Project Poncho: Daily Driven Muscle Car

Is spinning one wheel with the axle in the air and watching if the other wheel spins an accurate test for a limited-slip diff?

In reply to budget_bandit :

If the other one spins opposite direction, it's an open diff. If they spin the same direction, it's a LSD.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Happy surprise, i seem to have an LSD! Axle code indicated 2.73 open. It does still seem to have the 2.73 gearset in in though. I may have to address that at some point down the line but it'll be fine for now

budget_bandit said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Happy surprise, i seem to have an LSD! Axle code indicated 2.73 open. It does still seem to have the 2.73 gearset in in though. I may have to address that at some point down the line but it'll be fine for now

Perfect turbo gearing

In reply to RacetruckRon :

Not untrue...turbo would be fun. Not sure how much power this T-45 will hold. I'll bet it'll take ~300 from a stock 5.3 but probably not how much i would get from a 5.3 at 12 psi lol

Pulled the rear axle out for cleaning. I'd like to meet whoever designed this rear suspension and punch them in the face, because you can't just take out the front leaf spring bolt, it hits the frame rail.

Instead, you have to take the spring pocket off, which will involve stripping at least one of the clip nuts it's installed with. Grrrr

Been a crazy few weeks, wife in the ER, work is crazy, etc.

Had the day off, so pulled the car out for the first time since March to pressure wash undercarriage before paint.

Once i get it painted, i can run fuel/brake lines, install fuel tank, etc. 

Got the underside rattlecanned. Definitely not perfect, but I think it'll be pretty high bang for the buck factor. Gonna eat and let this dry before putting it back in the garage.

last week i had 15 minutes and test fit the window in my newly repaired window channels. It isn't a perfect fit, the channel flanges are at an angle compared to the window surface, but I think it'll be good enough for the girls I go out with.

When I stuck EFI in my Trans Am, i just hung an electric pump on the end of the sending unit, but there is no baffling in the tank so i'm always a little worried about running the pump dry, or starving the pump on turns.

For this car, i'm shortening an LS1 camaro fuel pump assy (~$45). It's a really nice piece, integrated basket with return line and an internal regulator already. I trimmed about 2 inches off the bucket, but I still need move the regulator so I can squish it some more. My nova tank is about 6.75" deep and the stock camaro bucket is 10.75" free/8.75" compressed, so i'm gonna try to shrink it about 3" and still have some spring movement left.

budget_bandit said:

 

 

New shoes 

In reply to Indy - Guy :

Yeah, had to swap to the wheels off of my Trans Am. The ones that came on the car either don't hold air or have the valve stem ripped off lol

Glad to see you are able to get some time in on the car again! Sorry to hear about the crazy stuff the past few weeks. The underside of the car looks great! The trans am wheels look good on her too.

I don't get to spend much time on it these days, and when I do, I am the slowest bodyman in history. But, I got some more welding done around the window, and started fitting the new deck filler panel.

Sweet!!

Looking good, and you are making more progress than I....so, I'm jealous and happy for you!

In reply to budget_bandit :

You're doing good, man. 

My Dodge still has bluetooth floorpans...

In reply to Recon1342 :

As does my Dodge. 

Keep at it when you can! You'll get there. 

Spent some time working on the car this morning before work, and another hour tonight after work. I was able to get the factory lower window channel recreated using Fitzee's method of welding up angles. I had to cut a large bit of the factory stuff out due to rust.

And now a question for you gurus: how good is modern urethane window adhesive? Judging by this reproduction window channel, i'm off about 1/16" compared to the factory shape. Will the urethane soak that up?

Okay, back at it again. Things have been bananas, helped my parents move, I moved, 2 jobs, etc. 

I'm trying to install the deck filler panel (which is also the bottom of the window mounting interface). I've been trimming/fitting to get it to sit right. I still need to drop the window seal portion down about 3/16 to be lapped right on top of the OG sheetmetal. Frustrating but I think i'm sneaking up on a good fit.

I have my 5.3 stored at a friend's shop, and he's made enough jokes about me getting it out that I don't think he's kidding. So I've got to order my new oil pan and i'll hopefully be stabbing the engine in the car soon

I'm glad you're back!

Well i've figured out why I can't get the deck filler to fit right. When I rebuilt the window channel back there, I set it too low relative to the car. The deck filler is in the right spot, the window channel isn't.

I'm not really sure how to fix it. I could:

1) cut out the new channel and rebuild it, again...kinda loath to do this. A lot of work

2) install the deck filler where it should go, and add weld in some material to the window channel to build the height up where it sits flush and the window will sit flat on it

3) sell the car

Number 3 and start with a better shell next time. I've done this four or five times already . . . only hurts for a little bit, especially if you can re-use all of the mechanicals.

Does the windows gasket fit? Or is it a urethane glued in window? And how much distance we talking?

Dusterbd13 said:

Does the windows gasket fit? Or is it a urethane glued in window? And how much distance we talking?

I like this thinking. Is the deck filler an interior or an exterior piece? A more zoomed out pic would help. If the glass fits the window channel, I'd be looking at every possible solution I could think of before scrapping this car. OTOH, you'll be much better at building the next one.

EDIT: i looked at the pix above.  I'd go with option 2, as long as you can get the glass to seal properly.  Nobody will notice if the glass is a little recessed.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

No gasket, adhesive only. Slightly less than 1/4" proud. Assuming the urethane can tolerate some mis-alignment, my current favorite plan is to make some "tapered shims" and get them in there