Hello listers!
Day of days this is! OD installation completed this very sunny April day.
And it works, and the car runs beautifully, and thus far - NO LEAKS!!!
Started the project New Year's eve afternoon. Extracted the engine Feb.9,
mated OD transmission to engine March 21, stripped and refinish of engine
bay completed April 4, engine & new tranny reinstalled April 11..and today,
it started (eventually), it ran, and the OD worked flawlessly. And in
between these dates, new front & rear engine seals, new clutch, new
transmission seals, new wiring harness, new stainless steel oil lines and
new cooler, much re-finishing of components with maximum attention to detail
- and crowning glory - the 'Overdrive' badge secured last year in Australia!
Now both cars proudly display their transmission option badging.
Worst jobs - mating OD to engine (damn, that thing's heavy), installing new
speedo cable to back of speedo (not a lot of room back there) and the number
one p*ss-off - the four transmission mounting bolts, complicated even
further with the OD unit, and an afternoon of attempting to install the
crossmember backwards! Best advice when refitting these bolts - leave
everything loose, all the bracketry and mounting hardware - until you've got
the bolts installed, THEN tighten everthing up after 'gittin' jiggy wit it'!
(This is one of many tips I picked up on this very list, thank you very much!)
Other accomplishments along the way - enlisting the girth of my 6' 15
year-old to wrestle that tranny back on....replacing the engine ID plate
with a replacement from Todd Clarke Spares, those beautiful stainless steel
braided oil lines and new cooler from Ted Schumacher at TS Imported
Automotive in Pandora, Ohio. Installing a relay for the OD, complete with a
small, correct colour-coded wiring harness made up from an old wiring
harness. Stripping and re-spraying the engine bay was a good idea I amost
talked myself out of. It took a lot of time to remove items and mask those
that didn't, but the results are quite satisfying.
Now, if I could just find a plexiglass hood (bonnet)!
With the completion of this project, I now face project withdrawl...but this
does complete my roadster, now I can turn attention to the ol' GT, needing
new rear springs, a new gas tank, rear axle seals, and a complete paint
job...sigh...so much for withdrawl....
Terry 'Overdriven' Williams
'70 BGT (you guessed it)
'68 roadster (reborn to be overdriven)
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