I have been working so hard on all of this that I have made no post at all.
I have tried to write a few that had questions in private but even that has
been slow. I am afraid that I still am not ready to write much but I did
want to say a bit about what I am seeing so far.
First the exhaust. How in the world does this car even start??? The exhaust
is so restricted that it looks to me as if the engine should blow up like a
balloon and explode!!! I removed the down pipes and pulled out the screen
that Kirby talks about in his book. I had in mind a screen like a screen
door. What I found was material that looked like radiator fan material
rolled tight and three to four inches thick in the first part of the pipe. I
think getting rid of that has to add a ton of horse power relatively
speaking.
Now the Essex brake kit. It was really a non event. It all goes on pretty
self explanatory. Basically can only fit one way and no real problems. The
four holes in my adapter plates were the same size as the bolts on the
caliper brackets so I had to run a drill through them. It looked like maybe
when we sent the specifications in we called for a hole the size of the
bolts not a hole that the bolts would go through. I also found some really
neat pins to hold the pads in. They are the exact size have a ball bearing
spring thing to hold them in and cost $1.60 instead of $25.00 that the pins
for the front brakes cost. I do have some pictures if you need them just let
me know.
As for the tranny. Let me say that I really hated paying for a kit. It is
way over priced for what it is. I still hate paying for it. However unless
you are a mechanic in the mold of Chad or Jeb you need a kit. Yes you may be
able to save your $800 but you are going to spend months and pull the tranny
in and out of the car about 20 times. This is not just a drop the old one
out, slap on an adapter and bolt the new one up. There are brackets, tricks,
and changes that you will have to learn the hard way. The kit will pay for
itself in time and aggravation.
More as I get it.
Troy 88XJ-S
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