Cradle Preparation
|
|
In order to continue to have my car to drive during the early
stages of the engine swap, I obtained another '81 citation X-11
cradle with the rear welded in braces from Robert Cope of Ft.
Lauderdale, FL. Having another engine cradle to work with outside
of the car makes performing this swap alot easier, for obvious
reasons.
|
|
I removed the old and dried up rubber cradle
bushings. The only part of these that will be reused is the metal
portion which can be seen in this picture at the base of my hand.
The rubber bushings will be replaced with polyurethane bushings,
which are much stiffer and preffered for high performance applications.
|
|
These are the old stock transmission and engine
mounts. They will also be replaced with polyurethane counterparts
to serve two purposes. Firstly, the new V8 engine is wider than
the stock V6, and using polyurethane mounts will ensure that the
engine doesn't come in contact with the firewall, the radiator
fans, or the frame rail. Secondly, because of the uneven length
of the axles that are used with the FWD 4-speed Muncie transmission,
torque steer is a considerable problem. Using polyurethane mounts
will keep the transmission from moving, which greatly helps to
lessen torque steer.
|
|
Removal of the Anti-sway bar's stock rubber
bushings was the next step, and these too, will be replaced with
polyurethane bushings. Rubber tends to dry up and get brittle
with age, and these bushings were no exception to that rule. They
look OK at a glance, but just one squeeze with the hand made it
obvious that they don't behave anywhere near the way they should.
|
|
Next is removal of the ball joints and the
control arm( A-arm ) bushings. The ball joints were old and busted,
as can be seen by this photo, and they require a stock replacement,
however, the replacements will be receiving a polyurethane dust
boot, for added durability. The control arm bushings will be replaced
with polyurethane bushings for additional bracing to help eliminate
torque steer. These poly bushings will require the use of the
stock metal sleeves, so the rubber bushings do require a special
method for removal...
|
|
FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, ghhmmgghm, YEAH! YEAH!
|
|
The process of burning out the old rubber
A-arm bushings was quite time consuming, taking a total of about
an hour with the pitiful propane torch I was using, but I did
not want to compromise the structural integrity of the steel by
using a hotter flame.
|
|
In order to prepare the surface of the cradle
to be painted, I took it down to bare metal using a wire wheel
on the flat surfaces and edges, and I sandblasted the hard-to-reach
surfaces and groves. I did not have a camera handy that day, so
here is a picture of the finished cradle, after two coast of primer
and 3 coats of paint. I used Rustoleum industrial enamel primer
and industrial enamel black paint.
|
|
I purchase all of my
polyurethane bushings from Suspension
Restoration Parts Co. This company carries two brands: Prothane
and Energy Suspension. Starting from top left, moving to the right
and then down, we have: 1) Cradle bushings: They don't make a
cradle bushing set that fits X-body cradles, so these are the
rear cradle bushings for a pontiac fiero combined from two sets,
which also happen to fit this application, Prothane part # 7-502-BL;
2) Ball joint dust boots and tie rod end dust boots: Sold in pairs,
both use same part number, Prothane part # 9-13101G; 3) Sway bar
to control arm bushings: These bushings have an installed port
for continued greasing, Energy Suspension part # 9-5158G; 4) Front
and rear engine mounts. Both are the same part number, just use
different bolt holes, Energy Suspension part # 3-1108G; 5) Control
arm( A-arm ) bushings: They don't sell these bushings for X-body
cradles, however, Fieros have the same control arms, so I purchased
those, Prothane part # 7-304-BL. I have not yet received the polyurethane
transmission mounts. Please also note that there is plenty of
lube being used when installing these bushings.
|
|
The '81 Factor strikes!
1980-85 X-body, and 1982 and later A-body engine cradles use the
same control arms as the Fiero, however, 1980-81 X-body Control
arms use a smaller bolt diameter size, 10mm as opposed to 14mm,
and I had Prothane special make insert sleeves for the control
arm bushings with a 10mm inner diameter. In the picture, you can
see that the inner diameter for the stock metal sleeve( left )
is larger than the custom made sleeve( right ).
|
|
