DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

You are doing some nice looking work!

Saper

Nice work!

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

MSD box all done, all wiring complete and simply mounted in the battery tray since nothing resides there anyway





Fuse for MSD box, using GM oem fuse holder. Simple, convenient and clean



coil mount done




fuel filter mount done


Fuel line will run like this

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

always nice work from you two

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

More stuff coming in. Intake casting was filthy and would be filthy again in no time,... so let's have it coated





still have to port it though but figured I'd do that after so that it will not contaminate the casting AND the rough glass beaded surface makes for a nice surface to scribe port outlines on.

bellhousing


fuzzy pic of other parts LOL

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Powder coated? Or thermal barrier for the intake?

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Powdercoat. IT can easily withstand the oil temps and it keeps the underside of the intake clean,

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Well damn, it looks like these chinese SW copies will NOT fit a manual transmission without using a hydraulic throwout bearing. They interfere like crazy with the slave cylinder mounting pad and they will not allow the slave itself to sit where it needs to be (since it mounts forward) so I'll have to chop up the drivers side header and possibly make it a multi piece slip fit deal to be able to even installit. Ugh

I'll need to modify where the ntubes go down, they need to swoop down further forward and the collector needs to be lower, the lower primaries need to be the upper and the others below that otherwise it will never ever clear.

Old hedmans did fit (but small 1-5/8)





At least I got the trans installed but clearance is super tight here also, the bellhousing was modified but it is a large blowproof (and it's set up w/ a 11" clutch on a 168t flywheel)












At least I got the manifold done

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

More pics

Clean air feed to engine:










Custom heater hose setup

gerrutcamaro

damn, that's good looking

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Told you black would look good LOL IMO it has a much more hard core and detailed look compared to all shiney crap in there. All the billet alu pieces were scotch brited to get rid of stains (like the water neck), sadly the pulleys and brackets have some kind of clear coating so I could not do anything to get rid of the scratches on those. I would have had them coated black but it looks good as is too. I had a little cover cap for the power steering reservoir that I threw on there. Kind of breaks up the all black there where the rest has black and alu.

Personally I prefer the look of the rounded cast covers but oh well LOL

I washed your filter top, still need to get some filtercharger oil

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

not much done, just fabbed a new aluminum fuel line, so it's on the passenger side. Double flared AN with flare nuts and sleeves







And...I cut the header to bits. What else was I gonna do but to get medieval on this thing.



(oh and freshly oiled filter top)



the trick is now,,...getting this to fit. Looks like it's going to have to be a multi piece deal, 2 seperate pipes that slip in the primary stumps and then a slip on collector with sections that go into the 2 seperate primaries on the 2 bottom ones. There's no other way and still be able to get at the filter ot get the header installed without tearing half the car apart



this is how tight it is and these were actually the upper 2 primaries into the collector


some bending here will be required

scooter

iTrader: (11)

You'll probably say you've never had a problem and everyone knows someone who has been running it for years, but using aluminum for a fuel line is not the greatest idea for a street car, it is much too soft. I know a guy that ran over something small in the road with his Honda Pilot and it damaged the aluminum coolant line that ran to the rear passenger heating compartment. That is an "SUV" and much higher off the road than a 3rd gen.

At the very least I would put some tubing armor on that to protect it, it's cheap insurance

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

I still have to put more adel clamps on the line, don't have the size anymore and some hydraulic line protector, it's like a spiral that goes around it.

'I did button on the rest of the fuel system and modified a pump blockoff plate to accept a pumpo since I couldn't find my spare pump plate.

Just some drilling and cutting with a die grinder




fuel hose with heat protection



horrible pic LOL


Front fuel line with heat insulation for the headers and anti scuffing sleeve

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Yeah, that's the stuff I was talking about. Good deal, don't want to see anyone have a bad day

leo037

awesome work!

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

started fabbing the drivers side header. I had to meet 2 requirements, it has to clear the clutch slave and it has to retain access to the clutch slave and oil filter. Because of space retraints I decided to make the primaries for the last 2 cylinders removable, a very tight slip fit fitment. This way one of the sides of the (yet to be fabbed) Y pipe can be removed, the collector pulled off and then the primary intruding the area under the filter and clutch setup can be removed. A remote oil filter might also be a viable option but as it it works.

Here's some pics

The 1st tube, cyl #5, has to swoop forward, down and inboard. I also made it so these last 2 primaries are a little longer and more equal length to the rest.







#7 primary and start of the collector. IT will be a flat one, like on the hedman hustler race headers. There's no other way to get proper ground clearance and it'll work just fine






collector inlets all to length




ground clearance

scooter

iTrader: (11)

You'll wish you had gone the way of the remote filter after your first oil change if you don't! lol

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Owner wants remote filter, so it's going to get one. Oil change is easy, on a lift. remove section of Y merge, (v bands or slip fit setup), tap off collector, remove 1 primary..prety. No real problem at all.

