1979 242DL - Analog Motoring

[Harlard]

Originally Posted by oldschoolvolvo

Something I've been noticing is that my car sits higher in the front than the rear. It's lower than it was originally, but I wish it was dropped a bit more in the front. The springs are the old black ipd springs (no marking, but that's how they were described when I bought them). I do have 15A's strut plates in the front. However the car does not have power steering or a/c which may be the reason...idk. I don't really want to take apart the struts again, but maybe cutting the dead coils off of the front springs would drop it down a bit.

Old side profile pic for reference:

So glad you went through the effort of removing that ****ty spraybomb job. The kid that did it really does deserve a punt in the nuts.

Why not just raise the rear? I think I may be getting old. I also think I may swap in stock length struts on Pig. Shocking, I know.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Not a bad idea tho, would be easy enough to do with a simple spacer.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Time for an update…

TL;DR…T5 swap + adjustable panhard rod + BNE Select strut mounts.

------------------------------------------------------

I decided to swap out the M45 in favor of a T5. The main reasons for doing this were to gain a 5th gear/better shifter “feel”/different gear ratios.

Thanks to the available adapters and info on this board it was a rather straightforward process.
Helpful links:
http://www.aaronreedbaker.com/t5swap.html
Verodubs' T5 swap: http://turbobricks.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5419203

I did the swap by myself in my garage with a floor jack and the car on jackstands.

I tried to keep costs down as much as possible but I still have ~$1k into it. The primary cost drivers for me were the transmission itself and the adapter.

For posterity’s sake, here is my parts list and corresponding vendors:

-169 transmission (3.35 1st & 0.68 5th) - craigslist
87 Mustang GT driveshaft - craigslist
DeeWorks T5 adapter - Yoshifab
Mustang driveshaft adapter - Yoshifab
Rhino-Pac/AMS 07-030 clutch kit for 93 4-cyl Mustang (8.5”/10-spline clutch disc) – sale @ PepBoys
SM9721 SVO disc - California Clutch (aka Clutchnet)
(disc has Valeo/LUK stamped on it, so it looks like it’s just a rebranded piece)
V8 Fox Mustang clutch alignment tool – RockAuto
V8 Fox Mustang pilot bearing (Timken FC65174) – RockAuto
6003-2RS ball bearing - Fastenal <--ball bearing > needle bearing
Anchor 2530 trans mount (V8 Fox Mustang) – RockAuto
4x6x¼” steel plate – eBay
Elring 044590 RMS (brown Viton) - eBay
Elring 044598 RMS - eEuroparts
SKF throwout bearing - eEuroparts
Re-used stock Sachs 3082 185 231 pressure plate (was not having any slip issues with M45 setup, has 23k miles on it)
Saab 9-3 Viggen pressure plate - eEuroparts
Mustang speedometer cable – Late Model Restoration
23T speedo gear – Late Model Restoration *don't use 23T speedo gears!*
6T speedo drive gear - eBay
21T speedo driven gear - Late Model Restoration
T5 reverse light pigtail – Late Model Restoration
New 240 clutch return spring – eBay (mine was almost rusted through)
Delrin clutch cable bushing – STS Machining (77volvo245)
Generic short shifter – eBay

Install notes:
-The T5 is much longer than the M45 and takes some more finesse to get it up into the trans tunnel and mated up with the block. I needed to install the shifter after the trans was situated in the tunnel otherwise there wasn’t enough room for it to rotate into place. I did not need to hammer any part of the tunnel.
-With my car being an early 240, it does not have x sets of tapped holes in the frame rails for the trans x-member. I installed the x-member as far back as possible and used 2x #14 sheet metal screws and fender washers to make up for the 2x missing attachment points (apparently later 240s have an additional set of holes in the frame rails).
-I followed what aaronreedbaker did for the trans mount and just had a piece of steel welded to my existing x-member.
-clutch was adjusted normally and did not require any spacing of the pivot ball
-stock clutch fork return spring can be reused, there is an attachment point on the side of the T5
-stock clutch disc thickness: 7.75 mm (23k miles)
-Mustang clutch disc thickness: 8.25 mm
-M45 weight w/o bellhousing: 59 lb
-T5 weight w/o bellhousing: 75 lb
-I corrected the pinion angle and centered the rear axle
-Speedo cable: The Mustang cable and Volvo cable both use the same size square inner drive cable (same length), but obviously have different outer casings. I grafted a Mustang speedo cable to the Volvo cable by cutting about 6” off of both the Mustang and Volvo cables at the speedo end and swapping them, using a piece of ¼” hose to hold them together. There is enough interference fit that I did not use any clamps. Using a speedo gear calculator, I swapped the black speedo gear for a 23T white gear. My speedo reads 3-5 mph high...close enough for me.
-I did not like the jog in the Mustang shift lever, so I cut it up and had it re-welded to mimic the Volvo shifter angle. I also picked up a $40 eBay short shifter. Mechanically it is very simple and seems to work fine. I did replace the included cap screws with better quality ones and used Loctite on all fasteners.










