V8TV / Royal Purple Camaro

[V8TV]

Hey all -

Here's the humble beginnings of the Royal Sport 1969 Camaro we're building on V8TV with Royal Purple. We have to finish the car by SEMA. You can find details on the build on our website, www.v8tvshow.com.

- KO

[XcYZ]

Cool, keep us posted! :thumbsup:

[Van B]

I would love to see the show, but my cable company does not seem interested in picking up the men's channel and I have yet to meet anyone who has dish network.

[V8TV]

We'll be following the build on the show and on our website, as well as a couple other mass-media outlets we can't talk about yet until the deals get inked. There's going to be a DVD of the whole thing from start to finish as well, so anyone interested should have an opportunity to check it out.

On a side note, we put the Lateral-G link up on our site a couple weeks ago.

Thanks,

- KO

[907rs]

Cool! Should be a very trick g-machine when done.

[J2SpeedandCustom]

Damn I wish we could get V8TV!

Sorry off topic but - KO what did you guys think of the "Gearheads" suspension components for a full size Ford?

Jeff

[V8TV]

Jeff -

Here's our thoughts on the Gearheads Cruiser Products for full-size Fords.

First off, the tubular upper and lower control arms are really, REALLY nice. The build quality is first rate, and the mounting procedure is well thought out. You simply knock the rivet heads off the upper control arm mounts and use the original rivets for guide pins, then drop the new mount in place and weld it up. The lower arms are a bolt-in. The arms feature Mopar style screw-in ball joints, and the lowers feature mounts for both air springs or coil springs. They're pretty trick.

The sway bars are enormous, and the front mounts on the frame allow for a straighter sway bar. The Ford chassis required a goofy bend in the bar to reach the factory mounts, the Gearheads solution simplifys this process.

The rear bar utilizes 4 d-shaped bushings rather than links, which offers a real soild mount. They also make a rear spring shackle update which beefs-up the original s-shaped rear leaf hanger.

And now to the big question - the steering box upgrade. We're about 2/3 through the install now, and so far, we're really happy with what we've got. The steering box replaces the hydraulic ram-assist steering, eliminating the hoses, leaks, and poor road feel associated with the stock Ford system. The Gearheads conversion uses a GM 605 box and a matched Saginaw steering pump. Gearheads sells a bracket for almost every Ford V8 for this pump, but we're in the process of incorporating the GM Saginaw pump into a stock 5.0 style serpantine system on our 351. Ford used this pump in some Lincolns, we're trying to find the bracket.

The steering box mounts in the factory frame holes and slips on to the original column. It's a clean install. You have to run manual steering tie rod ends and a manual centerlink. I'll post more detials on the conversion when we finish in the next couple weeks, and the whole process will be on V8TV.

Thanks,

- Kevin

[69Nova]

The Camaro sounds like a cool project. I have seen the show before and liked it, so maby I'll start watching regulary.

[hotwheels]

damn man, i wish we got that channel up here............they call our men's channels "spike" up here and it sucks....

[Hydratech®]

Hey Kevin - instead of digging around for ultra tough to find E series van Saginaw P serp brackets, there IS a crossbreed pump available that is designed to bolt in place of the pesky / noisy Ford CII plastic pump - check it out:

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpump.jpg
* above photo courtesy of A1 Cardone
http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpump1.jpg

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpump2.jpg

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpump3.jpg


Note that this pump is produced by Cardone A1 (one of the nations largest remanufacturers) and is generally available at most auto supply houses under the same part number for about $125 + $40-ish core charge (if you don't have the Ford CII plastic POS to give 'em in exchange). We have successfully used this pump many times with stellar success - heck I even put one on my dad's '95 F350 crewcab Powerstroke dually at the same time we installed a hydraulic brake assist unit = works MUCH better than the POS plastic CII Ford pump. Some serp brackets will require some clearance mowing of the bracket, though it's not too bad in most cases. Also, we have found that you are much better off to spank the Ford banjo bolt line adaptation off of the pump as supplied, finding the classic GM female '70 - '79 spec 3/8 flare Saginaw P series pump fitting hiding in there. This allows you to connect directly the the back of the pump with a traditional 3/8 flare 90 degree hose end, instead of futzin around with the BS Ford teflon surface sealing ring style hose ends...

Remove this adaptation to connect directly to the existing GM style output:
http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpumpadapter.jpg

We have carefully examined this pump to see what makes it tick, finding that they install a proprietary crossbread design pump shaft for use with the Ford spec pulleys, running essentially a '70 - '79 Saginaw P pump inside of a first gen Camaro type sheetmetal housing + a patented cast iron horseshoe adapter bracket to fit the Ford CII brackets = damn good thinking on Cardone's part! We suggest this pump conversion with most all of our hydraulic brake assist conversions when one of the POS plastic CII's is in play with great results every time.

[V8TV]

Hey Paul -

Thanks for all the info!

In fact, Gearheads supplied me with what appears to be that same pump, however with their steering bracket in place of the horse shoe bracket shown in your photo, and their bracket is drilled for a shorter-deck 302, so it's off just a hair.

While reading your post, a couple lightbulbs went off in my head...

