The Square Deal

I didn't weigh any of the components-probably should have. I think it's safe to say the twin disc assembly is heavier than just a single 11" disc, maybe 30% or more. I went with a 25 lb flywheel this go around so it's probably still lighter overall than the previous arrangement. I'm not sure about the lack of springs. I believe the pressure plate produces less pressure than the single disc and maybe that mitigates the spring issue. The jury is still out----

 

The past couple of weeks have been spent fitting the Vintage Air heater behind the dash and replacing the mechanical valve and all the wiring for the auxiliary heater under the driver's seat. I don't remember when I installed the auxiliary unit but it was probably 3+ decades back. It uses a J truck heater core and a modified Honda Accord (1974?) blower. The resistor bridge was for some vintage of Toyota van. I'm pretty sure both the blower and resistor bridge are Nippon Denso products. I finished the re-install this afternoon.






Vintage Air servo valve:

 

Installed the new driver's side seat belts today and finished the mock-up of the revamped heater controls/switches/gauges/receiver install. I have a little room left at the bottom of the latter that I think I will make into a small storage compartment. It would hold a couple pairs of gloves and sun glasses.

 

I spent part of today remodeling my "skinny" pedal. The original hinge was just a piece of cut down continuous aluminum hinge from McMaster-Carr. It had a "pressed in" aluminum pin that kept working out and the whole hinge got pretty sloppy. The solution was to use a long cut down 10-32 Allen head "bolt" and Oilite brass bushings. My set screw alignment left something to be desired but it is fully functional. I also added a "keeper" to prevent the pedal from coming up off the pivot roller when not loaded. That didn't happen very often but it was a little annoying to go to hit the accelerator only to find the pedal vertical.

 

My preferred local custom shop (McGinley Motorsports) finished spraying Turbo Liner on my "console" side panels yesterday. It took a while to clean out all the holes even though they were masked. That stuff is really tough. They are a little shinny but I can live with that.

 

The new center "console" didn't turn out too bad. The chemical blackening didn't work out that well and may be revisited down the road if I can find someone local to actually anodize them. The dash panel and glove box door ended up being a class anodizing project at MT State University 40 something years back but I don't have those connections any longer. The temp gauge is just a photo op substitute so I didn't have to deal with the capillary tube. The actual gauge is the one above in the mock-up and will be plumbed to the D18.

 

I finished bolting the new engine in place this morning. A bit of a hassle but in. I used the 26 spline plastic clutch alignment tool that McLeod sent with their clutch assembly. I have another that looks just like it. Despite my best efforts to get the discs centered well, I was probably off a tiny bit and with 2 discs, that was a problem. Once I got the splines engaged, I used a bar clamp on the throwout arm to release the clutch and the input pilot slid right into the pilot bearing.

I looked through this thread and didn't find any engine mount photos. These are no doubt a bit of overkill. All 1/4" plate or tube wall. The bushing is 1.25" OD x 0.625 ID made from 40 Durometer polyurethane, Delrin side "thrust" washers, and grade 8 and 9 fasteners. The goal here is to allow some rotational movement but essentially no fore-aft movement. I don't have much margin for error in that latter direction. The front of the fan blades are only about 3/4" from my cross member.



Lots of wiring to be run and a remodel of the fuel system to yet be completed. And a few problems to address. My left front Cardone rebuilt caliper has started leaking on the floor. It's coming from the piston seal. Zero miles--------- Ordered another today.

 

I think everyone on this forum wants to hear this thing make some noise.

 

I got the engine oil cooler reinstalled today. The polyurethane pucks are part of the bottom radiator mounts. I worked several hours cleaning out the oil cooler. I didn't want any of the flat tappet cam meltdown in the previous engine to potentially accelerate wear in the new engine. That meltdown was a decade and a half back with a number of oil changes in between but the cooler was never completely removed and severely rinsed out.


Slave cylinder (can we still use that term?) mounting.




The cylinder is Wagner SC 103460, 7/8" bore. Early XJ owners will recognize it.

 

I'm ready to watch it launch in high gear....
Or find out what shells.

