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This weeks edition of Wagon Wednesday produced favorable results.
Mounted my clutch MC. New MC came with a crappy pushrod *(brand new LUK unit) i much preferred the one i got with the trans. adjustable rod end on it. So right off the bat i had to switch pushrods to use the adjustable one. not sure if it is stock, or what but it is much better than the once that came with my new MC.
This hole, located right below and to the left (From the inside) of the boost. No quite Ideal, but pretty darn close to already being in the correct location. Had to cut out a small inner fender support for clearance, it will be welded back in.
plenty of room now.
Space was limited for drilling mounting holes, so had to get creative. 1/4" bit in a 1/4" hex driver extension. definitely not super precise, but more than close enough for what i had to do, and holes needed enlarged anyway.
all mounted up, factory bracket an all.
Hooked up, worked like a charm.
Interior starting to come back together. Hopefully my steering isn't too jacked up. wheel didn't lock when i pulled the column, so hopefully i got it back centered and didn't pull any wires while it was out.
Then, fresh floors looking good, gotta cut a big hole in them. Hopefully i measured corrected. if not, out comes the plasma.
Now another hiatus in progress. Back at it strong in 2 weeks. Drivetrain going back in for the final time is next! then on to the simpler stuff. cooling, fuel, wiring. Next big fab is the exhaust, which will require mods to the trans X-member. fully aware of that when i built it.
well, hopefully the drivetrain is back in for the final time. New clutch installed, along with new flywheel, and slave cylinder/Throwout bearing so it should be ready to go. Hoping to hear it run in 2 weeks, it won't be done at that point, just hoping to be at a point i can fire it in the car then.
though my shifter hole was in the correct location, i ended up cutting a larger one to be able to install/remove the whole shifter assembly from the top side to help with ease of removal and install of the transmission. I plan to make a bolt on cover with clearance for just the shifter to pass through however.
No pics this today, But Fuel pump is in. Simple easy job.
started on my Radiator mount. as i had no existing stuff from the car so we had to make new mounts. no pics again, but some adhesive is still setting up for the rubber portion. New Radiator is considerably smaller than i expected, but listing said it was for my car. We will see, if not i'll just have to buy another and take measurements this time.
Made a list of what still needs done, Still hoping to fire it for the first time next Saturday.
Today did not go as planned. was hoping for the first fire up in the car today.
Started off by changing Injectors. Replacing the stock 26lb injectors with some 36lb flex fuel injectors. Pulled old injectors out, they looked terrible. go to install new injectors and they do not seem to fit. as i pulled them out the small plastic caps on the end dislodged themselves and fell into the intake ports.
This lead to some creative retrieval methods. Put some mesh over a shopvac and was able to retrieve a few, the rest were retrieved by some grease on the tip of a pick.
So instead of assembly, wasted 2 hours or so swapping injectors i can't use, then tearing the intake off to get injectors parts from the intake tract. I have early truck injectors, these are late truck injectors. Everything i read says they "Should" fit, but i call BS as they will not go in. so back to ordering new injectors again. Going with some 8.1 injectors this go around similar flow rate (34lb at 58psi) to the flex fuel and are 100% the same as the stock injectors size and connector wise.
New injector on the left, stock on the right
Moving backward as it is less assembled now that it was earlier in the week. but i did manage to finish the cooling system, start routing the wire harness, install headers, mount my TAC module, and knock quite a few things off of my to do list.
Tucked the PCM behind the battery in the fender. Nice little hiding spot for it, out of harms way
also got the interior in a more usable shape. Shifter hole covered, stock bench back in and clears the shifter well. If my parts show us tuesday, then i should be in good shape to fire it up.
just read through your build, its great! I too, am a user of"cad".....didnt know there was another way...... floors look great, i didnt have access to a bead roller, nor did i want to pursue another learning curve,so i ended up framing/reinforceing with thin gauge 1/2x1/2 tubing.
ripping gears in a wagon!!
just read through your build, its great! I too, am a user of"cad".....didnt know there was another way...... floors look great, i didnt have access to a bead roller, nor did i want to pursue another learning curve,so i ended up framing/reinforceing with thin gauge 1/2x1/2 tubing.
ripping gears in a wagon!!
i didn't really want the learning curve either, but timing did not work out with a local hot rod guy who really knows how to use the roller, so i borrowed a buddy's with little guidance on proper techniques.
