1998-2002 57 Rag Top Details

Previous changes & updates, 1998

1) ZZ3 Crate motor, injection, 700R4 tranny, aluminum driveline, Dutchman 9" rear with Wilwood rear disc kit.

2) Dash & windsheild restoration & updates.

-Petes Billet dash inserts

-Cliffs restoration items; Firewall pad, wire harness, vent cables, etc...

3) Dutchman Front suspension system; rack & pinion kit, polished A-Arms, Wilwood 12" disc brakes

Mid 2001 project changes & updates.

Its been nearly three years (boy how time flies) since the 1998 changes to our 57 project/buildup car, and if you've been involved in hot rodding for any length of time, you can understand how the following goes; You build your car or truck, start driving and enjoying it, and then the inevitable happens. One day, you wake up and realize its time to make some changes. Changes, in my mind, come about for the following reasons. 1) I didn't have enough money or time to build the car or truck the way I wanted-its usually money. 2) Some unexpected problems have crept up-there are always some bugs to work out. 3) New products are now available that weren't when I built months or years before-such is the case in our ever changing and growing parts aftermarket.

Even though our project 57 has been fun and enjoyable, it has also fallen victim to all three above scenarios. The main thing that bugged us and started the whole process of "We need to do something here" was the tranny. The 700R4 shifted too good into 2nd, and slushy into 3rd, and as time would have it, the slushy 3rd turned into a flared 3rd-not to good. Pulling the tranny only was not an option, as the 700R4's tailshaft nests into the frames "X" member, not allowing us to simply unbolt and slide the tranny back & down-like cars that don't have a big X in the frame (we tried to have the tranny fixed in the car, but to no avail). So we now have the enjoyable experience of removing the front clip, (fairly easy on a 57), and pulling the motor/tranny combo. So, as most gearheads think, we're wondering what else can we do or update while the front end is apart. The wheels start turning, budgets are considered, the offering of new tools and products are studied, and we come up with the following changes, improvements, and upgrades.

Update #1 The Transmission

Reason: This area actually falls under all three, change/repair/update categories. As explained earlier, the shift pattern could not be fixed while still in the car, so we pulled the tranny out and took it back to the shop that originally rebuilt/modified the donor 700R4 (they fixed it of coarse).

Project Details:
Wanting to take advantage of the tranny being out of the car, we decided to swap out the 1600 RPM stall converter for a slightly higher 2000 RPM stall converter. This, of course, is for the "kick in the pants" better launch from stop light to stop light. BowTie Overdrives supplied a rebuilt unit with the upgraded brazed fins. Specialty Auto Tech has recently come out with a slick cylinder shaped finned tranny cooler that installs to the side of the frame rail (or any out of the way place). We mounted ours to the passenger side outer frame rail. 2" spacers were made to offset the cooler out from the frame rail, as our fuel lines/fuel filter/and brake lines are also mounted in this area. The location we chose provided easy routing for the lines, so we went all the way and plumbed the cooler with AN fittings and stainless braided hose (don't you love overkill). The design of the finned cooler is more efficient at cooling, especially at slower speeds, and as an added bonus, looks awesome.

Update #2: Change from front mounts to side mounts, eliminate the bellhousing mounts, and add a rear tranny mount.

Reason: This change will allow us to change to a full length header and mount the performance motor in the modern more secure way of mounting the motor.

Project details:
With the front clip off the car & the motor/tranny out, removing the factory bellhousing mounts was much easier to do, but wasn't without any pain. A careful torch job and some grinding and we we're in business. The motor and tranny were set into position so we could tack the front side mounts and spot the rear tranny mount for drilling. The motor/tranny were removed, front brackets welded and rear frame members drilled for the tranny crossmember. The main reason for removing the bellhousing mounts was to gain the needed clearance to keep the exhaust system tucked up under the bottom of the frame (remember this is a lowered car). With the stock bellhousing mounts in place, the exhaust pipe has to be run under the mount, and guess what, every driveway and speed bump-scrape. As you know, this is soooo annoying and it ruins the finish on the pipes!