 

Right now, the OD is the obvious weak link, followed closely by the Warn full float 19 spline rear axle. I've been collecting parts for the axle replacement.

 

I thought I read your getting some custom spindles on the 2a page.

 

I don't know when jpet will get around to making those spindles but that is still a go. He is going to be machining them out of 4340 and I should be able to pass a full section Dutchman shaft though them. They will also have a deep pilot the length of the original axle bearing width plus my disc brake caliper mount thickness. Hopefully a well built D44 will suffice. I would rather have a 9" but I'm not sure that is actually possible with the frame spring mounting and offset pumpkin-neither of which I want to change. The right side of a 9" wouldn't have much housing to work with.

I have no plans to light up any tires with this rig. The next owner (after my demise) may but then it obviously won't be my problem.

 

This sort of reminds me of that off-topic thread on small bites or maybe just distractions from the immediate goal. I've been pondering a new grill for awhile. I modified the stock one 40 something years ago to clear the end of my Saginaw sector box. At that point the rear of the sector box extended under the grill necessitating a fairly large cutout. Fast forward and the relocation of that box about 3.5" forward and all that passes through the grill is the Borgeson steering shaft universal. A much smaller diameter hole is needed. I also saw this as another opportunity to loose some weight. I ordered an Aqualu aluminum grill.

As with a lot of aftermarket stuff, I expected to have to make a few "adjustments" to the grill for the install. Those adjustments turned out to be far more extensive than they needed to be. Noted first was the headlight bucket mounting holes. They are not even close and more important, they are even outside the area covered by the bezel. I spent several hours today whittling out 0.278" press in plugs that sit 0.010 high. These will need to be TIGed and then everything sanded back to level. The second and maybe bigger headache is that the grill is 5/16" shorter than stock. I have yet to determine where exactly that difference is in relationship to the crease for the fenders but shimming that up from the bottom may put stress on the fenders and if the shortage is above the crease, the hood will be sitting on the fenders. Sigh. It would have taken the exact same effort to weld up a correct fitting grill as it did to make this one. The only plus is that it is 20.7 Lbs lighter. I did email Aqualu about the hole locations and suspect they will adjust whatever program they are using to correct those.

 

I'm surprised the slots are just cut out and not rolled in.

 

John,
Your Build & your attention to detail are very admirable & second to none. That being said , can I ask who is ' Aqualu ' ? IMO, that grill may be a delay of some sort ????

 

HARD BODIES BY AQUALU INDUSTRIES INC. | ALUMINUM REPLACEMENT BODIES & ACCESSORIES

 

That part was obvious from Aqualu's web site and for my use, a benefit. It gave me another 1/2" behind the grill to work with. I think it also substantially increased the open area. Whether or not that helped increase airflow is debatable. I think the rolled openings would enhance flow so maybe a toss-up. The grill is 1/8" and probably 5052. I could add more vertical bars behind the webs if it comes to that. When I milled out the radiator base mounting plate, I made bosses for all six verticals. I only used two of those to support the PS oil cooler.

 

Here are jpet's 4340 spindles. Almost too pretty to use------ They utilize the stock disc brake D30 hub seal and two Timken Set 47 bearings and have an ID of 1.320-which should pass a Dutchman 30 spline flanged full float axle. Maybe--- I might have to massage those axles a little with a tool post grinder.




The rear recess is 2.000 ID and will fit Seals-it EAS35875 seal. I'm also using Seals-it EAS25875 inside next to the carrier bearings. The ID of the axle tubes is a little shy of 2 5/16 and 25875 is for 2 1/4 ID tubes but I purchased one and it fits well.

Spindle nuts: these use the stock nut threads and I was going to use the Dana GM/Ford versions but those are about 0.375 thick and the complete package extends about one thread past the end of the spindle but is still short of the flange mount. If the back of whatever axles I get are flat, these will work. For a plan B, I used one of my cheap, used spindle nuts to toy with for the outer locking nut-drilled for four 8-32 extended point set screws. Something akin to the Warn Lock-o-matic hubs.






Time to order the ARB RD116.

 

Make it so.