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Documented: The 1970 FF-1 Project car...


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What is your ETA on completion, BTW?

Pfft... who knows :-\

I don't know what the tolerances and whatnot are, but just from the picture it looks to be pretty close. any chance it would fit if the block were torqued down? case halves snug together and heads on tight?

Its not as close at it looks. I pressed everything together quite well, but its obvious when comparing the manifolds that it won't fit.

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That's odd that your manifold fits worse than my JDM Dual carb manifold, Im running the 1400 DP heads though, perhaps they are taller? Mine fit pretty close, but not close enough to bolt up... Yours looks quite out of whack compared to mine... I plan on having my block milled down though to make mine work, maybe if you throw some lower compression (EA81T 0r EA82T) pistons in there you can have the block milled down enough to make it work? As long as the coolant and oil passages stay in tact it should be fine...

 

-Bill

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That's odd that your manifold fits worse than my JDM Dual carb manifold, Im running the 1400 DP heads though, perhaps they are taller? Mine fit pretty close, but not close enough to bolt up... Yours looks quite out of whack compared to mine... I plan on having my block milled down though to make mine work, maybe if you throw some lower compression (EA81T 0r EA82T) pistons in there you can have the block milled down enough to make it work? As long as the coolant and oil passages stay in tact it should be fine...

Hmm, that turbo piston idea might be worth checking out...

 

I wouldn't say it "fits worse" it probably fits the same as yours. The bolt holes are visible through the holes on the manifold, but are about half way covered up or so. At first I thought I could have the bolt locations re-drilled, then I discovered the intake and coolant ports were off too :(

 

So ya, i'm thinking block shaving with perhaps a little head shaving. But I need to talk to an engine shop about this too.

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Oh no, your fit is definitely worse than mine was, mine was off only by thousandths, 1/8" max, but it was just enough that I couldnt get the bolts in. I think Ill just run regular NA 1600 pistons in mine because I want about 10.5:1 compression... Might have to use 1800 pistons for that though, guess Im going to have to start using some math to make my ideas more realistic :lol:

 

On a side note, Ive been using studs to mount my intake manifolds and thermostat housings now, I can torque them to 20 lbs :banana: instead of like 7. And it looks sweet, maybe look into having ARP make you a custom set, I just make mine out of B7 Metric threaded rods, but for something as trick as your car it would be killer to have a custom ARP set with 12 point Stainless nuts...

Im gonna try this out on my water pumps too... Possibly the oil pump as well. Basically anything that has a gasket between it will get studs and stainless nuts. :banana:

-Bill

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Oh no, your fit is definitely worse than mine was, mine was off only by thousandths, 1/8" max, but it was just enough that I couldnt get the bolts in. I think Ill just run regular NA 1600 pistons in mine because I want about 10.5:1 compression... Might have to use 1800 pistons for that though, guess Im going to have to start using some math to make my ideas more realistic :lol:

 

On a side note, Ive been using studs to mount my intake manifolds and thermostat housings now, I can torque them to 20 lbs :banana: instead of like 7. And it looks sweet, maybe look into having ARP make you a custom set, I just make mine out of B7 Metric threaded rods, but for something as trick as your car it would be killer to have a custom ARP set with 12 point Stainless nuts...

Im gonna try this out on my water pumps too... Possibly the oil pump as well. Basically anything that has a gasket between it will get studs and stainless nuts. :banana:

-Bill

 

 

I like your "OCD-ness" on how you put your engines together(I too get anal-retentive about the appearance of my engines), however I hate to be the person that has to clean the gasket surface whenever something needs to be removed/replaced :eek:

 

Sometimes tighter is not always better either. Some gaskets are designed to "move" as parts expand/contract... should be fine for intake manifold/waterpump. I might be weary of studding the oil pump and pan gasket tho...

 

JUST INCASE PEOPLE DIDNT KNOW.. ARP makes 11x1.25mm studs that fit the block for the cylinder heads. I currently have a set in an airplane engine I am building right now.

 

 

STEVE! hey I just wanted to let you know that shaving the block gets more complicated than you think. Valve train geometry/pushrod length can become troublesome, as well as the amount you would have to mill off would probably be enough to remove the aluminum that is on the deck over the cylinder sleeves:eek:. Just so you know turbo pistons wont help you. they are lower compression because they have a big pocket milled out of them, but the piston face still reaches the same height around the edges.

 

Get me an exact difference in length of bolt alignment between your manifold, and the block w/cylinder heads and head gaskets installed.

If you dont mind the pushrod length issue, the cylinder heads can be forgiving to a considerable amount of machining (sometimes) or I llike the manifold "adaptor" idea if you can spare an extra 3/4 inch in height.

 

Best of luck

-Mike

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I'm starting to think that using a heavily modified 1400 wet-sleeve short block might be easier in terms of shaving...

 

Well i'm going to not worry so much about the engine for awhile, now that I actually have everything I actually need.

 

Now i'll move on back to doing the bondo... :-\

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Well, I spent ALL day today trying to do body work on the car... Just started with the doors, trunk and front fenders.

 

I totally suck at body filler/bondo :-\

 

Every spot I tried to fix now looks worse...

 

I just don't have the patience for all this sanding. And I have no clue how to do it properly, despite all the tips i've gotten about how to do i.

 

I'd much rather pay someone to do this, but nobody is willing to do it for an amount I can afford right now.

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Well, I spent ALL day today trying to do body work on the car... Just started with the doors, trunk and front fenders.

 

I totally suck at body filler/bondo :-\

 

Every spot I tried to fix now looks worse...

 

I just don't have the patience for all this sanding. And I have no clue how to do it properly, despite all the tips i've gotten about how to do i.

 

I'd much rather pay someone to do this, but nobody is willing to do it for an amount I can afford right now.

 

I might be able to help you man. What are you having trouble with?

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Just got the last of the parts from PA... 1300 Transmission and a driver side window. I've got everything I need to complete the car now!!! :banana:

 

PS, I already checked, and the 1300 FF-1 case IS identical in terms of bearing fitment as the '83 FWD 4-speed I already have... Tall gearing FTW!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Spent all weekend working on cleaning up the transmission case and starting the rebuild...

 

polishedtransmission.jpg

 

For reference, the transmission is being assembled using THREE different transmissions :P

 

Case and differential from a '71 FF-1 1300

Gearing and forks from a '83 1600

Rear housing, flywheel and bellhousing from a '74 1400

 

I had to swap the gear from the differential to the FF-1 diff, I'm also having to use the "shift levers" from the 1400 that are at the rear bottom of the case in order to use the 1400 rear housing (due to the FF-1 housing being broken :( ). I will also have to have a clutch modified to use the splines from the '83 main shaft since the 1400/1300 clutch has a different spline size.

 

Its complicated, but it will be worth the change in gearing!

 

fwd4speeds.gif

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Right on, those gears will make your car drivable at today's speeds :banana: and get decent fuel economy :banana::banana:

 

Did you use any parts from the tranny I sold you? If you did, its not a '74, but a '73 IIRC... Not that it matters though

 

-Bill

Was it a 73?

 

Anyway, yes, it was actually a life savor! It had the only rear housing that would work with the 71 case, so I'm glad I had it!

 

And the FF-1 shifter will bolt onto it perfectly too :)

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Nice project! I had a 70 ff1 wagon with the 1100 in it that I bought for 100 bucks back in the early 80's. It took all the abuse an 18 year old kid could throw at it and still ran and drove pretty good with about 250,000 miles on it when I traded it off.

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