2010 Front Engine Dragster Week 2010 12 29

REMEMBER TO CLICK PICTURES FOR MORE DETAIL / LARGER PICTURE

Ok, another day in the garage.

Not much progress to report – worked all day, Bill stopped by to help out.

6:30 PM tonight I was where I should have been at 8:15 AM this morning.

Why you ask, you did ask didn’t you?

I went to bolt up the torque converter to the flex plate (the only part I did not test fit yesterday, you see where this is going) and found that the torque converter was hitting the flex plate bolts and holding the torque converter back from moving far enough forward to engage the crankshaft and also make contact with the flex plate.

So…

I went to bolt up the torque converter to the flex plate (the only part I did not test fit yesterday, you see where this is going) and found that the torque converter was hitting the flex plate bolts and holding the torque converter back from moving far enough forward to engage the crankshaft and also make contact with the flex plate.

I pulled the transmission, pulled the flex plate, pulled the flex plate bolts Called around and talked with Matt, Steve, and Carl (of completion transmissions (builder of the torque converter)). It was decided that the heads of the bolts holding the flex plate to the crankshaft were too long. Ordered up two new, and different, sets of ARP Pontiac flex plate bolts. They would not work as one set had an unthreaded shaft that was too long and the second set of bolts were too short to travel through the SFI flex plate and also have enough threads to hold it to the crankshaft. I went and bought some 8 grade hard bolts and Matt turned the heads down to get us enough clearance to bolt the flex plate up.

Went to bolt the flex plate up and the bolt heads of these bolts are larger than the original bolts and the socket hits the crankshaft.I created a “special” tool to tighten the bolts down.

I installed the flex plate, transmission, bolted the torque converter up. I pulled the plugs and rotated the engine over by hand and nothing hits, hopefully that project is done.Tomorrow the shims from Jegs should arrive and I can put the starter in.In the morning I will start by pulling out the wiring that we installed and start running it down the right side this time.