1993 4-cyl. To v8 302 swap, eye candy! ;)

Mnstr50

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Late Model torque boxes are in, Competition engineering lower torque box plates are in, and the Maximum Motorsports subframe connectors are now in!

Just need to install the Lakewood lower control arms to wrap it up.
 

Mnstr50

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The Lakewood lower controls arms are in. The instructions call for 4-6 degrees of pinion angle. The car sits so low with the sportlines, that I couldn't get any more than about 2 degrees. We ended up welding it into place (it can be bolted in, but drilling is required, and the hardware isn't included). The suspension is done for now. I wanted to get a panhard bar and torque arm later, but I'm happy with the package for now. I'll try to get some pictures up soon.
 

Ithnu

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As far as gears I went from a 3.08 to a 3.55 in my '93 and was impressed on the change. From a 2.73 I bet you were out right shocked. Back in high school I spent a bunch of money with bolt ons for my '86 with 2.73s. Now that I know what kind of difference gears can make it seems dumb I even bothered with anything else initially.
 

Mnstr50

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As far as gears I went from a 3.08 to a 3.55 in my '93 and was impressed on the change. From a 2.73 I bet you were out right shocked. Back in high school I spent a bunch of money with bolt ons for my '86 with 2.73s. Now that I know what kind of difference gears can make it seems dumb I even bothered with anything else initially.

I will agree with most of the reviews that gears are an awesome "seat of the pants" upgrade. However, it shouldn't be a "first" upgrade unless you are certain of the direction of the car. The 3.55's seem to be the "best" compromise in final drive choice. The 4.10's are best suited for a track oriented car or a low-power NA car (so it can benefit most from the gears). At this point, I've learned that I'm topping about (6,000-6,500rpm) at about 108-115mph with the 4.10's and 3rd gear on a 225/55-16 tire. For a power adder car, or a high horsepower NA, I would think the 3.55's, or even 3.27's would be just right.

I'll eventually go with a taller tire to compensate for the loss of MPH in 3rd (as it's recommended to drag race without using over-drive {4th gear} in the AOD cars). The taller tire will give me a mathmatical advantage and allow me to see 118+mph at the same engine RPM. This is assuming I see those speeds (which I doubt with the current setup).

I didn't really notice much of a difference with light throttle or part throttle feel, to be honest. It's not the "shock" value everyone else made it out to be. It drives very easy with the 4.10's, and your around town RPM's stay below 2,000rpm. Big difference is noticed on the highway (and loss of comfortable cruising RPM).

With all that said, I am going to stick with the 4.10's, because with the cost involved in swapping them out again, and the fact that I need all the help I can get with the current power level. I'll see what all she'll do with nitrous, taller tire (275/60-15 for the track), and 4R70W internals (down the road).
 

Ithnu

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You are right, gotta know what direction the car is going. I should have put 3.73s in my old high school '86. I thought about 3.73s for my current '93 but it will rarely see the track. That and it will be supercharged down the road.

Either way, 2.73s are just terrible.
 

Mnstr50

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You are right, gotta know what direction the car is going. I should have put 3.73s in my old high school '86. I thought about 3.73s for my current '93 but it will rarely see the track. That and it will be supercharged down the road.

Either way, 2.73s are just terrible.

I'd rather have 2.73's with 600hp, than 4.10's with 250hp. The 2.73's aren't so bad, especially if you had the properly geared transmission. For instance, with a very short 1st and 2nd gear or a close ratio transmission all together (with an overdrive- I'm referring to a manual 5 or 6 speed transmission). The SSP coupe I had with the 3.08's was actually pretty fun! Enough gear for 1st gear pulls, with a legit opportunity to see 150+mph speed. Relaxed cruising speed.

I agree, 2.73's are pretty tall. I think if you're past the "boy racer" stage, than 3.27's, 3.31's, or 3.55's are a good series of gears.
 