M G Brewer

That color looks like a burning ember from the wing of a phoenix! Should have been the default color for a firebird lol

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Collector all done, has integrated exhaust scavenging for the valve cover, a thick stainless tab to give something to tap against to remove it.





front buttoned up, new blazer lamps converted to fog lamps







It's getting there


still need to respray the inner fenders because of primer overspray



remote oil filter


Need a block adapter plate, can't find the spare one I had. Also need to fab lines for it. Will be -12 or -10.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Your pictures in your latest post aren't showing up for me?

Also, I may be a bit late to the party, but that adapter you're using between the bellhousing and the trans WILL cause the trans to fail. Ask me how I know...

http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.p...086&hl=adapter

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I don't see the pictures either.

Is FRRAX dead? I can't get logged in

That adapter won't necessarily cause the transmission to fail, a lot of people use it as do I

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Now I can't see them either. I'll look into it

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

I used it for 2 years behind a 305 with no issues. Behind a 500hp 383 on the other hand..... I promise you it WILL fail if you put enough power through it, the front countershaft bearing retainer is not supported....

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

I copied and pasted my old posts from FRRAX below....

I'll do my best to keep this short but still give all relavant information

bought and installed the trans in spring of 2005 behind a 300hp 305. Never had an issue with dirty fluid or noise.

spring 2007 installed 383 no noises, didnt replace fluid all summer.

Fall 2007 drain trans to remove and rebuild 383. fluid had lots of fine metal dust in it. Was very concerned about the look of the fluid, but the trans was quiet and worked fine so I didn not take it apart looking for a ghost.

Spring 2008, 383 rebuilt and installed. trans started making noise (howling) in 1-2-3 and 5th gear. with clutch out in neutral trans made a rattling sound, similar the sound of a loose heat shield on a muffler or something. Began to be concerned about the noise, then one day the noise completely went away. Trans always worked just fine, noise just came and then went.

August 4th, trans starts making noise again. same noise as before, still worked perfectly, no noise in neutral with clutch out. didnt know what to do really so just kept driving it thinking the howling noise might go away. Trans still made no noise in 4th gear.

August 8th, after an evening at the drag strip (complete dump hole, no track prep, no traction anywhere in 1st or 2nd gear) the trans was really noisey as we left the strip, I began to really be concerned. The trans then began to make an agressive howling sound, (i now know this was the sound of the bearing race and retainer spinning in the trans case) I drove home the rest of the way in 4th gear. Got 6 blocks from home, trans locked up and pushed car home with the help of some good samaratins at 1:30 am.

Took trans out and found that front bearing retainer on cluster shaft was protruding from trans case about 1/32" and had spun leaving a mark in my trans-to-bellhousing adapter.

I learned that the front bearing retainer is not pressed into the case. It is pushed in by hand or tapped in lightly with a mallet and is held in with an O-ring. (see exploded view) It is designed to rely on the bellhousing to keep itself square in the bore, and to keep the proper depth.

As you can see my trans adapter only supports the bearing retainer about halfway. Since the mark left on the adapter is a ring, and not a filled in circle, I have to think the bearing retainer got crooked because of lack of support, and caused the bearing to go bad. (this is why the noise came and went, the retainer would move around) If the bearing just went bad and spun the retainer, it should have left a filled in circle mark on my adapter not a ring.

I'm having my trans adapter machined and installing a 1/4" steel plate to fully support the bearing retainer just like a bellhousing would. IF there was a bellhousing available that would work with my stock hydraulics, and fit the tremec bolt pattern I'd throw the adapter in the trash and use the correct bellhousing. From everything I can find, there is not a bellhousing for my application that allows the use of stock hydraulics. I'm keeping the stock hydraulics because they are nearly new, they were expensive, and it is easy to service. If I was swapping to a 'stick in one of these cars from scratch, I'd use an SFI approved bellhousing and slave cylinder that goes over the input shaft, but I'm trying to stick with what I have right now to keep the costs livable.

The question is, do you guys think that the lack of support caused the bearing retainer to get crooked? Or do you think I just got a bad bearing? Every shop I've called says they've never heard of this type of failure on a Tremec TKO.

Here is the diagram red circle shows components, blue circle shows bearing retainer.


Here is the adapter over the trans case. you can see how much of the clustershaft bearing is not supported, about half.



Here you can see the adapter on the bellhousing and where the retainer spun.



Here is a close up of the retainer damage itself.



Here is the inside of the bearing retainer. you can see the outer race, whats left of the cage, and the not so round bearings. The inner race is still on the clustershaft. The heat marks are from where I welded a bolt on the outside of the bearing retainer so I could pull it out, it was stuck in the case.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Just got my adapter back from the machine shop. They did very nice work. I think this will support the bearing retainer like it is supposed to.

