January 22, 200818 yr Author I have the 1100, 1300, 1400, 1600 FSM's as well. Although, I know there are different year ones... My 1400 FSM is from ~72, but aparently theres one from like around 76? :-\ Anyway, back to transmission questions... Since the final drive gear is not swapable, what about ALL the gears? Could forseably I use a gear set in better condition/different ratios from another 4-speed? Or is the FF-1 not compatible? (i'll take a look at the FSM's tommorow myself just in case, I had a 12 hour work day today, but i figured i'd bring it up anyway)
January 22, 200818 yr I wonder if the gen 1 stage 2 FWD 5-speed would swap into that. Then you could have the luxury of the 5-speed and a 3.9 final drive which would be better on the highway.
January 23, 200818 yr Author I wonder if the gen 1 stage 2 FWD 5-speed would swap into that. Then you could have the luxury of the 5-speed and a 3.9 final drive which would be better on the highway. The 5-speed case is different, I have to keep the same transmission case due to how the inboard brakes bolt onto the transmission (whats interesting is the case design wasnt changed over the years sans the 5-speeds, but they plugged up the bolt holes on the case for the inboard brakes! Otherwise I might be able to use it)
January 23, 200818 yr The 5-speed case is different, I have to keep the same transmission case due to how the inboard brakes bolt onto the transmission (whats interesting is the case design wasnt changed over the years sans the 5-speeds, but they plugged up the bolt holes on the case for the inboard brakes! Otherwise I might be able to use it) drill and tap?? might be worth looking at?
January 23, 200818 yr Author drill and tap?? might be worth looking at? Let me look at the 5-speed diagrams some... Also note, I'd have to use the rear housing from the FF-1 transmission since it is setup for the shifter that the FF-1 uses.
January 23, 200818 yr Author I just looked, the 5-speed gears have that 5th gear actually IN the rear housing, so you have to use the 5-speed case/housing, but I cant since I need to use the FF-1 rear housing... So 4-speed is the word.
January 23, 200818 yr that sucks, that thing would be nuts if you could manage to get the 5 speed to work.
January 24, 200818 yr I just looked, the 5-speed gears have that 5th gear actually IN the rear housing, so you have to use the 5-speed case/housing, but I cant since I need to use the FF-1 rear housing... So 4-speed is the word. I wonder if you could use a later four speed? The four speed I had in my 87 hatch, fourth gear was overdrive. I have a gen 1 5 speed in my shed of parts... Is it possible, especially as far apart as your car is, to fab in the newer style shifter? Then you could use a 5 speed, and just drill and tap the holes in the case for the inboard brakes.
January 24, 200818 yr Author I wonder if you could use a later four speed? The four speed I had in my 87 hatch, fourth gear was overdrive. I have a gen 1 5 speed in my shed of parts... Is it possible, especially as far apart as your car is, to fab in the newer style shifter? Then you could use a 5 speed, and just drill and tap the holes in the case for the inboard brakes. Ill check my chiltons manuals for the later 4-speeds, but they might be the same... I dont think they changed much over the years. As for the 5-speed, from what I can tell, the 5-speed case is the same as the 4-speed, just the fact the 5th gear is in the housing. I can scan and post the diagrams this weekend to help clarify this if need be... But if you have a photo of the 5-speed, especially the 5-speed housing, I can get a better idea of what kind of connection it has for the shifter. The shifter setup is rather simple with the FF-1, it might be simple to modify or make something to work.
January 25, 200818 yr I'll get some pics next time I'm at my mom and dad's. I just noticed you live in Roseville, I was born there lol.
January 27, 200818 yr Author Yup, moved here almost 10 years ago... Anyway, got the brakes off the transmission (the hub nuts were a pain!). The brake pads luckly are in good shape IE have plenty of pad left... I'm glad, cause I cant seem to find replacement pads. The drums look OK too, so thats good. Tommorow I'll be spliting the case...
