Dilemmas

[Meccles]

Ok its been a while been a busy few years kids/grandkids/house etc not much time for RRC ( or RRS for that matter).
White truck still with us has sat in garage in Brissy most of the time so is in good shape.
Now- we need a second car as we " loaned" our second car to our son in Melb. Theoretically for 6 months but that was a year ago.
While I look L322 and 405 really I can't justify more money on cars.
My wife said " finish white truck make it nice to drive lets use that as second car for a while see how it goes".
Ok - with that in mind:
1. I have a 4.3 litre rover v8 stroker. Been sitting stored last 3 years. Guy that built it spent 13k on it. Counterbalanced meehinite crankshaft, wade cam etc etc. Plus twinSU's donaldson air cleaners holden/bosch distributor. Reckons its a very strong engine.
2. Also sitting on floor is a ZF 4HP22 with LT 230 transfer case. In theory all ok.
3. My 3.5 could use more torque.
4. The LT95 while it works - is noisy and needs 5th gear.

Sooo-
My current plan is:
Fit 4.3 stroker into car in Brisbane in garage. Now - this isn't "home" so I want swap as simple as possible. In light ofthat I was going to:
a) Swap my inlet manifold (edelbrock performer with edelbrock 500 carb) so all linkages etc work. No change.
b) Swap my distributor ( lucas 35 with pertronics 1 ignition module set up by Performance Ignition in Melb) so all wiring remains same.
c) Use my exhaust ( extractors).

Just to get engine in and going as simply as possible.

Then - once home and IF we're satisfied with the engine - fit the auto.

Thoughts? Given I'm now older not as fit and dealing with other stuff.
I'd like to make this a nice quiet easy to drive ride.

Thanks!

[Meccles]

Well as there has been no comments -unusual for here - work has commenced as described above. Engine swap planned to commence mid Dec. Been tidying up "new" to me 4.3 litre stroker and getting various bibs n bobs (throughout bearing manifold gasket etc).
Wish me luck I mean what could possibly go wrong ?

[Phil 850]

Meccles, I agree with the above plan other than the auto trans.
With the 4.3 stroker you have basically got a P76 V8 and having had one in a 2 door RRC previously, they have a significant amount of torque (285 ft/lb compared to 185 ft/lb) and therefore can pull a significant overdrive.
I had an LT95 with a 0.996 high range transfer case ratio and it would pull up the hill from Hawkesbury River in 4th gear effortlessly.
I have put an LT77 into my 82 RRC with the LT230 from an auto which has a final drive of 1.003:1. Which with 5th gear of the LT77 will provide a significant overdrive and reduce engine RPM.
195090

Phil

[Meccles]

Thanks my issue is as I want it as second car my wife can use - an auto for her is better. Hence the 4HP22.

[Meccles]

Also going to fit a cartablet display and reversing camera. Will hard wire tablet into aux port on my existing head unit. Car has remote locking so we figure with this, auto, reverse camera, apple carplay, and a good car to drive, it will be good as a second car. As I'm using Dakota Digital instrument cluster they also do a cruise control which is a possibility.

[loanrangie]

I would just do the full swap in one, much easier to swap the box once the engine is out.

[AK83]

......
I have put an LT77 into my 82 RRC with the LT230 from an auto which has a final drive of 1.003:1. Which with 5th gear of the LT77 will provide a significant overdrive and reduce engine RPM.
.....

Phil

The HP22 has a higher overdriven ration than all of the 5 speeds do in their respective top gear.
So, for the 'most overdriven' cruising ratio, the ZF is the pick. There's not much in it tho.

I think that if the Lt230 had the 1003 high ratio, then it would have come from the Chrysler torqueflite version of the auto, not the ZF type auto.

For Meccles, your 'degree of difficulty' with installing the ZF will be whether the box is the later E(electronic) type, or from a D1/RRC type with kickdown cable type operation. You would want the earlier non electronic type for simplicity and cost.

[Meccles]

Mine is 4hp22 full hydraulic not 4hp24.
Re doing it all as at one time unfortunately time doesn't permit so its engine swap first then assess/get bits for tranny swap ( tunnel mounts/ shifter/ driveshafts/plan).
Then tranny swap.

[350RRC]

I'd be doing it all at once as Nick says. Remove the radiator and some tin at the front, pull old engine and trans out in one go from the front, insert new engine and trans.

I'd also be fitting some 24 bits inside the 22 ZF to beef the strength of it up first..........plenty of info on that topic on this site.