Mnstr50

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Ok- so I decided to find out what this thing can do. A friend of mine was kind enough to help! lol...

The stock stall converter is really tight, so it's a real sluggish take off from a dig. With that said, here are the details of my buddies ride;

1962 Chevy II
383 stroker, iron heads, mild built, 360 flywheel horsepower crate motor
Dual plane intake manifold, single carb
Only belt driven component is the water pumpe and Alternator
Mechanical, fixed fan
Ram horn manifolds, straight pipes to the rear of the car
TH350 trans
Shift kit
2,xxx stall
Hurst shifter with reverse lock-out
I'm not sure what his rear-end gear ratio is, but I believe me mentioned 3.2x:1
No power steering, no AC, no heater, stripped down, on 225's in the rear.

We made three runs,

The first run was with me in OD (my car wont shift out of 3rd when full-throttle anyway), and him in 3rd (D).
Ford 1, Chevy 0. Had him by two or three lengths
The Second run, manually shifting the trans. Ford 0, Chevy 1. He had me by three lengths
- no chance on this run, my trans is really inconsistent with shifting (stock valve body) so, I had to throttle it to get it to shift (wrapped it to 6,500rpm).
The Third run, he was in 3rd (D), and I was in 3rd (D). Ford 1, Chevy 0. Neck and neck, until I got into 3rd, and walked him.

I want to clarify his trans was shifting around 4,500rpm. I could hear him loosing traction off the line. His Chevy II has A LOT more in it. My trans was shifted out of 1st at 5,600-5,800rpm, and shifted out of second at 5,200rpm, and held 3rd past 6,000rpm

Conclusion; he will easily smoke me if we manually shift, and he's got more power than me. He was kind enough to "play" along as I couldn't manually shift mine consistently. I desperately need a valve body for more consistent shifts (when working it manually) as well as providing more consistent shift-points when I just want to leave it in drive and floor it. The stall converter "should" really wake up the hit off the line. All runs done from a dig.

Here's a picture of us coming back from the track.

IMG_3829_zps643c666e.jpg
 

Mnstr50

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Here she is this evening, after a wash. I've decided to purchase 8mm hub-centric spacers for the front wheels as I am rubbing at full lock, and the front wheels are a bit too tuched. This is further exaggerated by the rear SN95 axles (being 3/4" longer per side). 8mm is the "max" you can go before needing to step to a longer wheel stud for safety purposes (per Maximum Motorspots).

IMG_3835_zpsee510554.jpg
 

Mnstr50

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Ok here are some pictures;

Subframe connectors-

IMG_3843_zps60d9db66.jpg


Lower Competition Engineering plates-

IMG_3841_zpsa99f2145.jpg


Lower torque box braces -

IMG_3842_zpscedba953.jpg


Differential cover, Lakewood lower control arms, subframe connectors-

IMG_3840_zps43dac0ee.jpg


Notice the rear lower control arm mounting brackets, they are welded in-

IMG_3839_zpsf55956ca.jpg
 

Mnstr50

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Just an update, I installed a UPR catch can a few weeks ago and the results are in:

IMG_3847_zpsbaf81f3a.jpg


Catch can's WORK. This is after possibly less than a 1,000 miles, but of a lot of hard driving. This is routed via the PCV valve.

IMG_3848_zps223b9dca.jpg


Its touching the hood when the hood is closed, but I'll get a small bracket to set it lower.
 

Mnstr50

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Nice - how did you run the hose for that catch can?

The kit comes with aboug 3 feet of hose, but it's not enough depending on the where you plan on installing the catch can in the engine compartment. I ended up purchasing oil-resistent rubber line from a local auto parts store, and felt the spot next to the master cylinder was about the best spot for it.

Anyway, I ran a hose from the PCV valve to the "inlet" side of the catch can, then from the "outlet" side of the catch can back over to the intake manifold (where the stock PCV hose would go).

If you really want to be thorough, you can also run a seperate catch can on the passenger side from the hose coming off the valve cover to the throttle body. I figured the driver side might see more consumption.

