5 Speed Swap Update..While We Are In There…

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With an old car anytime that you are doing any upgrades there’s always the possibility of mission creep. If you are not familiar with this it starts with the mechanic saying “while we are in there”.  Here are some things being done while we are doing the 5 speed...

 

Parking brake.

A common thing on the 2002 is the parking brake mounts break on one side and the parking brake works in a diagonal fashion. The handle also gets loose. So the fix is to resend the support bracket and there is an aftermarket strengthening kit with bolts and washers to fix the sloppy handle.

 

 

Alternator Bushing

Another common issue with the 02. The Alternator bushings wear out and at startup the the belt squeaks. New bushings, no belt squeak.

 

Driveshaft

This one isn’t mission creep, it’s just how sometimes used 40 year old parts don’t work out. I bought a used driveshaft that should have been in pretty good shape. When the driveshaft shop got it, they determined it wasn’t in great shape.  It was to correct length for the 5 speed but the joints were rough and the ears were pretty beat up. It would cost just as much to rebuild and shorten my driveshaft as it would to repair that one so I am going to return the used one and I had my driveshaft shortened and rebuilt and balanced.

 

Flywheel Lightening

This is a performance upgrade. The idea behind a lightweight flywheel is common among racing. A lighter flywheel allows the engine to rev faster getting to the power and quicker. The downside is sometimes it’s too light for a car driven on the street which results in chatter and noise.  Ken had my steel flywheel lightened instead of going for a aluminum flywheel.  It’s now 12.5 pounds instead of the stock 18 and not quite as light as a sub 10 pound aluminum flywheel.  I get all the advantages but none of the downsides all at about half the price.  That’s a win!

All in all a few things to do “while we are in there!”.

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