V8 Super Beetle Project

[murphytj]

:)Matt. How is the project going?

[V8 Super Beetle]

Hey Tom. The project is coming along well. A little slow at the moment until I can get my hands on a transmission. I'm searching for a th350. I've found some that I'm going to take a look at this weekend. Hopefully I wont come back empty handed. Once I get the tranny I'm going to rebuild it. So that should keep me busy for a few weekends.

I'm thinking about buying a roll cage once I get paid tomorrow as well. So that will keep me busy for a couple weekends too.

I bought a new set of motor mounts. I had some 4x4 s10 v8 mounts (because I originally was going to get a 4x4 frame, was a good deal) and the 4x4 mounts worked but they offset the engine to the passenger side making the fuel pump sit on the frame rail. So I pulled the motor, installed the 2wd mounts, and put her back in.




The engine sits a little lower than it did with the 4x4 mounts. Not much lower though.








Also, this past weekend I went to Pick A Part, because they had a 50% off labor day sale, and picked up a tranny crossmember. I looked for a tranny but they were all pulled and gone. I sanded blasted the crossmember here at work and it's ready for some paint.






That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll have a cage and tranny to keep me busy the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted.

[murphytj]

;DLOOKING GOOD MATT.I AM WORKING ON MY REAR FLOOR AREA FOR A FEW HOURS TODAY. GETTING READY FOR MY TRIP TO ROAD AMERICA THIS WEEKEND, THEN OFF TO FLORIDA LEAVING HERE ON 9/17 WILL BE GONE 10 OR 11 OR 12 OR ...DAYS.REALLY NOT UNDER ANY TIME SCHEDULE.HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT A 700R4 TRANNIE? THAT'S WHAT I AM RUNNING

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks. Post some pics when you finish your floor.

I've thought about getting a 4L60E, but I'm going to stick with a th350. Mainly because I'm going to rebuild it myself, first time, and I have the rebuild kit, shift kit, new module, and new B&M stall converter for the th350. I just need the tranny to put the stuff in.

[murphytj]

What size converter are you using?

[V8 Super Beetle]

Just a 2500. I might go bigger later but I want to see how I like the 2500 with the 3.08 gears on the street. I might bump it up to a 3000 stall and 373 gears. We'll see.

[murphytj]

:-/I am really undecided on what i am going to run with my 4:11 gears.

[Mock1racer]

Just a little FYI, The converter needs to be matched to the cam, 2500 might be too much or it may not be enough. I found this out when I had mine rebuilt. I've got a 480 lift with a 240 duration so I need about 2800 stall runnin 3.25 gear. If you run 2800 w/3.08's you might break the axle or the ring gear. I built a s-10 with a 305 and I was always bustin the ring gear.I may be wrong but it's worth the look-see.

[Mock1racer]

Oh yeah, rides lookin good. Now your cowl won't be as tall.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks for the heads up. The cam I'm running requires a 2800-3000 stall and a 373 gear. It's power band is from 2500-6700. That's for a 350 though. With the 383 it'll be about 200 rpm lower. I could use just a little more stall and more gear, but we'll see though. If the rear breaks it'll give me a good reason to get one of those 8.8 ford explorer rears which are a direct swap for s10 frames. I just want it to be enjoyable to cruise. 55 mph @ 3500 rpm on the freeway doesn't seem too enjoyable with the 373 gears.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Well, I got some things done over this weekend.

Painted the transmission crossmember.




Flushed and washed the radiator. Then I gave it a light coat of black engine enamel. I was going to polish the brass but the way I plan to mount it and set up my fan shroud my efforts wouldn't have been worth it cause it would be hidden.






I used almost a full quart of Master Series in my gas tank to seal off all the garbage in the tank. Seems to have worked cause I don't hear crap rolling around in there anymore.




I also painted and put the gas tank in place. I just need to get some bolts to permanently hold her down.




Last but not least, I picked up a used good th350 for $100. Getting her ready for a rebuild which I'll attempt myself. What little fluid I poured out looked really clean.




Almost forgot, I'm ordering my roll cage today so I'll have tranny rebuild and roll cage pics coming in the next few weeks.

[paulj]

Hi Matt, I rebuilt a TH350 about 20 years ago with the help of a friend that was a trans guy at a GM dealership. It was easier than I thought it was going to be and the whole job was done in less than an hour. He did have some special tools to speed things up but he said it could be done without them. I would probably give it a try agin if the need comes up.

The best tip he gave me was to use a 5 gallon bucket as an assembly stand. We just stuck the case in there with the bell housing side up.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Hey Paul. If you'd like to help out that would be great. Otherwise I'm going by a Ron Sessions book I have. I have a DVD that shows how to rebuild a 4L60E, which is more complicated than the th350, but it didn't seem like something that couldn't be done at home. I'm going to get the special tool needed to compress the return spring.

i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/TH350lowspringtool.jpg


Thanks for the tip. They have 5 gallon buckets at lowes for a couple dollars, so I'll be sure to pick on up.

[V8 Super Beetle]

I started the rebuild of my th350 tranny by starting disassembling it last night. I almost got it completely tore down but I'm lacking a couple of tools to do so. One of which I ordered, a clutch spring compressor, and the other is snap ring pliers which I'll just buy.

I've never rebuilt a transmission before but this thing is a piece of cake to take a part with the help of a Ron Sessions book. Shouldn't be too bad to put back together either. On another note, this tranny is really clean inside and has very little signs of wear on the clutches, bushings, and trust washers. I had thought about just buttoning it back up with new seals and gaskets, and a good case cleaning but I want to make it more durable by adding an extra clutch and a hardened sprag as well as give it stiffer shift with a shift kit and adjustable modulator.


Pan off. See, clean.




My low buck oil pump puller. A $7 pry bar and two 3/8"x16 bolts threaded in 4 complete turns. Worked like a charm.








This is about as far as I got. I couldn't remove the nickel sized snap ring that holds in the gear / shell and you can see in the next picture the valve body is disassembled.






More to come as I finish tear down, have the case hot tanked, clean the hard parts, and reassemble.

[V8 Super Beetle]

My cage came in moments ago. I'm going to see if I can't get her tacked in this weekend. Any tips on notching the tubes? Not all of them cam with notches. Thanks.