My trans parts just came in today too. Should have the trans back together this Saturday if all goes according to plan.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

I ran the modified adapter plate for a couple years and never had a problem. I'm running a Lakewood bellhousing on the car now. The trans has been raced (dragstrip and road race) for many years now and the trans is still happy as a clam.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

are all my pics not loading? google photos/picasa must have changed something then

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

I think I fixed it

scooter

iTrader: (11)

OK, after seeing your post, I am running a different adapter plate. I am running the steel Mcleod one. From TT's pictures I thought it was the same as mine

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

More progress, more custom stuff

tweaking header resuted i some clearance



spark plug wire routing...not sure about this yet.





Next I fabricated an oil seperator tank for the header extractor system. There are baffles inside and the lower fitting is the outlet to the header. It pulls all the way to the top, a hole there connects to the main reservoir where the oil settles. The hole on the bottom will get a petcock for easy drainging.





Why the funky shape?..... well ...



quicky black paint, these things will get powdercoated







hose for valve cover vent

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

This car has a stub in the dipstick tube. This means you always have to carry the dipstick along with you. How ff-in inconventient. Here's a quicky solution. A small holder for the dipstick and a grommet in the 2nd battery box to keep the stick from rattling







Also, needed to mount the oil filter adapter, and wanted to use stock holes and covefr unsightly holes drilled by prev. owners.

The solution






used oem handbrake cable retainer to retain fuel hose (with heat sleeving)

gerrutcamaro

Stunning work!

@1MeanZ; thank you for sharing that info! I would hate to finaly be able to drive it & then wreck the trans in a few months

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

the only real eyesore is that white reservoir. What if I tried the old one, paint it blacvk and leave a sort of sight level on the site (taped off section)? IF it looks good I can do the same on this new reservoir.

gerrutcamaro

I agree, the new reservoir already had some yellowing anyway.

i don't really need a sight level, do i? Will the paint hold?

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

I hope so, with plastic primer. that's why I will test it on the old one first

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

No problem. I was angry when it happened. I'm an engineer and feel like I should have noticed it would not work when I put it together.

The most frustrating part was that Forte would not help me out at all. I have proof the adapter was to blame and he blew me off. So I had to buy a new trans case and everything else when the failure wasn't my fault.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Exactly how much difference in support is there between the adapter and a stock ford bellhousing? If anything the adapter has more trued surface overlapping the bearing cup.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Fabbed a new trans crossmember, the one a preious hack did was terrible, it flexed and it had the trans not parallel to the car and the angle down was almost 9 degrees, way too much.

Time to fab something new. IT's not quite finished yet but ran out of MIG wire.

Fabbed a bushing mount, .



center section with notches for exhaust clearance


will go on like this


still needs some final welding here and there

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

I don't have that answer for you. I don't even know what transmission that bellhousing is supposed to work with. All I can tell you is that as soon as the 383 went in it munched the trans. I reinforced the adapter plate and later switched to a Lakewood bellhousing and the trans has been fine after years of drag and road racing. The TKO500/600 have the countershaft bearing retainer held in place with an O-ring and I'm convinced it uses the face of the bellhousing to remain square. If I'm wrong so be it. You're looking at the pictures of my failure, I can't give any more info than that.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

That bellhousing is a ford racing parts mustang tr3550 upgrade bellhousing for the 5.0 and 5.8. I can not find any other layshaft bearing failures. A lot of people complaining it's actually a b$%# to remove. Could it be that there was a tolerance issue with your case that allowed it to actually **** in the bore and work it's way loose and ****/move forward and loose preload on the bearing race?

Here's the same setup on a TKO600



I do agree that some support there will actually help it last a lot longer. STock it's retained by pressing in and the overlap of the main shaft collar.

gerrutcamaro

That new crossmember already looks much better!

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Glad you like it. It's a whole lot sturdier. The trans does not sag. This way the exhaust tucks up higher and the crossmember won't sit against the brake line. Too bad the floor is drilled for the driveshaft loop or I would have mounted it off the crossmember. I can incorporate a torque arm mount if needed and do away with the one on the trans. It'll give more exhaust clearance. I could eveln tie it in with the bolt in SFCs and tap the 2 additional holes for more retention. Simply an m12 tap and 2 allen heads. That would further support the inboard front crossmember.

gerrutcamaro

I'm okay with anything you consider to be the best solution.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Lol carte blanche. I have this here supercharger...and intercoolers...and... lol

gerrutcamaro

lol, which was considered not to be a real option for the current set up, budget & on pump gas

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

finished, only needs powdercoating now

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

fabbed slip in collector for the cut down side, this reduces the 3" to 2.75 pipe, the flat collector already has this reduction incorporated



other collector with scavenge valve


and mounting tab, this stuff is in place and will not go anywhere
Simply uses bellhousing bolt hole.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

modified the trans crossmember for a little more room on the narrowest point on the passenger side





continued with the exhaust, quite a bit of fitting and refitting







this material I use (304) sure welds nicer than the OBX stuff


This is how far I got, time to get another bottle of argon