Mark T
Donation Time
When I bought Sunny this spring I was disappointed in the performance that I was getting out of the V6 and C4 automatic tranny. My plan was to drive her for a couple of years and then look at putting a T5 standard tranny in her. Unfortunately she had other ideas and her rebuilt engine with 20,000 miles on it blew up in June (a whole 1,000 miles after I bought her!). No sense in pulling engine to rebuild it and then turning around and pulling it again in a couple of years so I decided to attach a 1997 American transmission to a 1978 German engine and put them into a 1964 British car... all in 6 weeks so that I could drive her to Tipp City for Invasion. What could be easier? Brokering peace in the Mideast comes to mind! 
This was definitely a case of if anything could go wrong then it would. First the guy who was going to get me the tranny, bellhousing, flywheel and clutch called me the day before I was to pick them up from him to say that he had changed his mind. Eight hours of internet searches and phone calls and I had found what I needed. Then a wrecking yard in Maine sent me the wrong bellhousing. At least they found me the correct one in Colorado... for only $35 too. Then I found out that only 0.2 inches of the T5 tranny input shaft would reach into the bronze bushing that I had made to act as a pilot bearing. Had to design a pilot bearing adapter to fit into the flywheel. It worked perfectly... and I really liked the idea of using a needle bearing instead off a bushing anyway. Meanwhile, the rebuild on the engine is progressing a little behind schedule, but still a chance to have the engine in time for Invasion... until we find out a week before Invasion that the stock valve springs won't work, and it's going to take a week to get the Comp Cams springs that we need. So much for driving Sunny to Invasion... but even without her it was an AWESOME experiece!!! Thanks again to the organizers!!! It was PERFECT (except for the fact that Sunny wasn't there!)
So back from Invasion, put the engine and tranny in the car and the new 0.700" clutch master cylinder isn't big enough the disengage the clutch. New 1" master from Summit and the clutch works great! Try to start the engine and it backfires. Distributor is out 180 degrees. Fifty-fifty chance of getting it right and guess what... Rotate dizzy 180 degrees and start engine. It runs, but won't idle. Check for vacuum leaks and try adjusting carb but to no avail. Then there's a bang in the engine? Pull driverside valve cover and a rocker has seized and bent it's pushrod. Thankfully it didn't break the valve! No oil getting to the rockers. Out comes the engine and back to the machine shop.
One cam bearing is slightly out of position and covers half of the oil passage hole. Also, the holes don't line up perfectly with the grooves in the cam journals. Drill out the bearing, widen the grooves on the cam, put the engine back together, reinstall it in the car and... the dizzy is out 180 degrees again! Murphy's Law! Rotate dizzy and fire engine and... of course it still won't idle. When the RPMs drop below 1400 the engine falls flat on it's face. Sounds like a vacuum leak except that it's burning our eyes out while we're working on it so it's got to be running rich. If there was a vacuum leak then you would expect it to run lean.
Head machinist at machine shop uses the Holley 390 on his Jeep and when I tell him that the car backfired when we first tried to start it he says that the power valve is probably toast. Changed the power valve and it still won't work so he tells me to bring him the carb. He tears it down and the casting on the bottom of the body is brutal. Send pictures to Holley Tech Services and they say it's a defective casting and to send it back to JEGS for a replacement. Adjust new carb this afternoon and... lumpity lumpity lump at 800 RPM! All ready for Invasion 2008!!
I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to all of the members of the club who have helped me with this undertaking! I couldn't have done it without your help! It's been an unbelievable learning experience. Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat! And the heartbeat's a little quicker now when I'm behind the wheel! Can't wait til the engine's broken in!
This was definitely a case of if anything could go wrong then it would. First the guy who was going to get me the tranny, bellhousing, flywheel and clutch called me the day before I was to pick them up from him to say that he had changed his mind.
Eight hours of internet searches and phone calls and I had found what I needed. Then a wrecking yard in Maine sent me the wrong bellhousing. At least they found me the correct one in Colorado... for only $35 too. Then I found out that only 0.2 inches of the T5 tranny input shaft would reach into the bronze bushing that I had made to act as a pilot bearing. Had to design a pilot bearing adapter to fit into the flywheel. It worked perfectly... and I really liked the idea of using a needle bearing instead off a bushing anyway. Meanwhile, the rebuild on the engine is progressing a little behind schedule, but still a chance to have the engine in time for Invasion... until we find out a week before Invasion that the stock valve springs won't work, and it's going to take a week to get the Comp Cams springs that we need. So much for driving Sunny to Invasion... but even without her it was an AWESOME experiece!!! Thanks again to the organizers!!! It was PERFECT (except for the fact that Sunny wasn't there!)So back from Invasion, put the engine and tranny in the car and the new 0.700" clutch master cylinder isn't big enough the disengage the clutch. New 1" master from Summit and the clutch works great! Try to start the engine and it backfires. Distributor is out 180 degrees. Fifty-fifty chance of getting it right and guess what... Rotate dizzy 180 degrees and start engine. It runs, but won't idle. Check for vacuum leaks and try adjusting carb but to no avail. Then there's a bang in the engine?
Pull driverside valve cover and a rocker has seized and bent it's pushrod. Thankfully it didn't break the valve! No oil getting to the rockers. Out comes the engine and back to the machine shop.One cam bearing is slightly out of position and covers half of the oil passage hole. Also, the holes don't line up perfectly with the grooves in the cam journals. Drill out the bearing, widen the grooves on the cam, put the engine back together, reinstall it in the car and... the dizzy is out 180 degrees again! Murphy's Law! Rotate dizzy and fire engine and... of course it still won't idle. When the RPMs drop below 1400 the engine falls flat on it's face. Sounds like a vacuum leak except that it's burning our eyes out while we're working on it so it's got to be running rich. If there was a vacuum leak then you would expect it to run lean.
Head machinist at machine shop uses the Holley 390 on his Jeep and when I tell him that the car backfired when we first tried to start it he says that the power valve is probably toast. Changed the power valve and it still won't work so he tells me to bring him the carb. He tears it down and the casting on the bottom of the body is brutal. Send pictures to Holley Tech Services and they say it's a defective casting and to send it back to JEGS for a replacement. Adjust new carb this afternoon and... lumpity lumpity lump at 800 RPM! All ready for Invasion 2008!!
I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to all of the members of the club who have helped me with this undertaking! I couldn't have done it without your help! It's been an unbelievable learning experience. Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat! And the heartbeat's a little quicker now when I'm behind the wheel! Can't wait til the engine's broken in!
