A Project Is Brewing...

[rossiz]

thanks - it was really simple: (2) 48" pieces of 1 1/2"x1 1/2" aluminum angle (one at the wall, the other at the front) and (2) pieces of 15"x16"x1/8" aluminum for the shelves each side. clamp together, drill and bolts/nuts at the corners, then screw to the wall and support w/a pair of diag struts bent from 3/4"x 3/16" aluminum bar. the washer tub has a lip around it so it just drops in. i drilled a 3/8" hole through the siding, cut the plug off the cord and routed it through to the inside, attached a screw-on type replacement plug ($2 ace hardware) and connect to power in the garage. the on/off switch is mounted to the side of the tub, underneath the shelf on the right. to reduces solvent evaporation i made a gasket for the lid from 1/8"x1/2" self-adhesive foam tape.

 

the liquid stream is a little forceful, which tends to splash everywhere, so i cut the back half off a gallon milk container (the part w/the handle) and hold it over the parts as a splash guard while i soak the parts, which works really well. then a quick scrub w/a brush, rinse & dry on paper towels. love it.

[rossiz]

got her all buttoned up yesterday - a few odds 'n ends left to do, most of all gotta make a plate to re-mount the timing indicator closer to the new balancer. it's about 2" away now, since it was set up for the original 3-row pulley, which is much bigger. i'll have to dig out my degree wheel and piston stop to set exact tdc then i'll get her all timed up.

 

the zx dizzy is different than the one on my '78, so i'll need to figure out what wires go to the multiple male spade connectors all over it... it's the one thing i didn't bother cleaning up because i'm not going to keep it for long - hope to build the crank-fired system over the next few months. 

 

my wife & daughter asked me what i'd like to do for father's day, and i told her i'm hoping i can call in all my "head of household" credits and get some help with the engine swap. let's just say they were expecting a response more like "brunch and a day at the park" - but i'm sticking to my guns on this one 

 

Edited June 14, 2015 by rossiz

[HaZmatt]

Perrty!

[Patcon]

That's my idea of a good Fathers day too. Hope it works out that way for you.

[S30Driver]

Nice work!  

Looks like it all sealed up real well.

 

What will that cylinder head temp sensor be doing, since you have done away with the efi ...

[rossiz]

thanks for the kind words - i'm really looking forward to getting the transmission done so i can swap it into the car and fire it up.

right now that cylinder head temp sensor is simply preventing a horizontal coolant geyser at startup. i'm gonna get a plug for it, but for now just didn't want anything falling or crawling into the block, as my garage isn't exactly a hermetically sealed clean room...

[HuD 91gt]

Looks great, and moving at a much faster pace then my apartment project...  Although slightly more hermetically sealed... or atleast i'd hope it is.

[madkaw]

So while you have the degree wheel mounted your not going to degree the cam?

[Zed Head]

right now that cylinder head temp sensor is simply preventing a horizontal coolant geyser at startup. 

I think that the CHTS hole is dry. 

 

On the ZX distributor - some, the later ones, came with an E12-92 or -93 module that has an electrical timing advance connection.  It can cause problems sometimes, apparently.  The E12-80 only has one external connector, with two pins, and the reluctor connections on the inside.  You can swap the modules, or there's a method to lock the advance connection into one state by applying power to it.

[rossiz]

progress - getting closer.

 

the original timing marker was set up for the much larger diameter pulley on the 3-row setup and the degree marks weren't accurate with the smaller single-row one i'm using. used a piston stop and degree wheel to nail TDC and fabbed up a single pointer out of a piece of sst band clamp. cam timing is pretty spot on, which makes me happy given the head shave and adjustments.

 

replaced the front and rear seals on the 5-speed and got it all buttoned up, new flywheel & clutch mounted then mated up the tranny to the block. notched the speedo gear housing on the opposite side so i could flip it and make it work with the 5-speed. 

 

then it was the big day: yanked the old and dropped in the new. trickiest part was the fact that the hoist boom was a little short and wanted to hit the front bumper. a few new holes and i got an extra 9 inches on the boom (insert male enhancement joke) and all went well. i didn't want to remove the drive shaft, so i hung it from a wire and kept it at the right height. it actually worked and i was thrilled to get the new motor in, drive shaft into tranny and all the mounts installed. 

 

one thing i didn't notice until the new motor was installed is that the throwout arm is different - the 4-speed has a pin that comes out of the slave cylinder which fits into a dimple in the throwout arm. the 5-speed arm has a hole in it instead of a dimple... so the pin i have won't work. another little thing to figure out.

 

setting timing

 

cam gear

 

tranny front seal & throwout bearing replacement

 

locking the flywheel for torquing

 

clutch installed

 

hanging drive shaft

 

old engine out

 

ready for the transplant

[rossiz]

dropping in the new lump

[HuD 91gt]

When I did my auto to 4 speed swap, I had to fab a piston, instead of the threaded rod on my slave cylinder as my 4spd had a dimple as well.   My slave cylinder was made for the hole (Adjustable).   Nailed the right length the first time, so i didn't have to fiddle with it too much.   Another option would be to drill it out I guess.