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Boom's 68 fastback

Horseplay said:
Get that thing in the car Craig. I want to shift one. Heard mixed reviews as compared to the T5. This winter I plan on upgrading the trans and am leaning toward an Astro T5.
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I'm in Europe until just before the tour... but you have nothing going on, swing by and put it in for me!
I haven't dyno'ed my car but I think it makes enough torque to annihilate a T5
 
I called and asked about the full blown Astro model and they said $3400, I fell out of my chair. Thats a T56 with teh hyd TOB and crossmember....
 
I've not heard of an Astro T5 but I already have the TKO600 and it was around $2000 if I remembered correctly


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Boom said:
I called and asked about the full blown Astro model and they said $3400, I fell out of my chair. Thats a T56 with teh hyd TOB and crossmember....
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But a T5 bolts right up and FITS. In my case, using the adjustable motor mounts I have I was able to get the shifter dead center in the tunnel opening. No sawing needed. No tunnel modifications, etc. If only Sanborn were still around to discuss. lol And a T5 shifts very nice and like I said everything I've read is that the TKOs are not the smoothest. That's why I want to shift one myself because all that really matters is how the owner/driver feels about it. Right?
 
I have a T5 in the coupe. It shifts pretty nice, reverse is a pain since it doesn't have synchros. But you get used to it, shift to another gear and then into reverse. I'm just skeptical about the T5s durability behind a stroker or built 351w, even with an Astro gearset.
 
T5s, especially the later units (late 80's early 90's) are really tough. You can beat on them pretty good. Plenty of guys running 300-400 h.p. small blocks mated to stockers having no problems. I built mine for the 306 I built for my car (which is not going to be used now :confused:) and wasn't worried about it surviving. Now that I'm doing this 347 I will beat it hard and if/when it goes in comes the Astro. Be a good test bed.
 
I've yet to drive a TKO equipped car, but have put some quick, hard miles on the T5. It shifts smoothly and without hesitation, but even with the short throw shifter it is a long, sloppy throw. I much prefer the short throw on the Tremec 3650 in the 03 Mach, but that one shifts very hard. Maybe the TKO is a nice compromise. I do like how easy the T5 slipped into place.....twice!
 
Ditto on the long throw of the T5, I have the Pro-5.0 shifter and it still feels excessive. Might be due to the long handle required by the shifters placement.
 
Horseplay said:
Get that thing in the car Craig. I want to shift one. Heard mixed reviews as compared to the T5. This winter I plan on upgrading the trans and am leaning toward an Astro Glide T5.
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There fixed it for you.
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e49df73d8eb5059884e154cb3aaa481a.jpg
 
I ordered the AAW harness today. Hopefully it comes in soon so I can start planning the install.

I still have to take apart the old dash and find where all the wiring goes.
 
Been awhile since I updated this. I did get the wiring harness. It looks to be very well made, I'm a bit nervous about doing it. I've already pulled the factory harness from the car.

I decided to strip the entire area under the dash/cowl and I coated everything with Eatwood's rust encasulator.

20170528_115141 by Brett, on Flickr

The dash was sanded and hit with 2K flat black expoy:

20170615_203555 by Brett, on Flickr

I plan to go over the dash and door interiors with rat rod satin black.

I always hated the linkage on the 68's gas pedal, so I got a Lokar set-up.

20170524_160738 by Brett, on Flickr

20170613_172054 by Brett, on Flickr

Thats about caught up. I was busy doing a few other things that kept me busy. Like this:

20170401_160154 by Brett, on Flickr

Till next time!
 
Thanks for the update and yes , sometimes I hang on a drone too ! :confused:
BTW nice pic ! Wish I had the balls to do this.
 
Boom said:
Been awhile since I updated this. I did get the wiring harness. It looks to be very well made, I'm a bit nervous about doing it. I've already pulled the factory harness from the car.

I decided to strip the entire area under the dash/cowl and I coated everything with Eatwood's rust encasulator.

20170528_115141 by Brett, on Flickr

The dash was sanded and hit with 2K flat black expoy:

20170615_203555 by Brett, on Flickr

I plan to go over the dash and door interiors with rat rod satin black.

I always hated the linkage on the 68's gas pedal, so I got a Lokar set-up.

20170524_160738 by Brett, on Flickr

20170613_172054 by Brett, on Flickr

Thats about caught up. I was busy doing a few other things that kept me busy. Like this:

20170401_160154 by Brett, on Flickr

Till next time!
Click to expand...
Thanks for serving!!!!!

32+ years with Hughes Aircraft and Raytheon to try and get you guys the best damn equipment to keep you safe and effective.
 
Very nice build. Dont forget you need the AAW crimper if you dont have one.. Expensive, but i ordered it since i dont have a good pair at all
 
Been gone the last week, got stuck going to San Jose. Back in Texas now.

I pulled a Terry and bought another part to replace a part I already had. I am swapping the Vic Jr. intake I have on the 351w for a Super Vic with port EFI. I am going to use the new "Go-Port" from Fitech, its similar to their TBI set-up but has wires for port injection. They sell a complete kit but that'd be too easy, plus they're gonna use some shit intake. So, I'm getting their stand alone kit that doesn't have an intake, rails or injectors.

http://fitechefi.com/products/goport/go-port-stand-alone-200-1200-2-5-bar-diy-efi-kit/

I nabbed the Edelbrock intake and rails off a guy on Corral. I called Fitech to see what kind of injector plug the harness has, they said EV1 so I have to figure out what injectors I want to use and whats required. The website says I need a special MSD distributor, but I already have a new MSD so I'm gonna hope the one I have will work. Some reading online says it should fit, just be close. We'll see.

Biggest thing I can't really tell is gonna be hood clearance. Between the intake and the TB I'll have about 9.5" above the block, not including the air cleaner. Need to check with MTF to make sure their hood will fit.
 
Glad I use Flickr and not PB, that would suck.

Been slowly (lol very slowly) getting everything ready to mount the AAW fuse block and start running the harness. I am going to mount the box where the washer pedal normally goes on the firewall. I also removed the fresh air duct, that has been sealed off with a piece of aluminum. It can be removed in the future if needed.

I need to get some more POR 15 so I can coat the floor and then get some Dynamat on top of that. Already did the corner where the fuse box goes.

2017-07-15_10-17-02 by Brett, on Flickr
 
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Got the fuse box mounted. Replaced the sheetmetal screws with 1/4" bolts and nuts. Started separating the "branches" so I can begin routing the wires. I ordered a grommet kit because I plan to route the front wires in fenderwells for a cleaner look.

20170715_155921 by Brett, on Flickr
 
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