The engine mounts / position would stay the same, not sure about the trans mounts going from LT 95 to ZF / LT 230.

If the prop shafts need to be changed then stock D1 should bolt straight in.

Remember that particular ZF gets its line pressure signal from the throttle linkage at the carb and needs to be set up just right.........I have plenty of info on that if needed.

The 3 speed C9 in my POS doesn't really annoy me at all and it's seriously strong. I could fit an overdrive to the back of the LT 95 TC section if I felt so inclined.

Going from an LT 95 to an auto is a revelation, especially with the torque multiplier effect of the torque convertor.

It's net like driving a truck any more.

Good luck with it! DL

[AK83]

Mine is 4hp22 full hydraulic not 4hp24.
.....

The disco 2(here in Aus and some other markets) uses the 4HP22E version of the ZF.

[Meccles]

Thanks but again I have one week access to the garage I'm using as we're selling the townhouse ( which has garage).
Not possible to do engine and trans between now and mid Jan. Engine swap yes.
I have no driveshafts/shifter etc all of which needs sorting prior to fitting auto trans. Re upgrading 4hp22 as it's not planned for anything but second car duties- it will get oil/filter change and thats it. Been contacting auto trans shops and money they want to work on it is [emoji15]and it's beyond my ability wrt to time/space/knowledge to open it up.

[DoubleChevron]

Thanks but again I have one week access to the garage I'm using as we're selling the townhouse ( which has garage).
Not possible to do engine and trans between now and mid Jan. Engine swap yes.
I have no driveshafts/shifter etc all of which needs sorting prior to fitting auto trans. Re upgrading 4hp22 as it's not planned for anything but second car duties- it will get oil/filter change and thats it. Been contacting auto trans shops and money they want to work on it is [emoji15]and it's beyond my ability wrt to time/space/knowledge to open it up.

It wouldn't be much extra time. So long as the replacement is ready to go. ie: do you have the new motor and gearbox sitting on the floor... all bolted together ready to fit? If so you could whip the entire lot out as one big unit. Just drill out the spot welds on the closing panel and nut/bolt it. This will allow you to pull engine, gearbox and transfer case out as one big unit ( A days work ? ). Then bolt your transfer case onto the new assembly and bolt it back in ( a days work ?).

You would need everythign ready to go though. If you end up waiting on parts, its not fun. I would avoid trying to do the engine and gearbox as seperate jobs. Trying to juggle the transfer case and gearbox from underneath is not a fun job. There is no easy way to support the gearbox and transfer case while you lift them up and try to line them up to the motor. Its so much easier to do on the floor in front of the car.

Oh ... hang on are you converting from a manual to a slugomatic? That is a much bigger job, you will need a parts car to get the pedal assembly and linkaages/shifter/center console from. I went the other way, coverted a slugomatic to a proper manual. It will make the job much bigger.

seeya
Shane L.

[Meccles]

I'm not happy with front seats squabs the trimmers made them too high.
So plan is:
Get all bits to fit auto.
Remove front seats - back to a different trimmer.
Remove transmission tunnel
Remove LT95 from top - I've done this before it was relatively easy.
Fit auto from top.
Get all driveshafts/ gearbox mounts etc sorted before fitting transmission tunnel.
Fit tunnel/shifter etc.
Sounds easy yes?

[DoubleChevron]

I'm not happy with front seats squabs the trimmers made them too high.
So plan is:
Get all bits to fit auto.
Remove front seats - back to a different trimmer.
Remove transmission tunnel
Remove LT95 from top - I've done this before it was relatively easy.
Fit auto from top.
Get all driveshafts/ gearbox mounts etc sorted before fitting transmission tunnel.
Fit tunnel/shifter etc.
Sounds easy yes?

You can remove the transmission tunnel in early cars :o .... Wow that will make life easy !!!

[350RRC]

You can remove the transmission tunnel in early cars :o .... Wow that will make life easy !!!

Not a fun job............carpet out, seats out, etc, Had the whole dash and heater out too.

[AK83]

Back in the early 90s I converted my LT95 RRC('79) to an LT77.

All done from the inside too. I don't remember that the heater or dash got in the way.

But the added height of the LT77 required a taller trans cover. Was getting ready to 'panel beat' the '79s trans tunnel, but luckily my parts guy had a trans tunnel of a later model with an LT77, so bought that and saved a lot of time with panel beating.
Note that he also had all the interior floor stuff for it too and I also bought that stuff too.

