1964 Dart Grüne Hölle Road Course/Track Day/AutoX Project

[slant six]

5/30/20:

It feels like I have reached a milestone today..

First, the Dr. Diff Rear 11.7" Cobra Rear Disk Kit Arrived!
The Drums I had on the rear axle were just place holders anyway, and one wheel cylinder began to leak.

A little bit of pre assembly:

Next and probably more importantly, I finalized the Mounting of the T5 5 speed and verified clutch / TOB operation, lower cross member placement, etc.

I had some issues to contend with, mostly related to the input bearing / Throw out bearing slider / support shaft.

Driveshaft Shop is making a new driveshaft with 1310 U joints up front, and a 1310 / 7260 Conversion Joint at the rear axle.

Here are some Pictures of what I have accomplished:

I tried to use the clutch fork from the 3 speed bellhousing, but the fulcrum is about an inch too close so it makes the geometry wrong.
I wanted to use the link end from the 3 speed fork, (Bottom on the picture) and weld it onto the Overdrive Bell housing Fork that is painted black. If I was putting this in a 67 or Newer A Body , or F body or Truck etc. I probably would not need to do this Modification.

Cut the end off the OD Bellhousing Fork..

Cut the gland end off the other fork and match it up.

Little bit of hot glue for mock up...

Mock up reveals that the Rod is not perpendicular.. That geometry will not be happy... will need to cut another 3/8" out and mock it again.

This mockup is much better, Time to break out the hot glue gun.

Finished part at the correct length for this Chassis and Z bar configuration!

More Mock up revealed that the TOB will not be able to move back far enough toward the input bearing with the pressure plate cover that I will be using :-( Time to take it apart and get that aluminum turned down in the lathe.

In this trans's OE application there would have been a Hydro TOB and a much lower pressure plate, So I need to remove about 1/2" of that aluminum so the TOB can slide back a bit more.

 

[slant six]

5/30/20 continued:

Here is the part after removing 1/2" of that aluminum that is around the pressed in steel TOB support.

After putting the Trans back inI found that the Front of the TOB support was hitting the clutch itself. Here is the 2000 Mustang V6 Bearing support on the Right compared to the same part from an 88 Ford 4 cylinder T5... At first I thought I could just swap the bearing supports and be done, but they are different with different bearings.. so back to the lathe to take 1/4" off the front of that steel tube on the V6 Part.... Man I am glad I at least have a junky lathe for this project.

Here is the finished part... Steel tube 1/4" shorter, also with a little bit of clearancing at ~ the 2" mark of the aluminum so that the clutch fork does not hang up on the "backstop" for the OE Hydro TOB.

Began to weld in my "clearance windows" in the upper cross member... So far no rubbing, bumping that I can see.

This is a promising picture. The new 5 speed is home.
Once I get that upper X member Burned in and the driveshaft I can crank up the Torsion Bars again and do a test Hit.... :-o

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/5/20:

Some More Parts Arrived today!

OH YEAH!

I picked up the driveshaft to mate the T5 to the Rear end as well!


Greg

 

[slant six]

6/6/20:

Got it somewhat together..
Upper x member is done.

Tacked some sheetmetal in the tunnel. Painted underneath.

Filled the trans with fluid.

Drove from the garage to home.

Everything works 'cept Speedo.. that will get figured out later.

Makin progress!

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/7/20:

After getting the clutch adjusted, I went on a 25 mile loop.
Everything was good, Trans is a bit noisy but I suppose thats typical from an unknown mileage essentially junkyard T5. I can get a rebuild kit for it later or get a z spec trans at some point.

Also have a few holes in the floor at this point and no interior so that can allow some noise in too. That aluminum flywheel is sweet and it seems that Falcon did a great job on the clutch and pressure plate.



Next on the List...

- Finish the Floor / Get a presentable Shifter Boot, Cut a Hole in the carpet.
- Change the Rear Gear Chunk to the 3.91 Trutrac Unit - While I have the Axles out and the Drum Brakes mostly removed It would be a fine time to put the Rear Disc Setup on.
- Install 13" Front Baer Brakes.
- Relocate Battery to Trunk
- Prep and Install lighweight Hood
- I am sure there's more but I cant think of it all right now.

