John-T-53

More pics... I guess I could have even made it longer (on the back side) by approximately 1/8", looking at these. One mistake I made on assembly was lubrication. I used grease on this bushing, which doesn't work. You're supposed to just soak it in oil. Grease clogs the pores in the bronze. I can tell the bushing isn't spinning that freely in relation to the shaft when I disengage the clutch and put the tranny in gear - I can feel a little 'jolt' as the engagement stops the internals from spinning. Next time I happen to have the trans out, I will make another bushing. For now, sod it...

When I had the clutch area opened up. I also noticed the pilot bushing wasn't working out too well. Langdon's kit comes with a bushing machined to press into the Dodge flywheel and accept the T5 input, however it's not long enough to provide adequate support. I originally didn't press it in all the way and left it hanging about 3/16" out, which ultimately resulted in misalignment and spun the bushing. So I had my local machine shop make me a custom bushing... Old and new, for comparison:

Why would you have to change engines? With this unit, you can leave everything in place...that's the advantage of it.

Good point, makes sense. I'm about due for a new set anyway, and I never was really fond of the stock lacquered wires. So far though, my ignition system has been working well.

Really? I've set myself up for a downfall this whole time then. Got the laquered wires on there... Pertronix does make some nice ignition wires - stainless steel wrapped core. And the outer jacket insulation is black, not bright yellow, blue, or red!

Very interesting, and thanks for sharing. Uncharted territory for sure! This is what you'd call a "divorced-mounted OD" or at least that's what Gear Vendors call theirs when set up this way. I have never heard of these units. Were they substituted for the tail shaft of a Volvo trans? What is the price range for finding one of there? Before I did my trans swap I was looking at GV but the price was way too high. I assume this is a planetary unit, and solenoid engaged? How did you design the crossmember/mount?

This reminded me of one of my favorites by Gene Watson:

Damn HOA's. Those are some harsh rules. Jeff you should get on the board and start to propose some changes. Or make some fake signs. "No BMWs past this point" "No 'enhanced' individuals allowed in the pool between 2 and 4 p.m." "Vehicles with gold emblems will be towed at owner's expense"

Let me revise that to say "GM bolt pattern" as this was also used in Pontiacs (Firebird) in addition to the Camaro. This is a WC unit. I am not entirely sure as to what year Borg Warner upgraded their design for the world market (WC) and if it was across all models of the T5 built from that point on, or if they continued to produce the NWC for some vehicles (like the S-10).

Now that it's been a few years, I think I need to post some updates to the project. There were issues with this and that (who knew), and will document how I got them straightened out....problem is remembering everything right. Earlier in this thread I told how the stock 11" clutch disk was hitting the flywheel bolt ends. Well, the Mustang disk interfered too. But this time it was on the other side. The forks interfered with the springs, and I can't remember if it was when engaged or disengaged. So, I called up Randall Grisham at Tennessee Clutch and told him my problem, and he immediately knew what I was talking about, said they had a smaller spring version of the same disk. It was that easy. Pictured below is the "thick" mustang disk installed w/o pressure plate - checking for bolt interference. Next, the "thin" disc with blue springs on the left, and the thicker disk on the right. The springs just kissed the forks, but no damage was done. Last two pics are looking at the hub area where spring dia. can be compared. I have the four-fork (11") clutch. I am not sure if this would have been a problem with the 10" three-fork clutch.

AH so that's how they designed the non-spinning feature. I had thought it was a deformation on something all this time, like on rocker stud nuts. Chrysler engineers.

Wow, you're in DEEP now...no escape, haha! Congrats on the move. I can picture the folks in that community being more of the 'shined up' type, like they just got off a cruise ship. There's some back roads 'round there at the base of the mountains that should suit your truck very nice, and some 'ruffer' locals to boot. These trucks do make great haulers and are reliable. I would like to add more sound proofing, though.

I'd just leave 'em in place, they don't need any special care unless the top surface is damaged (which if it is that means you have bigger issues). I do think they come all the way off, but they will get looser the more you turn them. You want them tight.

