I picked this little guy up today. I need to get some tooling and fixtures for it but stoked to have a little mill in the garage now.
I picked this little guy up today. I need to get some tooling and fixtures for it but stoked to have a little mill in the garage now.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Super jealous! Can't wait to see what you can make
The mailman dropped off a healthy dose of motivation today! Plates, stickers and a Holley CAN/USB cable. Now I just need to get it ready for the road so I can do some real time tuning with the laptop.
watched the video again. "got that chop!" made me LOL again.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
That's the only thing that really matters. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. 
I'm so jealous of those plates. Is that a special designation (like "historical") that comes with rules, or just a killer plate design option?
Ours here in Ohio suck.
In reply to ebelements :
Yeah the Wisconsin Hobbyist plates are pretty rad. One time registration fee, no annual renewal. The only two real rules are you have to have a primary vehicle that has current registration and you can't drive a Collector or Hobbyist plated vehicle in January.
RacetruckRon said:In reply to ebelements :
Yeah the Wisconsin Hobbyist plates are pretty rad. One time registration fee, no annual renewal. The only two real rules are you have to have a primary vehicle that has current registration and you can't drive a Collector or Hobbyist plated vehicle in January.
Dayum, time to move.
Small update. Fixed the coolant leak out of the steam vent with a better hose. Fixed a brake fluid leak but still need to bleed the system. Got insurance and a fire extinguisher for the truck so as soon as the fluids are bled and the lights are hooked up it'll be ready for the first drive.
Speaking of lights, I couldn't find a simple signal stalk that wasn't controlled by a BCM or a standalone one that didn't look like it belonged on a '57 Chevy. I did find a universal signal stalk with high beam and caution light control that is meant for old big rig trucks. I modified the back plate to work with an ABS column mount I printed out.
Pro tip for functional 3d prints: Design for brass threaded inserts on any threaded features. They hold up way better than self tapped plastic threads and provide a stronger hold with machine screws.
Does anyone know the finer details of C4 Corvette alignment procedures? Asking here before I go off into the darkness that is the Corvette Forums.
I found what I was looking for in terms of alignment specs and adjustment pointers.
I pulled all of the wiring out of the truck, finished mounting my signal stalk, added a bracket for the brake light switch and installed sound deadening. The truck had a pretty bad reverberation just sitting at idle. I'm hoping this stuff helps damp those vibrations and helps insulate the cab.
I'm hoping that I can take the truck out tomorrow for the first drive but have a few things left to finish up before that. To do list in no real order:
In reply to RacetruckRon :
First drive is not happening today. It was a hot one today, light/signal wiring took a bit longer than I anticipated and now I have a new wiring spaghetti monster to clean up. Still need to bleed fluids and put the bed back on but one step closer.
Got the clutch bled and almost got the brakes bled today. The last caliper the bleed screw stripped out. I bought new bleed screws preemptively, knowing that after potentially 32 years of not being touched that the bleed screws might not want to play nice. The front left was not playing nice from the get go so I pulled the bleed screw and installed a new one. I snugged it down with a socket and it was all good until it went from almost tight to very loose. The aluminum threads are completely pulled out and I'm pretty sure my only option is a new caliper unless someone knows of a M12/1/2" bleed screw part number off the top of their head.
The guy I bought my suspension from is parting out a '89 convertible, I'm waiting to hear back from him on whether or not that car was the big brake option. The truck is testing me big time today.
Edit: Ordered a bleed screw repair kit for $7 on amazon. I hope that works out I'd rather not buy a whole new caliper, that's money I'd like to spend on a dash cluster or C5 brakes in the future.
Home stretch man, keep on truckin'
Can't wait to see it do a big burn-out!
I couldn't get the bleed screw repair kit to seal well enough so I opened my wallet upside down and shook. Ordered a set of C4 front calipers off eBay that are allegedly supposed to be here by Friday. I guess that gives me time to clean up the spaghetti monster in the cab. I also started working on a new revision of the switch cluster, one that will fit into the dashboard where the radio or AC controls used to be. Another hour or so of CAD time tomorrow and that new switch cluster should be ready to print.
Switch Cluster Rev2 is coming along nicely. Way less bulky and way more integrated into the truck. The translucent switch hoods will be back lit with LEDs.
I have a set of C4 vette front calipers on the way that should be arriving tomorrow. I also found a set of C5 Z06 calipers up in Green Bay that I had a buddy in the area pick up for $50. Hopefully I can get the truck running and shaken down on the C4 brakes this weekend and I'll upgrade to the C5 calipers this winter. I just couldn't pass up on that deal even if I had to cash in a favor. I pulled the trigger on an analog tach, speedometer and fuel gauge. The tablet dash seemed like too much work and money for now so cheap analog gauges and a custom 3d printed ABS dash insert is the path forward for now. More info on that when I have the gauges in hand and can design a proper enclosure for them.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Bearer of bad news here. C5 brakes do not bolt on to C4 knuckle. Mounting tab offset is different, rotor thickness and offset are different.
having said that, I might could use those C5 front calipers for my Sonoma. LMK if you want to get your $ back out of them.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I'm aware they aren't a direct bolt on. There's adapter brackets available that aren't too pricey, I also found a drawing that come C4 guys have used to make their own adapter brackets. There's a lot of C4 vette owners that jump to the C5 brakes for bigger rotors and better parts availability.
Nice try though 
RacetruckRon said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I'm aware they aren't a direct bolt on. .......
Nice try though
Daaaaaaaaammmmmmmm.
I LOL'd so berking hard!
Spaghetti monster has been tamed. I finished this up late last night and didn't have a chance to verify it's all working properly before I went to bed. The new switch panel and start button housings look killer!
Brakes, alignment and reinstall bed are the three big things before the truck hits the road.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
Samesies.
So many small touches on this build are perfection. Can't wait for some donuts.
iansane (Forum Supporter) said:AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
Samesies.
So many small touches on this build are perfection. Can't wait for some donuts.
Sneaking those little details into the truck is one of my favorite parts about this whole crazy project. I like to think of it as E36 M3box SEMA, cool over thought and over engineered solutions on a crappy $300 truck.
I am totally stealing E36 M3box SEMA
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