Posts Tagged ‘Tremec’
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
The Trans Am was almost ready for a test drive today. That is until an attempt to install the driveshaft as it is too long and prevents installation. This is the driveshaft that was supplied by Hurst Driveline Conversions in their Tremec 5 Speed Elite kit. The length should be shortened a minimum of 1/2″, possibly 3/4″ to be safe. I’ll make a call Monday morning to try and get it swapped out.
The following measurement is from the transmission tail shaft.
Measuring center to center of the existing shaft yields about 46.5″
**Update, 4/29/10** I contacted Hurst Driveline Conversions following the weekend and spoke with their tech department. The gentleman gave me two options. One was that I could contact their supplier of driveshafts to have mine swapped out. The other option was to find a local shop to shorten the driveshaft and they would reimburse me for the costs. I chose to have the driveshaft shortened a half inch and balanced locally. HDC requested that I submit a quote before I had any work done. I submited a quote from Truck Body Co. in Lynchburg VA and the very next morning HDC agreed to send me a check for the cost. I was extremely impressed with their level of customer service and support. I had expected to fight with them all week to get the cost reimbursed but instead I found exactly the opposite. It was a pleasure to work with their staff and I would certainly recommend them for anyone considering a five speed conversion.
Tags: Tremec
Posted in Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Tags: Tremec
Posted in Progress, Suspension, Trans Am | No Comments »
Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Tags: Eastwood, Sem, Tremec
Posted in Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
Saturday, May 9th, 2009
After the top ball joints were bolted in and there was so much trouble pressing the lower ball joint in I got a tip that the ball joints that I got from NAPA were actually their budget models which sometimes don’t take grease that well. The top two ball joints were removed along with the lower ball joint that wasn’t fully pressed anyway. The cheap ones were exchanged for the better kind. Unfortunately they were almost double the price but the quality difference could be spotted from a mile away. So be sure to insist on NAPA’s premium ball joints when replacing if you don’t mind paying a little more. After the ball joints were finally pressed in, the control arms were scuffed with a scotch-brite then the bushings taped and a second coat of a paint applied.
Since I’m upgrading to a Tremec 5 speed, the Classic Chevy 5-speed kit comes with all of the necessary parts to do the changeover. The first of these parts to go one was the clutch bar frame bracket. Even the cars equipped with automatic transmissions like mine came with the holes pre-drilled for this bracket. To fasten the bracket to the frame I tapped these holes with a 5/16-24 tap. The holes were the correct size for this tap and did not have to be drilled first. Three 5/16-24 x 1″ stainless steel screws with a small bead of Loc-Tite fastened the two together. The last project of the day was to begin installing the stainless brake/fuel lines to the subframe that were purchased from National Parts Depot.
Tags: Loc-Tite, NAPA, National Parts Depot, Tremec
Posted in Progress, Suspension, Trans Am | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
This is my first post detailing the progress of my resto-mod ‘81 Trans Am. I’ll try to keep the blog updated each week as much as possible. First a little background on the car. I bought the car around 2001 for about $2500. I was lucky enough to find a Y84 Special Edition Trans Am (or Bandit Edition as some call it). The car originally came from Florida and wasn’t in bad shape but not great either. It had been painted within the last decade or so with a budget paint job. The paint was faded and all original decals gone, except for some remnants which had started to bleed back through. After a little exhaust work from a local shop, the clogged cat was replaced and ran decently for a couple of years. It suffered from leaky t-tops as most older Trans Ams do. All that water did a number on the interior over the years. With musky old car smell and tattered seats I didn’t have much money so I drove the car as is, even as my daily driver for about 6 months when my main car died. In ’05 I decided to move away from my hometown to finish my degree in Mechanical Engineering. The car sat idle and forgotten for the next two years.
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Tags: Duplicolor, Eastwood, Harbor Freight, Motive Gear, Prothane, Rust Converter, Rust-Shield, Sem, Summit, Tremec, YearOne
Posted in Background, Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
