KWick_70MC Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Kelly, looks good.. It is going to be an awesome setup. The center console looks great as well. === Thanks for sharing :-} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtankjones Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Yeah Kelly, Looking really good. She is going to turn great with all those cool parts you are putting into her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks guys, appreciate all the kind words and it does help motivate me. The ram on my engine hoist must have blown the seal (maybe because is was cold?) as it started oozing out the end. Couldn't get the motor off the stand so I'll have to sort that out before getting much further. Finished off the wiring and mounted some things like the fuel evap, wiper motor, wiper fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughn Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Great Job Kelly!! That setup will be awesome. Everything is so nice and clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWick_70MC Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Kelly, why did you paint the edge white, to further cut the hole for the tranny? I have read many threads elsewhere that mods for the tunnel are required, but not if you get one of the RS tranny's from keisler. I am really curious if they are spot on with what they sell. 402 with a 5 speed.. and no mods... hmmmmm!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 I placed the 4 speed hump in position by putting the console in place based on the existing holes to mount the console. It seemed to fit best right where it ended up, and it looks right based on real humps I've seen. I painted the edge white just so I could see where the new hump edge would be as I cut the hole. I wanted to make sure I didn't come too close. I won't mount the hump permanently until the tranny is in place and everything looks right. I'm certainly counting on not having to make any modifications (auto to 4 speed aside) and having a nice drive line angle. Once I get the tranny in place, I can measure and request my driveshaft. I wish my hoist hadn't crapped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capri's 71 SS Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Didn't read the whole thing but sure is looking like a great Monte of The Month Story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWick_70MC Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Either way, surely looks good so far. Now the paint makes sense, and a great idea. I have kicked around a second car for a daily driver, and putting in a stick. Are you going to Penticon, and are you gonna bring the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Hey Kevin, yes Penticton is the goal and I would drive this car. I was there with it a few years ago and had a great time hanging out with everyone. I need to get moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Some motivation for you... Penticton meet photos: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 So it took a while to find out that I could replace the leaking ram with an off the shelf component from Princess Auto but once I got that sorted out, I was off to the races again. I could pull the engine off the stand so I fit my plug wires and started to do my bell housing “centered” test, and the clutch finger to CSC measurements. They all came out in spec so the next step was to mount the bell housing to the tranny. I couldn’t make it fit over the CSC. I called Keisler and sent them some pictures and he agreed it was the wrong part or not machined properly. You can see in the picture how the edge sticks out maybe 1/8”. That edge is where the hydraulic fitting goes and sorting that connection out is one of the reasons they want you to mount the transmission to the bell housing, and then the bell housing to the motor. They’re sending me out a new one right away. I’m away for a few weeks so I couldn’t do much anyway. Hopefully it will be there when I get back and I can get going again. I need the weight of the motor to put my front end and brakes back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 When I came back I think they had forgotten about my part but couriered it immediately and I had it in a few days. That allowed me to start putting the transmission onto the bellhousing. I cannot imagine how painful it must be to try and do that from below the car. There isn’t a lot of room and my Craftsman open ends might get 1/8 of a turn. I ended up using some needle nose vice grips to get more rotation. I was careful to keep the pressure off and not scratch up the bolt heads as I tightened them up. Once they’re down, you can use the open ends to torque them up.I really am hoping I can plant this thing once and not have to pull it back out. I went to put the speedo cable together and realized I’m missing a hardware kit that includes the O-ring. It was on my shipping invoice but I didn’t check things off so not sure if I had it or not. Keisler is sending me another one at no cost. You can see the hydraulic hose coming out of the bell housing from the CSC. Next step is to drop it in and then put the front end back together. Hoping this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughn Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Looks good Kelly! Keep on keeping us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolkat Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Great job! Makes me want to convert my Monte to manual. Can't wait to see the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70mcarlo Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 NICE!