Square in a round hole....thats exactly what installing this trans felt like.
I woke up Saturday planning on going to Sutton, but then I thought, I own a Mustang that is crippled in the garage; Im not missing another show, time to get busy.
I knew a long time ago that installing the trans with the longtubes in place would be impossible. Last week, I got the idea of removing the bellhousing and re-assembling it past the headers. I had no idea it was about to take me 9 hours to do this job...
At first I tried to fit just the bellhousing in place, but it was hitting the header on the passenger side. 15 minutes with the grinder and it finally cleared. :-o
Next I had the Bell up there, then lifted the trans up and mated the 2. After re-attaching the Bell I then realized I didnt have enough clearance to install the converter.
Off comes the Bell...now it gets tricky.
I had to seperate the trans from the bell, but install the converter over the input shaft. Then I had to sneak all 8 bolts back in between the converter and bell and tighten them down. All this while the converter weas dangling on the input shaft. :cool2:
Next I installed the flexplate and THOUGHT I was in the home stretch....nope!
The Bell is so thick, there was not enough clearance to clear the flexplate on the very top. At this point I was about to panic, but carried on.
I had to unbolt the flexplate, then position the trans within 1/2 inch of the engine, then sneak the flexplate back in.
And for the grand finale, I had to install all 8 bolts with a hair over 1" of clearance. OMFG.
In case some of you dont know, my car is on a drive on lift. There was no way I was about to push it out, turn it around in the driveway then pull it back in, drop the STOCK K member, remove the headers, install the trans on the floor and put everything back together.
If there is anything wrong with this transmission I gonna burn the car to the ground and collect the insurance money.
Pice to come this week when I install the gear vendors.
I woke up Saturday planning on going to Sutton, but then I thought, I own a Mustang that is crippled in the garage; Im not missing another show, time to get busy.
I knew a long time ago that installing the trans with the longtubes in place would be impossible. Last week, I got the idea of removing the bellhousing and re-assembling it past the headers. I had no idea it was about to take me 9 hours to do this job...
At first I tried to fit just the bellhousing in place, but it was hitting the header on the passenger side. 15 minutes with the grinder and it finally cleared. :-o
Next I had the Bell up there, then lifted the trans up and mated the 2. After re-attaching the Bell I then realized I didnt have enough clearance to install the converter.
Off comes the Bell...now it gets tricky.
I had to seperate the trans from the bell, but install the converter over the input shaft. Then I had to sneak all 8 bolts back in between the converter and bell and tighten them down. All this while the converter weas dangling on the input shaft. :cool2:
Next I installed the flexplate and THOUGHT I was in the home stretch....nope!
The Bell is so thick, there was not enough clearance to clear the flexplate on the very top. At this point I was about to panic, but carried on.
I had to unbolt the flexplate, then position the trans within 1/2 inch of the engine, then sneak the flexplate back in.
And for the grand finale, I had to install all 8 bolts with a hair over 1" of clearance. OMFG.
In case some of you dont know, my car is on a drive on lift. There was no way I was about to push it out, turn it around in the driveway then pull it back in, drop the STOCK K member, remove the headers, install the trans on the floor and put everything back together.
If there is anything wrong with this transmission I gonna burn the car to the ground and collect the insurance money.
Pice to come this week when I install the gear vendors.
