Putting A Race 5 Speed Into A Streetcar, Step By Step...

90lxcoupe · Jul 23, 2015

Figured i would post this up here, put it out on another forum and realized i really havent posted any progress of the car since my old photosharing site took a dump and my links are bad. I am finishing up my solution for not putting a automatic in the car, and breaking tremecs, it just needs some more sound deadener and the carpet installed and it will be complete. The trans is a liberty LSC5100.

This was the first cut, tried to take as little as possible out of it and not get too carried away.

Cut the hole for just the shifter assembly, then bolted the shifter in to see where i had to make room for the linkages.

Completed hole in the tunnel

With the tunnel done, i had to adapt the trans to the crossmember. These transmissions use a pretty narrow bolt pattern, and finding a poly mount was proving to be pretty difficult. I also needed some kind of spacer to take up the gap from the transmission mounting pad being higher than a factory transmission, so i went into CAD, and designed a adapter that would bolt to the transmission, and accept a factory mustang poly transmission mount, so that it would be easy to replace down the road if needed. The thickness of the spacer also set the driveline angle. I had two thicknesses machined up and ended up using the thinner one.

The clutch setup will be a Ace powerforce, with help from Cale Aronson and Bruce Hemminger, i think this thing is going to work very well. I have the option to run it as a single disc or a dual, right now it is set up as a single.

Now for the tricky part, getting the interior back in it without losing my street car stuff. It was a bunch of sitting and staring at the car before i did anything, so by the time it was ready to have the tunnel made i had a good idea of how i thought it should be done.

Started with a old beat up console i had, and just started cutting

I sent the car to the bodyshop that painted the car, Custom Coach Works in Springfield, MA. They finished up the tunnel and trimmed up the good console. Chris really killed it on this one. It came out exactly how i had pictured it in my head.

Started out by welding a plate to the factory shifter hole, this was done so that the top shifter cover could be removed without without taking out the center console.

Here is a shot of the side cover

We finished things off with a Joes Racing shifter boot to try and keep as much heat out as possible, the boot is made from nomex and is reflective on the inside so i think that should help out a bunch, it is attached by 7 of the 8 buttons on the boot, that are riveted to the floor structure. It fits this application very well, it is just a little bit small so thats why we couldnt get the last button to snap. Looks right at home though.

Here is the console trimmed up, radio delete plate is just temporary, there was extra plastic so they got carried away. Need my tunes in the streetcar haha.

So when i got the car home, one of the first things i did was see how difficult it was going to be to get the shifter in and out of the car, the answer to this, pretty damn easy. All that needs to be done is taking off the original shift boot plastic trim, take the top plate off of the tunnel, and remove the linkages and two bolts from the shifter, everything comes right up thru the top hole without having to remove the console or side cover, which is a relief because originally i thought that half the interior of the car was going to have to come out to remove the trans. I think transmission swaps will be easier than with a tremec with this setup.

All in all, i am very happy with the end results.

A5literMan · Jul 23, 2015

Very cool.

CarMichael Angelo · Jul 23, 2015

Ok, First I'll say that I like their solution to making that external shifter fit the side of the tunnel. Reminds me of what we used to have to do to accommodate a Hurst Supershifter. Only the work they did was way better than the solution we came up w/ back in the day.
Isn't that liberty a straight cut gear, no syncro kinda deal?
How is driving that dude gonna be very pleasant when you gotta yank it into each gear just to go to Publix for diapers?

90lxcoupe · Jul 23, 2015

It is a straight cut faceplatted box, the faceplates i am used to, been driving one on the street for years, the shifter isnt bad to pull gears, if you double clutch it or let the rpms come down a little it doesnt make any more noise than a faceplatted tko. The straight cut gears on the other hand sounded like a 8-71 in the tunnel, but that was also with the hole in the side. It didnt seem as bad with the tunnel in and once i get carpet and sound deadener im confident that it will be ok. I have a friend from dragweek that has two of these with h patterns that he drives everywhere.

madmike1157 said:
Ok, First I'll say that I like their solution to making that external shifter fit the side of the tunnel. Reminds me of what we used to have to do to accommodate a Hurst Supershifter. Only the work they did was way better than the solution we came up w/ back in the day.
Isn't that liberty a straight cut gear, no syncro kinda deal?
How is driving that dude gonna be very pleasant when you gotta yank it into each gear just to go to Publix for diapers?

hoopty5.0 · Jul 24, 2015

I looked that trans up on the website. Wow.