I also made my stock panhard rod adjustable with Steinjager hardware. I cut ~6” in out of my stock panhard rod and set the turnbuckle to allow for ~1” of “shortening” from the stock length.

The Steinjager pieces I used were:
-J0028417 ¾-16 LH/RH turnbuckle
-3/4-16 LH threaded bung
-3/4-16 RH threaded bung




I also picked up a set of BNE Select strut mounts. They are very nice units as expected. I installed using bolts in “Position 1” due to my stock diameter springs and it is worth noting that these mounts will allow the spring to touch the upper strut tower which will cause the steering to bind. This would not be an issue with smaller diameter coilover springs. In the end I set my camber at -1* and did not have any issues with binding. You can see the camber/caster change that is built into the mounts from this pic with a 15A support plate for reference.




After reading some suspension threads, I decided to swap the 25mm rear ipd swaybar for the stock 19mm bar which made bumps and expansion joints less harsh.

Overall, the most noticeable item after completing the swap is that the car is quieter while driving. I attribute this to the rear-end previously not being optimally aligned and/or worn bearings in the driveshaft with the M45 setup. Having a 5th gear is great and the car drives very nicely so far.

[soclosenotnear]

Everyone can appreciate the detailed posts. T5 swap parts lists are always handy. Awesome project!

[Harlard]

Looks good. Wanna make meanother one of those cross members?

[Scaramanga]

Well done!

Thank god you got rid of that crappy paint work. I agree with Harland, raise it in the rear, just a little bit.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Thanks.

@Scaramanga
Actually with the BNE Select strut mounts, the front end dropped a little bit (as expected) and I think it looks ok now. I'll get a pic for comparison at some point.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Upgraded my front seats by rebuilding the seats from my brother's 92 that was wrecked. The seats were pretty thrashed but came back to life with some Wagonmeister seat grids and gluing the foam back together with some pieces of a canvas drop cloth. Pretty pleased with the result.






25yrs of dirt coming out of the seat covers.

[LC4CARL]

Great T5 info.

[Uncleknucklez]

Originally Posted by oldschoolvolvo

25yrs of dirt coming out of the seat covers.

More like "25 years of butt sweat" amiright?!

[oldschoolvolvo]

yea that too

[oldschoolvolvo]

No pics, but a small update...

-had to remove/install the trans more than I should have in order to fix a leaking RMS...there was no apparent "ridge" on the crank to warrant seating the seal deeper, but the brown Elring RMS I put in did not seal and I replaced it with a 10mm red Elring.
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/451...x10mm-0044598/

-I put in an "A" cam just because and it seems to be a nice compromise between the "T" and the "V". It does not have the off/on characteristic of the "V". Also, it got rid of a 2500rpm stutter that I had ever since swapping in the "T". I'm assuming it was the knock sensor pulling timing due to the very quick spooling nature of the "T" cam and 13C turbo. Regardless, the "A" cam is a nice driveable cam that is happy with higher rpm pulls.

[Harlard]

I may want to get that V off your hands if interested.

[oldschoolvolvo]

V cam has long been sold. Been running a T cam for the past year or so.

[Harlard]

[oldschoolvolvo]

Also, as a PSA...don't use 23T speedo gears.


While they may "still work" after they get chewed up, it's not that hard to replace the drive gear inside the trans when the trans is out. I tried reducing the diameter of this one by ~1mm per advice from a Mustang forum, but it didn't change anything.

Long story short, a 6T drive gear and a 21T driven gear work great with a 3.91 diff. Now my speedo is all but spot on.

stick70 also had a similar experience: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showth...182862&page=17

[Harlard]

I have a 6/19 combination and it reads about 9% low. Will try a 20 and 21 tooth for ****s and giggles. What tire are you running currently?

[oldschoolvolvo]

195/60-15 on Virgos

[oldschoolvolvo]

Was out for a drive last night an noticed that my clutch has started slipping ...can't say that I'm super surprised b/c I did put in a cheap clutch disc and still have the stock PP. However, I took out my MBC which dropped the boost from 13psi back to 7psi and the slipping stopped.

As an upgrade I'd love to go the Yoshifab 235mm route, but that's a little spendy for this project (and probably overkill). Realistically I'll probably follow what VeroDubs has done with the Saab Viggen 228mm PP and get an appropriate disc (ClutchNet / South Bend). I'd also like to do a hydraulic clutch setup at the same time.
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=322724

For now I'll just settle for lower boost and save my for the future upgrade.

[LC4CARL]

Grr.

[Uncleknucklez]

Originally Posted by oldschoolvolvo

Was out for a drive last night an noticed that my clutch has started slipping ...can't say that I'm super surprised b/c I did put in a cheap clutch disc and still have the stock PP. However, I took out my MBC which dropped the boost from 13psi back to 7psi and the slipping stopped.

