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15 years ago i installed Constantines 'clamp' on the splined shaft of my 87 after suffering Thrust Bearing failure and replacing the engine with a new to me motor sourced from a 5 speed car.....a recent check of the flexplate shows zero movement....super peace of mind fix for flex plate worries.
Yes, unlike other aftermarket attempts at making clamps to solve this problem, Constantine's clamp seems to be a "forever" part.
Semi-retired, as of Feb 1, 2023.
The days of free technical advice are over.
Free consultations will no longer be available.
Will still be in the shop, isolated and exclusively working on project cars, developmental work and products, engines and transmissions.
Have fun with your 928's people!
I am curious, in regard to transmissions, have you looked at a Hewland or an X-trac ??
Advantages:
- wide selection of gear ratios and final drive ratios
- selection of limited slips . . Torsen, Quaiffe, etc
- models available to take ANY horsepower and torque
No, not as of this time.
As I mentioned, if the transmission turns out to be an issue, I'll "dig in" and solve it.
Right now, since we had a low mileage GTS transmission to work with, I decided to give it a chance to do this job, with the only change being that of a "more applicable" limited slip and modern synchros.
The PSD system is just way too slow, for track (and some street) use.
Here's some general pictures, to give you people an "overview" of what is happening, with this car....without "giving away" many secrets.
Try to remember one of my mantras: "If you can't lick it, it has no business going back on a car that we work on!" Box-O-Custom JRZ shocks, made to my specifications. Very trick pieces, in this box! Our carbon fiber synchro made for us for 928 use. Custom Viton input shaft seal, sourced from Germany, for us. New 5th gear. Sorry, picture intentionally left out of focus to keep the "stealers" from stealing! Transmission ready to go. Check out that trick limited slip with the oil pump drive gear! Sorry, just kidding. No pictures of that. Stub axles replaced from PSD stubs. Stub axles Black Oxide coated to help prevent rust. Front shift bearing completely disintegrated. No matter the age or the mileage, everything on a 928 needs to be looked at, these days. Even a 50,000 mile GTS is 27 years old! Rusty/worn torque tube shaft going into 5th gear. This car had the clutch replaced, at some point in time...the 5th gear clamp was left loose. We also replaced 5th gear. Constantine's (Black Sea Development) heavy duty torque tube bearings, new rubber mounts on damper, old and new 300M torque tube shaft. We make these custom 300M shafts, for use in high output applications. Torque tube and gearshift assembly ready to install. Rear uprights tumbled. New wheels bearings. Hubs (were rusty) black oxide coated to help prevent rust. New wheel studs. New high volume fuel pump. New filter, cross over line, feed line to front. In-tank pump removed and new connector hose installed (old one broken.) We make a kit to replace this internal hose, as well as a kit to "plumb" the high volume pump. Rear of chassis cleaned....enough for reassembly. Again regardless of age or year, everything on a 928 needs to be looked at. This is one of the transmission oil cooler hoses. We have "kit" to replace these hoses on a GTS, of course. Transmission/rear suspension installed. No paint on parts. All parts scrubbed of Cosmoline and then tumbled. Working on rear spring rates. That shock has been in an out of the car 15-20 times, fitted with different spring rates, and run through its travel. Sorry, but you won't see what actually goes onto the car. Stock 928 GTS rear caliper. Custom drilled rear rotor, for 928. (Similar to 944 Cup.) New dedicated relay for high volume fuel pump, with integral fuse. We make a kit for this.
Are you willing to share where you plan to mount the remote reservoirs on those rear shocks?
Just curious.
A quick search found that there's no way I'm ever going to afford a set of those puppies.
Nor are you likely to ever need them, right?
Where the now useless spare tire once sat or behind where the tool set used to sit. Haven't decided which one works best.
However, my inclination is to use the area behind the tool set. We could leave the cover off while adjusting and install it when done.
Just makes it tough to check/set the nitrogen pressure and see the adjusting *****.
There's a gob more room where the spare tire sat....
I'm a bit surprised you went for what looks like progressive dual springs given that progressive springs tend to be a bit... unpredictable at the track.
Do those fancy custom shocks mitigate their inconsistency and make them feel more linear? Or does not having it integrated into a single spring like the Eibachs do that?
This build is really shaping up nicely for your client given your perfectionist streak
Where the now useless spare tire once sat or behind where the tool set used to sit. Haven't decided which one works best.
However, my inclination is to use the area behind the tool set. We could leave the cover off while adjusting and install it when done.
Just makes it tough to check/set the nitrogen pressure and see the adjusting *****.
There's a gob more room where the spare tire sat....
Nope. That sort of driving is both beyond my skills and beyond my budget.
I'm a bit surprised you went for what looks like progressive dual springs given that progressive springs tend to be a bit... unpredictable at the track.
Do those fancy custom shocks mitigate their inconsistency and make them feel more linear? Or does not having it integrated into a single spring like the Eibachs do that?
This build is really shaping up nicely for your client given your perfectionist streak
As I mentioned, that particular picture was taken during one of my test fitments and was not necessarily the springs that will end up on the car. (Will not be.)
However, I went back and looked at that particular picture to see what was present. The upper main spring is a 650 pound, 6 inch linear spring. The lower spring is a German Eibach racing progressive tender (no longer made), which, in this particular case, becomes blocked (solid) with the weight of the car sitting on it.
I've got considerable thought into the springs for this car, as the combination of severe duty track car and tolerably comfortable street car are fairly unique.
In this case, I was testing to see if I could come up with a combination of a linear spring with a progressive tender that would not be blocked with the weight of the car.
My thinking, in this case, was that a bit of progressive "squish" for a little bit of travel would make the car a bit softer for the street, while pretty much instantly blocking itself, on the track.
This is difficult to accomplish.
Here's a couple of pictures that will give you an idea of the level of detail, on this car.
Installing the the rear shocks, with the spacers that JRZ provided plus the stock washers was....terribly cumbersome.
Took three people and my dog to get everything in the proper position and put the lower shock shaft through.
The solution: Whittle out some spacers with integral washers, from stainless (so they don't rust.) Tumble them to remove the sharp edges and hit them with the buffer, so they look good.
Another one of my mantras: If it's good enough for the Oakland Roadster Show, it's good enough for me to use.
And no, I won't be making these as a product....feel free to copy them for your monoball shock application....
What's the control system like for one of those steering setups retrofitted to something? Is it always running the pump when the ignition is on or does it have something monitoring steering input to activate the pump?
What's the control system like for one of those steering setups retrofitted to something? Is it always running the pump when the ignition is on or does it have something monitoring steering input to activate the pump?
Like a mechanical system, our electric system runs the entire time the engine is running.
11-22-2020, 08:02 PM
