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1-31-2008
bolt on stuff has a lot of advantages......


The thought of stuff breaking is never a good one. The plan right now is natural aspiration. I think the TR heads will flow 600 hp of air without doing anything radical to them. It it’s 550, that’s fine too, but I think it will be right in that range.
The problem is that at 4.9 liter I think it will want to spin to about 8500 rpm which is higher than I’d like to run it. That is where the 348 liners and bumping it to about 5.5 liters comes in. The 10% increase in displacement will drop the hp peek by 10% and make peek power at around 7700 and that just seems a lot safer to me.

If anything goes wrong with this engine I will most likely replace it with a mildly (5 –8 psi) supercharged stockish 400/412 engine and that will be that.

1-31-2008
Well, I finally got up the ambition to lift the deck lid into place and it looks pretty good. I put a set of the throttle bodies on about where they are going to end up the there is almost exactly 4” of clearance to the deck lid, that’ll do.

I looked at moving the engine a little more to the right, but then it looks a little stupid in the engine bay IMO and the harmonic damper hits the gas tank. It looks like the engine stays right where it is and I'll just deal with the bell housing clearance issues and only have to modify 1 gas tank if it comes to it.

2-4-2008
You guys are going to be disappointed in me this week…..no new pictures. I just didn't plan ahead very well and the weekend arrived and I hadn't ordered material so I couldn't make anything

I'm trying to figure out now if I can make an easy way to service the clutch without really gouging out the gas tank or having to pull the engine. I'm thinking that since I’m redoing bell housing/drop gear housing I might be able to make it as some kind of assembly maybe so I can get the clutch shaft out without having to pull the entire set-up back 2-3 inches before the shaft is free. Or maybe some way to get the 2-3 inches using a different shape housing. I’ve got 3 days before I need to have a material order in…..

2-4-2008
Tonight I took a quick skim cut on the top and end of the new rail so the engine will sit straight while I decide what to do...

I need to come up with a shape for the pan extension so it looks right, the oil drains, and it doesn't hit the frame. I know it probably seems a bit trivial, but little details can make a big difference in how the finished job looks…..I don’t want to get the wrong stamp when it’s done.

Time to start playing with cardboard to see what looks the best I guess, but I think nap time is about over so it will be tomorrow.

2-5-2008
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Downing View Post
Think about ripping out those fuel tanks and putting a cell where the spare tire is. The old tanks probably have some rust going on. That should help with your clearance issues.

That will be my last resort I think. Right now the fuel in very close to the mass center so the balance of the car is constant with fuel load. Moving the tank to the front gives me more room but makes the weight on the front wheels change a bout 10% with fuel load and also increases the polar moment making it more slugish into and out of corners.

2-5-2008
I have a general plan now for the motor mounting features I think and I'll order the materiel tomorrow. I'm trying to keep the block mounting features stock just in case I should need to get another block some day.

Once I get the engine bolted down I'll give the bell housing some more thought but I've got a vague plan that starts with the band saw and include a lot of welding

2-5-2008
Quote:
Originally Posted by parker839 View Post
Mark you are a brave man. How long do you reckon it will take you to get the mechanicals all buttoned up?

I'm not sure. There's still a lot to do. I’m trying to get all the big scary cutting/welding stuff done first….I’d guess another 2 months at the rate I’m going and the cases and stuff will be done. Maybe 1 month messing with the transfer gears to get those the way I want them. Then I’ll probably do the headers, cam covers and such for another 2-3 months. Then I’ll be ready to assemble the trans, figure a month there. Final engine machining and assembly, 3-4 months and I’ll be done next spring……maybe.

2-6-2008
I decided I had to cut a little more off the right side of the trans so I roughed that in tonight, hopefully tomorrow I can start welding it back together.

On the left side I’m thinking I’m going to weld on a semicircle for the main bearing cap to seal to just like on the OEM 400 pan and then band saw the now unnecessary engine section right off the first left side end casting leaving only the trans end plate…..maybe

2-6-2008
There are a few car guys at work....they make a point of telling me any time they buy a new part to BOLT ON.

The sculpting starts tomorrow when the UPS man brings me more metal

2-7-2008
The metal came today, but nap time only lasted about 40 minutes today.....welding in off until Saturday or Sunday I guess