The car currently has an aftermarket serpentine setup that I am not happy with, so it's coming off.

My goal is to use as many factory Ford brackets as possible. I've been amassing Ford 5.0 brackets, but I've run into some issues with the H2O pump. I may have the SN95 4.6 water pump with a longer nose, (F5TE 8505-C4-A). To use the standard 5.0 pump, brackets, and pulleys, I may have to change the timing cover and then the H2O pump to get the pulleys to line up.

Next challenge - the steering pump. If I had the horse shoe shaped bracket shown in the pic you provided, do you think the Cardone pump would bolt into the Ford aluminum steering bracket in the attached pic of a stock 5.0 pump and aluminum bracket? I've got a 351 adapter bracket for the 5.0 pump... see attached pic of black bracket.

I'd like to end up with an arrangement like the last photo - this is from a kit Cobra, and it's nice and clean. It looks like he's running a smog pump with no pulley (?). This is a 302. If the cardone pump with the horse shoe bolts into this steering bracket, I'm getting closer.

Lastly, we should chat about the Hydroboost conversion while we're at it... I've never been happy with the brakes on the car, and Jeff Schwartz swears to me that the problem is with the assist....

Thanks again for doing the homework and helping us out!

- Kevin

[Hydratech®]

This is EXACTLY why I'm a "GM guy"! And also a damn good part of why you will only see a mere pittance for Fords applications listed in our products section. What with 1/2 year model run changes, vin breakpoints, GVW, option codes, it makes for a hotrodders worst nightmare to figure out WTF to do with certain items like what you're dealing with. :willy:

My goal is to use as many factory Ford brackets as possible. I've been amassing Ford 5.0 brackets, but I've run into some issues with the H2O pump. I may have the SN95 4.6 water pump with a longer nose, (F5TE 8505-C4-A). To use the standard 5.0 pump, brackets, and pulleys, I may have to change the timing cover and then the H2O pump to get the pulleys to line up.
Man, I don't even want to touch that one! This is perhaps best left for the Ford gurus to properly answer. The small 4.6 modular pump to wit couldn't possibly be used on the old school V8's, so I think we need a Lat-G Ford guy to chime in here. This reminds me of the absolute hell I went through many moons ago to (cough cough) *simply* put an EFI 5.0 in place of an old school 302 in an older XR7. There was that moment (of sickening revelation) when we finally fired it up, in that we had to yank it all back apart again to fix an incompatibility in the balance (flywheel / balancer interchange BS) per the sunvisors and mirrors vibing around badly at certain rpm's = turned me off from Ford's permanently! Nightmare after nightmare, still haunting me all these years later. There was a moment when one of my guys had to stop me from "curing" the problems with a gallon of gas and a match. :eek:

The ps pump you have in the pics IS the notorious POS Ford CII pump, though you find it to look similar because it's painted in the classic rebuilder black. You can make the Cardone Saginaw Super Pump fit anywhere the the CII plastic pump fits, though you will need to whip out the sawzall and the carbide burrs and relieve the bracket to clear on an as needed basis - some brackets simply need a little "notch and buzz", while some of the other brackets we've worked with needed some substansive mowing for clearance.

The FFR Cobra pics are customer supplied, and to the best of my knowledge those are all March produced brackets and pulleys you see in the pics. A.I.R. pump? No way - take a better look at this pic:
http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/cardonesuperpump2.jpg

Just an alternator, crank pulley, water pump and ps pump...


Lastly, we should chat about the Hydroboost conversion while we're at it... I've never been happy with the brakes on the car, and Jeff Schwartz swears to me that the problem is with the assist....
We have made a believer out of Jeff on a few projects, and SEXP is now an authorized vendor / retailer of the systems as a result. The hydraulic brake assist systems we produce are twice as generally powerful as a typical vac booster, so if Jeff says you guys need more assist, these systems will definitely provide that!

[V8TV]

Paul -

I have a Saginaw pump, (see pic 1), but I want to mate it to the bracket I included in the previous emial. (See pic 2 & 3). I need to find out if that horseshoe bracket will do the trick.

You're right, the Ford stuff can be a nightmare.

As for the H2O pump, you can see by pic 4 that there's a challenge ahead to line them all up. The aftermarket billet pulley was offset a good 3.5 inches, but I don't dig that arrangement.

I don't want to run the smog or A/C pumps (until we add A/C).

I think this should be a new thread...

Thanks,

Kevin

[Hydratech®]

Yes, that horseshow bracket will do the trick, but the only way to get your hands on this adapter is to buy the Cardone Super Pump. That particular aluminum factory pump bracket will definitely need to be mowed in various places to clear the stouter Saginaw P, though it is well worth the effort in the long run.

Also, I didn't mean to get down on Fords as it looks like I did - they're just not as directly interchangeable. ;)

[V8TV]

Thanks again, Paul. I'll check on the Cardone Super Pump. I wonder if I can call Cardone directly and get the bracket.

I'm actually looking forward to whacking the aluminum steering bracket. If we can get this to work, we can save Ford fans everywhere hours of headaches.

No offense taken regarding the Ford stuff. It is pretty crazy when it comes to this stuff.

- KO