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The MiniRam & Ram Clutch conversion begins!

I reallye examined the clutch and pressure plate. There does not appear to be any significant wear that is obvious to the naked eye. In fact, the RAM clutch and stock clutch are about the same thickness. I spoke with a local Dealer Equipment supplier that rebuilds clutches, etc. They don't do a rebuild on the 89-96 pressure plate, and can get a new one for $209 that includes the throw out bearing. I have to also get a pilot bushing for the replacement engine.

I also took a long hard look at the stock manifolds. They are just too restrictive for the flow capacity of the Edelbrock heads, cam and the miniram. I don't have the $600 for TPis. So, called Summit and they are setting me up with a set of full length Headman painted with collectors and bolts for $110. I will have to have the O2 bung welded in. I will have my local muffler shop build a custom Y-pipe to tie it back into the stock center converterhousing.

That leaves the air pump delima. I have an electric air pump out of an LT-1. I would assume I can hook that up to the converter and pump all the fresh air needed to keep the emissions in check. Still working those details out. I have to figure out what I want to do with the stock belt mounted air pump. Either I can just gut it and leave it in the loop, or make an idler pulley. My buddy has the air pump delete kit on his 89. It is very simple and looks very easy to duplicate.

We are making are bid video for Junkyard Wars this weekend, so it will be another two weeks before we will see what all this does.

Stay tuned.......
 
I am getting pumped up about this. The Headman Headers came in yesterday. I am still waiting on the pressure plate.

Going to put it on hold over the weekend, but go back at it full blast into the next week and weekend. There is an Autocross event in early Feb that I need to be ready for. I can't let Nikki outrun me in her C5. I also want to get some good cool weather passes at the Gainesville drag strip. Shooting for mid to high 12s here.

So far I am VERY happy with the miniram and the support from TPiS.

This is no show car so I am not going to spend much time trying to make something out of nothing in the engine bay (refer to my insane efforts on the 69 to make the inner fenders and firewall shinnier than most exterior paint jobs).

I am NOT happy about my valve covers. I have a set as you saw in the pic of plain old chrome covers. These with the rubber gasket JUST clear the roller rockers, and should be low enough to clear the wiper motor. I had to ding in my tall covers on the 85 383 vette I built a number of years ago.

I am not going to paint or bother with the headers. Any paint I put on them will boil off, and it is not for show anyway.

I am converting to an electric air pump, gutting my current mechanical so it can free spin like an idler pulley. I have to have the O2 bung welded into the collector, but will have the muffler shop do that when they weld up the rest of the Y-pipe.

Okay, enough rambling for now.

I just need to add one side note. I have been around Corvettes since I can remember. However, I sold my last official driveable useable vette in 97. Nikki had one inbetween there, and I picked up the 69 a few years ago. My point is, I have not had one that I drove to and from on a regular basis since 97. So, this is really exciting to have one just for me again. The funny part is, no sooner did we switch the lisense plate to Nikki's C5 and re-registered the 90 to me----I took the engine out! So, I still don't have squat! The 69 is in a billion pieces, and the 90 is dead in the garage. Why do I do this to myself!
 
69MyWay said:
Why do I do this to myself!

Obviously because you love the "hobby". Everyone's gotta have an creative outlet that needs to be fulfilled. It's like #30 in the man joke Barb posted - "If it itches, it will be scatched." You've got the itch that needs to be scratched and you do that with your cars. ;)

Hey Chris, now that I have your attention, I've been meaning to ask you about valve covers.

I've looked at dozens of different covers from various sources and there are many choices, but I've got to take into consideration the fact that I'll be using 1.6 rockers and will need provisions for the PVC and oil fill since I won't be building a custom oiling system for the engine. Obviously the PVC hole should have a baffle so I gotta keep that in mind too.

I want to keep the look business-like and not flashy/showy, so I'm steering clear of the polished and chrome covers if I can. The GM Performance "Chevrolet Bow-Tie" cast aluminum covers look good, but the tall ones (4 1/8") don't have the holes; the bosses are there, but you have to open them up. The short (3 1/8") have the baffled holes for the oil/PVC, but I'm not sure they'll clear the rockers. Got any experience with these (or any cast covers from GM Performance)?

_ken :w
 
Ken,

If your rockers are going to require a tall valve cover you are in for a little fabrication work. On the driver side rear of the car it will come way too close to the wiper motor. You may also have trouble under the a/c unit on the front passenger side.