Some people might suggest replacing the PCV with a breather-filter and also just venting the passenger side valve cover, but the problem with that is that it can get a bit mess after use with us. But more importantly, I don't think breathers will pass a visual inspection for emissions. The catch can keeps the system contained.
 

SVTORANGE

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Sweet thanks for the information

I did something similar on my ZR1 and wanted to see if it was somehow the same with your setup.
 

Mnstr50

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Sweet thanks for the information

I did something similar on my ZR1 and wanted to see if it was somehow the same with your setup.

I don't know how your ZR1 is setup, but generally speaking, you will have some sort of vent tube going from the valve covers to the intake manifold or track. I ran a catch can on my 2012 GT as well, and it also worked well.

Any time you can eliminate oil (in this case vapor form) from the intake track, you're helping keep the intake and "top" end of the engine clean. Plus, you're preventing dilution of the fuel.
 

SVTORANGE

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I don't know how your ZR1 is setup, but generally speaking, you will have some sort of vent tube going from the valve covers to the intake manifold or track. I ran a catch can on my 2012 GT as well, and it also worked well.

Any time you can eliminate oil (in this case vapor form) from the intake track, you're helping keep the intake and "top" end of the engine clean. Plus, you're preventing dilution of the fuel.

Sweet!
 

Mnstr50

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It's been a little while since my last update, but there are some big changes happening right now with the car.

I drove the car out to So-Cal, and ended up hurting the AOD. I had been pretty hard on the transmission (which is stock) when I initially got the v8 swap done. However, the trip took it's toll on the car. From what I understand the valve-body should be calibrated for the rear-end gear, otherwise, the transmission act's funky, and can cause harm to the transmission. Anyway, I smoked the OD and it just started to slip in 3rd, then finally the 2-3 shift was acting up. I was prepared for this but I didn't expect for the failure to happen sooner than later.

So I touched base with Lentech, PA, and even a local shop to So-Cal who came through with good reviews called Mike's Transmissions in Lancaster, CA. He knows his AOD's, but he isn't cheap! I wanted to go with the wide-ratio (4R70W) set, with the Lentech value body, single piece input shaft, 3,500 stall (10", non-lock), the supporting bands/clutches, and an external cooler. Well, the bill estimate quickly ran up to $4,100 dollars, not including tax. After shopping around a little more, I realized that the setup I want would run me $3,500-5,000 with minimal difference with me installing it or having a shop install it. The "least" expensive combo's for a fun AOD (with a 12" TC, lower stall, not the desired valve body, no wide-ratio) would run about $2,500-3,000.

If my build was a "no budget" build, I would toss a $4-5K trans package into it, and call it good, but I just couldn't justify the cost. Going with a 3-speed isn't an option because I wanted an auto with OD to actually have multi-use out of it.

So, what did I decide? I decided to go with a t5 swap. I mean, for $5K I can install a t56 into the thing, and still have money left over for other modifications. I really wanted to give the automatic a true unbiased attempt before concluding which transmission I prefer, but at the buy-in cost, I'll gladly go back to a manual transmission. The 4,10's currently in the car should make the steep (3.xx) first -gear interested (i.e. useless), but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, without the maintenance and concerns associated with an automatic.

For now, the stock flywheel and stock replacement clutch set will go into the car. I'm getting new bolts, new fork, new pivot ball, and a few odds and ends replaced at the same time. Future plans call for an alloy flywheel, better clutch, and Tri-Ax shifter.

I would like to get the car back on the rollers after the conversion to see the difference in RWHP between the AOD and T5 (with all else staying constant), but I'm not sure if I'll get to it.

my conclusion on the automatic is that I actually liked the AOD. I learned how to downshift and upshift the STOCK transmission, and it makes driving around a lot easier (for lazy people). Unfortunately, to see the true potential of the AOD, involves deep pockets.
 

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