90lxcoupe · Jul 24, 2015

Yes, i put a deposit on it, worked a bunch of OT, and made payments. Sadly, i have almost as much money into fixing 2 tremecs with broken 3rd gears than into this transmission. The nice thing about this trans is that gears 1-4 are all independently replaceable and the ratios are fully customizeable so if i go to the track and find i need some tweaking in the ratios, it is no problem, and cheaper to fix if i nip a tooth off of a gear.

With the TKO it got to the point that there was no room for error, if the clutch setup was off or i had to peddle the car that would almost guarantee breakage.

hoopty5.0 · Jul 24, 2015

What are you making now, somewhere around 700? I followed your page DW page on FB but havent seen much lately.

90lxcoupe · Jul 24, 2015

Right at 700hp is the educated guess. It made 582rwhp on pump gas, and 592rwhp on VP MS109 fuel. I dont post much on the facebook page anymore because it doesnt reach anyone anymore. I think they really limit who sees the posts unless you pay for advertisement, which i wont do.

A5literMan · Jul 24, 2015

700 n/a hp,pump fuel,and is respectfully streetable....uhhh

With all respect to 84Ttop's car and any other forced induction beast, I would give my left *** to be able to do that.

90lxcoupe · Jul 24, 2015

@A5literMan Thank you, the whole combination is something i am very proud of, if i told people the cam specs they wouldnt believe me, i think the COP combined with the holley really calms it down a bunch. Pump gas is a must for me, i cant bring myself to spend all kinds of money on race fuel, but i tested the MS-109 back to back just to see how much i was leaving on the table, it actually made the same power with race fuel and identical timing, then we added 2 degrees of timing and it picked up 5rwhp, then 2 more and it added 5rwhp more. It is good to know that if i need another .05-.1 in et that i can throw some race fuel in the tank and get after it.

@84Ttop is on a whole different level, but id say at this point both of our cars are pretty hardcore in very different ways, i do realize that some people will probably say that i dont have a streetcar because of a laundry list of things ive done to the car(the transmission will likely be at the top of the list), but ill still drive it 1200 miles in a week, so if that doesnt prove that it is streetable, than there is no convincing them, which is fine, we are all entitled to our opinions. I chose to do it this way cause i like simplicity and enjoy pushing a NA motor way past what a sane person would be willing to do.

RangerJoe · Jul 24, 2015

I remember reading up on your car before, but remind me what your setup is?

Love the trans by the way. I bet it will go faster with no other changes.

Joe

90lxcoupe · Jul 24, 2015

@RangerJoe it should definitely pick up with this transmission just on the simple fact that the gears are all handpicked by me so that will mean less RPM drop on gear changes and once i get it into high gear i will be in the operating range for the engine, and crossing the stripe at 7500 if my math is good, with the tremec i was going thru the traps at 7000rpms.

With this transmission, you cant get a overdrive, so 5th gear is 1:1. I will go down the track in gears 1-4, and 5th gear will be my highway gear, i swapped out the 4.30 rear gear for a 3.27 rear, the ratios from gear 1-4 are 3.77, 2.5, 1.74, and 1.25. I expect to be around 2500rpms at 65mph

The general rundown of the setup is:
427" SBF, 4" arm, 4.125 Bore, lunati crank and rods, Built by PK Machine in fitchburg, MA
12:1 compression
CPC high ports, 240cc intake runner, Ti intake valve SS exhaust valve
Custom solid roller, around .750 lift
CHI 4.0 intake, converted to EFI by induction solutions, milled 1" off of the plenum, and converted to a 4500 flange for the bigger throttle body
Crower SS shaft rockers, Isky bushed lifters
Kooks 8.2 deck 1 7/8" primary to 3.5" collectors, reduced to 3" x-pipe, to 3" bassani catback, with tailpipes
Holley EFI with LS truck coils
8.8 rear, welded tubes, under axle anti roll bar, 3.27 rear gear that was surface enhanced and cryo'd by Liberty's Gears
Racecraft front suspension, team Z rear suspension.
Race weight of the car is a heavy for a notchback, 3250lbs

A5literMan · Jul 24, 2015

90lxcoupe said:
@RangerJoe it should definitely pick up with this transmission just on the simple fact that the gears are all handpicked by me so that will mean less RPM drop on gear changes and once i get it into high gear i will be in the operating range for the engine, and crossing the stripe at 7500 if my math is good, with the tremec i was going thru the traps at 7000rpms.

