so the project is running along slow and steady.. the next hurdle was to get the Rag joint on the steering box.

well  here is something I realized, if using MS's brake booster , you cannot follow the Borgeson instructions to install the box first, and then the rag joint after. The rag joint has to be in stalled on the steering box before it goes on the body or the big booster doesnt leave enough space to maneuver the rag joint in place on top of the steering box.

So got the box out again. It was hard to install so I was nervous, if I will have that hard of a time to install it again.

remembered that I had forgotten to grind a flat spot on the steering box shaft for the rag joint set screw to sit and hold properly. So got that done, on both steering box and steering shaft, installed the rag joint , set the screw on it with blue loctite (not red) , and then slowly manuevered it back on the body. The manifold couplers for my car are not factory spec so they are a little more in the way for me, and I am SO glad my drivers side manifold is off, its making work so easy right now.

Then I mocked up the steering column complete with the MS bearing and the shaft.
While looking at the steering box shaft, it looked like it wasnt perfectl centered on that firewall hole. It was a little towards the passenger side. Made me nervous as that would mean shimming it to center

BUT , when steering column and shaft got on it, even with it being off center, it actually lined up perrfectly. There was no stretch or bend on the rag joint fabric, and the whole thing was very smooth and easy to turn (the logic here being, if rag part of the joint was being pulled to a side, it would create a binding effect on the rotation)

anyway. its all mocked up. I am waiting to find the correct pad for the steering column clamp , and then its just lining up the flat spot to the rag joint and getting things bolted up properly..

Then I got to pump out the old power steering liquid out of the pump by turning the engine, and then I put on the new lines ! this is exciting.

here it is all mocked up



 

Last edited by Gaba (5/17/2016 10:57 AM)

Very good write and pictorial, Gaba.  I'm glad you are getting it ready for next year's bash trip early....smart move. 

BB

Gaba wrote:

-- installing noise and heat cancelling liner under the carpet (as per wife the cabin is too noisy)

A few years back I did this to my '67 coupe and it made a noticeable difference, but it was still kinda loud.
The other day I went for a ride for one of my friends in his '65 fastback.  He has the same setup as me (289, tri-y headers, dual exhaust, flowmaster 40's), but his car was significantly quieter in the passenger compartment than mine.  The only thing that he had done differently than me was that he put sounder deadener in the trunk and I did not.  So, I went home and lined my trunk with some a/c duct insulation (kinda looks like bubble wrap wrapped in foil) that I had laying around from a previous home improvement project.  It made a HUGE difference.  I guess the trunk was acting like a huge echo chamber allowing the exhaust sound to resonate.

So, when you do this project... don't forget the trunk!
 

Last edited by Michael H. (8/24/2016 3:03 PM)

Glad to see ya got it back together. Time to enjoy driving it around. 

I am.not against being a guinea pig to test the theory on this being inside the cabin as well. It's cheap enough, and I think easy enough to install , right?

Remove the two seats upfront

Remove the back seat bottom,

Partially remove the carpet

Line it all (how will I make it take and maintain  the shape of the drive shaft tunnel? )

Go with the steps backwards ? Did I miss anything?

Gaba,
Your car MUST pass tech inspection before heading to the next bash with your daughter in the back seat.  The main thing that will be looked for is a corrected condition on those RUBBER TRANSMISSION LINES THAT ARE RUNNING RIGHT ON TOP OF THE EXHAUST PIPE!!!

We always stop and help when someone has road problems on the bash trips, but I am hoping it will not be to help you try to extricate your daughter from the back seat while the car is in flames.  You think your wife complains about the cabin being too loud!!!

I have enjoyed reading your write-up of the improvements you are doing to your car.  I wish everyone else would do the same!  It would make the forum much more interesting to see how others are doing things.

