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The excitement is building

Thanks guys,

Next weekend I'll wrestle the rear out so I can send the housing and axles back.

I ordered one of those center section storage boxes from Summit so everything stays clean and perfect while I wait on the 62" housing and axles.

No doubt it'll be fun, breaking it all down to pull the axles so I can pull the center section.

What's one of these things weigh . . . maybe 300# or so?
 
On the driver's side, I added two spacers and then put the wheel on. . . . .
This gave another 1 1/4" of clearance, and looks about adequate, though another small fraction wouldn't hurt or look bad.
I measured 56" axle face to axle face, so getting one that's 62" should be perfect, giving me right about 2 1/4" clearance on each side between the tires and body.

Can't fault your reasoning, Darlene. And, BTW - that's one mean looking machine with those big bug smashers on the back! :D:p:thumbsup:
 
Island Girl said:
Next weekend I'll wrestle the rear out so I can send the housing and axles back.
Click to expand...
How did Spirit ship the rear axle, did you save their pack box???

Damn girl it's sure looking good, but don't get so excited that you don't do the right thing now!
 
You have a wider space between the tire & the body on the drivers side of the car. A narrower space between the tire & the body on the passenger side of the car. Looks like you need to move the rear end towards the passenger side. You need to have even spaces on both sides. Hope this helps. The offset driveline yoke is closer to being the center , NOT the rear differential housing. If you measure both axle shafts , you will find that one is shorter than the other. Hope this helps.
 
You might want to order a new 3rd member gasket also.
 
DonnyRay said:
You have a wider space between the tire & the body on the drivers side of the car. A narrower space between the tire & the body on the passenger side of the car. Looks like you need to move the rear end towards the passenger side. You need to have even spaces on both sides. Hope this helps. The offset driveline yoke is closer to being the center , NOT the rear differential housing. If you measure both axle shafts , you will find that one is shorter than the other. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


I think you missed the concept that I was doing a bit of mockup/experimentation to determine how much housing width I actually need to gain the right amount of tire to body clearance.

I only put 1 spacer, (1.250") on the right side to see if the tire would even clear the body with just that much extra width.

I put 2 spacers on the left to see how it looked with an additional 1.250" of width, (2.5" total) so I could visually compare it to the right side with the single spacer.

The left side clearance looks adequate, and an additional 1/2" or so, (which would be 3" more than it is without any spacers) would be perfect, meaning that an additional 6" of housing width is what I actually need.


The car shipped as a rolling chassis, so no separate packaging for the differential.

I'll have to cobble up a little crate and some bubble wrap and cardboard to sent it back.

I'll make sure I ask Josh to send some extra gaskets with the longer housing. (and for insurance, I'll order a couple from Summit)
 
Island Girl said:
No doubt it'll be fun, breaking it all down to pull the axles so I can pull the center section.

What's one of these things weigh . . . maybe 300# or so?
Click to expand...

You'll most likely need an axle puller (slide hammer) to get them out.

3rd members are 70 - 80#. So maybe 150 total?

My suggestion is to pull the axles and 3rd member while the housing is still in the chassis. Makes things much easier to deal with. Especially that heavy ass 3rd member or a sticky axle.
 
Make your crate 6+" longer that way Spirit can slip your new rear end in and ship it back or ask them how they ship axles/ rear ends. The weight and paint job will probably require SOME type of pallet.
 
You've been awfully quiet Darlene. I am assuming you've been working on the hot rod instead of typing. Which I totally get, but how bout a short progress report?
 
I wish that were the case, but I have major projects going on at work which have virtually consumed me here these last few weeks.

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of progress to report.

I have the engine on the stand with the hose adapters plumbed up for the garden hose, ready to test run and set timing, which I'll hopefully accomplish today, but I also have to put a new brake booster in the corvette, so I'm still trying to find time to pull the rear, crate it up and send the housing and axles back for a 62".

I have to admit as well, that having the wrong rear, 56" wide, and the broken grill shell was kind of demoralizing, but I'm getting past that and know it's just more work for me to do, but that I'll cowboy up, quit whining, and get it done.

Now if I could just take some vacation time . . . . .
 
Sometimes life gets in the way of our toy time. But not to worry, it'll still be there when you can get back to it. If I had just been born rich instead of so damn good looking I wouldn't have to work to afford my toy's! :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::unsure:

Hope things slow down a bit for you soon. :thumbsup:
 
Mini Update . . .

Got to run the motor and set the timing today.

16* initial and all in at 32* by 2500.

I was surprised to find that it will idle just slightly below 900.

It was very rewarding to just hear it run for a while and not see any fluid leaks anywhere. . . . According to the el-cheapo gages that come with the Larin test stand, it has 86 to 90# of oil pressure at idle, and just shy of 100# once off idle. The voltage reading in the timing light showed that the alternator was charging as it should, so another small plus.

The stand itself seems sufficiently solid so far and has not given me any issues.

Strange sometimes, how just a little positivity can make you feel some renewed enthusiasm.

 
COOL! Sounds like an old Harley a friend used to have.:)
 
Thanks guys, appreciate the positive feedback . . . .

Feeling all positive and enthusiastic, I went to take a look at pulling the booster on the 'vette, and closer inspection revealed some MC leakage at the booster, so now I have a new MC ordered and more work to do after more $ spent.

Likely that brake fluid leakage caused the plastic booster housing to crack leaving me with no power brakes. . . . At least the new booster is metal.
 
JetMech727 said:
Sometimes life gets in the way of our toy time. But not to worry, it'll still be there when you can get back to it. If I had just been born rich instead of so damn good looking I wouldn't have to work to afford my toy's! :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::unsure:

Hope things slow down a bit for you soon. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Have you actuall looked in a mirror lately?:D:D:whistling::whistling::):):):)
 
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