With this transmission, you cant get a overdrive, so 5th gear is 1:1. I will go down the track in gears 1-4, and 5th gear will be my highway gear, i swapped out the 4.30 rear gear for a 3.27 rear, the ratios from gear 1-4 are 3.77, 2.5, 1.74, and 1.25. I expect to be around 2500rpms at 65mph

The general rundown of the setup is:
427" SBF, 4" arm, 4.125 Bore, lunati crank and rods, Built by PK Machine in fitchburg, MA
12:1 compression
CPC high ports, 240cc intake runner, Ti intake valve SS exhaust valve
Custom solid roller, around .750 lift
CHI 4.0 intake, converted to EFI by induction solutions, milled 1" off of the plenum, and converted to a 4500 flange for the bigger throttle body
Crower SS shaft rockers, Isky bushed lifters
Kooks 8.2 deck 1 7/8" primary to 3.5" collectors, reduced to 3" x-pipe, to 3" bassani catback, with tailpipes
Holley EFI with LS truck coils
8.8 rear, welded tubes, under axle anti roll bar, 3.27 rear gear that was surface enhanced and cryo'd by Liberty's Gears
Racecraft front suspension, team Z rear suspension.
Race weight of the car is a heavy for a notchback, 3250lbs

Now that's a low 1st gear!! Hell taking off in 2nd wouldn't be far off from a T5z 1st gear. Lol. Obviously completely different setup but that trans is similiar to the old Nash 5sp(similiar in that it doesn't have an overdrive lol). If you ever get a chance I'd love to see a video at the track. Have you driven it yet? Also are you planning on going to dragweek again? My buddies are talking about going(more talk than serious at the moment IMO). If I had the patience,time,skills,and money I would build my car similarly(ok I'm done kissing up)

RangerJoe · Jul 24, 2015

90lxcoupe said:
@RangerJoe it should definitely pick up with this transmission just on the simple fact that the gears are all handpicked by me so that will mean less RPM drop on gear changes and once i get it into high gear i will be in the operating range for the engine, and crossing the stripe at 7500 if my math is good, with the tremec i was going thru the traps at 7000rpms.

With this transmission, you cant get a overdrive, so 5th gear is 1:1. I will go down the track in gears 1-4, and 5th gear will be my highway gear, i swapped out the 4.30 rear gear for a 3.27 rear, the ratios from gear 1-4 are 3.77, 2.5, 1.74, and 1.25. I expect to be around 2500rpms at 65mph

The general rundown of the setup is:
427" SBF, 4" arm, 4.125 Bore, lunati crank and rods, Built by PK Machine in fitchburg, MA
12:1 compression
CPC high ports, 240cc intake runner, Ti intake valve SS exhaust valve
Custom solid roller, around .750 lift
CHI 4.0 intake, converted to EFI by induction solutions, milled 1" off of the plenum, and converted to a 4500 flange for the bigger throttle body
Crower SS shaft rockers, Isky bushed lifters
Kooks 8.2 deck 1 7/8" primary to 3.5" collectors, reduced to 3" x-pipe, to 3" bassani catback, with tailpipes
Holley EFI with LS truck coils
8.8 rear, welded tubes, under axle anti roll bar, 3.27 rear gear that was surface enhanced and cryo'd by Liberty's Gears
Racecraft front suspension, team Z rear suspension.
Race weight of the car is a heavy for a notchback, 3250lbs

That is an awesome setup. I can't say I would change anything one bit. I would love to hear that thing changing gears going down the track.

Joe

Chuckman · Jul 25, 2015

90lxcoupe said:
The general rundown of the setup is:
427" SBF, 4" arm, 4.125 Bore, lunati crank and rods, Built by PK Machine in fitchburg, MA
12:1 compression
CPC high ports, 240cc intake runner, Ti intake valve SS exhaust valve
Custom solid roller, around .750 lift
CHI 4.0 intake, converted to EFI by induction solutions, milled 1" off of the plenum, and converted to a 4500 flange for the bigger throttle body
Crower SS shaft rockers, Isky bushed lifters
Kooks 8.2 deck 1 7/8" primary to 3.5" collectors, reduced to 3" x-pipe, to 3" bassani catback, with tailpipes
Holley EFI

dude, get out of my head. thats almost the exact setup i've been planning for mine for 2 years. just want to figure out how to actually BUILD and DRIVE the thing first, so going in small steps.

84Ttop · Jul 25, 2015

90lxcoupe said:
@A5literMan Thank you, the whole combination is something i am very proud of, if i told people the cam specs they wouldnt believe me, i think the COP combined with the holley really calms it down a bunch. Pump gas is a must for me, i cant bring myself to spend all kinds of money on race fuel, but i tested the MS-109 back to back just to see how much i was leaving on the table, it actually made the same power with race fuel and identical timing, then we added 2 degrees of timing and it picked up 5rwhp, then 2 more and it added 5rwhp more. It is good to know that if i need another .05-.1 in et that i can throw some race fuel in the tank and get after it.