Small but important update
Got the Dr. Gas Springs , took the springs to Steve's place, and with his help replaced the old stock springs, to the new ones. 

what I loved about the Dr. Gas Pro motorsport springs: 

Ride height: its come out perfect. 
Grounded flat on the top so they seat beautifully on the show tower with the most contact area on top as possible. 
If done carefully and can be installed without a spring compressor. 
Variable rate: so they are soft and smooth while riding around and stiff around corners

What I dont like as much : the springs are shorter so shorter travel, and in my neighborhood going 30 if I hit a large bump, stuff bottoms out quick.. but thats it. 

Here is a comparison between the stock and Dr. Gas spring height. 




After replacing the spring, we took it for a run, and came back and saw that my stance was still off!!! ..... WHY !!!???????? we just didnt get it! the rear leaf springs are new.. shocks on the back are new too. 
We just called it a day on the suspension at that point, and chalked it up to 51 year old car (atleast I did)  

but the day wasnt over yet  

Now Steve said and I agreed it should take over 2 hours. YEAH ..... That was a joke. While the springs didnt take us over 2 hours, other stuff with my steering horn contacts took us 3 more, and still didnt get resolved. 

moving my steering wheel would short the 12V to ground and shut off the car, YES shut off the car.. that meant if I was ideling and wanted to take a turn on a stop light, I couldnt without the engine dying on my 3 times lol.. so I had to hold throttle so the engine's momentum with fire it back up when the short went away. 

Well after grinding and resizing, and all sorts of stuff with my GT steering mount kit, we still got nowhere. Steve was SO SO SO nice to help me with that, cause he didnt have to. He and I had done what we had set out to do. He had appointments rest of the day. He saw that I was helpless, and I was going to die on the highway if this wasnt somehow made right.. And he cancelled his apointment for me, and kept at it with me in his garage for hours! and I cannot thank him enough ..All the work and still no bueno though .. we  ended up disconnecting the yellow-green (i think) wire from the steering column harness, and that disabled just my alarm and still kept my turn signals and brake lights working . 

So what we thought was going to be a short productive day, ended up with 5 -6 hours of hard work and at the end , just sort of taking defeat from the car. 

I am glad we disbaled the horn though, cause on the way back I got stuck in some torrential downpour on the highway and heavy traffic causing me to turn at low speeds to change lanes a lot and if we hadnt disabled the horn ,I would have had a wreck..

BUT 

THE STORY DOESNT END HERE MY FRIENDS.... 3 weeks passed. .. I rebuilt my rear brakes too in the mean time, and trying to troubleshoot my emergency brake system, I started driving it to work and around town a bit to put some miles on the suspension and brakes after all that work .. 

Couple days ago I go to dinner with a good friend, and in the parking lot i step back and look at the car, and guess what! My stance is mostly square now!!! NO changes to suspension done since I rolled out of Steve's garage.. NONE at all. just kept driving it, and guess what!! it did settle itself.. Its may be a 1/4 inch off but man it was 1.5 inches before! it was easily noticeable then. Now its GREAT!!! YAYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check it out! 



SO what do you think ? 

ohh sorry if I wasnt clear... my bad

the stace issue , if you follow my previous posts in this thread, I had was that the drivers side was droopy, 1.5 inch lower than the passenger side . it was very apparent looking at it from the back . 

we intially diagnosed the issue to be a collapsed 2 year old stock spring .. when replaced didnt show immediate results. 

but now it seems like that was the issue  

I will though post a side stance to show the front to back stance of the car, with a shelby drop, all new suspension parts, and a lower variable rate spring  (also a tiny bit smaller tires upfront)

Last edited by Gaba (9/15/2016 11:19 AM)

I will measure it today. I sure hope I am not dreaming too HAHAHA..

Here is the front to back stance for anyone who is thinking of a similar config as mine (all stock Moog parts, shelby drop, and Dr Gas variable springs) 


 

So here are the measurement on the 4 wheels from center of hub to the bottom of quarter panel

Front
12" square on both sides
Rear
Drivers side 14.25"
Passenger 15.5" lol

something is still off in the back hahahahaba BUT!!!
I am thinking that difference in the front AND back made it worse . Now that the front is square with equal and good springs installed the right way,   back is still off but it doesn't look as off as it used to

Here is the front look

Last edited by Gaba (9/16/2016 5:39 PM)