big block to go in ashley's zephyr

[mygasser]

we wnt to the nsra swapmeet today and ashley bought some more parts for the 440. he got a mopar tunnel ram from dave billadeau (thanks dave ) and a pair of holley 650 vs carbs.
he also got a pair of m/t et street tyres, 315/60/15's. he's a happy bunny, lol
neil.

[mygasser]

i haven't updated this for a while so.....
ash' has bought a pair of edelbrock heads that need some work. there are a couple of tiny cracks as well as it appears the engine they're off of swallowed some 1/4 unc bolts/screws, lol. so a bit of welding and machining to do but they were very cheap. he's had the crankshaft reground and bought a couple of conrods as the bearings had spun on one of the journals. cheaper to buy 2 conrods than get the old ones resized and their the same casting numbers so all good.
neil.

[mygasser]

well this has been a while ash' has been collecting 440 bits over the last 2+ years but he realised recently the build that we started which 'needs to be done for his wife's 40th birthday' won't be, doh! her party is booked for the 12th april and she wants to go in the zephyr so an interim 'plan b' is needed. he already has the exploder rear axle so we ordered a new 'short side' halfshaft from rockauto (4 days from order) so we can shorten the long side of the casing the almost 3" to a) get his bigger wheels under-ish the arches and b) better centre the prop' flange. also he's been looking about for a running v8 and box to temporarily fit to get the car mobile. he found a ford fe big block and c6 box that'll do the trick locally, so now we have a little over 6 weeks to fit the engine, box and axle, sort a prop' and hook up the exhaust we took off last time.
all good fun
neil.

[ScottyDave]

Nothing like a deadline to focus the mind
I'm sure you'll manage

[mygasser]

thanks dave,
yes i'm sure we can make it happen
neil.

[mygasser]

we got it back here today so monday it'll be full steam ahead, well as full as my back allows, lol.
neil.

[mygasser]

so far we dropped the exploder axle off of the zephyr, removed the discs, calipers and halfshafts followed by the seals and bearings from the casing. next we marked and cut the needed 2 7/8" from the long side allowing a second short side halfshaft to be used. this is a common swap for mopar a bodies in the usa (i did it for my valiant) as with 2 short shafts it ends up almost exactly the same width as a very expensive a body 8 3/4 axle. plus you get 31 spline 'shafts, lsd and disc brakes as stock, what's not to like. while we wait for the new bearings and seals we'll get the flip front off and stored so we can get on with mocking up the engine and box.
neil.

[mygasser]

today we looked over ashley's engine and box to see what he needs to get it up and running. then we went over the road to 'check stock' and got some of the bits. then onto the rockauto website and order a dizzy, water pump (his looks to have been weeping), engine mounts and some gaskets. we still need some other bits but that's the main ones and we'll sort the rest here in the uk.
neil.

[mygasser]

we did some more today, the engine and box are bolted together after sorting bellhousing bolts (sbc head bolts, lol). the flip front is off and over the road and lastly the engine and box are sat in place levelled up waiting for the new mounts to arrive. the gearbox crossmember will need altering (for the 3rd time) but that's par for the course so not a problem.
neil.

[ScottyDave]

Coming along nicely, how many weeks left?

[mygasser]

Coming along nicely, how many weeks left?

nearly 5
neil.

[mygasser]

i forgot to say the starter we have here that bolts to the bellhousing, doesn't clear the block/head. the cover over the 'shoe' is the issue. so i checked on rockauto and the same starter for a thunderbird, galaxie or f100 with an fe big block is the same so i've just ordered one. only £78 including shipping and uk duties/taxes so worth a looksee. if it's right i'll order another for mine, lol. oh, and it'll be here thursday too at that price.
neil.

[mygasser]

about all that could be done while waiting for bits from the states is the gearbox crossmember. so a new centre section made from 2mm sheet with a tube welded in the middle was spliced into the ends of the old/original zephyr crossmember to marry up to the c6 mounting. nothing exciting really, that crossmember has had a zephyr 4 speed box, an fmx, a c6, a th350 and now another c6 but a different mounting. poor old thing's had a hard life, lol.
neil.

[mygasser]

so 4 days from order the boxes from rockauto arrived today, there's service for you
the starter is correct too which is a bonus and that's bolted in place now. the water pump's the short one so bonus number 2, lol. oh and the gearbox crossmembers fitted now.
neil.

[mygasser]

the new engine mounts are bolted to the block ready to make the chassis brackets now. we couldn't find any 7/16" unc bolts so cut that thread on some 7/16" unf seat belt bolts. you'd think that wouldn't give a decent thread but because unc has bigger and more importantly deeper threads it gives a good result. the water pump pulley from the parts engine was way too 'deep' for the short pump so it got altered. we cut the front 3/4" off, flipped it and welded it back to the rear section giving a 'new short pulley. couldn't get the pic to upload, i'll try again later.
neil.