Update #3: The entire exhaust system

Reason: We wanted to eliminate the pipe scraping and leaky collector gaskets, and also wanted that cool Flowmaster-full header sound, (hopefully quite but healthy if that's possible).

Project details:
The old system consisted of a set of blockhugger headers, 2" primary pipes down to a set of stock mufflers, and 1 7/8" stainless pipes out the back. Not bad, but could definitely be improved upon. For the headers, we chose a set of Rodworks coated intermediate length headers, designed to work with our rack & pinion system. The 3 bolt collector flange was swapped for a Flowmaster ball seat unit to help eliminate the leaky collector gasket problems. After talking to Flowmaster, we settled on their "50 series" mufflers with Dynaflow technology for added quitness. They also advised installing a crossover "H" pipe for added balance and quitness. Since the rag top has a big X member in the middle of the frame, we decided to install the "H" crossover pipe through the X and install the mufflers in front of the rearend. Portland Muffler bent the tubes and added a pair of small resonators to keep the system quite. Remember, we were trying to achieve that healthy but quite sound, especially since the car is driven mostly with the top down and I'd rather here the tunes than the exhaust system. 2 ¼" tubes were used from front to back. After we were satisfied with the installation and testing, we had Finish Line Coatings coat the tubes and mufflers. In case your not aware, coating not only looks great and prevents rust, but also helps the under hood & car run cooler. The system turned out just the way we wanted, no more scrapes, excellent sound, and great looks too!

Update #4: The throttle pedal assembly

Reason: The original pedal assembly is fastened to the floor and firewall. The stock throttle arm is located in a very inconvenient crowded location behind the TPI Injection. And, it squeaks and doesn't look cool! Can you tell we were happy to change this.

Project details:
Lokar has come out with a new pedal assembly that bolts in the original firewall location and comes with a matching brake pedal-way cool. The Lokar pedal assembly utilizes a late model pivot design and allowed us to utilize our existing tranny kickdown bracket and braided line. The arm of the assembly stays on the inside of the car and allows better routing of the braided line on the engine compartment side (way to go Lokar). All we had to do was drill a mounting hole in the firewall for the braided line and bracket. For the brake pedal, we removed the rubber pad and fastened the Lokar pedal with the supplied screws-pretty simple. Not only have we gained better function, but clean and cool looks to!

Update #5: Front brake lines and fittings

Reason: Poor original installation, original fittings that leaked, and regular steel lines.

Project Details:
This area was simple in concept, but took some time to change. We changed over to stainless lines and AN-3 fittings. The stainless tube and AN-3 fittings were installed for better sealing and the enhanced Hi-Tech race car looks. To do this, we had to weld new brake tabs for the front lines, and took the time to do a clean installation and bend job on the stainless lines. We first did a mock up in regular inexpensive steel tubing, then bent and flared the stainless. It was well worth the effort and looks great-boy we love cool hardware!

Update #6: The cooling system

Reason: Inadequate cooling on hot days and non Hi-Tech looks.

Project Details:
The radiator of choice for us was the cross flow aluminum design made by BeCool. With the radiator mounting to the front side of the support, we had to drill a couple holes for the radiator hoses. We also fabricated a couple brackets for the dual fan assembly. While we were fabbin (slang for cutting/welding/machining), we decided to make a battery hold down for the new hi-tech-dry-cell batteries that are now available for rod projects. We could have put the battery in the trunk, but since these new batteries are so small, we decided to keep it in the stock location-back side of the support on the passenger side. The radiator came with all the hardware, wires, & relays to control the dual fans. Installation was a snap after doing the necessary modifications to the support, hook up a few wires and hoses and we were in business. To finish the project off, we made a pair of aluminum dress up plates for each side of the radiator and added a billet aluminum recovery tank. This change over not only looks great, but also keeps the motor cool even on those 95+ degree, stuck in traffic days.

What's next?
Plans for a higher dollar 57 convertible are in the works. In the mean time, we'll keep plenty busy just keeping up with axle and rearend orders, and of course, our 32 Ford project car.