Keisler 5-speed conversion on Early A-body: Install has begun
I thought I would update this thread since I now have the tranny installed and the car has moved under it's own power for the first time in over a year now.
After all the major modification were done I had the experience of installing the hydraulic slave master cylinder. It is very simple to install but there are a few things to look out for in the early a-body.
First, make sure that you secure the braided hydraulic hose onto the slave before bolting it completely in place. It is very difficult to get a wrench in the tight spaces once the engine is installed. The tti headers make it even tighter.
You can mount the reservoir with the bracket that Keisler supplies but it is designed for the 4 bolt master cylinders. This bracket will hit the stock voltage regulator, so I had to shave a little off the bracket. I have seen some people mount the reservoir to the inner fender but the bracket makes it look very clean.
Inside the car you must tap out the original pushrod mounting post and install the supplied shoulder bolt in its place. There is an adjustable rod from the slave cylinder that connects to shoulder bolt. Mine had to be shortened. Once all this is in place you are ready to bleed the system.
This is were I ran into a slight problem. The system was air locked and I could not get a firm pedal no matter how many times I depressed the clutch-held 2 sec- released - and repeat 50 times. I was frustrated to say the least. My setup did not come with a bleeder valve. The newer kits do as far as I know. My suggestion is to invest in a mightvac. I managed to get a syringe and forced fluid into the system from the top of the reservoir with the clutch pedal held down. It was just enough some fluid into the master cylinder bore and get the process started. The I bled it per the instructions. Depress clutch-hold 2 sec-release-repeat until no more air bubbles come up into the reservoir. It now feels like a normal clutch.
I also suggest getting the non-synthetic Wilwood 600+ hydraulic fluid if you are running headers. It can be bought from Summit Racing or a Wilwood distributor. About $18 a quart.
Here are pictures of the hydraulic slave master cylinder, reservoir and pedals. I don't have the front bench seat in the car yet or the carpet. The shifter ball sits right next to your thigh in the perfect spot IMO. I will update this thread again when I do my first burnout. :thumblef:
I thought I would update this thread since I now have the tranny installed and the car has moved under it's own power for the first time in over a year now.
After all the major modification were done I had the experience of installing the hydraulic slave master cylinder. It is very simple to install but there are a few things to look out for in the early a-body.
First, make sure that you secure the braided hydraulic hose onto the slave before bolting it completely in place. It is very difficult to get a wrench in the tight spaces once the engine is installed. The tti headers make it even tighter.
You can mount the reservoir with the bracket that Keisler supplies but it is designed for the 4 bolt master cylinders. This bracket will hit the stock voltage regulator, so I had to shave a little off the bracket. I have seen some people mount the reservoir to the inner fender but the bracket makes it look very clean.
Inside the car you must tap out the original pushrod mounting post and install the supplied shoulder bolt in its place. There is an adjustable rod from the slave cylinder that connects to shoulder bolt. Mine had to be shortened. Once all this is in place you are ready to bleed the system.
This is were I ran into a slight problem. The system was air locked and I could not get a firm pedal no matter how many times I depressed the clutch-held 2 sec- released - and repeat 50 times. I was frustrated to say the least. My setup did not come with a bleeder valve. The newer kits do as far as I know. My suggestion is to invest in a mightvac. I managed to get a syringe and forced fluid into the system from the top of the reservoir with the clutch pedal held down. It was just enough some fluid into the master cylinder bore and get the process started. The I bled it per the instructions. Depress clutch-hold 2 sec-release-repeat until no more air bubbles come up into the reservoir. It now feels like a normal clutch.
I also suggest getting the non-synthetic Wilwood 600+ hydraulic fluid if you are running headers. It can be bought from Summit Racing or a Wilwood distributor. About $18 a quart.
Here are pictures of the hydraulic slave master cylinder, reservoir and pedals. I don't have the front bench seat in the car yet or the carpet. The shifter ball sits right next to your thigh in the perfect spot IMO. I will update this thread again when I do my first burnout. :thumblef: