 65 Stang to a V8 five speed with tighter suspension and beefier steering components. To shorten the story a bit, more or less a list of parts will be following along with specialty equipment necessary for installation; omitted will be the drawbacks and mistakes along the way.

Now, the owner had the desire to do this on the cheap, so I did a lot of Junkyard crawling, which can be omitted in favor of buying the parts if one desires to spend the money. First off a 289 was obtained from an undisclosed source found in the local classifieds, unknown cam specs , flat top pistons, newly rebuilt heads with hardened valve seats, a must for unleaded gasoline, new pushrods, and it is a hydraulic, flat-tappet cam. A new oil pump and drive were obtained, along with a water pump, used pulleys, and alternator, and the other necessities to make it run.

Behind this is bolted a T5 world class trans from a 92 mustang, check the code on the trans, there are more WC T5’s than got bolted to 5.0 mustangs. In order to make this fit however, the input shaft had to be turned down on the splines, and the bearing guide had to be turned down; best to check this measurement on a per case basis. Between the two is an 11 inch clutch and the matching flywheel, though the money saved there is spent on a scattershield from lakewood when you could get a 10.5″ flywheel and clutch and use a standard T5 5.0 bellhousing, saving a smidge over the other combo. In order to keep the stock lever style clutch a linkage was fabricated in this case, including the equilizer bar and some custom fitting of a 68 upper clutch rod. This can take a while, or can be ordered as well.

A Crossmember was fabricated from tube and sheet stock for the trans, allowing for custom height to be obtained, in this case as close to the floorboards as possible. From a six to 8 also requires a three core radiator, best obtained through a dealer, their suppliers are able to adhere to time constraints, or as in this case the local radiator shop. Add a flex fan and spacer with a few hoses and that is done. Don’t forget the antifreeze, that is a necessity.

In the rear we obtained an 8″ rear from a 68 stang, which is a bit wider than the original, adding a bit to the stance. Keep that in mind for tire sizing. New leaf springs and shackles here, along with rebuilt drum brakes (like I said, cheap). And to couple that to the front is a junkyard driveshaft shortened to 49″ courtesy of the local machine shop and a T5 slip yoke installed, also from the yard.

Stay tuned for the front end rebuild!