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Thread: Straight 8 with Synchromesh xmission attached going into '51 Special

  1. #1
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    Mar 2018
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    Straight 8 with Synchromesh xmission attached going into '51 Special

    I'm putting a 263 with clutch and transmission attached into my '51 Special.

    When I took the old engine and transmission out, I unbolted the driveshaft housing from the transmission, and unbolted the transmission from the U-shaped transmission thrust plate bracket which I left in the car, attached to the frame. I have another thrust bracket that I had, that I attached to the transmission as I shimmed the torque ball with gaskets per the shop manual procedure.

    If I remove the thrust bracket I left in the car, will the "new" thrust bracket I put on the transmission clear the frame cross member as I drop in the motor/transmission assembly, and will I be able to connect the splined driveshaft as I drop it in? or do I have to take that thrust bracket off the transmission and re-install it after I get the transmission over the cross member and get the driveshaft spline and torque tube fit on? Remember the transmission is hanging on the engine so I'm limited on how I can move it to fit it in.

    I want to avoid moving the rear axle back.

    This is my first experience connecting up to a torque-tube driveshaft.

    Thanks,
    Dave

  2. #2
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    OK - I put the engine and transmission in today. That U-shaped thrust plate (That's what the shop manual named that mounting plate) at the rear of the transmission, I took off and lightly seated the 4 bolts so as not to distort the torque ball cover as the shop manual said not to tighten these bolts without that part in place for that reason. It may have barely cleared over the cross member, but would have made lining the transmission up with the driveshaft splines very difficult, if not impossible, as the driveshaft and it's torque tube were forward about 2 inches farther than they should be. I was stumped by that for awhile until I noticed the rear tires were not centered in the wheel-wells and the coil springs were leaning stretched forward; as the rear axle assembly was too far forward. I must have pulled on the rear end taking the old motor/tranny out - maybe I didn't see the torque tube bolts right away - or maybe the whole mess just moved once the transmission was removed due to the angle of the car with the front wheels on ramps and no transmission to restrict forward movement of the torque tube.

    I was working alone and and had the front wheels up on ramps. I crawled under from the side about 50 times to get the drive shaft splines lined up and into the tranny; with a floor jack under the tranny as I adjusted the cherry picker equalizer bar, the floor jack, and pushed the whole thing farther rearward. I was careful not to bash and dent the torque ball cover. Had to put the tranny in gear and turn the engine a small amount to line up the splines, once I had them touching with some tension.

    Tomorrow, I'll tackle moving the rear axle back where it should be, as I'm a couple inches short of having the motor mounts and that transmission mounting thrust plate back far enough . I'm thinking I can do this with a heavy duty "come-along" and chains or heavy straps between the axle and the rear cross-frame or bumper.

    Feeding the engine and transmission in that way, I also had to remove the starter, as it wouldn't clear the motor mount towers.
    Dave

  3. #3
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    After thinking more about the configuration of the rear suspension last night, I came to the conclusion that the torque tube ending up too far forward is to be expected with the angle I have the car propped at with front wheels on ramps, and transmission removed, so nothing was limiting forward travel of the tube. I'm also thinking the rear axle housing will probably drop back to where it should be (pulling the torque tube with it) if I jack up the rear of the car and put the rear frame on jack stands. Once it warms up a bit today (I'm in Minnesota and it went down to 32 last night) I'll try that, and if it still doesn't come back quite far enough, I'll get out the come-along.
    Dave

  4. #4
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    Per my post above, I put the rear frame of the car on jack-stands high enough to get the wheels off the ground, and the torque tube dropped back farther like I thought it would, and I was able to easily push the engine and transmission assembly back as needed so all the mounts lined up. Most of you may already know how this works, but this was my first experience replacing an engine and transmission with a torque tube driveshaft. Note I never unbolted and moved the rear axle back like I would have had to if I was just taking outthe transmission or clutch.

    A couple notes that may help others:

    1. As I did this, I had the engine suspended with a "cherry picker" engine hoist, and had a floor jack rolling along under the transmission so I could adjust its height. I wedged a one inch steel bar under the torque tube above the center of the "X" frame - this kept it at proper height to line up with the transmission, at a level where the torque ball boot cleared the frame cross-member, preventing damage to the boot.

    2. When aligning the transmission with the driveshaft splines, I used a large screwdriver as a pry tool to move the torque tube horizontally back and forth until it met the transmission - vertical alignment was via the floor jack under the transmission.

    3. Once I had the transmission output shaft touching the driveshaft splines, I had to put the transmission in gear and crank the engine slightly with a wrench on the harmonic balancer bolt to get the splines lined up. Then had to turn the engine again a small amount back to get the bolt holes to line up with the torque tube flange. Then I put it in neutral before putting bolts in so the transmission bolt holes could be further lined up by putting a Phillips screwdriver through the bolt holes. Putting it in and out of gear was done with a 1/2 inch open end wrench on the flats on the gear selector shaft on the side of the transmission.

    4. I removed the U-shaped transmission mounting "thrust plate" per my first question in this string before starting to put the motor/transmission in and was glad I did for clearance. Note the rubber transmission mount and frame cross-member were never removed from the car.

    5. I put gear oil in the transmission before putting it in the car, but planned to wait until I had the transmission output shaft almost up to the driveshaft splines before adding gear oil through the center of the output shaft to the U-joint cavity as the shop manual suggests, so as not to dump it when the transmission started into the car at a downward angle. I put a plastic bag and rubber band over the end of the transmission in case any gear oil found its way out - and some of the gear oil I had put in the regular part of the transmission did find its way to the U-joint cavity and out to the plastic bag as the transmission was tilted. Since gear oil got there, I did not add more to the U-joint once it was level, but after it was all bolted in, I topped off the gear oil via the filler plug to replace what dumped out the back while installing.

    Dave

  5. #5
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    Good Job.. 😉👍🏼

    Jenz
    '38 Special Coupe, pimped 263 cui
    ---- LIFTERS CC GERMANY ----

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