It's just some fluid passages and restrict this, open that. Don't worry. If you mess it up, you can always take it out and redo it.
Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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- Mar 7, 2002
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I think like that sometimes... and I turn wrenches for a living.
Then I snap out of it. That's what my daily driver is for. That's why it's mods are wheels, tires, a backup camera, and upgraded subwoofer, a deleted resonator, deleted running boards, and a radio with bluetooth and DVD.
I don't need a faster, but less capable, daily driver to make payments on while doing piddly little bolt-ons.
I need something stupid to play with. Something that makes no goddamned sense, to do even stupider things to, and so do you.
And between the two of you, what you’re saying is that the car i’m fcking with is somehow “ Not stupid” and something that actually makes “goddamned sense”?
Im curious to see what you think I need as an outlet to offset the day-to-day monotony of a jap engined, GM trans-ed hodgepodge of homemade sht.
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No, I'm saying that you need something that makes no sense, and that the Fairmont with the 2JZ/4L80 swap is that thing.
Mine's apparently an overdressed Pinto with an underappreciated Lincoln engine and an un-loved Mustang transmission in it's near future. (Which is your fault, by the way.)
If I'd say anything (which I really wasn't, I was just agreeing with that statement), it'd be you do you. If I can offer anything productive I generally will. If I can't, I won't. So my opinion as to whether or not your "hodgepodge of homemade sht" is stupid or not is irrelevant.
This is the kind of thing we enjoy doing not because it's easy, but because it challenges us. Some people climb mountains, some jump out of planes, some solve complex problems, we tinker, modify, and customize things to our liking. And that thirst is never satisfied which is why project cars are never "done." If it weren't for that challenge, I'm sure there'd be something else to occupy your mind and time.
This picture always seems to come to mind about our "condition."
If it keeps you off of the streets at night then it makes total sense.
It gives 3AMD something to do.
Two birds with one stone.
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That's the child that was born in the "Cars" universe after Mater had a threesome with an Oldsmobile Alero and a Pontiac Grand Am.What happens when they don't:
One last look before I bury the mess under a filter, and the pan..
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Well,....let me count how many ways to fcked town up this whole transmission menagerie is.
1. After removing the 4r70, and expecting to find tell-tale jug-phuckery behind that converter revealed........nothing. No loose bolts, no evidence of any rotating interference, nothing. yet there was a vibration,...and there definitely was a terrible racket..probably something in the transmission internally,..I don’t have a clue.
And i ain’t gonna look for it either.
2. That GM sht ain’t gonna fit.
There are 3 possible solutions to changing that, none of which are easy.
a. I move the engine forward an inch.
b. I lower the engine.
c. I cut the top of tunnel.....off.
Moving the engine in any direction forces a re-do of everything...water, oil, hot side, and cold side, all that sht has to be modified.
I can’t lower the engine far enough to make a difference without also lowering the rack...and then dealing with potential bump steer as a result.
Cutting the tunnel with the engine will be a pain in the dick. The cut line will be so close to the back of the engine it’ll be a full on screaming WTF trying to get some kind of cutting tool in there to do that,...and it’ll have to be done from under the car,..in the tunnel. And...there are wires ( a bunch) and a water line passing through the tunnel.
Im not too keen on moving the engine forward..that hardly makes any sense if I give one rats red bunion hole about handling. Which I do. I care exactly “One“ rats red bunion hole about performance handling.
Additionally, there will be some day in the future....because it’s just the plate of slop my luck is...There will be a day that for some reason or another, whether it’s by choice or not...I’m gonna have to pull that transmission.
So,..When considering all of the things I’ve gotta consider...
This is the plan.
The wires are back in the car, the water line is disconnected. The insanity is that the whole floor is covered in Stinger road kill.
If I use a sawzall, the cut line will be all kinds of wonky, and there’s always the chance that that blade is fcking up sht on the back side while you’re hacking away. A cut off wheel will be tough to get close to the back of the engine, and that fcking thing will be throwing all kinds of sparks under the dash..just doing its damnedest to see if I can’t start a full on 5 alarm fire in the car, and burn the whole damn house down at the same time..And as a cherry on top, all of that sound deadener will be melting and gooing up the blade as i go.
All of this is Thursday’s work...I have till then to decide..
1. After removing the 4r70, and expecting to find tell-tale jug-phuckery behind that converter revealed........nothing. No loose bolts, no evidence of any rotating interference, nothing. yet there was a vibration,...and there definitely was a terrible racket..probably something in the transmission internally,..I don’t have a clue.
And i ain’t gonna look for it either.
2. That GM sht ain’t gonna fit.
There are 3 possible solutions to changing that, none of which are easy.
a. I move the engine forward an inch.
b. I lower the engine.
c. I cut the top of tunnel.....off.
Moving the engine in any direction forces a re-do of everything...water, oil, hot side, and cold side, all that sht has to be modified.
I can’t lower the engine far enough to make a difference without also lowering the rack...and then dealing with potential bump steer as a result.
Cutting the tunnel with the engine will be a pain in the dick. The cut line will be so close to the back of the engine it’ll be a full on screaming WTF trying to get some kind of cutting tool in there to do that,...and it’ll have to be done from under the car,..in the tunnel. And...there are wires ( a bunch) and a water line passing through the tunnel.
Im not too keen on moving the engine forward..that hardly makes any sense if I give one rats red bunion hole about handling. Which I do. I care exactly “One“ rats red bunion hole about performance handling.
