The long march begins for the 78

Thanks Steven

Thanks for the tip. I hope that is it. I will look for it tonight. I really need to clean it up, it is so slimy it is hard to get a good hold on it. :)

I was using the instructions in my 74-78 shop manual to drop the engine. The manual was sitting on top of my tool box and I was sitting on the floor cussing at the 4-spd. I bet there is a section on getting the transmission off. DOH!!
 
Never a big fan

of the Luggage rack...nothing like having the lid slam down on your hands when the "spring" is too worn to hold the added weight. I agree on the handle comment though. :)

JimD said:
Adding AC will not be one of them. When I drive the X I want the top off.

The engine swap is the big project for now. After the dust settles I will work on cosmetics. I have a set of late model exterior thru-the-glass mirrors, a Bertone spoiler, and a few other parts I have collected over the years to use on the 78, now I just have to decide how "78 correct" I want the car to be.

I was never a big fan of the luggage rack. My brand new 1980 had one that had been installed by the dealer. It did make a great handle for pulling the car out of parking spaces when reverse stopped working. :)
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The Bertone spoiler is just as heavy

The trunk lid on my 86 is self slamming thanks to the spoiler. I keep a short stick in the trunk to use as a prop rod when I need to keep it open.
 
I learned quickly

not to rely on the spring...we were at Eric's (when he lived in Salem) working on his timing and parting the Brava he had in his garage. Reached in the trunk and SLAM...fun times. Learned not to let go of the lid anymore. :thumbsup:

JimD said:
The trunk lid on my 86 is self slamming thanks to the spoiler. I keep a short stick in the trunk to use as a prop rod when I need to keep it open.
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That's a winner Stephen!!

I found and removed that little bolt. I also removed the cross member, but it looked like it would have come along with the transmission case if I left it attached. After those two steps I pushed the transmission back to its original position against the block to make sure it wasn't cocked from my previous attempts. Then I gave it a pull and it came off with very little effort. Thanks!

1300_tranny_separated.JPG


Took all of about 20 minutes. Then I went to my neighbors house and spent a few hours helping him replace the front struts on his Accord. It was a big night for a Tuesday! :)
 
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FInally painted the transmission

IM002823.JPG IM002819.JPG IM002820.JPG IM002822.JPG

I am getting closer to assembly time. I have pretty much pulled together all the pieces I need to complete the project. I am sure I will discover things I forgot though. :)
 
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BLING BLING Baby!!!...Nice!!!,...when can i send you mine?....lol
By the way,hows your back doing?....Al
 
Looks great. You are a good cleaner and painter. Keep the updates coming!
 
NO!

No Albert, you can't send me yours. I doubt I will ever clean and paint another transmission. It was really not much fun at all.

My back is much better. It took about a month or so before I was only experiencing my "normal" old man aches and pains. I am feeling it today though, lots of bending involved in cleaning these things. :)
 
Thanks Karl

Now I can never drive the car though. I do not want to go through this again. :)

Today I am going to clear coat all the smaller pieces I have been working on for the last few weeks. After I go visit my mom!
 
Mr. Bob

Thanks Kevin, it was a lot of work and if you saw it in person you would get a good laugh. As I spun the case around to add a second coat of paint the side that goes up against the block I found a couple areas that I completely missed cleaning and had painted right over. At first I was really pissed, then I figured no one would ever see it since it would be clamped to the block. Problem solved.:dance2:

Bob is the definitely the King of Bling. I am certainly not looking to take his crown. While I do feel the satisfaction of getting this trans cleaned and looking good, I can not say I enjoyed it. I think Bob lies awake at night trying to come up with ways to bling anything he can get his hands on. I hear his cats are especially nervous. ;)
 
It's mocking me

I decided to take some time to mock up the engine. Someday I hope to actually install all this stuff in the car. I mounted the intake and exhaust and I found some more things I need to address.

mockup_2.JPG


I am making progress, but the end of the project still seems distant.
 
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Will need you soon

Hi Chris,

I am sure I will be begging for help soon.

You wouldn't happen to have a spare 55mm intake/exhaust manifold stud... would you? (Not that is not a set up for a joke. :)) One of mine is bent and pretty much useless.
 
Jim,

Looking good!!!

Just remember to call when you need additional space and want to git rid of the 86:thumbsup:
 
Everything has a price

I rented a storage unit for the 86 last fall and it is still there, so beyond the rental fee, storage is not too much of an issue at this point.
IM002660.JPG
Once I get the 78 mostly reassembled, storage will not be an issue at all. Both cars fit in the garage on "my side", leaving room for wifey's car on "her side".
7879garage3vw.jpg

(Yes. This is actually the departed 79 in the garage with the 78 , but you get the idea.)
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Make me an offer I can't refuse. :)
 
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Never heard of Charlie's

I think I will head out there after work and look around. I looked at the website and it sounds like a great place to go browse around. :)
 
Well DUH!!!

I have a nice supply of metric hardware in the 1300 I pulled out of the 78. I spent an hour reclaiming all the head studs that I could. I didn't snap any, but a couple nuts would not come off. I will try soaking them overnight.

I did get a 55m stud in very good condition out of the head. Mission accomplished.
 
Back at it again

I decided I need get this car back together before winter, if I can. I am confronting my fears and starting in on getting the FI and electronic ignition boxes installed.

It took me hours to figure out exactly how to ge the EIC box where I wanted it in the right side engine pod. I think it will be OK. I routed the wiring up thru a notch in the pod wall rather than make a couple large holes. This notch exits in bothe the right and left pod walls. I has a nice rolled lip, but i plan to add some protection for the harness wires anyway.

EIC into 78-1.JPG
I re-used the mounting studs for the old coil and put the "new" elec ignition coil in the same spot.
EIC into 78-2.JPG

There were two wires attached to each post of the old points system coil. I attached those wires to the same posts on the new coil, but I am wondering if that was necessary?
EIC into 78-3.JPG
Looking at the picture above, there is a brown/white wire and a green wire coming off the left post of the coil. There is a pink wire and a blue/balck wire coming off the right post. I will try to figure out what they are.
 
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