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You might give Jerry Bellot a call at Jerry's automotive in PA on Memorial Blvd. They are the last people I would know in the area that might be able to do an old school alignment. They have the old pits that you drive onto for the alignment on one side of the building. They are located just north of the old train trussel that the road dips under near Gulfway.
First of all... AWESOME BUILD!!! You do great work, man!
As far as the alignment, if you find the right place, they won't even need a machine. You can measure camber, caster and toe right there on the ground with home-made turntables. I did my last 4 alignments on a concrete floor. 2 on my 2010 Tundra, one on a 2003 envoy, and of course, my 57.
Where would you say your engine placement is compared to the engine you removed? Is the bell housing flange forward by quite a bit from where it was? I'm considering doing some work to my cross-member to give the oil pan more clearance if I end up where yours is. Thanks for the wonderful pics!
Thanks for the kind words, it has been a lot of fun.
I actually used the standard small block mounts with LS adapter plates I got from Jegs. There was no motor in the car when I got it so I can't comment on bell housing placement before and after.
The stands actually came in a big box of parts that I got with the car so I can't even comment on who made them. I mocked them up with the Jegs adapters and Moroso solid mounts and it fit so I welded them in.
The car drives straight and I checked everything with a magnetic angle gauge and it measures the same on both sides.
You might give Jerry Bellot a call at Jerry's automotive in PA on Memorial Blvd. They are the last people I would know in the area that might be able to do an old school alignment. They have the old pits that you drive onto for the alignment on one side of the building. They are located just north of the old train trussel that the road dips under near Gulfway.
Thanks for the tip, I'll stop by there and talk to them.
I think they are closed on Friday, just be aware, he's a nice guy but can be cantankerous! He's worked on my families cars for 40 years.
Jerry's hilarious! If he likes you, he'll keep you there BS'ing as long you can stand it. Whatever you do, don't tell him you're retired. The guy is 76, still working full days, and proud of it. He'll make you feel small for not working...
Thanks for the kind words, it has been a lot of fun.
I actually used the standard small block mounts with LS adapter plates I got from Jegs. There was no motor in the car when I got it so I can't comment on bell housing placement before and after.
The stands actually came in a big box of parts that I got with the car so I can't even comment on who made them. I mocked them up with the Jegs adapters and Moroso solid mounts and it fit so I welded them in.
The car drives straight and I checked everything with a magnetic angle gauge and it measures the same on both sides.
Thanks. I did the side mount conversion when I dropped this latest small block in it about 10 years ago. I was hoping the adjustable mounts would work with them. I was happy to see them in your car, too. I would love to find a local LS tri-five that I could get close to and take some measurements. I look forward to seeing more of this story as it unfolds. I'm actually going to save the pics you took of your mounts for reference as I put together my mount setup.
Jerry's hilarious! If he likes you, he'll keep you there BS'ing as long you can stand it. Whatever you do, don't tell him you're retired. The guy is 76, still working full days, and proud of it. He'll make you feel small for not working...
You are right about that! I've known him since I could walk. My grandfather and him used to play cajun music together and our families were around all the time. If he doesn't like you, you won't have to guess about it...
I'll keep in mind the guy in PA might be a little cranky, hell I get that way myself sometimes....lol
socal57chevy - I used solid mounts in mine because of the power I intend to make and to be honest it's not like you can feel any major vibration because of it. I used Jegs 555-50523 plates and MOROSO 62500 solid mounts. If you need me to measure something I will.
I'll keep in mind the guy in PA might be a little cranky, hell I get that way myself sometimes....lol
socal57chevy - I used solid mounts in mine because of the power I intend to make and to be honest it's not like you can feel any major vibration because of it. I used Jegs 555-50523 plates and MOROSO 62500 solid mounts. If you need me to measure something I will.
That would be awesome! I'll let you know if I need measurements when I get to that point. I have urethane mounts in it now, but am considering solid because I plan on supercharging it.
Haven't posted in a bit, work keeps getting in the way of the project.
Ever since I got it running I've been having some issues with the transmission. It wouldn't shift 1st to 2nd under full throttle but shifted just fine driving around. I tinkered with the tune and changed the shift points but was still not having any luck. Decided to pull the pan and found this
Well ****......
Pulled the trans and took it apart and the intermediate clutches were smoked and looked like they were slipping pretty good.
I'm waiting on parts now to rebuild and I'm going to upgrade some of the hard parts while I'm in there. Putting new solenoids and harness in there as well along with billet shafts and upgraded drum and sprag
I think I figured out part of the problem last night while cleaning and inspecting. The seal for the filter has a really loose fit and I think it may have been sucking air under full throttle. The filter was in the pan when I took it off but I really didn't think anything of it at the time. The new filter seal is really tight like it should be.
Bummer, but I bet you're right about the filter dropping and it sucking air. Cool to see that you're not intimidated by opening the trans and building it yourself. That's friggin awesome!
I did a couple TH350's back is the 80's so I figured what the heck. I'm not too old to learn new tricks Didn't have YouTube to help back then either...lol.
I'm waiting on a new direct drum but once I have that I'll put it back together and get it going again.
Cool project, we have pretty much the same engine, Holley intake, Edelbrock 90 deg adapt., 120 injectors, Holley HP, BW S475 turbo
I rebuild my own 80E's, ended up buying the Kent Moore tools off ebay, but you can do with out-the 4th Clutch is tough, def the right tool goes a long way putting the 3 parts together-first one I did with some cellophane and grease. Keep up the good work
Really cool build.. i like it. I to am gunna run the holley dom. Are you controlling boost with co2 via the holley solenoids? Im really curious about the boost control plumbing. Im still learning how to set it up without running co2 or on board air
Really cool build.. i like it. I to am gunna run the holley dom. Are you controlling boost with co2 via the holley solenoids? Im really curious about the boost control plumbing. Im still learning how to set it up without running co2 or on board air
I'm using the compressor discharge as pressure, not on board air. I haven't had a lot of time to tune on it yet due to the transmission issue. I may upgrade to an external pressure source at some point but I'm still not sure I want to.
Still waiting on parts but I did get a fixture built to hold the case on my engine stand. It's a little higher than I wanted it to be since I'm working from a wheelchair but that's where it had to be for the output shaft to clear the bottom of the stand.
Cool project, we have pretty much the same engine, Holley intake, Edelbrock 90 deg adapt., 120 injectors, Holley HP, BW S475 turbo
I rebuild my own 80E's, ended up buying the Kent Moore tools off ebay, but you can do with out-the 4th Clutch is tough, def the right tool goes a long way putting the 3 parts together-first one I did with some cellophane and grease. Keep up the good work
Do you put a roller bearing at the back of the case for the output shaft? What bearing do you use?
I think some are using the 350 pump bearing, and a 400 rear bushing that is driven inward .060-.070 to register the bearing. Usually I use the anti walk bushing and don't do the bearing conversion, although I did one using a conversion kit, bearing and shims. I have done all my 400's with the bearing conversion. While everybody does the conversion, I never got the feeling even with the bushing driven inward it was enough to register everything, and stuff would kind of flop around.
TCI makes a bearing kit, TCI 224400
02-21-2017, 02:35 PM
Didn't have YouTube to help back then either...lol.
