- WOW! I can't believe it's been so long (again) since I updated this 'diary'. Sorry for those of you following along. There hasn't been a lot of progress lately unfortunately, but that will change over the holidays. I'm taking the last two weeks of the year off to get some real work done! Until then, here is what has happened for the last few months:
- Oil Pan: what a crazy mess. I ended up with oil pan NUMBER 4 from Canton! I finally chose the Canton part number 15-244. This pan is originally made for the late model F-Body with the LT1, but it's modified to work with the 2-piece rear main seal. It's narrower across the bottom, but STILL was hitting. So, I had the oil level sender nut shaved down, installed a pipe plug, welded it in place, and ground down the weld. The header tube still touches the pan, but it looks like the flange will pull up against the head, which is what I needed. Phew!
Subframe: Well, it's in! If you don't believe it, see the picture above! However, of course, it didn't go in without it's fair share of challenges. It turns out that during the run of 2nd generation F-Bodies there were 2 different lengths for the subframe (approximately 28.5" from middle mount point to the rear point, and the other being 31.5"). I had known this, but was told that the shorter one was used 1970 - 1975-ish. And the longer one was supposed to be used later. Well, my 1970 had the longer subframe! ARGH!!! So, 2 months later, I finally have a new subframe from Martz of the correct length. That was a fun delay...
So, I get the correct frame in and assemble all the pieces. FINALLY, I get to attempt to connect it to the unibody. I roll it around the garage, stick it up under the car, and the rear holes don't line up. Of course... Turns out that it will obviously flex at the crossmember, so a 2x4 and a sledge hammer later I managed to open up the rear rails enough to align them with the mount holes. Place the aluminum subframe bushings in place, and bolt it up to the car! WoW! It's in! WOO HOO!
- Wheels/Tires: THEY CAME IN! WOO HOO! I have a few new pics of the wheels and
tires mounted on the car (rears only, since the front isn't ready). The rears
are WIDE! :\ Honestly, I probably should have gone with a set of 17 x 10" for
the rear and 9" for the front. Oh well, I'll have to make them work now! And
btw, they look AWESOME!!!!!
Tranny: LOTS of fun here... When the new subframe arrived, I pulled the engine/tranny off the old one and separated the two to install the clutch. Well, the first challenge was installing the Weir bellhousing. It fit, but the machined areas to clear the bolts weren't ground wide enough. I couldn't get the socket or wrench on the nut heads to tighten them down. Three iterations later with a die grinder solved that problem...
So, I install the rest of the clutch, put the bellhousing on, and try to stab the tranny in place. TWO hours later, I give up... I tried everything: realigned the pressure plate, repositioning the bellhousing, wiggling it every possible direction. No luck... I decided something must have been wrong with the throwout bearing (which wasn't in there before). I ground it out and went out to buy another one. Install new one, and the same problem!!!! This time, I'm pissed, so out comes the die grinder and a smooth bit. Problem solved! :)
And finally, tunnel clearance. When I installed the subframe, I hadn't cut a hole for the shifter yet (intentionally). Once I could lift the tranny up high enough, I marked the spot and cut a small hole. Then I raised the tranny up and tried to install the crossmember... HA! Not even close... If I had installed the crossmember on top of the frame in the stock location, the tranny would have been about 2" too high in the rear. It was hitting the floor at the shifter and where the two sections come together.
So, time to grab the welder and make some new crossmember mounts. I welded some plates to the bottom of the 2x3 sections of the Martz frame rails. Then I drilled holes, ovalled them out for some adjustability, and set the crossmember on top of the plates. Close, but not quite still. The tranny is about 1" too low now. So, I will be picking up some metal pieces from a salvage yard to make some 1" spacers for each side of the crossmember, and I should FINALLY be in business! :) It's bolted in currently, so the car can actually sit on all 4 wheels/tires, but I need to finish fixing this soon.
- I honestly haven't done much else other than plan and buy parts/pieces. I purchased a set of Autometer Ultra-Lite gauges (5" speedo/tach, 2 1/16" fuel, voltage, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp) and am going to make an aluminum insert for the dash. I also purchased a bunch of Dynamat to cover the floor, firewall, and rear tray panel. I'm going to attempt to quieten this car down some! Master Power Brakes supplied the new master cylinder, Classic Tube supplied the front-rear lines, and all that will go together soon. I decided on a pair of Hal adjustable shocks for the rear, and they are installed too (yet again, not without a little trouble, but they're in). I think that's about it...
- So, what's next? This week I'm working on the Dynamat, trying to get the interior on it's way to looking like a real car! :) After that, I'll work on the wiring and gauges. My goal is to work on the pieces to get the car started. Other items will be the fuel lines and exhaust. Still contemplating those... Stay tuned! :)
