I've recently acquired an Alden Thomas GTO and am adding an LS3 and F40 via V8Archie kits. Any input related to this rare car would be greatly appreciated, especially the origin, contact information of original creator, etc. It's my hope to restore it back to original. Chassis is 88 Formula.
We've been told this is one of as many as 12 produced and likely one of the last ones. It appears the earlier ones had three vents behind the rear wheels and mine has two.
Found good tip on PFF to drain fuel tank. Attached hose to fuel line Schraeder valve and then added jumper across oil pressure sensor connection. It's an easy and safe way to drain the tank. Disconnected battery and will drain all oils and coolant next. Wheels coming off today.
New MAXJAX two post lift makes life a lot easier. My first V8 swap was in 1999 and I spent years using a creeper.
I've put two different V8's in my 88 GT using the cherry picker, jacks, and dollies. Am pretty sure the cherry picker does not have enough reach to go past the rebody.
Have you dropped an engine with your lift? Any tips?
I've put two different V8's in my 88 GT using the cherry picker, jacks, and dollies. Am pretty sure the cherry picker does not have enough reach to go past the rebody.
Have you dropped an engine with your lift? Any tips?
Dropped many motors with the lift. I use a Harbor freight dolly to hold the engine cradle. I do modify the dolly to have a bigger footprint with wood to match the cradle. Lower the car down to that dolly and unbolt the cradle from the car and lift it out of the way. Then just roll the whole thing to where you need it. I will take a picture of the dolly for you later.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 08-10-2024).]
Maybe I'm over thinking it by imagining the car is still high in the air so I can get at the forward horizontal cradle bolts without using a creeper. Then I'd need a dolly with upper surface at least 2-3' off the ground!
Meanwhile, remove wheels, brakes, rear struts, cables, axles, etc.
It's all depends on what you are putting the engine/cradle on during removal. You don't necessarily want to drop it on the ground. You want to make it mobile. If you are working with a mobile platform that is taller then you can lift the car up higher to remove bolts.
Patrick: I've posted lots of images in the past but this time I had trouble with both the pictures and the old brochure. My own copy of that brochure is of the same high quality as yours but after trying three ways to upload, the result was the same fuzzy image. I'm not sure what's going on and would appreciate any help via PM or otherwise.
LS3 oil pan has been successfully modified to allow starter mounting. This involves rerouting the external oil bypass. Trial fit is next followed by welding shut the ports above the oil filter.
Patrick: I've posted lots of images in the past but this time I had trouble with both the pictures and the old brochure. My own copy of that brochure is of the same high quality as yours but after trying three ways to upload, the result was the same fuzzy image. I'm not sure what's going on and would appreciate any help via PM or otherwise.
Steve, I'll respond here as it may help someone else with image uploading issues at PFF.
First of all, I hope you're using the Upload Media tab at the lower left of the post box, and notPIP (which was an older inferior method of uploading images here).
The forum software will automatically resize an image if it's wider than 1920 pixels. Since I have no idea on the quality control settings of the forum software, I re-size images myself (if required) using my own software (Irfanview) at the highest quality (lowest compression) JPG settings. The maximum file size permitted here before an embedded image is replaced by a hyperlink icon is just under 2,000 KB. The image quality will be just fine anywhere near that file size.
The image size of the brochure that I re-sized and uploaded is 1920x1466 and its file size is 1,625 KB. The original image size was 6574x5019 and the file size was 7,668 KB. Compare that to the image of the brochure that you uploaded. Its image size is only 640x488 and its file size is only 321 KB. It's no wonder that your version of this brochure is so pixelated. Oddly enough, your image of the engine is 1920x1440... yet its file size is still only 324 KB (and the lack of sharpness is obvious when viewed full-screen on a monitor).
What are you using to process/re-size your images? Some settings certainly need to be changed/tweaked.
[EDIT] Email sent.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-21-2025).]
Patrick, I appreciate your valuable input. In the past I've posted a few "How To" threads with images and had no problems. Perhaps we could solve this outside of PFF as it's not related to this project? My email is anderson@gdsconsulting.com.
I want to publicly thank Patrick for his offline help. My images were a mess due to my own inability to resize correctly. With his help, I was able to correctly resize and upload the above images. Thanks again, Patrick!
Spadesluck, I'm ready to drop the engine and have one remaining question. The forward two cradle bolts turn easily inside their bores and the nuts are off.
In the past, before I had a lift, I would use a scissor jack, my cherry picker, etc. to lift or lower slightly enough to unload those two bolts and slide them out.
Does the Max Jax have that sensitivity? I'm thnking of using a scissor jack under the lift arm, one side at a time, to unload those two forward bolts.
I typically get the car situated on the MaxJax lift. Then I will lower it down to my engine dolly so it just touches. I then remove and lower rear cradle so it is sitting on the engine dolly. Because the dolly is a little low I still need to use a little jack to get the front cradle bolts out then just lower it down completely on the dolly. Once the cradle/motor is on the dolly just use the lift to get the car out of the way. If you built a dolly a little higher, I would think the use of an additional jack wouldn't be needed cause you can take the pressure of the bolts using the lift.
It all depends on what you are putting the cradle/motor on. The lift can do what you want only if you can get under the vehicle to remove the bolts. Thats why I need to use another jack because I need to raise the car more with the lift and use the jack to take the pressure off.
Meanwhile I tried out a small scissor jack while having an 18 mm box wrench on the bolt. It's the same as with the cherry picker where there is sweat spot for the bolt to turn easily and come out.
I plan to run a cargo strap across the roof and connect to the lift arms before removing the cradle......just to be safe.
Once the cradle is removed, I'll use two hoist jackstands I bought and shortened from Summit.
PS: The industrial dolly was free loaner from recycle center!
[This message has been edited by V8Steve (edited 08-29-2024).]
Mine is 112" between faces of posts. Another PFF member used 9' 8" (116") and a FaceBook contact used less than my 112".
I can't find my notes but I recall roughly splitting the difference. I put them as close as possible because it's the only vehicle. I wanted enough room to open the door for my interior work but also wanted to have the greatest reach/span of the lift arms.
The cradle, new LS3, and new F40 have completed the final test fit. Remote water pump installation is done and we are almost ready to paint the engine bay while other parts go out for powder coat. A West Coast smooth firewall is also going out for powder coat.
Exciting news is that we've contracted with Amida for an entire new interior of black leather with red stitching to compliment Mr. Mike's seat covers.
When complete, this car will likely be sold. It's one of no more than 12 that were ever made, making it quite rare.
Other than two V8 Archie kits, new custom Amida dash, the entire rebody is untouched. It's on an 88 Formula chassis, clean CarFax, and came from Southern California.
Holy crap! I haven't seen an Alden Thomas car in years! It was one of the rebody cars I considered but I ended up going with a Corson and it was stolen from my storage unit back in 1989. I am now Fierioless for I will live vicariously through your build 👍🏼
