Ok its been quite a while but the 347 - t5 swap is making progress!!!

[Nick52284]

the cable is aligned with the quadrant, the problem i'm having is that the cable is too long, with it adjusted all the way tight, it has very little throw, hence the wooden block to bring the mounting face further away from the firewall, allowing much more throw of the cable, right now with the wooden block in there and the cable adjusted all the way tight by the lever on the trans i get just the right amount of throw for full depression and engagement.

[Nick52284]

i'm going to get the firewall adjuster at some point to solidify the set up, the block is just temporary so i can test drive it once i get it running

[87gtVIC]

The question was not necessarily pointed in your direction but I do now entirely understand what is happening. And with further thought I believe that the firewall is angled thus making the cable entrance into the cabin angled which is resulting in a chaffed cable because of the slight change in direction.

[marquisman]

The little hump from the brake booster is an issue too. What I want to do it, make a bracket that rests flat from the fire wall lip and goes straight down. That will set the cable jacket some forward and gives you flat surface for an adjuster.

[87gtVIC]

It sounds as of one can skip drilling a big hole in the firewall to mount the clutch cable but move that hole under the hood through a shim of some sort which will also correct the crooked firewall issue.

[gadget73]

The question was not necessarily pointed in your direction but I do now entirely understand what is happening. And with further thought I believe that the firewall is angled thus making the cable entrance into the cabin angled which is resulting in a chaffed cable because of the slight change in direction.

I seem to remember Nick (Logan's brother) told me he had some problems with the clutch cable chafing on his too. Don't know what, if anything, he did to fix it tho.

[pantera77]

Here's the issue I originally had, the actual cable rubbed through the plastic at the end, and then into the aluminum firewall spacer. The reason is because the firewall isn't exactly flat where it mounts. Now, this will be slightly different for everyone, since everyone makes their pedal assembly a touch different, uses different quadrants, etc.. I fixed it by adding a piece of metal over the firewall then making a small angled spacer.



You can see the firewall is far from perfectly flat where the cable passes through.

[Nick52284]

yea i'll figure something out once its running and driveable, i have a feeling i'm going to end up fabricating a bracket myself to square up the cable with the firewall. on a side note, is there any way to tell what spline my rear axles are without tearing it apart? i'm looking into gear sets and possible locker/mini spool setup for the rear

[pantera77]

28

[mitymerc]

Mini spool? Will it be street driven?

[pantera77]

Mini spool? Will it be street driven?

I was wondering that myself, don't see why you'd run a spool on a street car...
Stock trac-lok's are pretty solid, rebuild them with carbon clutches if you think you need it.


Also, I'm not sure what your plans are for the rear suspension, but the stock stuff just doesn't cut it. Bare minimum poly bushings in the control arms, and I'd really recommend beefing them up, Jeff makes some nice weld in plates. An axle girdle too is cheap insurance and will help keep the gears from exiting. Probably not a bad idea to reinforce the control arm mounts either if you plan on doing some hard launches.

[gadget73]

Also worth considering, if you can find one, is a 90s Towncar limo axle assembly. They are 31 spline. You'd be looking for the ones with drum brakes and 3L55 cast right into the housing. They're also heavy SOB's so bring a friend to haul one out of the junkyard.

[johnunit]

Has anyone actually grenaded a rear on here for reasons potentially related to only being 28 spline?

[Nick52284]

thanks for the info! i'll look up 28 spline units

i'm just thinking cheap route to get a locking rear, i'm probably gonna beat on it but i don't plan on drag racing so hard launches will be kept to a minimum, down the road i was thinking about boxing the rear control arms in or see whats available in an adjustable link setup, but the mini spool would just be to save a few $, mini spools were only like a 100 vs. a new trac lok for like 450+ i do want to do the rear disc conversion but right now my main goal is to get it on the road and moving under its own power, work out any driveability bugs before going any further with chassis or brakes

[gadget73]

Pantera blew one up, though I don't think he broke the axle shaft itself. I think MrLTD grenaded at least one rear as well.


Spools don't work if you ever plan to turn a corner. They're only useful for straight line launches. I wouldn't run a locker for the same reason. The mini lockers that go into the middle of the stock carrier are just a joke. You'd be better off with a hillbilly that has a welder to make yourself a spool vs one of those things.


Honestly, the 31 spline may start to make sense just for parts availability reasons. They don't make the 28 spline Traction Lock anymore, so outside of used ones that need a rebuild you're screwed. A new 31 spline can be had though. You can also nab those carriers out of a lot of trucks and Explorers as a parts donor, where the 28 spline units are less and less common.