Looking again at the first (OP) post, this is a really nice looking truck. the paint is in good shape, as least from the distance the photo was taken. Give 'er some love with cleaner wax. If you want the extra step, polishing (not rubbing) compound first. That's it. If this were my truck, I'd also paint the wheels, front bumper, and running boards to make it 'pop' just that extra bit, and turn the RWL tires around so you have blackwalls on the outside. Boom.

Let's add transmission swaps to this topic and see where it goes ... ! I have a daily driver that has a "fair" paint job that is over 30 years old. You could interpret it as a light form of patina, I guess. There's small rust spots here and there, and I've painted panels with rattle cans and had other panels painted in a shop when it was necessary. The truck was completely oxidized when i got it. I use just Meguire's cleaner wax about once a year and that's it. It removes oxidation and waxes at the same time. Perfect for a driver. It makes the truck look a lot better than when it's oxidized, that's for sure. I had primer spots for a while to cover some of the rust on the hood but couldn't stand it, so had the hood painted. The truck looks ok from 50 feet, there is no primer, and no huge rust spots. All just two colors of its two-tone paint job. one day this truck will be painted, to make it right, and preserve it properly, so it can start the clock on another 50 years of weathering.

Welcome back to the forum, Jeff. Did you mange to escape from "behind the Orange curtain?" Agreed on the daily driver aspects. I've had my truck out of storage since April and been giving it weekend workouts doing a side job in S.F. It's a primitive vehicle, but fun to drive.

My aunt in Delano said the same thing about having the snow plows out. The hail knocked all their tomatoes off the plants too.

Yup, breaking the guides in half is the way to get 'em out. You can just hit 'em with a cold chisel and a hammer and they'll snap. But - I like your surgical method with the cutting tool!

Tips on reading a vacuum gauge: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

Put a vacuum gauge on the motor while running, this will tell you a lot, and determine if a valve job is even necessary. If your gauge tells symptoms of leaky valves, you could start with lapping all valves to see which ones need their seats recut. This is after a thorough cleaning of the block surface, ports, and valves. The best way to clean valves is by bead blasting, then put them in a lathe and polish with red scotchbrite pad and wd-40, stem included. Doing a valve job with the block in the car is a biotch. I've done it including replacing guides. A real pain (literally - it's hard on the back and elbows). If I had to again, I would just pull the GD motor. Lapping doesn't do much other than a final polish after you cut the seats. And as a check to see the results of the seat cutting. But, if you grind the seats with the motor in place, you'd use a hand held stone cutter, and lapping isn't really needed when cutting with this method. http://www.cylinderheadsupply.com/sisthdvasegr.html

While we're talking about non-dodge vehicles at the moment (and the acceptable non-dodge makes to boot)... Here's an IH Metro Van. I think these are very cool. I actually like them slightly better than the Dodge step vans. Sitting behind a restoration shop in Lockeford, CA. Currently used as a storage 'shed' for old paint. They were thinking of restoring this and making it the shop truck, but then again they are too busy and might not get that far...

My motor's previous incarnation had .050" under rod journals. These very very tuff to find at the time, apparently. well, that crank did not last long, but there were other issues that were the culprit... Bell mouthed honing job on the rods and improper radii at the sides of the journals. When the crank was magged after disassembly, it was found to be cracked in several places. but yeah, have the machine shop get all the bearings...

When you install new guides, you have to recut the seats. Also, make sure your clearance between the valve stem and guides is within spec. Loose...and it will smoke!

I didn't realize that Jeff had gotten caught up in bickering and was the subject of bullying, and/or censorship. Damn! I didn't think it was too prevalent on here, until the recent flare-ups about transmissions.

I have a set of Langdon's cast headers and they at least look legit, however they're not installed yet. I would expect them to flow much better than the stock log manifold. One of the local forum/club members out this way has a set installed on his truck and has reported only good things, which led me to purchase the set I have, after seeing and hearing this member's truck in person. What is this "moose" outfit that makes the tube headers?