BUILD THREAD GP403's sort-of-build thread

OK so the other one I had is the right one, and the one I posted the pic of is either the firebird one, or for a car w/o air conditioning. Doesn't matter. It does go around the fill tube and the water neck.... But it puts the inlet about 1.5-2" further back than the carb is. I wonder if the edelbrock intake moves the carb forward or something? But neither here nor there. I figured I'd persuade it to fit, so several trips back and forth to the vise and voila, it more or less fits around everything and even screws in properly. Not too bad. It may be slightly more restricted but I don't think its enough to matter.

pix before and after bendorama....

That bend looks nasty in this pic but its really not that bad. Just the angle/light/reflections.

So this happened today. Quantum leaps. Transmission and crossmember in there behind with new clutch.



Fuel line still being figured out.

Got underneath and (I think) have everything buttoned up under there. Z-bar is in (what a MFPITA!!), shifter all hooked up, starter wired, exhaust bolted up... clutch done... I hope. The clutch I put in there is soooo much lighter than the one I had in there. I'm almost not sure its working right. Going to jack up the rear after I set the front down and make sure. Gave the chassis a squirt of lube while I was under there, too.

Need to give parts of the body an oil bath before I set it down tho. There is real not-cool rust infecting the front body corners over the frame behind the front wheels for about a foot on both sides. Hopefully I can stop it from getting worse.

Eventually need to get a full seal kit for this transmission, its leaking from the rear seal, speedo, and a couple of the shifter levers. But that's how I know its working, right?

Put the AC compressor on, hooked up a couple hoses, and put the thermostat/water neck on. The fuel line I will have to get the correct 307 one that wraps around the DRIVER's side of the water neck. I went back to the sort-of straight one since it turns out it fits better. *shrug* wtf. Also need the little short choke heater tube (busted off)

Need a battery, too. This one is completely 100% undeniably dead as a stone. literally no voltage to speak of. Couldn't get any of my chargers to even acknowledge its existence.

ignorant questions tiem:

With the rear up in the air, I should be able to (and can) turn the rear wheels by hand with the trans in N. If I have it in gear, with the clutch (supposedly) all in, is there enough resistance in the trans to make it feel "locked up" or should I still be able to turn the wheels? I'm thinking it should still be possible, but I'm not able to. Which makes me think this clutch isn't right.

I should be able to tell from underneath the car if I look up where the inspection cover is supposed to be, and have someone work the clutch, I should be able to tell if its disengaged, right? That's my next step.... not right now though.

In other news: Ordered the (hopefully correct) fuel line and choke heater tubes from inline tube. Ordered the breather grommet that tore off when I tried to swap it.... Crawled under and used a paintbrush to cover all the rusty bits in the leftover 80-90 from the trans. Hopefully that'll keep it at bay.

Going to mull this trans/clutch thing for a while. grrr. that's gonna be a pain if I have to swap it out.

Texas82GP said:

With the transmission in neutral and the clutch engaged, I would think you would be able to turn the rear wheels. Looking from below when the clutch pedal is depressed, you should be able to see the throwout bearing engage the pressure plate and you should see the clutch disc move slightly. You should be able to turn the clutch disc with your finger. If the transmission was a fresh rebuild and everything was put together with grease, maybe there would be enough resistance to make it hard to turn the rear wheels but I wouldn't think so. Are you sure the parking brake isn't engaged or hung up?

Click to expand...

Nope, not the parking brake. In N, clutch in or out, it all turns just fine. When its in gear with the clutch in (should be free) it doesn't feel any different with the clutch out/engaged... So I will have to get under there and have a look if its actually moving. The throwout bearing was shorter than the old with this kit, but it looked like maybe the entire package (plate, fingers, etc.) all made up for the difference. I've got about an inch left on the adjuster rod, so maybe there's something to be had there.... blech. back and forth with the jack/stands.