almost a year of updates:
too many pops and bangs blew my muffler off
2003 Mercedes ML500 is my tow vehicle lol got the truck home on a 10 1/2 hour round trip to pick up the parts truck
new flow master muffler installed
I think i have finally found a clutch solution. after being denied by at least 4 "custom" clutch/flywheel manufactures that its not some thing they could or would do i had given up and came to the realization that i was gonna have to make my own flywheel. so i started looking at different 2 disc setups to see what would work best and be easiest for my limited machining skills. i came across a quartermaster 7.25" dual disc for an RX7 turbo that is rated at a ridiculous 1000ftlbs of torque. i found it on website called Mazdatrix that specializes in performance RX-7s and RX-8s and has custom flywheels listed so i gave them a call. i talked to a guy names Dave that was very knowledgeable about the clutches and flywheels they have listed and referred me to the guy that designed and makes their flywheels at Aasco Motorsports in southern California. After about 20 mins on the phone he had enough info to say that he could definitely make the flywheel i needed. The downside is that its gonna take a month or two to make but its only cost me $700-$800 for a one off flywheel built to the exact specs so i wont need a flywheel spacer, made out of steel, and have the recess and holes drilled to accept 7.25" inserts to avoid ever having to machine the flywheel when i replace the clutch in the future. im trying not to get too excited before i have the parts in front of me but its looking very promising. Not thrilled at shelling out almost another $2000 for a clutch and flywheel but considering its a one off custom application that will hold more torque than ill ever come close to making im happy.
Making more progress. unfortunately the truck will be down for a month or so until the new flywheel is built and returned with the dual disc rx7 rally clutch. while its down I have some work to do. I pulled the fenders and started with rust treatment on the cab, I changed the HVAC intake from engine bay to the fender, I'm still working on making a cabin filter that goes in the fender to keep crap from blowing in my eyes with the a/c on.
finally got my clutch!!!!!!! it arrived yesterday, got the tranny back in today, gonna finish it up and get it running in the morning so i can see how god awful its gonna be to drive this thing. nothing like a $150 engine sporting an almost $2000 clutch
I can't thank Vince at Aasco Motorsports enough for all the time and effort that went into designing and machining this beautiful piece of awesomeness.
Reworked my brake and clutch pedals for a little bit higher leverage ratio. clutch now feels great with no more stalling on take off. brake pedal got about 2" longer and I had to massage the wheel well for clearance of the longer clutch pedal.
I also found a fix for a problem no one else seems to have. I'm not a fan of AN fittings cause they require harder to find materials and tools to make the lines and don't looks as clean to me as nicely bent steel lines. The problem I ran into was that the clutchmasters FCV-2000 flow control valve only comes with a -3AN fittings. The threads in the valve itself are 3/8-24. I couldn't find anyplace that makes a 3/8-24 to a metric bubble flare m10-1.0 standard fitting that will match every other brake/clutch line in my truck. I was being told by everyone, including clutchmasters, that the only way was to get the -3AN to metric bubble flare adapter and use a -3AN to -3AN coupler making the valve twice as long and adding extra potential point for the system to leak. while on hold with a local hydraulics company to see if they had a solution I was playing with the valve and fittings and accidentally screwed the fitting in backwards. Turns out a -3AN has 3/8-24 threads. So I picked a pair of -3AN to bubble flare adapters, put them in the lathe at work, and cut them to the exact dimensions as the original fitting. I'm not sure that was even necessary but I have access to a lathe and it took a few mins each.
The race truck is getting a bigger radiator and fitted for A/C this weekend.
new bigger radiator is installed, a/c condenser is installed. I had to make some hose adapters cause the engine is 1.25" hoses and the upper on the radiator is 1.5" and the lower is 1.75"
size difference. new on left
condenser mounted with foam and fan mounts
i had to cut out the existing mounts and make new upper and lower mounts. there's a cross brace on the lower mount to protect the radiator
the pile of hoses and the adapters needed to make them fit
I had to build my own bump steer kit cause no one has one in stock and I didn't want to wait until mid July for one to get shipped to me. ball joint studs from speedway, 3/4 Heim joints from speedway, misalignment spacers from Ruff stuff 4x4 shop, grade 8 bolts from ace hardware. even after buying a tap it was still cheaper than a complete kit.
Picked up some Cobra wheels 17x9s 245/40/17s up front and 17x10.5s 275/40/17s in the back. The fronts fit perfectly after i took the sway bar out. it was hitting the oversized tie rod ends and needed to be reworked anyways, the rears may need some flares or something cause they stick out really far.
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Topic: making my 73 ford courier go fast, turn, and stop (Read 83114 times)