Out with the Automatic and in with the Tremec 5 speed
So after the power was back on at the house I could get over to the shop and keep working.
It took 3-4 times of putting the transmission in and out to get the opening in the floor to the correct size, and the transmission went in without hitting. I do have to tilt and adjust the transmission to clear the torsion bar cross member. But that to real big deal when the car is up in the air.
I welded in the transmission tunnel it has about 3/8 of an inch all the way around the top of the transmission. I wanted to keep it as close as I could without it rubbing, in the back I did have to dimple the tunnel. Where the back two shifter bolts are because when you turn the shifter assembly around to move it forward to more of the stock A-body location they where touching just a little.
The shifter will have to be installed from the top when the transmission is bolted up but before it's raised up so the cross member can be put in.
I had thought about making the back half of the tunnel removable but it's real easy to put the shifter in from the top and tighten the first four bolts from the top and the back two from the bottom.
With the tunnel welded in I used some 3M Flexible Foam ( part # 08463 ) to fill the gap between the old floor and the tunnel.
I used the 3M product because it doesn't hold moisture like the spray foam you would use on your house. I have seen people use that stuff to fill gaps in floor boards and a year later the floor are rusting out.
There is no way to weld the old floor and tunnel from the bottom the gap is about 5/8" in some places because of the shape of the floor, and I didn't want to keep cutting the floor back to the tunnel then the torsion bar cross member would have less to support it.
After the foam sets up I"ll trim it back to the edges, and after I weld the front bracket for the console in. Undercoat the tunnel and floor you will not see and difference in the floor.
The foam set-up in about 10 mins so I went ahead and trimmed it up. it's a lot harder than you think it sitcks to everything and has to be removed with a razor blade and a box cutter but once your done the gaps are filled real good and the undercoat will seal everything once and for all.
So after the power was back on at the house I could get over to the shop and keep working.
It took 3-4 times of putting the transmission in and out to get the opening in the floor to the correct size, and the transmission went in without hitting. I do have to tilt and adjust the transmission to clear the torsion bar cross member. But that to real big deal when the car is up in the air.
I welded in the transmission tunnel it has about 3/8 of an inch all the way around the top of the transmission. I wanted to keep it as close as I could without it rubbing, in the back I did have to dimple the tunnel. Where the back two shifter bolts are because when you turn the shifter assembly around to move it forward to more of the stock A-body location they where touching just a little.
The shifter will have to be installed from the top when the transmission is bolted up but before it's raised up so the cross member can be put in.
I had thought about making the back half of the tunnel removable but it's real easy to put the shifter in from the top and tighten the first four bolts from the top and the back two from the bottom.
With the tunnel welded in I used some 3M Flexible Foam ( part # 08463 ) to fill the gap between the old floor and the tunnel.
I used the 3M product because it doesn't hold moisture like the spray foam you would use on your house. I have seen people use that stuff to fill gaps in floor boards and a year later the floor are rusting out.
There is no way to weld the old floor and tunnel from the bottom the gap is about 5/8" in some places because of the shape of the floor, and I didn't want to keep cutting the floor back to the tunnel then the torsion bar cross member would have less to support it.
After the foam sets up I"ll trim it back to the edges, and after I weld the front bracket for the console in. Undercoat the tunnel and floor you will not see and difference in the floor.
The foam set-up in about 10 mins so I went ahead and trimmed it up. it's a lot harder than you think it sitcks to everything and has to be removed with a razor blade and a box cutter but once your done the gaps are filled real good and the undercoat will seal everything once and for all.