Pics from some of the work that was done:
I finalized the clutch Linkage setup... This involved making sure the Z bar Mount placed the Z bar in the correct plane.. So I had to reclock the Ball stud that mounts onto the Bell housing to accomplish this.

Here is a shot of the Additional material I added to get the Ball stud studly and sturdy.

Here is the The New Driveshaft. Uses a 28 Spline 1310 Slip yoke and 1310 x 1310 U Joint up front and a 1310 x 7260 (small Mopar 2 1/8") Yoke Flange on the rear Axle.

Recycled Bits of Upper X Member Going In a Bit Higher now...

Had Some 1/8" Plate lying around that i cut up to fill the ~2.5" Space.

I have some more pattern Making to do to fill in the gaps.

The Cell Buckle on the steering wheel functions as my speedometer for now. I put the phone in there with the Speedometer app, until I can get something more real worked out.

Till Next Time,

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/9/20:

Got some Patterns Made for enclosing the Trans tunnel, and I am repurposing an old / Broken Hurst Shifter Handle for the T5 with some Collars and longer bolts from the hardware store.

Most of the Right Side Of the Trans Tunnel is done... about 2 Hours of welding little dots on the sheet metal.

Pictorial:
Made a bunch of templates on manila Folder Parts... Transferred to sheet metal then cut out.

Right Side Mostly Done.

Left Side Needs more metal added.

Hollow Collars and longer 8mm Bolts allow for Left Side Shifter Offset about 1" towards the driver.

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/9/20:

Got some Patterns Made for enclosing the Trans tunnel, and I am repurposing an old / Broken Hurst Shifter Handle for the T5 with some Collars and longer bolts from the hardware store.

Most of the Right Side Of the Trans Tunnel is done... about 2 Hours of welding little dots on the sheet metal.

Pictorial:
Made a bunch of templates on manila Folder Parts... Transferred to sheet metal then cut out.

Right Side Mostly Done.

Left Side Needs more metal added.

Hollow Collars and longer 8mm Bolts allow for Left Side Shifter Offset about 1" towards the driver.

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/12/20:


I finished the Trans Tunnel, Got it All welded up. Also Made an access plate to change the shifter from the top if/when needed. Reinstalled most of the interior and trimmed the Carpet to fit the shifter handle.
Got a Farilane / Cobra Galaxie shifter boot and bezel that I think looks alright. Waiting on a new shifter ball then probably will blast and Paint the shifter handle as now it's rusty mess.


Pics:
Tunnel Compete, Top cover is retained with 6 screws for shifter service.

Interior Reinstalled:
I have a Plan to replace the Stock Seats sometime.

I think the next Jobs will be gettin' the Good Brakes on and Battery Relocation.
Hey, Maybe I should build an engine for it too? Still Rocking the vicioussssss 1 bbl, stock cam, stock head and Points ignition.

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/17/20:

Over the weekend, Lou cam up from Blacksburg VA and we did some Auto X together at an airstrip about 5 miles from my house.

We also got the Rear Disc Kit installed, Bled sorted, as well as the 3.91 with a Eaton Trutrac Center section installed in the 8 3/4 Rear Axle.

Everything went smoothly, however now the 3.91's don't necessarily play well with the stock wheezy 1 bbl, stock head, stock exhaust etc.

Bye Bye Drums... You may get used again on a Big bolt pattern swap or something, but to the attic you go!

11.7" Rear Discs in place:

Lou was on hand to help with the heavy lifting and install.. Thanks a a bunch.

Looking a but' tangy... Mustang that is.

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/24/20:

I was Working on Adding some slowness.

Going from 10.87 Single Piston MoPar Discs and Calipers to 13" Baer 6 Piston Calipers.

Gotta Get the Other side installed and Then Hoses Connected and then Bled.

Greg

 

[slant six]

6/28/20:

I got a bunch of small things done over the weekend;
In no particular order..
- Went through the distributor.. Found that It was a "Re manufactured" unit... the Advance Cans seem to be busted in the remaned units. It was in this one. The Advance springs were trash too. The Slots in the Remaned unit did have the 0.400" slots so it limits the centrifugal advance to about 20°.