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 I’ve been doing some more work on the Monte so thought I’d show the progress. Had a few friends over and they helped me plant the drive train. Probably the easiest car in the world to drop the motor and transmission in together. It went in very smoothly and there appears to be no issues on clearance. The transmission cross member moves a bit but that appears to be the only change. I’ve ordered the driveshaft and hope to see it soon. I was surprised to discover the driveshaft U-joints were bigger in my SS car. I would have assumed big block cars would be the same. I will probably trim the 4 speed hump a little where you can see the shifter is right up against the edge.The motor weight allowed me to pursue the springs and put the front end together. Still needed a spring compressor to get the springs in. I bought big block springs for A/C at the time and have some concerns about the height now that I eliminated the A/C, put on an aluminum intake and it will eventually have headers. It does sit high but still not all back together so I’ll wait and see.I bought some parts (Jeggs?) like a big front sway bar and some brake hoses but neither fit. The sway bar is way too close to the idler arm and the power steering box, and the brake lines have the wrong fitting on one end. Not too happy about that. Need to find my receipts and sort the parts out. Thinking of stealing my SS sway bar for the time being, or I may just put on the old one.I’m away right now but hoping to try and start the engine next weekend. Onward and upward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 Many trials and tribulations but Minni Monte is on the road. I need an alignment because it's a little wandery after my front end rebuild, but seems to have lots of power and I like the 5 speed. Getting used to the clutch and the shifter position. A 2.73 rear end lends itself to warp speed in 5th and with the front end swaying around, I haven't gone there much. I need the 3.42 that the transmission speedo gear is set up for.I'll post some pictures and describe the saga when I get a little more time. Alignment on Monday, so I'm looking forward to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 You have one nice car there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 Starting the engine went reasonably well. I’d never run the carb before so I was a little nervous, but I managed to get the distributor in the right place and it fired up pretty quickly. We ran it for a while but when we were done, there was a regular tick and the vacuum would fluctuate with the tick. Pulled off the valve covers and found an intake very loose. After some investigation I decided to pull off the intake and I could see that the lifter was collapsed. Unfortunately I could also see some of the lifters were orientated incorrectly and the little engraved word “up” on the bar connecting the two rockers, was not up at all. In fact, almost half of them were in the wrong position. While they’ll fit nicely both ways, when they're in wrong, the rocker wheels are cock eyed and scar up the cam lobes nicely. Bye bye camshaft. All I can say is it was an expensive mistake. On the plus side, if the lifter hadn’t collapsed, I wouldn’t have taken off the intake and discovered the bigger problem. A few miles on that motor and I’m sure the camshaft would have melted down and done a lot more damage. As it was, I caught it in time and there was no collateral damage.You can see the collapsed lifter on the far left. The pair on the right are so you can see the “UP” that I managed to miss. You can see the scars on the cam lobes from the lifters that were installed incorrectly.The next fun thing was putting the timing cover back on with the oil pan in place. I did some searches and found a method that seemed reasonable. My advice is to practise dry several times until you get the hang of it, and then put on the sealer. So far so good, no leaks.Got the motor running again and the hood was returned after a two year absence. Unfortunately I struggled bleeding the clutch, and despite several attempts, ended up taking it to a shop. He told me it was bled properly but it needed work to extend the pedal travel. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the mechanical linkage and fabricated my Z-bar mount. Waaaaay too many hours putting it in and screwing around with it. Perhaps I’ll feel better about it when I mount the headers. A different feel as well but I’m getting used to it.It was nice to get the interior back in and make it look like a car again. I used FatMat and put in a new carpet. It was for a 4-speed but suspect it was more for the bench hump than the console mount. OPG only sold one for the 4 speed so it fit ok but it’s loose around the hump near the firewall. The shifter is pretty tight to the console opening in 1st and 2nd so I may adjust it a bit and move it over slightly.As mentioned, I need an alignment before I see what happens when the back end starts sliding around. The peg leg 2:73 breaks loose pretty easy and you need to be going pretty fast to require 5th. The plan is to put a posi in the back with a 3:42 ratio and that’s what the transmission speedo gear was set up for. The new big block springs for an AC car are sitting things up pretty high. Since I took out the AC and added an aluminum intake, I’ve lost too much weight. The header addition will only make it worse so I need to do something about it. I’ll probably drive it for a while first. Perhaps another winter project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughn Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Looks awesome Kelly, I'm glad that you have her back on the road! Congrats!!!!!! Thats alot of hard work you've done. You should drive down to High River next weekend. A few of us getting together for the show on the 23rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWick_70MC Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 You should drive down to High River next weekend. A few of us getting together for the show on the 23rd. I would love to see the car all done.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrillseeker Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Pretty cool stuff you have done to put that car together. Good job. I am in the middle of doing my 70 and look forward to having it rolling again like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7tonemonte Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Great work Kelly! That car is going to be a blast to drive! So was the Keisler setup a very complete package for it? Ive heard they are down to the last nut and bolt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 very nice, I was considering Keisler for a tremec too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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