'73 Vega GT All Aluminum Wildcat 355 Project
Contents:
Page 1: Engine Block prep
Page 2: Head mods
Page 3: Induction/Exhaust
Page 4: Engine Assembly
Page 5: Front Suspension Mods
Page 6: Rear Suspension/Weight Transfer Mods
Page 7: Rust Repair and Undercarriage prep
Page 8: Frame Rail fabrication/Unibody support
Page 9: Body Mods
Page 10: Transmission Mods
Page 11: T5 Rebuild
Page 12: BMW Radiator Swap
T5 Rebuild. Pix of my rebuild. Not necessarily a good resourse for anybody rebuilding because I didn't reuse much. The gear set and new parts were from G-Force Transmissions. I highly recommend: How to Rebuild and Modify Your Manual Transmission )
I'm temporarily starting with the reassembly until I upload the other pix from the disassembly:
First thing to do is installe the reverse idler assembly and the magnet in the bottom of the case. Better pix to follow:
Then prepare the intermediate shaft for install by pressing the front bearing on the short end of the shaft. Then install the front bearing race cap visible from the front of the transmission. This is one of the markers that make the WTC unique:
The intermediate shaft can be installed by passing the rear shaft through the corresponding hole in the back of the case. The rear bearing can be pressed on at this time:
Then the intermediate shaft bearing retainer can be installed. In this case I'm using the 5-speeds stabilizer plate. Really nice part. With the peal shims they send with the plate getting about 0.004" preload is pretty easy:
Next the input shaft can be prepared for install. The front bearing can be pressed on then the loose roller bearings that interface with the mainshaft can be retained with grease. The thrust bearing can be retained the same way:
Then the main shaft can be installed by inserting the input shaft at the correct clocking to move the shaft as far forward as possible. The mainshaft is inserted throught the superior hole in the rear of the case first and down on the intermediate shaft gears. I had to modify my mainshaft by grinding off the front most 1/8" taper to get it to fit into the case. It's a really tight fit:
The input shaft is carefully interfaced with the mainshaft and the input retainer can be installed without the shims to start with:
Next the 5-gear assembly can be installed. In this case I did reuse the stock setup mostly because I wanted to retain some noise control at highway cruising speed. The gear is pressed on to the end of the intermediate shaft and the sync and selector arm assembly can be installed. Then the selector is retained with a roll pin:
The top cover can now be setup for install. I'm using the bronze forks from the G-Force transmissions kit. Really nice parts. Super beefy:
Install the top cover by sliding the forks onto the mainshaft selector dogs and slide it into place against the reverse selector arm. It will make sense when you do it.
Here's a great pic of the straight dog-ring cogs. SWEET!