As an upgrade I'd love to go the Yoshifab 235mm route, but that's a little spendy for this project (and probably overkill). Realistically I'll probably follow what VeroDubs has done with the Saab Viggen 228mm PP and get an appropriate disc (ClutchNet / South Bend). I'd also like to do a hydraulic clutch setup at the same time.
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=322724

For now I'll just settle for lower boost and save my for the future upgrade.

Hey! Clutch slippers unite! I'm in the same boat, most likely won't spring for anything before IPD, and also will ditch the MBC (or turn it down) until I find a solution that agrees with my needs and pocket book.

[Uncleknucklez]

But those extra psi's sure are addicting.

[oldschoolvolvo]

With my current clutch setup slipping and getting progressively worse, I decided to take the upgrade path of the 228mm Saab 9-3 Viggen PP and a California Clutch (aka Clutchnet) SVO disc (SM9721). I also ditched the cable actuated setup and converted to a hydro clutch. Shoutout to Uncleknucklez for collaboration and feedback on this setup.

Here is my parts lists:

Sachs 3082 302 731 pressure plate – eEuroparts (Saab 9-3 Viggen application)
SM9721 clutch disc “Smooth-Lock Pro” – California Clutch (Mustang SVO / Thunderbird turbo application)
Centric 136.39000 clutch master cyl – Rock Auto (240 diesel / 260 application)
Centric 138.39002 slave cyl – Rock Auto (740 Turbo application)
30mm snap ring (914463) – Tasca
Sachs SBA8006 throwout bearing – Rock Auto (740 Turbo application)
M90 clutch fork (3549983) – Tasca
Lock spring (1377132) - Tasca
Steel M12x1.0 – 3AN adapter (@slave) – eBay
Steel M12x1.0 – 3AN banjo (@master) – eBay
36” premade 3AN braided stainless line – eBay
Clutch pedal return spring (1205725) – Tasca
Clutch pedal pin (964843) – Tasca
Clutch pedal split pin (664822) – Tasca
¼” steel plate for pedal modification – eBay
M8 washers for PP spacing- Fastenal
6003-2RS bearing – Fastenal (replacement pilot bearing)

As other have noted, the dowel pin locations on a flat flywheel need to be moved in order to use the Viggen PP on a flat flywheel. I had a local machine shop take care of this work. The dowel pin holes in the PP also needed to be opened up slightly.

(blue = bolt locations, red = old dowel locations, green = new dowel locations)

I used M8 washers to space the PP out from the flywheel ~1.5mm. The SM9721 clutch disc measures ~232mm (9.125”) and a leaves about 1-2mm between the OD of the disc and the outer cover of the PP, however it works fine.



I spaced the pivot ball out ~15mm and did not need to use the allen bolt modification on the clutch fork. I installed the clutch fork / TOB in the bellhousing and bolted that to the engine a few times in order to establish how much pivot ball spacing I needed.


The initial setting of the slave cylinder allowed ~1/2” additional compression and ~1” of extension. The clutch engages/disengages in the top ¼ of the pedal stroke.




I also replaced the Mustang pilot bearing with a 6003-2RS sealed ball bearing. I was not having any issues with the Mustang pilot bearing, but the sealed ball bearing should last longer than the unsealed needle bearing.



I modified the clutch pedal by extending it ~2.5” and adding a tab to push on the master cyl piston. The center-to-center distance of the tab holes is 2.5” and the center of the smaller tab hole is aligned with the centerline of the clutch pedal arm. I ordered the misc OE hardware to attach the pedal to the clutch master mainly just b/c it was inexpensive and could still be ordered through Tasca (although it did require a special order and 4wk wait), although you could easily use an M8 bolt here.





While I had things apart I installed 2 3/8-16 rivet nuts for the rear-most trans crossmember attachment points as my original solution was not ideal.

Driving impressions:
Clutch pedal is noticeably lighter than it was with the cable. I believe this is driven mostly by the pressure plate being a larger OE unit and not a stiffer upgraded aftermarket unit vs anything related to the hydraulic system. My cable clutch setup engaged at the bottom ¼ of the pedal stroke, so it took a bit to get used to the new characteristics of the clutch pedal engagement, but after a few miles it was fine.

[MDVLN]

Pictures no worky :( - Looks like you tried to shorten the ridiculously long google photo URL?(Edit-tested this myself so that should work, I saw you did the with some pics above)

When I signed into a google account, all I saw was the grey "access denied" logo on the photo. Not sure if sharing settings may have anything to do with both.

Didn't want to clutter the sale thread with that info

[oldschoolvolvo]

Originally Posted by MDVLN

Pictures no worky :( - Looks like you tried to shorten the ridiculously long google photo URL?(Edit-tested this myself so that should work, I saw you did the with some pics above)

When I signed into a google account, all I saw was the grey "access denied" logo on the photo. Not sure if sharing settings may have anything to do with both.

Didn't want to clutter the sale thread with that info

Thanks for the heads up.

It's strange that my Google Photos method doesn't work anymore...but I edited the post using imgur so the pics should work now.