You build sounds pretty sweet from reading your sig!
It Moves! and is quite undriveable with the current gears as i feared. Bleeding the clutch was easy, but took quite a lot of pedal pumping to get a pedal even once the system was air free.
Still on the to do list is gears, exhaust, and legality issues (lights, turn signals, tires, horn, ETC) as well as gauges (OBD2 and a tablet for now)
Gears first to to make moving around the farm as i work on it easier.
Painted my Intake tube to mate the block. eventually valve covers, radiator support, and a few other pieces will match as well.
Not quite up to the task of driving just yet. 2.73 rear gears make it a bear to move. that, and it is virtually untuned at this point.
Nice to see the light of day for the first time in a while.
went to re-gear the car. Was told it had 2.73 gears, online says 2.73 was the factory gear in the car....it actually had 2.56's in it and is below the carrier split. So, to install my 4.10's i have to get a different carrier. I would love if an extra $400 bucks was in the budget for a locker/limited slip since i am replacing it anyway, but looks like i'll have to stick to an open carrier for the time being.
New carrier will be here friday, so hopefully gears will go in saturday.
well it appears that is what is under the Wagon. No long supported by anyone. So looks like i have to swap the rear end with a new 8.5" 10 bolt as soon as i locate one.
Yea, that 8.75" center section under all the wagons and "C" bodies of that era. That would be all the Cadillacs, Olds 98s, and Buicks Electras. I don't know exactly what year the changeover occured, but at some point, the wagons started using the ubiquitous 8.5". The wagon and sedan axles are not interchangeable but the pumpkin it the same. My 89 Olds Custom Cruiser has an 8.5, so I think that if you look a little in the local bone yards, you should find one fairly easily. My Trailer Tow car was ordered with a 3.23 posi, but that would probably not be easy to find.
Yea, that 8.75" center section under all the wagons and "C" bodies of that era. That would be all the Cadillacs, Olds 98s, and Buicks Electras. I don't know exactly what year the changeover occured, but at some point, the wagons started using the ubiquitous 8.5". The wagon and sedan axles are not interchangeable but the pumpkin it the same. My 89 Olds Custom Cruiser has an 8.5, so I think that if you look a little in the local bone yards, you should find one fairly easily. My Trailer Tow car was ordered with a 3.23 posi, but that would probably not be easy to find.
Got my eye on some bubble body rear ends. They are the same housing, but most will have 30 spline axles. It is getting regeared with 4.10's no matter what though and i already have all the stuff to do so to an 8.5. Hoping to pick one up from a local scrapped this week.
I knew nothing of the 8.75 until yesterday. Not much info out there on them. they say they are strong, just no support from anywhere.
Yup, the bubble body rear will do the trick, that 4:10 should be much more drivable, and I think the fuel economy on the road still won't be that bad. I still don't think that I have seen what you are doing to accomplish dual exhaust on a wagon chassis just yet. I will watch.
Yup, the bubble body rear will do the trick, that 4:10 should be much more drivable, and I think the fuel economy on the road still won't be that bad. I still don't think that I have seen what you are doing to accomplish dual exhaust on a wagon chassis just yet. I will watch.
Exhaust is next on the list....Just gonna wing it and see where it falls.
I have a '95 wagon and they are much wider than the sedans of the era, long story short. I'm guessing the same should be true for your wagon versus sedans.
Plenty of people have claimed success with just installing sedan 3rd members in wagons but there are real differences. When I did gears/posi/bearings in mine I was given sedan wheel bearings by mistake and the wagon wheel bearings are MUCH bigger, for example.
Sorry for not reading more closely, I'm just suggesting you verify housing length details etc to make sure you get a suitable replacement.
Thank for this thread and keeping us posted on the progress.
04-10-2019, 07:54 PM