Additionally, there will be some day in the future....because it’s just the plate of slop my luck is...There will be a day that for some reason or another, whether it’s by choice or not...I’m gonna have to pull that transmission.
So,..When considering all of the things I’ve gotta consider...
This is the plan.
The wires are back in the car, the water line is disconnected. The insanity is that the whole floor is covered in Stinger road kill.
If I use a sawzall, the cut line will be all kinds of wonky, and there’s always the chance that that blade is fcking up sht on the back side while you’re hacking away. A cut off wheel will be tough to get close to the back of the engine, and that fcking thing will be throwing all kinds of sparks under the dash..just doing its damnedest to see if I can’t start a full on 5 alarm fire in the car, and burn the whole damn house down at the same time..And as a cherry on top, all of that sound deadener will be melting and gooing up the blade as i go.
All of this is Thursday’s work...I have till then to decide..
And furthermore..
I gotta cut up that 4l80e. There are parts that hang the hell off that thing that don’t do nothing except get in the way..So when hacking on Thursday...we‘re hacking that transmission too.. Permanently marrying it to the monster.
I gotta cut up that 4l80e. There are parts that hang the hell off that thing that don’t do nothing except get in the way..So when hacking on Thursday...we‘re hacking that transmission too.. Permanently marrying it to the monster.
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Take a box cutter to the sound deadening material first and cut it at least 3/8-1/2" further back than you need to use the cut-off wheel. That'll buy you room, keep it from melting, and allow for cleaner cuts. Throw a fiberglass welding blanket under the dash (they're cheap) to protect the wiring and electronics while you're cutting. Sparks won't hurt it one bit, it takes more heat than a cutoff wheel produces to hurt it, and you can simply shake the metal dust out of it later (don't forget to engage safety squints!) and fold it up and put it away for next time.
So, no burnouts by next weekend? Is that what I am hearing you say? 
BTW, it was hotter than Satan's a$$ today, so I got to thinking about my fuel system. I went back to your fabulous TOC (table of contents) and looked at your fuel system. So you used 1/2 aluminum hard line for feed and return? Then nylon or SS braided line to the pump/tank and to the reg/fuel rails? I'm thinking (for now) staying stock 99 fuel tank. I was wondering, what's the NHRA stance on nylon braided line? And I guess Summit/Jegs fittings are a step above the Ebay/Amazon chit?
My brother sold his house in 2 days and now I have all my chit back that I was glad to take to his house and not have to store....like my cherry picker and another engine stand. So if the surface of the sun ever cools off, it's time to yank the 5.0 and get to test fitting the 2.3 and hacking up some bracketry and cold side.
BTW, it was hotter than Satan's a$$ today, so I got to thinking about my fuel system. I went back to your fabulous TOC (table of contents) and looked at your fuel system. So you used 1/2 aluminum hard line for feed and return? Then nylon or SS braided line to the pump/tank and to the reg/fuel rails? I'm thinking (for now) staying stock 99 fuel tank. I was wondering, what's the NHRA stance on nylon braided line? And I guess Summit/Jegs fittings are a step above the Ebay/Amazon chit?
My brother sold his house in 2 days and now I have all my chit back that I was glad to take to his house and not have to store....like my cherry picker and another engine stand. So if the surface of the sun ever cools off, it's time to yank the 5.0 and get to test fitting the 2.3 and hacking up some bracketry and cold side.
Its the Trans crossmember, Mike. If you decide to put in the LMR Modular Spacer or Maximum Motorsports 1/2" K-member spacers for 79 to 04's
in the front and some kinda THM 400 style extended back x member, then you'll just have to knock a little of the area where the electric plugs go.
Four things before the finger.
1. K member goes down.
2. Trans X member goes back,
3. and your gonna have to change the rag joint with an extension.
4. Then a little MC Hammer time.
The basics just need some tab and armidillo casting spikes removed. El $$ Duo types have been doing it since the early 00'tees.
in the front and some kinda THM 400 style extended back x member, then you'll just have to knock a little of the area where the electric plugs go.
Four things before the finger.
1. K member goes down.
2. Trans X member goes back,
3. and your gonna have to change the rag joint with an extension.
4. Then a little MC Hammer time.
The basics just need some tab and armidillo casting spikes removed. El $$ Duo types have been doing it since the early 00'tees.
That isn’t just a pic of a 4l80e under a Fox Dean, it’s a picture of a 4l80e under a fox with an LS engine in front of it. That engine is way farther forward than I’ll be able to allow for. One of those pics actually shows where the tunnel turns up and reveals the firewall, and the front of the trans is still forward of there. I do not want to space the K member down, that’ll put that much more of a gap between the top of the tires, and the bottom of the fender.The factory rear trans mount bracketry was cut away along time ago when I first built this thing, so anything I do will have to have a custom mount added to it anyway.Its the Trans crossmember, Mike. If you decide to put in the LMR Modular Spacer or Maximum Motorsports 1/2" K-member spacers for 79 to 04's
in the front and some kinda THM 400 style extended back x member, then you'll just have to knock a little of the area where the electric plugs go.
Four things before the finger.
1. K member goes down.
2. Trans X member goes back,
3. and your gonna have to change the rag joint with an extension.
4. Then a little MC Hammer time.
The basics just need some tab and armidillo casting spikes removed. El $$ Duo types have been doing it since the early 00'tees.
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