Dwight's '72 Kammback GT - 215 c.i. V8

[HI WINDING MONZA]

Thats how my 92 Birds lockup disengages also, Dwight ( brake )

Nice Car, looks like the previous owner did a great job on it.

Doug in PR..

[bugdewde]

Swapped out the Sun Tune Tach for a matching AutoMeter Sport Comp tach. I couldn't stand it not matching. Probably eventually swap in a stock GT dash/gauges unit at some point in the future.

Tach installed - small.jpeg

Set idle at 600 rpm to see if the Isky 282 cam would hit a lick.... hahaha.....
50 psi Oil Pressure at 600 rpm... warm.

Buick 300 exhaust manifolds down to a 2.5" y-pipe and 2.5" exhaust to a transverse mounted glass pack.... 2.5" tail pipe behind driver side rear wheel.

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/9BmrGiWKGlE

[b_pappy]

Wow, looks like a nice find. Congrats.
Bruce

[avewhtboy]

Sounds a lot bigger than it is I guess thats some what due to the higher compression and cam.

[bugdewde]

Well, I wanted to wait until I was done..... but I just had to post this.
I'm swapping out the auto trans with lock up torque converter, for the T50 five-speed I had in a previous 215-powered Vega.
Successfully removed the auto trans tonight down at my buddy's place... he has a lift. Threw the trans on the back of the Jeep's hitch haul rack. Done for the night, and headed home.

An object in motion will remain in motion..........
Not 200 yards from his house, on the first curve, the trans broke though the side rail of the hitch haul rack and bounced down the road, hitting the curb several times before coming to a rest, almost under the Jeep. Some pieces are still missing......
No turning back now....... Gotta go manual for sure!

Busted Auto.jpeg

[bugdewde]

The removal of the auto trans was much harder than expected. Not a lot of clearance at the firewall for those top bellhousing bolts, eventhough the tunnel appears to have been modified a bit. We had to use LONG extensions and a universal joint from behind the trans to get those top ones out..... What a pain.

Auto Going Out.jpeg

We used a ratchet strap to hold the trans/crossmember in place will we struggled to remove the trans from the engine. A floor jack and a section of 2x4 acted as a trans jack once we got the trans free from the engine. Quite difficult.

Auto Going Out Side.jpeg

The 215 V8 has it's own bellhousing bolt pattern, so a special bellhousing must be used to for manuals and adapter plates are used for autos.
This auto used an adapter plate and the torque converter was spaced off the flexplatel using this pressed-in unit..... yes, a pain to remove, also.

Flex Plate Spacer.jpeg

Out and awaiting the manual ....... More tomorrow.

Back Engine.jpeg

Those self-tapping screws around the shifter hole suck!!!! I gotta do something about that one day.

[avewhtboy]

Looking good Dwight, I have to ask, are you going bringing this to Pigeon Forge Cruising the smokies?

[bugdewde]

I would like to bring it..... I haven't registered for it yet, but might just show up with it.. I work that Friday night and get off Saturday morning.
I'd like to run the autocross Saturday but I know what that will do to me and my plans for this car. I shouldn't go down that road.
I'm trying to not get into "project mode" with this car.... and turn it into a project rather than a driver. The trans swap was needed (and I had all the parts lying around) to get back to some decent mileage. It gets 15.5 mpg with the auto..... apparently it needs some carb tuning, too.

There may be some eventual upgrades along the way, from the white '73 wagon project that has died:
Overkill front control arms
Manual 4-wheel disc brakes (4th gen Camaro)
5-lug conversion (S-10 spindles)
16" IROC wheels
3.42 LSD

Potential engine swap is stroking one of my Buick 215s with a 300 crank to get 260 cubic inches.

But I digress. ....... driver, not project.

[avewhtboy]

I would like to bring it..... I haven't registered for it yet, but might just show up with it.. I work that Friday night and get off Saturday morning.
I'd like to run the autocross Saturday but I know what that will do to me and my plans for this car. I shouldn't go down that road.
I'm trying to not get into "project mode" with this car.... and turn it into a project rather than a driver. The trans swap was needed (and I had all the parts lying around) to get back to some decent mileage. It gets 15.5 mpg with the auto..... apparently it needs some carb tuning, too.

There may be some eventual upgrades along the way, from the white '73 wagon project that has died:
Overkill front control arms
Manual 4-wheel disc brakes (4th gen Camaro)
5-lug conversion (S-10 spindles)
16" IROC wheels
3.42 LSD

Potential engine swap is stroking one of my Buick 215s with a 300 crank to get 260 cubic inches.