Not a big deal. If you get aluminum covers they can be cut and welded to clear and add any baffles or whatever at that time.

However, play around with some other things. You can fit a standard size cover but you may need to fabricate a 1/4" aluminum spacer to go around the top of the head to space up just enough to clear. We did this with a friends car and it turned out very nice and allowed him to use a stock cover.

Are your heads going to be center bolt or perimeter? The stock ones were center-same on this 90. The Edelbrock heads I am using are the old perimeter style. This kind is easy to space up. You can use a stock 1984-1986 Valve cover and fabricate the plate to raise it up. This is something I will consider later.

On to another note. I will post three pics here of the Ram clutch dual mass flywheel conversion. This first one is of the two different clutch fork ball studs. Note the short dirty one is the stock ZF dual mass stud. The taller one allows for the 1987-1988 4+3 Flywheel which is thinner.
 
This pic should give an idea of the stock thickness of the dual mass flywheel. Open it next to the next picture I am posting to see the real difference. The 4+3 flywheel is so much lighter there should be a noticeable snappy feel to the throttle vs. the stock six speed configuration.

If you look at the photo you will see the ring gear, then some kind of other strange lump of steel. That is the dual mass inner section that actually twists inside the main flywheel hub. Very heavy, very noisy.
 
Hmmm... modifying valve covers, eh? Wait! This is sunny Southern California, I don't need a wiper motor. :L

Nice shots of the flywheels Chris. I pulled into the shop yesterday and Will said "I was just going to call you. You got your camera?"

Turns out he had some of the parts in, as well as the block back from the machine shop. If I would have had my camera with me, I could have grabbed a few shots to show some of the work he had already done to it. There will be plenty more opportunity though, he knows I want to document everything. ;)

One of the things we talked about before though was the flywheel. His opinion is that I would regret running an aluminum flywheel on the street, so we are going with a steel unit. I think that'll work out ok; it may not rev as quickly, but it will be smoother for the street, right?

_ken :w
 
You guys, we all like the sound of high revin chevy and the rumble of a tweaked out vette, But I have to say there is nothing like the sound of a UPS truck roaring up street and the sound of the squeaky brakes as he stops in front of the house.......:dance
:_rock
 
:L We've discussed our friendly UPS driver and his truck here before Dave. :J

_ken :w
 
I meant no wrong, in fact, let's talk again about what a good feeling it is to hear the sound of his truck.

_ken ;)
 
My UPS guy knows I am building up a corvette, but he does not know what it looks like yet. My work shop is in the back yard behind a swinging 6 ' privacy fence. My dually is usually parked between the shop and gate so it makes it even harder to tell what is going on back there. The house garage door is usually shut.

He is more positive and upbeat about the projects than me. He keeps telling me that one day he will be driving by and he is going to see that car he brought to me one box at a time. I did not even bother telling him that the miniram, headers and stuff was for a different car.

It is really cool because he is on a late run for the day. So, 99% of the time I am home when he delivers.
 
LOL.... I've had the same UPS guy for years and he too has watched all my projects. He even has stopped when there is no delivery! He delivers around noon, so when I'm not home he puts the stuff in the garage for me. Trained. Man I love parts!!!.....Cant wait untill its Corvette time here. Lately its been house remodeling (ugh) . No UPS guy for that stuff. Lowes and my labor.
Ken , the clutch you previously bought , is it going to work for the Richmond. And what brand is it and do you like it? Thanks.
 
Ls1smlblck said:
Whats the plans on the old power plant?


I am going to aske $1K firm for it as you basically see it in the photo above.

It has miles on it, but I still think that is a great deal for basically everything you need less the harness and puter to install in a different car. I would almost bet you this thing will end up in something other than a Corvette.

At least the future new owner can honestly say that the engine came from a Vette. I checked when I yanked it and yes, the numbers match!
 
Here is the hot motor ready to go in. At this point the oil cooler, starter, bell housing, front balancer, and a few block sensors are in.
 
Oh #@)(*&(&@$#@&#&%*)!!!!!!!!!!

I could not drop the motor back in with the transmission still in. I was able to pull it out this way, but there is just not enough room.

Underneath I went, out came the driveshaft, and torque arm. Back inside the car I yanked the gear shift console and boot.


The good news as of this pic, motor in. The bad news is that hunk of metal next to the left front tire is the ZF six waiting to go back where it belongs.
 

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