Matt's KA24DE Swap

[Mattk]

Okay that’s the same thing I did, even referenced the same article among others. I looked for the factory angle but could never really get a straight (no pun intended) answer. I can’t remember right now but I think I’m at 1 degrees.

Cheers
Matthew

[FergO2k]

Wow, glad it turned out OK Matt, congrats on making it thru.
Yes, you don't want 0 degrees, else the needle bearings in your u-joint caps don't turn/move, so that the load keeps pressing on the same needle, and it does not last. The slight angle keeps them turning, distributing the load.
<3 degrees is recommended (from memory), but remember when you add the body and sit in it, it will compress the slip yoke and improve the angle. Trash trucks run the worst angles and are the most torturous because they often run overweight and often just use auto shifter when they move one house up, so slamming the u-joints all day long. In a previous life I made composite drive shafts for trash trucks, (10" steel tubes!) not only for reduced weight but for the elastic element/factor we could introduce, making their systems last longer.
Over-raised trucks (you know these folks) run into large angles, and use wedge shaped shims on the leafs to "aim" the pumpkin face towards the trans output. This makes Centerline C non-horizontal, so improves Angle 2, but also because of the diff nose piece, raises Angle 2 vertex and improves (reduces) angle 1.

[damarble]

Wow, glad it turned out OK Matt, congrats on making it thru.
Yes, you don't want 0 degrees, else the needle bearings in your u-joint caps don't turn/move, so that the load keeps pressing on the same needle, and it does not last. The slight angle keeps them turning, distributing the load.

There's also a little side to side angle from the pinion offset since it's not perfectly centered, unless you happened to set the new drivetrain offset to the passenger side. Not a lot of room to set it very far over though.

[mattanonymous]

Wow, glad it turned out OK Matt, congrats on making it thru.
Yes, you don't want 0 degrees, else the needle bearings in your u-joint caps don't turn/move, so that the load keeps pressing on the same needle, and it does not last. The slight angle keeps them turning, distributing the load.
<3 degrees is recommended (from memory), but remember when you add the body and sit in it, it will compress the slip yoke and improve the angle. Trash trucks run the worst angles and are the most torturous because they often run overweight and often just use auto shifter when they move one house up, so slamming the u-joints all day long. In a previous life I made composite drive shafts for trash trucks, (10" steel tubes!) not only for reduced weight but for the elastic element/factor we could introduce, making their systems last longer.
Over-raised trucks (you know these folks) run into large angles, and use wedge shaped shims on the leafs to "aim" the pumpkin face towards the trans output. This makes Centerline C non-horizontal, so improves Angle 2, but also because of the diff nose piece, raises Angle 2 vertex and improves (reduces) angle 1.

Thanks and thanks for the info!

I'm seeing 1 degree down from the transmission and 1 degree up on the differential like Matthew had stated, but that's without the body on, so it may change some. I think everything is within reason, though, so I'll continue on and adjust later if I run into problems.

[Mattk]

When I set mine up initially i set the frame on blocks at ride height, 6" from the bottom of the frame, and i took the shocks out. Made sure the frame was level and then set the angle for the rear to match the tranny. This is a bit easier for me since I have a four bar set up in the rear, but i think you could still do it this way with the stock set up.

Cheers
Matthew

[RustyBucket]

Matthew - congratulation on stomping the crap out of cancer ! Did you clean nc have a bell for you to ring?? I'd beat the damn thing off the FLIPPIN wall!!

Years ago I did a bone marrow donor deal anonymous through the C.W. Bill Young donor program , I match 5 out of 6 antigens for some fellow. Woohoo. Everybody should get tested to be a donor!!

It hurt, no joke that be a donor,but I'd do it again in a heart beat !,

Now get to work Ann get that car ready for post coved Spring 2021 !,
Congrats again!!

[mattanonymous]

Thanks RustyBucket! Working on it!

The weather and my lack of motivation have been limiting my progress. I'm sure we all know how that goes.