- I recurved the Dist with Charles' Spring Kit, and Found a working Advance Can on one of my distributors in the parts pile. It was an early 60's unit and it had the DpCiD stamped on the Diecast. Amazing how a ~60 Part still works and the "new" Overseas garbage failed almost instantly.
- Also Installed a pertronix Ignitor II and Corresponding Coil.
- Did the Fuel Line Mod
- Installed a Tach with Sfift Lite. (setting the shift lite at 4200 RPM is Hilarious).
- Re-Bled the Front Calipers
- Might Have a Leaky Master Cylinder - New one is on order.
- Polished some more Stainless Trim.
- Removed the Dingus End of the Old 3 on the Tree Shifter and Replaced it with a Smooth Can on the steering column.

I Plan to do the Autox At the Carlisle Show in 2 weeks... should be a blast and Hopefully I don't have any issues with the Smalish not deep, not baffled stock Oil Pan.

Pics:
New Rev counter helps keep track of that screaming 1 barrel all the way up to 4,500 RPM's!!

No More 3 Speed Shifter Bits here...

Greg

 

[slant six]

7/1/20:

Replaced the Parts Store Aspen/ Volare Master Cylinder with essentially the same unit from Strange Engineering. Hopefully better build quality and longevity than the 1.25 Years I got out of the parts store unit.. the Front circuit on the Master started leaking into the side of the firewall etc.

I took it out for a drive and wow! A properly functioning master cylinder with those 6 piston discs up front will throw your fillings through the windshield
- I had some severe front lockup on heavy braking on dry pavement so 3 turns of the prop. valve to send Bias to the rear fixed that!


Braking now seems fierce, balanced and linear.

Greg

 

[slant six]

7/9/20:

Drove ~180 miles from my place to the Cumberland valley for the Carlisle weekend.

Found a nice route that bypassed interstates

Did drive over 3 mountain passes.. descending @70 mph.

Brakes are skookum as frig.

Ready for AutoX tomorrow!

Greg

 

[DionR]

Wait! What happens next?!

Does the hippo see them? Is the poor mute cebu successful in communicating the imminent danger to the other passengers?! Is the boy injured?!? Why is the sad cebu sad?!? Is the canoe wood or aluminum?!?!

You can't just start a song and then just leave it hanging like that! You know, I've come to expect a lot more from you. This is quite disappointing. I'm going to have to speak to Bob about this.

 

[DionR]

Cool build, saw it over on .org but lost track and haven't seen updates.

 

[slant six]

7/12/20:

Back From The Inaugural Weekend and It Didn't Disappoint

Just Got back from the Carlisle Chrysler Show, and I feel like I had a pretty Epic Weekend.

Did the usual stuff, swap meet, bought parts, looked at cars, Wore a mask to keep the pandemic away....

But I also Did the AutoX (Carlisle calls it the Real Street Shootout) Car did well. Everything stayed together and was faster than some cars but slower than others. Had a Fuel starvation issue (I suspect on the Tight Corners the jet must get uncovered).. but Kept enough Earl in the bottom of the pan to not have an engine grenade with a stock pan.

Some other Highlights:
Drove ~ 670 Miles this weekend with hardly any interstates. >90% State and US Routes. Took a few friends up the Mountains and back.

This is the most fun I have ever had with a 1 Bbl equipped car.
as James says..... It needs Mo Powa Babeh!


Sunday Morning we came up with our own Little 90 Mile Rally Route and Went over the mountains 4 times.
Awesome Test Weekend.

Here's the proof:
In the Grid for the autoX:

Some Footage of the Car avoiding cones.. The thing is slow, but fun!


Then, Ryan, David and I went for a tour of the mountains:

We got out of the heavily populated areas during our motor tour.

Arrived Back at our meetup point; Ryan's Shop.

Some windshield shots on the way..

Greg

 

[slant six]

7/25/20:

I have really been enjoying the Car lately... Went to the Bike trail on friday. 2 large mountain bikes can be fit in the trunk with some disassembly.

Also went to a drive in theater last night.
Took the girls and had a blast!
Brought an old school boom box along 'cause there is no Radio or speakers in Grüne Hölle.