But I digress. ....... driver, not project.

Adam and I are registered to run the Saturday autocross, I am bringing the blue car and he is bring his '64 more door Nova with LS1/T56
all stock suspension!

I am trying to get the blue car in some sort of condition to autocross instead of drag race. Long journey!

Maybe I will see you there, I was hoping to be the only Vega but when I saw you putting this 5 speed in I began to wonder....

[Kenova]

............... Threw the trans on the back of the Jeep's hitch haul rack. Done for the night, and headed home.

An object in motion will remain in motion..........
Not 200 yards from his house, on the first curve, the trans broke though the side rail of the hitch haul rack and bounced down the road, hitting the curb several times before coming to a rest, almost under the Jeep. Some pieces are still missing......

Busted Auto.jpeg

There was a time during the '70's if this had happened to my friends and I we would have spent the next half hour rolling around on the ground, laughing hysterically.
Look on the bright side, it was just a 350C. Did the tailshaft housing escape damage?

Ken

[bugdewde]

Look on the bright side, it was just a 350C. Did the tailshaft housing escape damage?

Ken

Yes, it's just a 350C..... and I sort of needed some spare parts for the 350C in the '81 Turbo Trans Am. Modulator/governor???? It's stuck in 1st gear!

Sadly, the tailhousing did take some damage.

Damaged Tailshaft.jpeg

Damaged Tailshaft1.jpeg

[bugdewde]

Back to the 5-speed swap:
Looking to keep the pinion angle/tailshaft height correct without using all that fancy angle finder, trigonometry and such... looking for something relatively bolt-in. Hoping I've found a T-5 trans crossmember to work with.

Looking for some crossmember ID help in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=44007

[bugdewde]

Adam and I are registered to run the Saturday autocross, I am bringing the blue car and he is bring his '64 more door Nova with LS1/T56
all stock suspension!

I am trying to get the blue car in some sort of condition to autocross instead of drag race. Long journey!

Maybe I will see you there, I was hoping to be the only Vega but when I saw you putting this 5 speed in I began to wonder....

I hope I can get off that weekend.... now that I've checked, I work that whole weekend.
If I can get someone to cover my shifts (or shift) I'll definitely be there, even if it's just to hang out with you guys some more.

Heck, if Adam can run a stock suspensioned Nova, surely I can try a stock suspensioned Vega. 350 hp more door vs 180 hp station wagon. Who can get traction? Might be the matchup of the weekend. Sadly, he's a much better driver than I am.

The little 215's 282 duration cam really hurts the off-the-line performance of the mini 215's grunt. Not to mention the 2.56 rear LSD. DOG!
The T-50 trans is low torque rated and will die pretty easily. The plus side is it has a 3.40 first gear to help out with the 2.56 rear gears. I used to run the same set up in a Hatchback (without the 282 duration cam) and I never had to use 1st gear.... pulled out in second all the time. I still have that engine on the stand (bad bottom end).... may have to do a used cam swap before April....

Hmmmmm..... wasn't there a recent thread on some 1 1/8th front anti-sway bars? I better get on the and start locating some bigger bars.
How about some 13" R-compounds? cut Cosworth springs, poly swaybar bushings, 4-wheel disc bra..... oh no.... not again.
It's a driver, for Pete's sake, not a project!!! IT'S A DRIVER!

[Monza Harry]

Hmmmmm..... wasn't there a recent thread on some 1 1/8th front anti-sway bars? I better get on the and start locating some bigger bars.
How about some 13" R-compounds? cut Cosworth springs, poly swaybar bushings, 4-wheel disc bra..... oh no.... not again.
It's a driver, for Pete's sake, not a project!!! IT'S A DRIVER!

You've already built it, (your white/green wagon) just bolt the good stuff on the "Good Car" NOW! And ! Then it's and Time! Driver My @$$ Harry

[avewhtboy]

[/quote]

I hope I can get off that weekend.... now that I've checked, I work that whole weekend.
If I can get someone to cover my shifts (or shift) I'll definitely be there, even if it's just to hang out with you guys some more.



Hmmmmm..... wasn't there a recent thread on some 1 1/8th front anti-sway bars? I better get on the and start locating some bigger bars.
How about some 13" R-compounds? cut Cosworth springs, poly swaybar bushings, 4-wheel disc bra..... oh no.... not again.
It's a driver, for Pete's sake, not a project!!! IT'S A DRIVER![/quote]

Well I don't expect to be fast but I needed a front bar to match the rear so bigger is better right?

It's all about having fun right? So no need to do all that "go fast" stuff.