Anyway, I'm working on the section of the frame where the electronic speed sensor can interfere. I really hoped to only have to carve out one side, but I'm not getting the clearance I'd like. My new idea is to use C-channel or rectangular tubing (only cutting the top section where I need to for clearance) all the way across that center section of the frame. I wanted to get feedback on it first though. Does anyone see an issue with structural integrity? It'll only go an inch deep and then be tied into the original frame where possible.

20210408_111434.jpg

[eye]

If it were mine, I'd weld it back up completely and use a GPS device type sensor to talk to your speedo.Not sure if that is an option for you but it would be way safer and incredibly easy to use and wire up. Just need to make sure the power stays to it and not keyed off the ignition.

https://shop.classicinstruments.com/sn81

https://www.autometer.com/universal-gps ... odule.html

[Mattk]

This is what I did. Not pretty but its strong and works. A small section taken out and welded will not really have to much effect on the frame.

download/file.php?id=17068&mode=view

As for the GPS speedo, I have been going back and forth on this one. Im most likely going to go with the wired set up as i have features that require the signal. And even though some GPS speedos come with a speedo output for, say cruise control, im still leaning toward using the sensor.

Cheers

[mattanonymous]

Thanks man. I think I can get away with something like that after rechecking everything. I'm too far to go gps haha.

[mattanonymous]

This project has been such a great way to learn. There are so many things I didn't know and still don't know about this process and I feel like it's not that well documented. I have to admit, I very vaguely eye-balled the alignment of everything the first time around. I think I just got overwhelmed by not knowing how in the heck I'd be able to reference points in space, on the frame, and on the powertrain to get anything reasonably close and just winged it.

I'm wiser now at 35 and came up with a couple of things that really helped and wanted to pass them along. The first thing was I needed to get the center of the frame in different places of import. Namely, the center of the crank and the center of the tail of the transmission. I measured across the front of the frame and the middle of the frame and marked the halfway points and used a laser level to connect them. I added some white duct tape to the front so a black thin sharpie line would show up and I actually duct taped a yard stick to the area behind the transmission since the center area in that section is open and there's nothing to mark on.

The next part is the most important ah-ha moment. Even with all these measurements, I needed a way to reference off the centers on the front and back of the powertrain. I used my 3d printer to create caps for the crank bolt and transmission with a center hole in both models. The transmission cap serves several purposes. It keeps gear oil from leaking everywhere, gives me a way to find the center of the tail of the transmission, and it gives me a flat surface to use my angle finder on to get the pinion angle right.

My other big ah-ha has been to leave everything minimally tack welded and unfinished until I'm certain everything is in the right location. It took a lot of trial and error as I kept forgetting one of the many measurements I needed to make before making things permanent, so I'll be going with tack welds until I'm absolutely certain everything is perfect. The only upside to having fully welded the mounts before is I was able to verify that they were sufficiently strong with good penetration based on how much work it took to cut through them haha. The bad news is that I probably need to make new plates for the motor mounts because they're pretty scarred up from cutting.

As for my last post regarding the speed sensor, I have just enough room around it to feel comfortable especially with a urethane mount. I need to clean things up and box it, but that stuff will be done later when I'm certain nothing needs to change.

transmissionTail3dPrint.jpg

crank3dPrint.jpg

[Marty_Escarcega]

Any updates on your project Matt?
Marty

[notoptoy]

Yes, unfortunately he has it listed for sale as he is moving on to another project.

[Marty_Escarcega]

Yes, unfortunately he has it listed for sale as he is moving on to another project.

Ah, that's too bad. Our project is 12 years old and was back burnered, but the KA24DE and 5spd trans is mounted, drive shaft made. My now 24 year old daughter still wants the finish it. She found the car when she was 12

[Loy]

Too lazy to make my own build thread. I ended up buying Matt’s 1600. Been working on it since I bought it in July. I finally was able to take it for a spin today.

66A3C70F-F1DE-4251-9730-04417AAAF1DA.jpeg

3FD85F38-5A16-4AC0-AEE4-5D1B7FFA0FA9.jpeg