Not sure if the 4hp22 is taller than a LT95, and I have a feeling they may be, or at least the selector stuff may need more room.

[DoubleChevron]

Do all the conversion bits once the driveline is out. You have so much more space to work in! It's a shame you have the time crunch. As doing it all at once would make it a lot simpler in the long run.

To try and get the gearbox and transfer case into mine, I ended up with an engine crane into the car through the passenger front door, a small block and tackle swinging from this through the floor down to the gearbox/transfer case. As its so heavily biased weight wise to the side with the transfer case output shafts, its almost impossible to balance on jacks. So I ended up with ratchet straps trying to "rotate" back into the position it needed to be. Certianly its not as simple as assembling it all out fo the car and fitting as one big unit :)

seeya
Shane L.

[Phil 850]

You can remove the transmission tunnel in early cars :o .... Wow that will make life easy !!!

Sure can !
Auto 727 coming out.
195143
LT77 in its place.
195144 195145
All done without removing the heater.
Actually, removing the seats and transmission tunnel is not that big a deal.
You also have to remove the chassis cross member, a length of pipe and a bolt can be used to spread the chassis rails and the cross member will drop out.

Phil

[DoubleChevron]

Sure can !
Auto 727 coming out.
195143
LT77 in its place.
195144 195145
All done without removing the heater.
Actually, removing the seats and transmission tunnel is not that big a deal.
You also have to remove the chassis cross member, a length of pipe and a bolt can be used to spread the chassis rails and the cross member will drop out.

Phil

That is incredible!!! Why did they have to go away from that :( .... Its a "Not fun" job from underneath!

[Meccles]

Yep that's how I've removed LT 95 in the past. And with my Vintage air a/c heater unit I have even more space. And seats have to come out anyway for a re trim.
I have engine hoist with load leveller.
So will be working from top not from underneath car.
My tunnel it's all been fitted with new rivenuts/fasteners so not anticipating any issues there.
What could possibly go wrong ??

[Meccles]

Seat bases come out with the tunnel its quite a straightforward job. And all working from the top.

[Tins]

Yes, well... In 2As the seat base and floor come out too. IF you can get the bloody screws undone.

[Meccles]

I'll send pics as we go along. Given I replaced all floor screws/fasteners not that long ago and car hasn't been on beach - I'm not anticipating any major issues. How wrong can you be ? ?

[Meccles]

3.5 litre is out. Took me 8 hours steady as she goes more removed to give access to things. One bit of damage my Dakota Digital oil pressure sender took a bump so now need new one.
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/4a3811778543ca8f7430c151d9379c83.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/12eb9b566251afe090517e50c31366a1.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/f6d0b2021010a9e515208e6c39999650.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/d89405508cf9343b1552194846214ceb.jpg

[DoubleChevron]

3.5 litre is out. Took me 8 hours steady as she goes more removed to give access to things. One bit of damage my Dakota Digital oil pressure sender took a bump so now need new one.
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/4a3811778543ca8f7430c151d9379c83.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/12eb9b566251afe090517e50c31366a1.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/f6d0b2021010a9e515208e6c39999650.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/d89405508cf9343b1552194846214ceb.jpg


Holly crap ... that is what your removing..... Should I be embarrassed at the pictures I post [bigrolf] I think I did clean it once .... maybe? Who knows

[Meccles]

Don't worry garage is small width wise and walls are white paint. Now with hand prints in black ?

[DoubleChevron]

Don't worry garage is small width wise and walls are white paint. Now with hand prints in black ?

Man ... I think you'd start having heart failure if you walked into my shed .... Um, your shed is cleaner than my lounge room in the house [bigrolf][bigrolf]

[Meccles]

A productive Boxing day. Dressed the 4.3 with flywheel/pressure plate/clutch plate/starter and my inlet manifold which was port matched to big inlets on heads.
Then got it into the white truck 4 of 8 bell housing bolts in so secure. Once all bell housing bolts are done then engine mounts/ exhausts etc to follow.
Am waiting for a water pump gasket as am using my water pump as I need my style with single bolt pulley to align with my alternator which mounts on left. Original was a 3 bolt pump/ pulley which don't align.
In photos is sump modded to fit stroker crank.
Anyway was pleased with days result.
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/0958b9246bab091616e83a6f34deb6eb.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/4084f85fcd890572a580fc96a4eedd2c.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/9620453eccbb1db9f9b44283b41984e8.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/855a5025da36d72f45b28d002a92c0dc.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/001b4159f014d3d0fd2a923455df15ce.jpg