Greg

 

[slant six]

8/10/20:

Battery Is Moving to the back.

Making a Large, Low Battery Box that will fit a Group 24 Battery In the rear... hope to Get a smaller Braille or Odyssey Or equivalent $ometime.

Started some Fab Work on it today. Need some more Sheet Metal to complete the Box.

Hope to have it all burned in tomorrow... then run the Wire to the Starter.

Greg

 

[slant six]

8/11/20:

More Battery Work Getting Done.. Hope to have everything wrapped up tomorrow.. I still need to Run the Positive Cable to the front and figure out some Grommeting and Pass throughs into the Passenger compartment. Will do a partial Interior Disassembly, Including Passenger seat and Rear seat Removal.

Today I got the Box Burned in, Painted and Some of the Cable Grommeting and Runs Figured out. Also Added the master disconnect switch at the rear.

Here is the Box fully Welded up.. Test Fitting in Chassis. Needed to Nip a Bit of the Bottom of the quarter panel to get things to fit.

Sticks out / Down just a bit..

Got it Burned in / Ground Down.. Just needs some paint.

Painted..

Here's some More Trash That I will be removing from the front end.

Greg

 

[slant six]

8/13/20:

Got the Battery Box All tidy'd up, Cables run and the Master Disconnect Installed as well. Still need to wire the Alternator to the Master disconnect switch so that when the switch is turned off it actually shuts off the engine / ignition when the car is running.

Reason for doing all of this is so that I can preserve the cavernous trunk space on the early Darts... Will be able to have it all back when I use a smaller form factor battery.

Hold Down Hardware installed.... Skookum.

Clean master switch install..

Ran the cable up through the passenger compartment and one grommet through the firewall to the Starter.

Will fix this swiss cheese and also remove some brackets and weight later.

Greg

 

[slant six]

8/22/20:

I had the Original Z Bar Break on me Sunday... And Of course I was registered for an Autocross Tomorrow..


So Some Quick thinking and parts sleuthing in my attic.. Got it all fixed. Not Like I can go to the parts store or even scrap yard and ask for a z bar for a Chrysler A body..

Had to confirm that it worked well.. so 350 Mile trip to Ohio and back yesterday... So far so good.

Also had to get Numbered up..

So Everything should be good. Need to get leaving Early tomorrow for a nice drive over the Mountains to get to the AutoX site.
This will be the first SCCA actual AutoX event for Grüne Hölle... Last Month's Carlisle thing was just a warm up.. and I found some fuel starvation Issues on tight turns with the mighty 1 Bbl Carb that I have hopefully sorted with a proper rebuild and setting the float level correctly.


Greg

 

[slant six]

8/23/20:

Today was a good Day.

Got to take a nice 2 hour Drive over the mountains to the AutoX site.

Got 6 runs in.. Nothing broke or blew up.
Went off course first 2 laps, Then got it figured out. As the Car got hotter and I pushed harder it slowed down due to the Fuel Starvation on RH. Turns. I believe the Carter BBS 1 Bbl only has one Jet / Metering Rod and it's on the Right side of the Carb... I will look into that this week.

The Carter Designers should have really took this whole AutoX thing into account when they were designing their BBS 1 barrel carb in the 1950's

I think I might try putting a baffle in the float bowl and also raising the float a but more too.

The CPR Region of the SCCA did a fantastic job organizing the event and I have 160 or so Photos of the car too!..
So for the car's First official AutoX Event I am happy. It wasn't the slowest thing there and it seemed to handle well for what it is.

Results:
Final Raw Time Results

Some shots..
On the Drive up..

In the paddock:

The Club took great photos!
Here are some:

'Till Next time!

Greg

 

[mpgmike]

Your tranny work makes my struggles converting my Jeep GC to 5-speed look easy. Lots of careful engineering there, great work!

 

[slant six]

Your tranny work makes my struggles converting my Jeep GC to 5-speed look easy. Lots of careful engineering there, great work!

Thanks! Did you do install an NV 4500?

Greg

 

[mpgmike]

No, NV3500 out of a '99 (I think, I bought it already removed). It has Cherokee, Wrangler, and Dakota parts cobbled together with a custom set of driveshafts.