@84Ttop is on a whole different level, but id say at this point both of our cars are pretty hardcore in very different ways, i do realize that some people will probably say that i dont have a streetcar because of a laundry list of things ive done to the car(the transmission will likely be at the top of the list), but ill still drive it 1200 miles in a week, so if that doesnt prove that it is streetable, than there is no convincing them, which is fine, we are all entitled to our opinions. I chose to do it this way cause i like simplicity and enjoy pushing a NA motor way past what a sane person would be willing to do.

Streetcars for life! I have the utmost respect for your setup and dedication to drive, race and torture you're car/self. Most guys don't fully understand what level of commitment it takes and what it is to take these challanges on. Well done sir, you have one bad bitch there for sure!

cleanLX · Jul 25, 2015

simply awesome.
please continue to update us.

90lxcoupe · Jul 26, 2015

A5literMan said:
Now that's a low 1st gear!! Hell taking off in 2nd wouldn't be far off from a T5z 1st gear. Lol. Obviously completely different setup but that trans is similiar to the old Nash 5sp(similiar in that it doesn't have an overdrive lol). If you ever get a chance I'd love to see a video at the track. Have you driven it yet? Also are you planning on going to dragweek again? My buddies are talking about going(more talk than serious at the moment IMO). If I had the patience,time,skills,and money I would build my car similarly(ok I'm done kissing up)

It is actually less 1st gear than with my old TKO 3.27 first and 4.30 gears. With a heavy streetcar and a 5 speed, you need as much starting line ratio as possible, i actually would have been better off with that first and 3.55's or 3.73's but that would have put the cruise RPM higher than i was comfortable with, it is a big balancing act with the street/strip stuff. I have driven it around the block and on and off the trailer to get it to the body shop. It drives pretty nice so far, i can't drive it till i rewire the cooling fans. I see you are in IL, you should come out and hang out when drag week comes around, it is the coolest group of streetcars you will ever see at one track.

RangerJoe said:
That is an awesome setup. I can't say I would change anything one bit. I would love to hear that thing changing gears going down the track.

Thank you, here are some old vids from drag week 2013

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GKQ2xpZraU

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWuBr3qumuk

Chuckman said:
dude, get out of my head. thats almost the exact setup i've been planning for mine for 2 years. just want to figure out how to actually BUILD and DRIVE the thing first, so going in small steps.

Thank you, this build has been a constant evolution since i finished it right before drag week, it is definitely a whole bunch of time and money to keep things reliable at this level.

84Ttop said:
Streetcars for life! I have the utmost respect for your setup and dedication to drive, race and torture you're car/self. Most guys don't fully understand what level of commitment it takes and what it is to take these challanges on. Well done sir, you have one bad **** there for sure!

Thank you, commitment is a great word for it, to set a car up to race and be competitive in any sort of class racing can really take over all of your spare time, it isn't for everyone that is for sure.

cleanLX said:
simply awesome.
please continue to update us.

Thanks man, i will try to keep the updates coming, i have a photo bucket now so that makes uploading pics on my phone to post pretty easy, here is what i got done yesterday before my water heater decided i shouldn't get any more car work done...

Installed more dynamite from the seat supports forward, not sure why i didn't do this when i did the rest of the floor, but on DW13 i found out the hard way that i needed it, the headers were radiating into the floorpan, and literally burning the soles off of my shoes, my buddy put a heat gun on the floors and they were 130 degrees, hopefully this won't be a issue with more fat mat in place. I am also going to have the X-pipe ceramic coated to help keep the heat out.

A5literMan · Jul 26, 2015

I'm going to try and get some time off from work and make it to one of the days. Just talked to a buddy and if we can we're going to go. I first started drag racing at Union Groove drag way in '90. Haven't been back to that track in 20 years(have a local track).

90lxcoupe · Aug 4, 2015

Tonight i started picking away at the interior, got a decent amount done, hate to sound like a broken record but i am really happy with the way this thing turned out. I drilled out the rivets on the tunnel for the shift boot and reinstalled them thru the carpet so there is no sheet metal showing anywhere, the carpet just transitions right into the boot, i am hoping to have the car about 98% ready to go by the end of the weekend.

Putting A Race 5 Speed Into A Streetcar, Step By Step...

90lxcoupe

Attachments

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

90lxcoupe

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

90lxcoupe

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

90lxcoupe

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

90lxcoupe

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving

90lxcoupe

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

84Ttop

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

cleanLX

90lxcoupe

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

90lxcoupe

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Putting A Race 5 Speed Into A Streetcar, Step By Step...

Attachments

At least it is lumpy...

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

mechanicus terribilis

mechanicus terribilis

At least it is lumpy...

I leave the horn on while driving

At least it is lumpy...

I leave the horn on while driving

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

At least it is lumpy...

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