The rest of the update....
Finally after aligning the bellhousing and taking measurements for the hydraulic throw out bearing I mated everything up to the engine. I also installed the TTI headers…. putting them on like this makes it the easiest header install ever!!!!
These are the model made for the AlterKation and they fit great and don’t hang down too low. I was very impressed.
I then welded on some box tubing to my existing front caster setup which allowed me to lift the front of the car. I’ve always wanted to try installing the engine from the bottom and it worked really well. Being able to install the clutch, transmission and headers out in the open saved a bunch of headaches. It would have sucked trying to install the transmission while laying on my back under the car. I had two buddies over to help and we first lifted the car from the side which allowed us to move the engine in to position.
Once it was about half way down we put the body on jack stands and moved the hoist to the front.
There were two hiccups… one the alternator had to come off to fit up in to the engine bay (it caught on the overhang top lip of the front frame rail). However, once the engine was fully installed then the alternator fit fine (it sits above the lip).
The other thing that came up was the 5-speed comes with a cutout template, but I had to cut mine oversize to clear a tab on the transmission. No big deal since the sheet metal piece provided to cover the hole is so large.
So after getting the engine all nestled in to place I hooked the front suspension back up for hopefully the last time (it’s been in and out of the car like 3 times). I also put the front brake calipers on and torqued everything down.
I thought about just leaving the crappy tires and wheels on the car, but after all that work I just had to put the wheels and tires on the car!!!
The great news is that at least when the car is sitting still the 275s in the front clear everything. I’m happy with the ride height in the front, but I think it still needs to be like an inch lower in the rear. Maybe once the gas tank, battery, interior and things like that are installed it will come down in the rear, otherwise I’ll have to buy shorter shocks.
It’s kind of neat that the dish on the rear rims is so deep that from a lot of angles it looks like they are just polished.
My wife took this “artsy” picture and I was teasing her about it when she was taking the picture, but it really came out great.
Front tires with the 275s.
I remember the old Hooker headers I had on the 340 and how they hung down so low below everything else on the car, so I like how the TTIs are basically level with everything.
Well that’s my big update. Need to install the tunnel patch this weekend and work on the power windows some more (the drivers side is working pretty good, but the passenger side is giving me all sorts of trouble). Then finally work on the interior and wiring. Things like the computer to run the engine and the plumbing will have to wait until next year’s tax return.
Travis
72 Cuda
