Thread: Dilemmas

Originally Posted by 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 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.

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?

Originally Posted by 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?

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

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

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

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

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.

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.