Spark you are running the same shifter I plan on using,except at the moment I`m trying to hunt down a big spline 4spd.I have a 70 model w/ a little smaller tunnel so I already know I will have to fab a larger hole.Also the tail shaft on the big spline has the shifter bolting just a little further forward,which is ok for me because one of my rods is a little bit short.Your project looks great,keep up the good work.
My car is a 69.5 early car. It had a small tunnel in it but a PO changed it to fit a bigger tranny he wanted to use. Look at the pics and the rusty metal in front of the shifter is the "newer" tunnel, the gold behind the shifter is the stock tunnel, the meeting point is about in line with my shifter location. I had to cut a bunch out of mine to use the Super Shifter, you will have to do more. This one barely sat within the left side of the tunnel. It mostly hung out in thin air. I actually slid the boot to the right as far as I could and still get it to clear the tower of the shifter, my boot is not centered on the shifter or the new pieces built would be another inch or so to the left. Also, if you move the shifter forward, it will probably be awkward to shift unless you are shorter than me (5'10"). This is about in the perfect location for me arm/leg/seat location wise (I'm not using a stock seat so that may make a difference, also). My tranny is a top loader from a 1971/72 Boss 351 or Cobra Jet Mustang. Think it is either a RUG-BJ or RUG-BJ1, know it's a wide ratio 28 spline. Got the thing welded and ground. The 1.25" diameter hole is for access to put the 1/4" bit into the shifter to adjust linkage. It will be covered by a little bolt-on cover once carper/upholstery is done. With a coat of primer and the boot installed. You can see the tilt in the top plate of the boot because of the shift to the right with the boot location. If you used a standard boot, and not the super boot, it would probably be easier to do. I like the super boot, so I'll live with the tilt. Later! SPark
if you move the upper control arm out wont you need to move the center link tie rod holes out also to avoid bump steer? im just starting to dive into steering geometry for handling gain and am very interested in the changes like this. i have seen rack and pinion conversions that move the tie rod location in or out from stock and that causes some very noticeable bump steer. i would just like to know what your experience is with this type of engineering and hope to learn a lot from this.
I had the same problem with my 69.5 when mounting a Hurst V Gate shifter - the entire left side of the small tunnel disappeared by the time I finished cutting for clearance -I changed over to the larger tunnel and like your flat stock solution to the upper support under the tunnel - the stock 69.5 lower and the stock 72 upper supports never came close to mating up with one another - I'm really enjoying watching your progress
I have built dirt stock cars, modifieds and late models from scratch, stubbed dirt modifieds, messed with mix-n-match drag links/tie rods/center links/idler arms/pitman arms/spindles. You can learn a lot moving things like racks, a-frame mounting points, a-frame lengths and plotting your roll centers and instant centers. Some things done with dirt late model front suspension would have you scratching your head if you like geometry issues. We also built a dirt late model from scratch with a cantilever rear suspension. Very confusing mess. For this deal, I'm most concerned with bump steer and maintaining my Ackerman. I won't be carving up any canyons with 3.5" wide front wheels! I also don't want caster going from negative to positive and vise versa so that needs controlled. I may need to modify a drag link, but by moving the uppers and lengthening the lowers, it is minimized. If you can get the drag link (or as you asked, a rack) on the same plane as the lower pivot points and the tie rod parallel to the lower control arm, bump is minimized. If the drag link can't be on the same plane as the lower pivot points, then you need to look at the location of the inner tie rod ends in relationship to the inner pivot points of both the upper and lower a-frames. You want your pivot points all on the same line. Then it's back to the lower a-frame and tie rod relationship. The Maverick has a long lower/short upper, that's bad for bump/camber gain. I'm basically making that worse. We're going to play with a few things to try to help that some after the towers are cut and back in place. Then the fun begins. I built this modified from scratch as well as front and rear clips on the late model. Also did all the sheetmetal work (all aluminum), built our own engines, rearends, etc. You can't be afraid to cut things up to learn something, you just need to be sure you are safe about it. The mod pictured broke an upper a-frame (store bought part) and hit a concrete wall almost head on at full throttle with no warning at the end of a straight. The driver climbed out, got in his other car and completed the night. We stubbed the car and ran it 3 weeks later with no problems. It has to stay safe. SPark
We have something I common but I played on pavement - my last creation from 05 - lots of mixed "stock" parts - very minimum, if any, bump steer
To IM4,are you using a stock trans. cross member or did you fab one.I have a stock one but if I need to I can make one.My seat is bolted to the floor but I`ll move it if I have to for the shifter,only problem is I am 6ft 2in and there is a roll bar under the steering wheel that runs across the car.This might make it a little tight for shifting,hopefully my knees won`t be in the roll bar.
I think it's a stock crossmember. It was holding a 351/C4 when I bought it. It has had some modifications done to it. I'll get a pic of it next time I have it out of the car. Now that I have the actual carbs I'm planning to do my final fuel line/throttle linkage work when the other tunnel ram gets here, hopefully next week. Once that's done, I'll pull the 351/toploader so I can start the spring tower work. That would be as soon as I could get a pic of it. SPark
Another busy week that seemed to disappear. Did get the correct carbs and "new" tunnel ram on the engine. Like the open area under the runners much better than the solid one I started with. Made the throttle linkage bracket and figured out all the fuel line routing. Spent more time with a tape measuring the front towers/lower a-frames/etc deciding on cut locations. Hopefully next week the engine/tranny will come back out and the cutting will begin. "Old" tunnel ram. SPark
If you want to see a real 70 prostock in person right here in Iowa to use as an example let me know. It's the Mr. Rollbar car driven by Darrel Drokes, and it's in my buddy's shop!
