Mayham's 1990 Vert 5.3/T5/8.8 build

[mayhamfx]

It's all together and running. The pedal feels different from the hydraulic bearing setup and it's pretty close to the floor. The might be a touch of air in it still and I left some adjustment at the top of the pedal cause I was paranoid of having too little. I'll drive it some and maybe make an adjustment.

a couple of other things I did when it was apart was try and put the right speedo gear in. I got a 7 tooth used one from a rearend shop in town but when I went to put it in the diameter was wrong. I also had bought a ratio reducer to go inline with the nine tooth gear, so I went to use it and there is not enough room in the tunnel for it, fuck! Now I have 2 choices, buy the right gear and pull the whole thing apart again or get a right angle drive for the speedo.

The other thing i did was adjust (read bend) my throttle pedal so it was lower down. Now I can toe and heal when slowing down, yea!!!!!



I smeared grease in the lens to give it that soft sexy look.

[digitalsolo]

That's a nice setup on the clutch.   I wish I could replace my slave that easily.   

[mayhamfx]

That's a nice setup on the clutch.   I wish I could replace my slave that easily.   

I went adjust it tonight, had to loosen one exhaust pipe and snapped off the pipe to manifold bolt. Three hours later I'm back in business. Plus all exhaust bolts now have hi temp never seize on them.

[atli126]

wow! all that trouble outta the howe tob? ive got everything but the howe tob and the ls7 pilot, but after reading that, im really wondering now... I def dont have the know how, skills or time and tools you have to tinker with the tob situation like you do (or have done). I really need something to go together and just work...

what is your final thoughts on the howe tob?

[mayhamfx]

The Howe is the cheapest of all the TOB on the market so the quality must be lacking, all the other bearings I looked at were in the $300-$500 range. I would lean toward a slave cylinder and conventional bearing.

[Yarp]

I'm not an ls guy, but why did you have to use the 621 bellhousing?
I've got one of those 18 degree bellhousings. Why wouldn't it bolt up?
 

[mayhamfx]

The shifter sits to one side then.

[Yarp]

So the only reason to use a 621 is to stick it straight up?
That seems silly. The tilted one makes a metric shit-ton more room for the slave setup.  <--  EDIT I'm an idiot, carry on.

[therotaryrocket]

awesome build, I like how you put a lot of the feelings into your thread. I can tell you don't wanna have to remove that damn transmission again! and that muthafukin diff vent! haha, but i'm learning from you and i'll contribute when my build moves along as well, so thanks.

[atli126]

thanks for all the help, can i get a new parts list for the new slave setup?

[atli126]

so how is the t5 holding up?

[mayhamfx]

T5 is holding up fine. I'm easy on transmissions. If I add more power I'll defiantly consider upgrading it with an Astro Performance gear set.

[Defenistrator]

Couple questions for you.

First:  Do you have any clearer pictures on how the front diff mount bolts to the subframe, or maybe a bit of an explanation as to how it mounts?  I just picked up a t-bird rear and even though it's iron it's mounting points look to be identical.

Also do you have any pictures of the driver's side manifold installed in-car where I could see the alterations you made to allow the steering shaft to clear?  I really love the symmetry and 02 placement of these guys and don't want to have to give up my set. 

[mayhamfx]

More pictures here: http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x134/mayhamfx/Lincoln%20IRS/

You have to remember my mounting and engine placement are all custom.

[Defenistrator]

Awesome, thanks!
I can't afford to buy every mounting kit out there, so my mounting is likely to be custom too.  I'll be using C5 pedestals but will probably build my own engine mounts up from the subframe.