I put my rivergate conversion into the car today.
I thought I would lay down some tips for others. This is on a 59 bugeye. YMMV.
1) I mentioned this previously, if you have a soldered on oil cover, order the
other cover as indicated in the instructions.
This probably only applies to 948 folks.
1) The new u joint bearing has no grease zirt. However there is a set screw
there. I called Rivergate and they said that if
you can get a zirt in there without interfering with anything then go
ahead. I decided not to put the zirt in. But if I ever
wanted to I could put a zirt in there to grease the bearing and then put
the set screw back.
2) That rear tranny mount is a b*tch. After a lotta swearing I ended up
bending the side ears out and putting a little grease
on the top of the rubber pad and it finally went in. One mod I might consider
if I was doing this over would be to grind the
sides of the plate that mounts to the tranny. There is no need for the sides
of this plate to have a V shape of the tunnel and
those edges
only get in the way when your trying to insert the lower portion of the mount.
3) The urethane bushings in the shifter are too soft. They are easily damaged
while you are putting the shifter in.
I turned some new bushings out of Delrin. Much nicer. Very precise now.
4) If your using the stock slave cylinder, the instructions indicate grinding
the top lug at a 45 degree angle to clear the frame.
You will need to grind more than the instruction indicate, like another
1/16th of an inch. Mine is close and I think I will
have to try to get a grinding disc in there to take additional material off.
5) The bugeye shifter cover interferes. I wish to keep the original look of
this cover. I had a few ideas, none of which I have
yet attempted.
a) Short throw conversion. This would be tough, not sure I can do this
with the tranny in the car.
This would entail welding extensions to the side ears of the striking
guide and drilling a new hole to establish a new
fulcrum point. I would then turn a new shift stick to match up to
this. Has anyone tried something like this already?
It's a lot of work but boy it would make the shifter feel much closer
to the original.
b) I had rivergate cut and weld the shift stick. I might cut that weld and
re-weld it myself. The stick hits the front of the
cover
when it goes into 1st and 5th. There seems to be plenty of clearance
on the back side ( 2nd and 4th).
c) Mod the cover to drop it down, by removing a section out of it and then
braze it back together.
d) Mod the cover to have a larger and/or offset hole.
e) Maybe a combination of c and d.
d) The stock rubber shift boot is out of the question. However I think I
can make a reasonable imitation out of a more pliable
rubber that would accommodate the larger throw.
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