Still going over the options as to which t5 would be the best, there are a ton of them out there! Would like a v8 trans with cable linkage. Also do I need one with a longer input shaft?
I would too, but the owner wanted those and he pays the bills I would have liked dimpled covers painted with lettering, I dynoed it with these chrome ones and it really was blinding Tony
Easier than putting linkage in a small car and can hide it better with a car that has no hood. Never worked with one, maybe not how I imagine it.
But the idea is to pass it off as a "Hot Rod Lincoln" I'm with you but to each his own I guess. Olds powered rods. I know there are more out there lets get a look see.
You mean clutch cable instead of linkage,I was thinking you ment shift cable and I was lost Go Hydralic...,easy and simple Tony
Using the Olds stick set up wouln't be the worst thing to ever happen. Get a good set of highway gears for the rear end and you'll be fine. If you decide to go the T5 route just stack the adapters. Olds to early Ford and then early Ford to Chevy. You'll have to find a pilot bushing (Wilcap may have them) or have one made, no biggee, then your done. It will take a lot of driving to recoupe the extra money to put a T5 in, unless I drive like a granny my car still gets piss poor mileage.
I'm actually running a truck center section with a set of 40 ford bells and so far so good... knock wood. The tires are skinny and I keep the pressure pretty high so they mostly just spin if I get a little too ambitious with the pedal.
Now I never would have thought of running a truck center. I had a buddy when I was a kid that cut extra keyways into the axles on the hub end to fix that problem but he was forever breaking the center. He was a late model guy always ran 394s in a '38 coupe.
Pretty simple way to do it and with the over drive tranny the truck gears aren't too bad as long as they're no higher than 4-11. If you end up with the super granny gears its a good idea to swap them out.
Yea I guess unless you have your rocket built to really rev or you have really tall tires you wouldn't want to go much lower than a 4.11:1 gear. Most rockets unless just built to the hilt don't turn that many revs. I'll have to keep the truck center in my log of remedies for future use. frank that coupe has a lot going for it. I wish I had a model 40 to shove my big old pig into.
There must be more Rocket powered cars on the HAMB there are sure a lot of Rocketeers here I know they are not just looking at their motors and grinning.
I have no photos of the Olds-powered '53 Ford Vic hardtop I had long, long ago. It was black with a white roof. Body was 100% stock. Interior was replaced with '54 Merc Monterey which was much more plush than the Ford seats. Engine was a 324 with 10:1 forged pistons, Isky solid-lifter cam, single Carter 4-bbl, Edelbrock finned covers for rocker clearance, dual-point conversion in the stock Olds distributor. Aluminum flywheel, borg and beck clutch, into a side-shift LaSalle 3 speed with Hurst shifter. Hedman Hedders thru a pair of glass-paks. Dropped tie-rod and re-located starter kit to make it all fit. Radiator was stock Ford with converted to single inlet/outlet. It was barely adequate. Fun car. It ran great, sounded even better. The solid-lifter clatter with the glass-pack tone was better than viagra. Handling wasn't too good with that added front end weight but not much worse than stock Fords. Had to sell it when life intervened with fun. Of all the cars that "got away" I miss that one the most. It left me with a big soft spot for the Rockets. Maybe it's better not to have a picture. Frank C.
How about pics of my buddy's Olds powered coupe on its way to Bonneville a couple years ago, would that help scratch the itch?
Remember that the 303, 324, 371, 394 engines have the unique (to GM built V-8s) firing order 1-8-7-3-6-5-4-2. That alone makes us a special breed.
I expressed this to my customer that its not what I would do.....but in the end its his car I wanted a pair of blue dimpled covers with some type olds/rocket lettering Others have said as you and I will bring this to him again Tony
I'd leave them on. A lot of work went into making them fit. They had to be mounted upside down, the Lincoln script cut out and flipped and then welded in again. Besides, I was floored when I saw it was an Olds, not a Lincoln, and I wouldn't have been that knocked out otherwise. Yes, the engine is a showpiece and truly gorgeous, but so are a lot of the other cars that were there. This makes it unique. Although I do love the J2 covers. If it was my car, I'd be alternating them depending on my mood. Frank C.