January 27, 200818 yr Author Got the transmission case split The gears lookin pretty good shape, so does the differential. It has an AMAZINGLY simple shifting mechanism too. Nothing looks out of place and no bits are floating around. I'd still like to get some better gearing in there though... I also compared the EJ diff vs. the 4-speed diff, and yes its 100% different. The splines are smaller, the diff itself is smaller, everything is smaller. Any clue if maybe theres another manufacturer like Honda/Toyota/etc. who used this front diff and someone made an aftermarket front LSD to fit? Anyway, here are the pics:
February 10, 200818 yr Author Alright, the fuel tank is out, so are the chassis brake lines, all the dash components, and all the wiring (finally) and all the fuel lines... The fuel delivery pipe (IE the one you pour gas in) has to wait until the rear suspension is removed due to the angle of the pipe and lack of room to move it. The fuel tank was a PAIN cause of that black sticky goo holding it down... I had to use several prying tools to get it out along with "sticker shocker" (a good airisol spray sticky stuff remover). Here are a couple pics of the bare chassis:
March 10, 200818 yr Author Sorry for the lack of updates, keep getting busy or rained on during the weekends :-\ Anyway, I just bought an Angle-grinder and did some heavy rust removal today along with starting to remove some of the metal "wire holders" on the chassis (Ill use adhesive style attachments later... I dont like having to paint these things then have them chip and crack all over the place): (Note: The white paint is just to prevent rust from getting worse, its nothing permanent, will be blasted off when it goes to the blaster)
March 16, 200818 yr Author Alright, I removed all the metal attached components that I won't be re-using (voltage regulator mount, coil pack mount, battery mount that was rusted all to hell, etc.) from the engine bay using my new angle grinder. I painted it over once again to keep it from rusting (or rusting worse). I did notice a few spots of bad rust in the engine bay I didn't see before Mostly discovered during removing some paint from some spots. I also caused a couple extra holes due to the spot welds of some of the on some pieces being over rusted out areas... But nothing that can't be fixed later. Anyway, some pics: Here is a previous engine bay shot for reference if you are curious what I actually did:
March 22, 200818 yr Author Went a little nutty with the angle grinder today, figured I needed to get that BAD rust off as much as possible, especially to see whats underneath... Here are a few pics of how bad it is I figure the sideskirt area on each side is eventually going to have to completely come off so that work can be done with whats underneath, then have that whole area replaced...
March 23, 200818 yr Wow, thats a lot of work. I'm glad to see you sticking with the project instead of tossing it after you found the bad parts. This is the best thread this board has seen in years!
March 23, 200818 yr Author Oh i'm sticking with it all right, to the bitter end... Its just going to take much much longer than expected :-\
March 23, 200818 yr Wow, thats a lot of work. I'm glad to see you sticking with the project instead of tossing it after you found the bad parts. This is the best thread this board has seen in years! I'm in agreement. This post is part of what made me crazy enough to decide to buy and start restoring my 79 Brat. It's tough work at the beginning. You have to take about 10 steps backwards before you can take one step forward. Looking good though!
March 23, 200818 yr what about chemically treating the body? this should get rid of the rust and you will be able to see how much metal can be saved and what you've got to work with. looks like a tremendous amount of work to do, but it can be done, so it's good to hear you're sticking with it
March 24, 200818 yr Author Update: Finally, some REAL progress today, not just small stuff. I removed the front and rear suspension and started dismantling them, lots of bolts on there that are a pain in the rump roast and aren't coming off that easily... But ill get it apart. I'm not sure how the front torsion rods come apart, but ill figure that out too. They came off in one piece, front and rear, which is awesome. However, several bushings do need replacing, and seeing as I can't get replacements, will need to be custom made. I think Ill work on making a diagram of what needs to be replaced and whats in decent shape. Anyway, here are the pics:
March 24, 200818 yr Author what about chemically treating the body? this should get rid of the rust and you will be able to see how much metal can be saved and what you've got to work with. The whole chassis and major components (doors, hood, trunk, etc.) are going to the sand blaster eventually.
March 24, 200818 yr Sure you don't want it to be acid dipped to kill all that rust that is hiding in all the cracks and so forth. I know sandblasting is good but it can't get into every concealed spot.
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