by Jon Mikelonis

Foreward
Nobody raised their pom poms when we dyno tested our Streetwise 460
build-up more than two years ago. All that could be heard was the steady drip of tranny fluid onto machined concrete when the motor was shutdown and the dyno results were reviewed. The data was

It's never been formally introduced but Project Torino has been used in many FordMuscle articles. Look for Project Torino in the Project Cars section for past articles on this 1973 Ford.

disappointing to say the least, with the culprit being the 10" torque converter for the C6 tranny. The motor made a lowsy 358hp at 5000 RPM and 387 ft lbs at 4500 RPM. On the street, the lack of power showed in the form of very poor part throttle performance.

First a wiped cam lobe, next an engine fire, and now the thought of dropping the tranny to swap out the converter, lead the Torino to the sideyard where it became nothing more than a conversation piece. A three year conversation piece. To add insult to injury, the site of a $450 pair of headers resting on the front crossmember meant something was wrong with the motor mounts used for fitting the 460 into the intermediate chassis.

It took almost two years to recover by pulling the Torino back into the garage for some surgery. Somehow, overcoming your own errors and performing the same work over again is much easier when a few years have passed. With a clean slate and a new attitude, taking on the necessary tasks re-emphasized that performance parts aren't always a direct bolt-on.

Never Expect a Perfect Fit
In the mid-90's I worked for a manufactuer within the performance
aftermarket. During my tenure, I'll never forget hearing a perspective
regarding do-it-yourself automotive hobbysits that has stayed with me to
this day. It went something like this...

"Enthusiasts tend to place a large percentage of fault on themselves when
a product they've purchased does not fit their application. This makes
them less likely to return items for refund. The phenomemon occurs in the
performance aftermarket like no other because hobbyists are often
embarrased to face-up to making bad purchasing decisions. To compound the
issue, enthusiasts understand many products are intended for stock
applications for which most are not. Because of this, they are ususally willing to do whatever it takes to make a product fit with their own devices."

This observation still resonates with me because I am just like the enthusiast described above. While some parts cannot be made to fit, if the part is designed for the application and can be modified to work, then I'll try it everytime. Here are three cases I experienced during this edition of Project Torino that prove you should "Never Expect a Direct Fit".

Case 1: Being Flexible with Flexplates
The first step to getting Project Torino back on track was to swap out the
10" converter for a more street-friendly unit. Not an easy project when working by yourself, but one that can ideally be done in a few hours if everything goes smoothly. Smoothly? When does anything go smoothly? Take this for example:

A torque converter swap usually begins with an online order for a new part. Not this time, I had a spare. Here's a shot of the Big Block C6 removed from the Torino. The "old" 10" Transmission Specialties 10LS converter is shown on the floor while the "new" 11" TCI Breakaway converter is installed.		After an inital attempt to bolt up the tranny, I had to abort the install and drop it back down. The torque converter studs on the "new" TCI converter would not pass through the installed flexplate. This is a shot of me testing both converters on the bench with a spare flexplate.
The Transmission Specialties converter uses 3/8" studs.		The TCI converter uses 7/16"" studs.
This is the "old" Transmission Specialties converter on the bench while test fitting the spare flexplate. Notice the difference between the O.D. of the stud and the diameter of the bolt hole. There's a decent amount of slack.		This is the "new" TCI converter with the same flexplate test fitted. Yes, it fits, but the stud is not much smaller than the bolt hole. While the close tolerance is preferred, threading the converter studs through the flexplate with the motor in the car is difficult.
Solution? Get underneath the car and open up the holes on the flexplate with a power drill. More