'52 m38a1 v6 sm465

Alright, we're back at now. Just wanna throw a couple of questions out to get me headed in the right direction. With the new YJ brake booster, i know i need to re-enforce the firewall, will a piece of 1/8" mild steel about 12"x17" big strong enough to keep the firewall from flexing? Also, just looking ahead a little bit, anyone out there us one of those EZ Wire kit? If so, what do you think of them? How's the quality? Any problems with them? Thanks guys!

 

Thanks warloch. I made the plate about as big as i could fit under there so i can attach it as close as i can to where the firewall rolls into the cowl. Hopefully it will be strong enough, we'll find out tomorrow!! I'm thinking i'm gonna run an EZ wire, painless is a little to pricey.

 

Great job. I was wandering how you are planning on running the clutch. I see that you are upgrading to a hydro clutch would love to see the mount on it?

 

As far as the clutch goes, I started with a slave cylinder and bracket that came from Novak. Maybe someone else can help out a little in this department because mine is not fully finished yet. It seems like the slave cylinder is going to be in the way, or very close to being in the way when i run my exhaust pipe. What have the rest of you guys done about this? I really don't want to run headers if i don't have to.

The next part is just a 3/4" master cylinder made by wilwood that i got from summit. Then i hooked it up to an existing hole in the YJ brake pedal assembly with a 5/16 hiem joint. I'll get some pictures of that soon. The rest of the plan is to run 3/16" hard line down the firewall to the frame and from there use AN-3 stainless steel braided line to the slave cylinder.

 

I went ahead and built my plate for the firewall out or 1/8" mild steel, but made it as large as i could fit to try and spread the load out to as much of the firewall as possible. I made a cardboard template and transfer it to the steel plate then cut it out with the plasma. After getting it to fit where i was happy, i coated the back side with a weldable primer from eastwood to try and prevent rust between the two plates.

Here's what it looked like after first welding it in. I took my time and welded slowly to try and prevent warping the firewall.

Then, after filling some unwanted holes, and then drilling new holes for the master and clutch cylinder, this is the final look.

 

A few other misc. things i'm now working on. I was not too happy with the placement of the return line fitting placement in the power steering pump, as i would have had to run the return line over the top of the pump. So after some checking at NAPA auto parts, we found a pump off a 1972 chevelle routed the return line down under the bottom side of the pump. It hasn't showed up yet, so i'll let you know how it works out when i get it. Also 2 of the 6 flange mounting bolts were stripped on my original hubs, and after talking to ryan the jeep guy, i decided to upgrade to the newer style hubs and bearings. Those just showed up so i will be re-doing the front hubs soon, for the last time, i hope. Thanks for watching! We'll update when we get more!

 

Yep, I had the same issue with my Novak clutch cyl.



This is with a Chevy Vortec 4.3, it looks like your setup may have a bit more clearance.

The Buick can utilize a forward dumping exhaust manifold on the driver side, I seem to remember seeing that recently on here.............Posimoto maybe??

Lookin good so far.

 

Regarding your manifold to slave cylinder issue...heres how I did mine. This was a buick 225 btw..I cut the flange off at the bottom of the manifold where it hooks to the pipe. I then ground both edges flat and had the flange rewelded to the manifold at a more favorable angle. It worked perfectly for my application and was a cheap mod

 

Thanks guys. I think i might try and cut and re weld the manifold that i have. It looks like that will give me enough clearance. How much clearance do you guys think i need between the exhaust and the hydraulic line? I'm afraid to switch to headers as i think they will be too loud. I wanna keep this as quiet as possible. Did you find there was a big difference in sound when you put the headers on warloch?

 

Those were the headers i was looking at. I wanna keep the exhaust inside the frame rails. If i can't modify this manifold, that will be the direction i go. Nice design, by the way!

 

Another recommendation for EZ Wiring. Kit was complete and instructions were straight forward.

 

Sounds like EZ wire is the way i go. Any tips on where to get them? Or do i just buy right off their web site?

 

I've been working on some small items that needed to be tied up before i take her on the maiden voyage. When i was install the old drum brake hubs, i found 2 of the threaded holes for the 6 flange mounting bolts were stripped. So i figured i may as well update these as well with the newer style hubs and better bearings. I got a pair of hubs from ryan the jeep guy with bearings and seals and all. Also i replaced the wheel bolts with studs off a 77 CJ5 as they have the larger shoulders for the disc to mate up to. After i got the whole assembly on, i checked the calipers by removing the outer pad and sliding the caliper in as far as it would go. It turned out the passenger side works fine, but on the driver side, i had to clearance the knuckle to allow the caliper to slide fully. So i went to work with a carbide rotary file, and here's how it turned out.

So now the discs are finished and the calipers are even on the right sides!

The next order, was to finish up the power steering. I used the power steering pump off a 72 chevelle and the hoses are off a 70 skylark and everything fit great. So i filled it up with fluid, fired it up and bled all the air out of the system.


One big step i needed to tackle was the throttle pedal and cable. I used a pedal out of a YJ and a custom cable i picked up at a hot rod show. The pedal got mounted to the floorboard and after drilling a new hole in the arm, here's how it looks. Now all i need is a return spring and it's done.



Finally, i picked up a new master cylinder, napa #M1929, that has a 1" bore and mounted it right up to my YJ booster. Now all i need to do is connect the cylinder to the old brake lines with a proportioning valve in the rear system and the brakes will be done for now.

 

Looks good. Nice work.

 

So question. I see alot of brackets that run from the saginaw steering box to the passenger side frame rail. I am guessing this is to strengthen the driver side frame rail due to the addition stress put on it from the box. But, can't i, or has anyone tried, welding a piece of tubing between the two frame rails right behind the front bumper where it will be hidden but still build a stronger box out of the front of the frame? What do you guy think?