6/13/07:  The TKO-600 tranny is here!  Classic Chevy 5 Speed has been great to work with and their packaging of the Deluxe Kit is 2nd to none!  I already have a new Lakewood scattershield and a Hayes billet flywheel that came with the car, so I didn't go with the Elite kit.  However, I will have to align the bellhousing and I have already ordered extra long dowel pins to accomodate the scatter shield and engine plate (the stock dowels aren't even close to being long enough).  I will be installing the tranny and getting the engine/tranny in the car over the next several weeks in hopes of firing it up by August!  I also have been pecking away at the wiring.  I have almost all of the dash harness in and I am starting to work my way towards the rear harness.

6/18/07: Finally was able to remove both of the stock bellhousing dowel pins from the block (not easy!).  My long dowels showed up today.  I also got my bellousing back from the powdercoaters today.  I had it coated matte black, it looks great.  I am just waiting on my bellhousing alignment tool from Browell Bellhousings.  Once it arrives (most likely tomorrow),  I can start getting the bell aligned.

7/8/07: I installed the motor plate and bellhousing with the bellhousing alignment tool.  Using a feeler gauge around the opening between the bell and the alignment tool, I was able to determine that the bell is off .020 TIR (cut in half this is .010) towards the 2:00 position (the gap is at 7:00).  (see pics).  Within tolerance is .005, so I am ordering RobbMc Performance offset dowels (http://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/dowels.html).  I will order the .007 dowels which will put me at .003 (within the .005 tolerance).  So I will have to remove the bell and straight dowels and re-install the offset dowels and re-install the bell once the dowels get here.

 7/19/07:  I have been a bit delayed by the '70 Nova Big Block that I recently picked up for Summer cruising.  I spent the past 1.5 weeks getting it road worthy, so now...Back to the Bird!  I received my RobbMc offset dowels.  I pulled the bell back off, pulled the straight dowel pins and put in the offsets.  I colted the alignment tool to the crank, slid the motorplate and bell back on and started "dialing" the offset dowels to about the 2:00 position. I eye'd the ring of the alignment tool vs. the opening in the bell and when it looked concentric, I bolted the bell down.  I then "tested" the alignment by sliding the ring into the bell...Success!!!!  I locked the dowels in place with the set screws.  Next I will pull the bell back off and install the clutch!

8/5/07: I removed the Lakewood bellhousing and installed the flywheel and gently tapped the pilot bearing in the back of the crank.  I am using a 11" McLeod Street Performance Clutch (good to 525hp).  I installed the clutch disk using the disk alignment tool supplied in the TKO600 kit from Classic Chevy 5 Speed.  I then applied red loctite to the clutch housing bolts and torqued them to 35 lbs per the McLeod instructions.  Next up is re-installing the bellhousing, clutch fork and mating the TKO600 to the bellhousing.

 

8/7/07: When getting ready to install the bellhousing back on, I wanted to check the starter alignment with the Flywheel as the bellhousing totally encases the starter gear / flywheel area.  Sure enough, even after using both starter shims, the starter is too close to the flywheel (which means it will bind).  Therefore, I have ordered more starter shims to move the starter further away from the side of the flywheel.  They should be here in time to get the bellhousing buttoned-up over this weekend.

8/10/07: The starter shims came and I aligned the starter to the flyweel and started bolting the bellhousing back on.  This weekend I will install the clutch fork and bolt on the tranny!

8/12/07:  The bellhousing is bolted back on and I installed the clutch fork.  However, the adjustable clutch fork ball stud is too short to properly align the fork.  Arrg!  And I even have a new Lakewood ball stud.  After doing some research on the Pontiac Performance Years forum, I learned that I am not the only one with this issue.  I need the 1" longer McLeod ball stud (even though I have a Lakewood bell....go figure).  So, that's now on order.  I also noticed I will need to shave off on bolt "ear" on the bellhousing as it will interfere with the clutch z-bar.  Even though the Lakewood bellhousing came with the car, I wish I had bought a McLeod shield!!!

8/19/07: Did I mention that the Lakewood scattershield is a major pain?  After over 2 months of messing with the bellhousing (ouch), the tranny is finally installed!  I had to "clearance" the area near the starter.  There was a tab right where the z-bar rod for the clutch would run.  No big deal, but a bit of a pain.  After doing that, I attempted to install the tranny.  But it wouldn't fit in the scattershield hole!  After taking a break and doing a little on-line research, I removed the scattershield (again...what the heck, it only has 22 bolts!) and took out a dowel shaped grinding wheel and "cleaned" the opening of the bellhousing.  I am sure the powder coating didn't help my situation, but man that is a tight clearance!  I bolted the bell back up (again) and attempted to slide the tranny back in and...voila! Maybe I can actually get the motor/tranny in the car this week!!!