Best possible 1966 Satellite

[nrand]

With the 225's that are on it now, they have a hard time stopping the car in a panic stop... too skinny and hard for the car and my aggressive driving style.

I have 235/R45s on my Toyota Chaser which I like to drive to show off its nimbleness - so I am not surprised the 225s are a little skinny with yours as a larger and heavier car than mine. Mine just fill the wheel wells nicely, still within the range of ... 'it could be a stock set-up look'. What I don't like so much are 18-20 inch wheels, or tires that extend beyond the body line.

YY1 suggested the lowering could be achieved with an adjustment of the stock torsion bars. Was this what you were suggesting as well?

 

[YY1]

I adjusted my new 73 Satellite 1 3/4 inches last night in about 15 min using a 13/16 socket.

+1 for torsion bar design!

The car has 235 60 15 all the way around.
It could easily take a 275+ in the rear.

The car handles good for it's age and great for it's era, but probably unaceptable to someone who's never driven anything older than mid 1990's.

The PO put on both aftermarket sway bars, but all the bushings are shot, so they're effectively not doing anything. Fixing that is high on the to do list, and I'm looking forward to seeing an improvement.

 

[nrand]

4 speed viable for RHD conversion?

I am beginning to think that if I want to be able to convert the car to right hand drive in Australia, the console automatics might be my only real option. The US 'left hand drive' is fine for a car that is just for show here in Australia, but not very practical if I ever want to pass a truck in real life . . more than once.

I would love to have a four speed but from what I can tell from the photos I have seen the four speed shifter leans slightly to the left towards the driver and I don't know enough about the linkages to work out if these could be practically altered to orient the other way. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with these, or done a manual conversion in Australia or the UK?

Or is the console automatic my only real option?

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

The shifter can be unbolted and one made or purchased to lean the correct way for you. You could also go to a hydraulic clutch and do away from the linkage.

 

[67 B-body]

Thousands upon thousands of late model cars/trucks have iron block/aluminum head combos that work just fine. Head gasket choice, surface finish on the metal, accurate torque values, and cooling system care are critical in ensuring longevity. Aluminum heads will allow a minimum of 1/2 point increase in compression on same fuel octane-pump premium should support 10-1 whereas iron heads 9-1, maybe 9/1/2 to one before detonation problems rise-in general and as an example. This can allow a flat-top piston to be used as opposed to a dished-another plus. The ONLY time I've seen head/head gasket problems on iron/alum combos is either a design flaw from the beginning, an overheat, or poor cooling system maintenance.

Agreed.....
This is common practice (aluminum head to steel block) in the industry.

 

[nrand]

The shifter can be unbolted and one made or purchased to lean the correct way for you. You could also go to a hydraulic clutch and do away from the linkage.

Thanks Jim Bob,
Trying to consider all the angles, no pun intended, and considering highway drivability/mileage, I am reading there are overdrive/additional gear options for both the 4 speeds and the torqueflites.
such as these:
http://smrtrans.tripod.com/smrtransmissionsintro/id32.html
and these:
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0705_overdrive_transmission/viewall.html

Any opinions on such conversions for reliability and efficiency?
I am still trying to decide where to start on the tranny options.
What would readers here choose?

I don't want to pour money into the gas tank needlessly, but it would still be handy to access a real passing gear from highway speeds on occasion. We have some pretty impressive wide open roads out here.

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

T56, T56 Magnum (6 speed), TKO 5 speed, Passone Performance 5 speed.

The Passon Performance is a direct bolt in but not cheap.

The TKO needs some floor mods.

The T56 and T56Magnum need major floor mods to include cutting and replacing part of the torsion bar crossmember. But you can get a .5 overdrive.

 

[nrand]

Thanks again Jim Bob
You are a mine of information - this should be enough to get me started. I'll have to weigh up in my own mind the cost issues and whether not not I want to start cutting, which costs in other ways.