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Mike K's '79 242 Barn Car Revival

Thanks, that's really appreciated. Definitely a huge time suck!

I keep flip flopping on what to do for a clutch disc, need to make up my mind. I bought in for the full faced organic disc from Josh which is "conservatively" rated for 375ft lbs with the Clutch Masters pressure plate. I certainly think the car is going to be capable of that kind of torque but not sure how much I'd really exceed it (I'm not looking to push it to the ragged edge but I'd really like a 400whp dyno sheet). I could upgrade and get a pucked disc for more torque but I'm concerned it's going to be a pain in the ass to live with. It's not a DD or city car but it'd be nice to have it have some manners.

Anyone got any thoughts on life with a pucked up disc?

I have always been a fan of the 6 puck clutches so I did the same things for my Volvo build.

The pressure plate isn't much stiffer than stock, so it should be easy to drive. Pedal feel is great.

I drilled my flywheel for a 2.3 turbo Ford setup, which makes clutch upgrade a bit cheaper and it uses a 9.125" disc. This one was made by my local clutch shop.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=300645
 
I have always been a fan of the 6 puck clutches so I did the same things for my Volvo build.

The pressure plate isn't much stiffer than stock, so it should be easy to drive. Pedal feel is great.

I drilled my flywheel for a 2.3 turbo Ford setup, which makes clutch upgrade a bit cheaper and it uses a 9.125" disc. This one was made by my local clutch shop.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=300645

you should update your post as it could become a reference point for people looking at clutch options...
 
IT DRIVES AGAIN!

What a great feeling. Did a 25 mile shakedown drive and all systems look good so far. Good oil pressure, good oil temps, good water temps, no scary noises, just gotta keep putting miles on it now. The wheels are just about ready to reassemble, which is good because I did the shakedown on some pretty hard squirmy studded snows in the back that didn't inspire much confidence.

sleeper mode!
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We were able to un**** the clutch cable adjuster which was the key to getting the drive in. Luckily while I was buttoning a few things up I noticed that the lower rad hose had burned off against the header tube. It was fine last year so I hadn't thought about it, but failed to realize that the thicker Nissens radiator was pushing the hose back more so it was resting right on the tube. Glad I noticed this before the ride it would have popped

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Luckily I had another hose in the shed. I trimmed about 1.5" off the WP side and another inch off the rad side, then wrapped it in the DEI tape. It's got enough clearance now that I expect it will be fine. The whole hot side of the engine is kind of a slow losing battle to catch things before they are cooked to death (I think plug wires will be the next victim)

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Better clearance now

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The car felt good on the drive. It actually has a much different sound to it now I guess because of the difference in the head and cam. I'm going to take it easy for a couple hundred miles but it's evident this lump is a whole different animal than the beat old stock block. I put about 10lbs of boost into it and it's spooling considerably earlier than before, and most noticeably the boost is coming on FAST once it's there. Way faster than the stock stuff. With 25psi and a set of sticky tires on it this is going to be a fun ride.

The only other things I wanted done before the eeuro show on the 1st was to replace the belt line trim, polish the car, and swap the skinny bumpers on. I think I can get most of it done but I doubt I'm going to get the skinny bumper trim worked out before then.
 
Glad it seems to be going well.

What are you doing for bumper trim? SS or all black turbo stuff? Creating your own contraption?

I've got a full set of 83-85 turbo trim so that's the plan for now. I haven't really held anything up to the car yet so not sure if it's as easy a making some holes for the clips and good to go. I don't mind the commando trim up front so much it's the back that really doesn't work.

Tried to mount the Yoshi catch can stuff today but it might not work for me. I have a specific spot on the strut tower I want to mount the can but it's not high enough to drain back once everything has fittings on. I might see if Saikou Michi can build me something that will fit better. Going to cap the valve cover and run the stock box in the meantime.
 
Finally, these things are done:

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Reassembly was a slow tedious job, as the whole project was, but it went well. I torqued them in a star pattern to 15ft lbs then to 30ft lbs with blue loctite. I used Dow Corning 733 silicone and used a spaghetti width bead on the very outer edge of the mating surface of the lip and the barrel, so when I pulled the pieces together it rolled out and filled the very bottom of the V between the halves. Then I laid another bead to fill that channel and smoothed it over. Putting tires on Friday so hopefully nothing leaks.

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I ended up painting the barrels in a graphite Duplicolor wheel paint. Used a can of color and a can of clear for all four.

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The Shine Seal stuff wasn't bad to apply, you clean them then just wipe the liquid on with a cloth. The only pain is that it dries with kind of a rainbow haze so you have to use a last step finish to get rid of the excess and get the polish back and it's like buffing off dried hairspray. I'm hoping that it helps me avoid constantly chasing water spots and protects them from the elements a bit. It made a very slight change to the color of the finish but only noticeable when I had half the wheel done and at the perfect angle of light.

Really happy with the results. I'd probably pay someone to machine polish the lips before I put that much effort into another set though! (or be less of a perfectionist about it...)

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today was: wash, dry, compound, wipe, compound, wash, dry, wax, buff, put the wheels on it.

Can't have dull paint and shiny wheels.

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And ohh am I excited to drive tomorrow with the new tires. Got them mounted yesterday, so far no leaking from my wheel assembly job, they were round and balanced out with very little weight.

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Put 65 miles on it today and everything seems good. The engine runs really smooth and really wants to rev. It's impressive how much faster the revs come up than the stock block - keeping it under 5k. Feels faster at 13psi than the old setup did at 18 psi.

Loving the tires, very sticky. Nice to have some grip and go.

8 valve tonezz

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KE3APpPBLFQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Bamse seal of approval

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Moving some serious air.
Glad you aren't free revving it.
Get a drive by vid?

I agree completely.
Whether it's this forum or the Corvette Forum that I also watch, there are guys sitting there free revving their engines like they're motorcycles or something. It can be soooo detrimental to the engine because there is no load on the reciprocating parts.

BTW Stiggy -

Nice reflections in your roof.
On to the eEuro show, hope you enjoy it, you worked hard for the deadline!

Mike Sr.
 
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