It's About Time

by 77ElClassic Fri Jul 13, 2012 11:22 pm

Well.....finally;
It's been almost 4 years to the day since the transmission in my Elco failed. For almost 4 years, everytime I saved enough $$ to repair it the way I wanted to, a new crisis reared it's ugly head. You know - typical crap life throws at you, like the new roof the house needs, oldest daughter in a bad car accident 1200 miles away, honey-do list after honey-do list, followed by inevitable divorce (my 3rd btw - kept the Elco thru them all though). Rambling - Sorry.
Tonight I finally completed installing a brand-new TCI Super-Streetfighter w/ a 2600 stall Breakaway converter and a Hurst V-Matic 2 shifter. I even installed a cooler in a series with the internal radiator cooler without using any rubber hose or hose-clamps (I looked for a smiley blowing his own horn to insert here, but couldn't find one)
I think I got lucky with the combination I selected. This car never was a contender for any 1/4 mile trophies by any means, but it always was pretty impressive stop-light to stop-light racer. I have yet ever had a Mustang GT beat me when coming off the line.
My configuration is;
-400 SBC .030 over (406?) - 292 cam w/ 488 lift - 670cfm Holley mechanical spreadbore carb - FlowTech small tube headers with Flowmaster 2.5" exhaust.
- GM 10.5" rear - 3:73 posi
It seems this tranny and converter combination was just the right ticket needed to make a car that had a good launch have a great launch. I know I'm still not a quarter mile contender. Car is just too heavy and I can't get enough RPMs outta the 400 to get any kind of top speed to keep up. But OMG is it fun to drive.
After all this time, you can imagine how excited I was to get 'er back out on the road and drive. I can't wait until tomorrow cheers

I just had to share.

by JiMi_DRiX Sat Jul 14, 2012 2:03 am

Im excited for you! My 76 Monte did a lot of sitting around for a year or so while I was getting life together. Last year I finally got the interior finished and was so excited to finally get to cruise it again! I know how good you must feel!

Do you know what kind of HP numbers you might be putting down? I use to own a 97 GT Mustang, and one night I was in the Monte, next to the same style GT Mustang. He wanted to go, so, we went, and I blew him away! Not bad for a big tank of a car. If you're ever in AZ, I stepped up to an 04 Cobra if you want to give that a go next! Very Happy

tee hee hee.

by 77ElClassic Sat Jul 14, 2012 2:42 am

A guy put in on one of those portable dyno's at a stock car rally back in 97 or so. Back then, it still had a stock intake and 2 1/4" downpipes on 2" tailpipes. He said it rated 365HP @ 3800, but had a whopping 425lbs of torque at 3200. I thought that pretty impressive for a '75 400 with no more than what I've done to it. Dude was charging $75.00 a pop for the test tho', so he may have been blowing smoke up my pipes.
I doubt I'm any match for the Cobra, with the possible exception of the 1st 30 feet while your still trying to get a grip. The Elco does have a crazy launch.
Mustangs are kinda fun though. I had a 2K GT.

by 77mali Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:40 am

That sounds like a nice set up. How are the 3.73's for just cruising around & how are they on the hiway? I'm curious how they compare to a 3.08 or say a 3.23.

I'm dying to get my car up & running, it'll be 2 years in Nov. since buying it. The good news is my engine shop has my new block ready for my lower end stuff! So reassembly & balancing will start next week hopefully!

by 77ElClassic Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:01 am

The 3:73s are great for what I use her for. I'm mostly into the local cruise-ins and Saturday Nite Specials. I don't road trip in it very often. They allow me to run through all gears in a short distance which does put on a nice show on the local straight-aways. I can run hi-way speeds with little problems (around 2400 rpm) but I have to settle for running around the speed limits and avoid extremely hot weather. Eats gas too.
When I trashed the original 2:73s, I installed a 3:42 which was a nice all around gearset. I wasn't quite happy with the take-off and am much more satisfied with the 3:73s.
I used the 3:42 to replace the 3:08s in the Camaro. Livened it up a bit as well.

by 77ElClassic Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:08 am

Good luck with yours. I've been following your updates. Personally, I get as much enjoyment from working on them as I do driving (well - almost). As long as it's improvements and enhancements, that is. Break-fixes aren't as much fun.
BTW - I know you have a lot of work in you tranny pan, but if you want it, I have the new pan that came with my tranny that I'm not using. Chrome, embossed with the TCI logo and has a drain. You're welcome to it if you wish.

by 77mali Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:38 am

That's very nice of you, I appreciate the offer but I'd have to give you something for it. I'll keep it in mind though! Maybe we can trade something down the line too? The paint coating combo I used cured rock- hard! But I forgot to tape the bolt holes and some of the undercoating got on there and may have affected the torque settings a bit, so I'll have to try again.

Thanks for the info on the rear gear ratio's. Depending on how the engine and trans combo works out I may look at a mild upgrade.

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