68/70Vette
Well-known member
I have some questions and probably the answers would be of general interest.
Please note that I will not be buying everything at one time. My budget is to buy things slowly until I get where I want to go. I first started this in 1980 with a purchase a new frame. A Keith Black aluminum block and billet crank in 1989. Brodix heads and Richmond 5 speed in 1992, new interior in 2007;.... Vintage Air, Hydraboost, McLeod dual disk clutch, all new front suspension (Guildstrand Motorsports), Tom's offset trailing arms and strut rods all in the last couple of years. All of the above comments pertain to my 1970. In 2004 to 2009, I did a retro mod on my 68 (lot of parts purchase activity).
1) Looking at Tom's large U joint axles, half shafts...these are the U joints that require notching the battery compartment to fit. Can these be bought ahead of time without worry about installation? Can the large flange half axles be installed in the spindle without machining the spindle? Can the corresponding half axle parts be installed in the differential case without machining? I understand that these large half axle components require different parts in the positraction case. I would like to buy NOW these hefty Tom's parts, but I'd like to know how much machining I've getting into to make them work NOTE : Tom's 12 bolt differential is not a cost effective option. I need to stay with the 10 bolt. The 12 bolt has a minimum 3.73:1 ring gear option. I already have a Richmond 5 speed and with a 1:1 5th gear output, I want to stay with my 3.08:1 gear to avoid buying a Tremac transmission.
I have a Keith Black 454 inch engine. I have tentative plans can bore it up to 496~502. This will stress the rear end. When I approach an engine builder, I'm going to be asking for about 650 Hp.
........Yes, maybe I should just call Tom. He did my stock 68: rebuilt diff, stock u-joints, VBP offset trailing arms, Tom's strut rods. But although Tom has always been cordial with me, he does have a short fuse. I'd just like to be educated a little bit before calling him to order the stuff. Maybe some other readers would be interested in knowing this also.
.........................................................................
Tom's Short Fuse. A transmission and differential repair shop ordered a large amount of parts from Tom. This was when he was in Bellflower Ca (I was one of his last customers before he went to Idaho) . When I walked in to his shop, all the parts were on pallets in the front of his business. It was a big, big order. Tom appears to be a large scale source of transmission and differential parts. A hapless young man showed up, to pick up the parts, and told Tom that his employer had changed his mind with regards to the order. Only a fraction of the parts Tom had palletized were now wanted. Tom became unhappy(unhappy is an understatement). Tom had spent many hours packaging and palletizing the parts. Tom was pretty forceful in telling the young man to call his boss and tell him that it was all or nothing. If they didn't want all they ordered, they'd get nothing......cell phone calls...They bought it all.
Please note that I will not be buying everything at one time. My budget is to buy things slowly until I get where I want to go. I first started this in 1980 with a purchase a new frame. A Keith Black aluminum block and billet crank in 1989. Brodix heads and Richmond 5 speed in 1992, new interior in 2007;.... Vintage Air, Hydraboost, McLeod dual disk clutch, all new front suspension (Guildstrand Motorsports), Tom's offset trailing arms and strut rods all in the last couple of years. All of the above comments pertain to my 1970. In 2004 to 2009, I did a retro mod on my 68 (lot of parts purchase activity).
1) Looking at Tom's large U joint axles, half shafts...these are the U joints that require notching the battery compartment to fit. Can these be bought ahead of time without worry about installation? Can the large flange half axles be installed in the spindle without machining the spindle? Can the corresponding half axle parts be installed in the differential case without machining? I understand that these large half axle components require different parts in the positraction case. I would like to buy NOW these hefty Tom's parts, but I'd like to know how much machining I've getting into to make them work NOTE : Tom's 12 bolt differential is not a cost effective option. I need to stay with the 10 bolt. The 12 bolt has a minimum 3.73:1 ring gear option. I already have a Richmond 5 speed and with a 1:1 5th gear output, I want to stay with my 3.08:1 gear to avoid buying a Tremac transmission.
I have a Keith Black 454 inch engine. I have tentative plans can bore it up to 496~502. This will stress the rear end. When I approach an engine builder, I'm going to be asking for about 650 Hp.
........Yes, maybe I should just call Tom. He did my stock 68: rebuilt diff, stock u-joints, VBP offset trailing arms, Tom's strut rods. But although Tom has always been cordial with me, he does have a short fuse. I'd just like to be educated a little bit before calling him to order the stuff. Maybe some other readers would be interested in knowing this also.
.........................................................................
Tom's Short Fuse. A transmission and differential repair shop ordered a large amount of parts from Tom. This was when he was in Bellflower Ca (I was one of his last customers before he went to Idaho) . When I walked in to his shop, all the parts were on pallets in the front of his business. It was a big, big order. Tom appears to be a large scale source of transmission and differential parts. A hapless young man showed up, to pick up the parts, and told Tom that his employer had changed his mind with regards to the order. Only a fraction of the parts Tom had palletized were now wanted. Tom became unhappy(unhappy is an understatement). Tom had spent many hours packaging and palletizing the parts. Tom was pretty forceful in telling the young man to call his boss and tell him that it was all or nothing. If they didn't want all they ordered, they'd get nothing......cell phone calls...They bought it all.
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