From jhogan@fbody.com  Sun Mar 10 15:54:26 2002
Return-Path: 
Delivered-To: ma-f-body@f-body.org
Received: from www.fbody.com (unknown [64.19.176.212]) by
  lists.f-body.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 908A41F76F for
  ; Sun, 10 Mar 2002 15:54:25 -0500 (EST)
Received: from dcranmer (ool-4350e208.dyn.optonline.net [67.80.226.8])
  by www.fbody.com (8.11.0/8.11.0) with SMTP id g2AKx4C30913; Sun, 10
  Mar 2002 15:59:05 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from jhogan@fbody.com)
Message-ID: <019d01c1c86f$62745240$027ba8c0@dcranmer>
From: "James Hogan" 
To: 
Cc: 
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 15:08:43 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000
Subject: [ma] TH400/GV install pictures
Sender: ma-f-body-admin@lists.f-body.org
Errors-To: ma-f-body-admin@lists.f-body.org
X-BeenThere: ma-f-body@lists.f-body.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.8
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: ma-f-body@lists.f-body.org
List-Help: 
List-Post: 
List-Subscribe: ,
	
List-Id: The Mid-Atlantic F-Body Mailing List 
List-Unsubscribe: ,
	
List-Archive: 

I had to abort mission a little early today because 1) it is really cold and
the wind gusts don't help and 2) I have to pass some exams this week BUT
anyhow...

The 400/GV is in. mounted up, bolted in, not going to fall out 

I took some pictures:
http://jim.fbody.com/th400/thumbs.htm

You might wonder, why the picture of the shifter like that, well, I don't
know. BUT if you ever decided to put a hammer shifter in your car, the way I
did it seems to make it fit in the car nicely. I drilled out all of the
rivets that hold the stock shifter parts to that metal bracket. that left me
with a bare metal bracket that I knew would bolt down to the floor without
problems (ie holes line up). I then had to file the hole where the shifter
cable goes through the leftover stock bracket a little larger. No major
modifications besides the drilling and the filing BUT when bolted in the
car, it looks good and it is the right height and location. I'd of taken
pictures of how it looks in the car but it's covered ( rear 3/4 view:
http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00015.jpg mustang view:
http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00016.jpg ) and I didn't want to try
uncovering/recovering in the wind.

I then took some pictures (actually my dad took some pictures) of the 400/gv
out of the car. We got everything bolted up last night BUT only had 3 bolts
in. I put the last two bolts in this am and sure enough the converter is now
right where Jeff suggested it should be:
http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00013.jpg

In other good news, looks like BMR torque fits back in place without
problems. http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00010.jpg  Close, but it should fit.
I guess the real question is that I need a DS that isn't so big that it hits
the torque arm BUT seeing as the torque arm didn't move AND the ds should be
in the same place in order to line up with the rear, then something 3" like
the stocker, just pretty short should work. (
http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00014.jpg ) I tried to get a picture that
shows how long the ds will up being but didn't have the head room to move
too much.

The two mounts that aren't right now that I can see everything in place:
1) the BMR 400 crossmember needs to get moved towards the front of the car
just the slightest bit so that I can put a bolt through the crossmember into
the trans mount (notice it's yellow ;-) )  I'm going to put the trans on a
jack one day and just file some slots into the brace so that I can slide the
mount forward about 1/4" thats all it needed.

2) the DS look bracket is now (as I said yesterday) on the wrong side of
where it needs to be ( http://jim.fbody.com/th400/DSC00014.jpg ) I'm
thinking one of two things: 1) I can see if the DS loop I have fits around
the GV and if it does, I can throw the DS loop around it "just in case" but
I don't know what that case would be ;-) or 2) I can saw-z-all the bracket
off and weld it to the other size (ie turn it around) which would put the
bracket in the right place. HOWEVER if I do that I need to then use all 3 of
my muscles to bend a piece of thick metal to the shape of the tunnel because
the loop I have would be too tall to fit there. - Also make me wonder if
I'll be able to fit any kind of loop between the DS and the floor without
hammering out the floor just for a ds loop? FWIW - I didn't do any hammering
to get the 400/gv to fit so far.

As you can see my exhaust needed to be but off which again still sucks since
no one at GV warned me of this but I guess how could they know what exhaust
I had. I also don't see how Denny@mufflex is going to make me custom exhaust
that is going to fit under the car but Denny is the man so I'll have to
trick someone into towing me out there after I get it running and have him
do some voodoo magic. FWIW - I still have the exhaust as far back as the
y-pipe so I guess I would be able to drive it around the block at least to
make sure things work before visiting mufflex?

Depending on much work we're talking to exhaust, I might feel included to do
the long tube thing now BUT I really don't want to get yet another grand
deeper in right now, I just want to get it running.

SO left to do:
cooler lines - Is there an "in and out" of the 400? an "in and out" of the
radiator, and an "in and out" of the B&M supercooler? I was always told that
in a radiator the hot coolant should flow opposite the cool radiator
coolant/water. So which way is that? Also, when connecting this stuff - the
trans fluid should leave the trans and go into the B&M trans-cooler first or
go into the radiator first?  I'm thinking trans-cooler first so that I don't
make the radiator so hot and make the coolant temps so hot?

driveshaft - maybe I can beg an expert driveshaft measurer to come by and
help me out just so I don't buy a 500$ paperweight? Also is there a way to
know if the trans/rear is really still lined up perfectly? I would think
with the adjustable torque arm I could adjust any angle it may have been off
with that?

shifter cable - should be just a matter of routing the line away from
exhaust and bolting it in BUT is there a way to know where my 400 gear
selector is? I mean, how do I know if it is in park, reverse or 1st gear?
Also, the shifter install paper says to have the car in the full rear
position low (1) BUT with the reverse pattern should I have it in 1 or
should I have it in 3? I'm just wondering if they want it in the position
farthest back because the next step is to move the lever on the trans to
park adjust the cable.

oil temp sensor - I guess I'll just get some brass fittings for the oil
level sending unit hole and a t fitting and some reducer such that the temp
sensor and level sender feed from the hole already there.

And of course lots of wires - the gv wiring doesn't look too too bad but
looks like a lot of wiring. they really do send nice instructions with it. I
also still have to decide where I'm running the dimmer/light source wire to.
There is a fuse labeled "DIMMER" in the inside fuse panel but I don't know
if I can really just fuse tap that or if I need to splice into a wire going
into/out of there.

and lastly just the minor clean up stuff, sway bar needs mounts need to be
welded in, dipstick has to get mounted to the firewall,  need to fill it
with fluid, I guess I'm still quite a ways off of where I would have liked
to be but I feel I really did make great progress just by getting it mounted
up nicely.

Sorry if you read this, just wanted to share, maybe my photos and BS will
help the next fool who tries it ;-) Later.

- Jim Hogan
http://jim.fbody.com/ - 98 Navy Blue A little less BATA