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Long time no post. I have acquired a partially complete 928 race conversion with 406 swap. I have a stack of receipts but the former owner is older and does not remember all the details. Most of the build was in 2018. They did use the kit from Renegade but Renegade is saying some parts are not correct and are not willing to help with the original instructions or any details.
I was hoping another member who has done the swap would be willing to discuss offline. Most of my questions are regarding the bell housing and clutch setup.
It has a Ram Cluitch HTO bearing on it but Renegade says it should be a regular forked arm. BUT the website kit list says a hydraulic throw out bearing is in the kit. So I am quite confused.
There was a web forum years ago devoted to Porsche Chevy engine swaps which was very useful. Its gone now.
Not that there was no interest, just the opposite. It was too successful and was shut down. The rumor at the time was that considerable legal pressure and maneuvering came to bear. They lost advertisers and a place to host it.
I can't imagine who would do such a thing to a group of car enthusiasts.. O wait,,,
Last edited by Rob M Budd; 07-08-2022 at 08:01 PM.
I found the 944hybrids forum which is a wealth of information. Seems like I need to drill down on which disc was used. There is no receipt (vs pressure plate, flywheel etc) so if it came with a Renegade purchase I am not sure.
Bummer renegade wont help. What's the problem you are having?
You say 406, as in SBC 406? or LS ? The term 406 has traditionally been used for a SBC 400 that's been bored 30 over for displace 406 CI , thus the nomenclature, "406". I see what appears to be a billet distributor so looks like you have an SBC. BUT the LS versions of the Rengade kits uses a HTOB, the older SBC stuff will most like have used a fork. That may accounts for the discrepancy and the mismatched / custom parts setup may not be of interest to the folks at Renegade. Many including myself have done HTOB conversions when using SBC bell housings that were setup for forks....so it's still very doable.
I've done many one off swaps on OT cars using the RAM HTOB so I can help with some generalities. First I'd recommend the HTOB lines need to be horizontal at the least but facing a few degrees upward would be best. The HTOB usually will locate on a long dowel pin that keeps it from rotating. I see the pin in one of your picts. If the pin is installed in such a way that the lines point down, then that's less than ideal and it may be very difficult to get a good bleed.
It's good that you have a centerforce flywheel. I've used CF and always had good luck with them. I'd recommend a Centerforce pressure plate too. The Centerforce PP's are usually orange and I'm not sure the purple one the best one for the job. CF are a bit more pricey though. RAM uses the purple color so it might be fine but I know a Centerforce PP and Clutch would be better and have amazing and smooth engagement.
I'd also suggest you get the part number off the HTOB. Some RAM HTOB will need a 1 inch bore MC and some will have enough travel with just a 3/4. I think the 928 has a 19mm MC so you'll to confirm 100% you have the correct HTOB or you clutch may not release. Invest in a 50$ bore camera on amazon to see what happening IRL.
The bell housing looks like a standard SBC bell that would accept a GM T5 transmission. So in this case you should pretend you are working on a normal Chevy but instead of plugging a T5 transmission into the bell you are plugging a torque tube adapter. So just pretend the TT adapter is a T5 transmission. The only issue might be getting a clutch disk with the right spine count but it seems like you already have that. If you think of this that way it will be easier to do. That said, an LS bell housing that has the cut outs for the HTOB lines in the right place WILL bolt up to a SBC. That may be an option. Since the dowel pin that properly located the HTOB attaches to the trans (tt adapter in you case) you may have to properly modify the TT adapter to act like a T5 trans with a dowel that properly located the HTOB. That appears to have not been done correctly sine you lines appear to be facing down base on what I can see from the picts you posted.
As you get farther along in the project you may find the HTOB is too far away from the clutch fingers. This may require a spacer to bring the HTOB closer to the PP so the HTOB doesn't over extent and come apart. Many companies sell shims to get this right but dont use the shims, have a spacer machined from a single piece. The shim stack ends up having lash that produces a less than ideal clutch feel. I usually use the inner race of a wheel bearing which has the perfect ID and machine it to the proper thickness.
Last edited by icsamerica; 07-08-2022 at 10:44 PM.
My main questions regard the throw out bearing, bell housing, torque tube setup. My hope was some basic instructions like "make sure spline engages xx amount" "set preload on torque tube at...." "set RAM HTOB to xx length". Or is it literally just bolt together?
I do not know there is any issue yet but the car has never been run and hydraulic lines are dry. Before I fill it with fluid and start it I want to double check everything.
So far from receipts this is what I see:
They did purchase a CFT361739 but it is not on the car
The engine is a new Skip White 406 DART block regular SBC setup. The top end is served by a new Holley Sniper EFI with Dual Sync distributor. Ideally and visually I think the LS setup looks more Porsche but this is the configuration they selected.
Long story short is maybe swap to a LS bellhousing and redrill the HTOB locator pin?
I found the original thread for this car on this forum but it was early on and did not have these parts yet. I will resurrect it later. The car is very custom and I shy away from the normal negativity here.
ICS you have been a wealth of pointing me in a direction to start.
WOW! That 406 is gonna be amazing. I love LS stuff but I have a special place in my heart for a nice 406. I had a mild cam'd Jag with a 406 swap, It's got a mild LS now but I liked the 406 better. The LS is WAY smoother and leaks nothing. The 406 is going in a Well prepped C4 for track duty after I get my 928 stroker done. So 2 years... lol. You can see the 406 in action here. I was able to hang with a supercharged corvette on the straights but I was no match in the turns since the Jag weighs 3800LBS.
Right, Corvette bell is Alu. You have an iron truck bell. I'd recommend sticking with an Iron or a Lakewood Safety Bell. You're gonna be making some serious HP and a clutch explosion would be devastating to you and the car.
This is another reason I like Centerforce. They balance all their components. I called CF and they told me all about their balance machines. No alerts from my BS detector while that conversation was on-going.
This is the one I use for SBC and LS projects. I use all the bolt holes on the bottom to locate and afix exhaust hangers so nothin moves and leaks. Very important to stop header cracks
Last edited by icsamerica; 07-08-2022 at 11:22 PM.
07-08-2022, 04:47 PM
Renegade / SBC swap help
