I would stick to 100 on those pistons.
I would stick to 100 on those pistons.
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
Probably wise in any case. This engine is .030 over, so I have no idea if the pistons are cheap trash or something better, but I'd hate to grenade the engine 2200 miles from home.
Well, seeing as the radiator leaks, there are no lights, no harnesses, and the windshield still needs fitted...
I thought I'd start with bumpers.
In truck land, essentially it's just a roll pan. Should be less than 10 lbs I think. This is the rear. Dad is doing the front, so not sure how well it'll match what I'm doing, but the front is far more complicated with the shape of the grille and everything.
Radiator overflow! Courtesy of the Mexican food joint where we got lunch
Haha I tried so hard to make a Jim Beam bottle work as recovery tank, but never found a solid way to mount it. It didn't really work with the vibe of the car. That's when I came up with this. I had some PVC scrap, rubber fuel tank strap, and fittings in the basement, and the vented cap was 50 cents on Amazon. Plus, I could make it as tall or short as I wanted!
In reply to V6Buicks :
That bottle is pretty snug tucked into that bed frame. A Beam bottle might fit the car better, but I don't drink so I didn't have such easy access to one. Still need to patch the leak in the radiator before I call it finished. That'll happen this week, then I need to get serious about if we want to use a bottle or hard parts to make another 100hp.
Time! Not enough of it. Last weekend was lost to illness, and less than a month to challenge. And we need to account for testing miles and travel time. So, tomorrow is important. Rad needs fixed. Harnesses need installed, including a harness bar I think we need but don't know what material to use or how best to attach it. We need wheel spacers on the front at least.
mini spool arrived so I'm gonna try to get that done too. Maybe.
And we need lights, all of them.
And the windshield is still an uncut piece of plastic.
And I need to order tires.
and replace the front brakes.
and actually mount the trunk lid.
and actually bolt the grille on.
and go over everything and make sure all fasteners are actually fastened.
and a million other things I'm forgetting.
like a fire extinguisher.
Essentially we've given up on trying to make power, simply not enough time.
This is supposed to be fun but I'm stressing out.
In reply to barefootskater :
Hope you get everything done! If you dont make it though you'll have a whole year for testing and fine tuning! (That's my attempt at a bright side)
Folks, guide me. Shoulder straps. Do I need a harness bar? Can I plate the rear deck and use that?
We will not have a roll bar or cage. Between a roof and not having any real power, we don't need either, but the rules say I need to install these 5 point harnesses.
Cant you just reuse the stock 3 point belts and save the budget money? I used my stock belts.
The harness bars I've seen are about shoulder blade level and back 8 to 10 inches but those are just observations not real knowledge
In reply to Justjim75 :
The seating position has been altered too much and the roof as well. Factory belts are not an option. That would be the easy button.
Aaaaaaaand.....
the C02 bottle ran out. I have driver lap belt anchors tacked in place, still not sure what I need to do with the shoulder straps. So I started messing with lights. Forgot some of my electricity tools, so no real progress. The battery cut off arrived but I don't apparently have eyelets on hand for the connections, nor do I have proper hardware to even mount the thing yet. Dad fixed the radiator leak, but I made a boo boo so I need to pull the rad and flush it before we can run it up to temp again.
We cleaned the trunk out...
Not a lot of progress.
We need plates, which means a trip to DMV land. And we need lights working and a windshield, then I can drive it to work everyday for a couple weeks and make sure it's not going to fall apart. Only about three weeks left of wrenching time.
Lights are mostly figured out, just need to grab a couple switches.
Welding bottle is full.
Tires are decided. (200tw!)
gearing is decided. (3.50 spoolie boi).
rh headlight lid removed.
Getting frustrated with my super slow work pace. 25 days left.
He who hesitates doesn't get the tires he wanted. Tire rack shows two on hand, and more available on the 9th. That's cutting it close if we're planning to drive out on the 17th.
Gonna try a couple local tire shops, but well probably end up on the $80 riken raptors. 300tw isn't terrible. Not trying to win dynamic stuff anyway. Or concourse for that matter.
Maybe I can find someone with sticky tires on 5x4.5 wheels to borrow. I have budget room.
Updates without pictures are lame, but nothing worth showing anyway.
Lighting finished. Aside from needing a couple bulbs, one bulb socket, a turn signal switch (I bought the wrong one) and a brake switch, it is finished. All the wires are run. All the relays work. Not going to have high beams, but that's ok. The wire is there if I should decide to hook it up at some point, but not now.
Not sure what tomorrow brings. Saturday will see the last of the welding. Going to patch the last few places that need it, and build a harness bar. And install the battery shut off switch. If that goes well, I'll try to get the windshield done too. Or install the spool in our 3.50 center section. I think I'm going to go to the dmv on Monday morning, if work permits, and get plates.
In reply to barefootskater :
Duh, my bad.
...Aaaaand front brakes (rockauto) and tires (tirerack) are officially ordered. Progress.
I need wheel spacers on the front. 1/2" should do the trick. Do I need to get the fancy bolt-on style, or will regular spacers with long studs be ok?
21 days left.
Do I use these?
Or these:
which would mean I need longer studs.
Anyone have input on wheel spacers?
If I need to replace the studs, that's something else I need to order. Personally I like the bolt on ones, but dad doesn't like them.
I have used both styles, and when properly torqued have zero issues either way.
Generally speaking about 1/4" is all you can get on factory studs and still have enough thread engagement. For 1/2" you will need longer studs, anything thicker just go bolt-on.
In reply to gumby (Forum Supporter) :
Good info. Imma order the bolt on ones. Thicker. More thiccc. Less chance of wheels meeting control arms.
Got stuff ordered. Should have everything but an extinguisher by mid week.
reused the antenna hole for to mount the mandated battery switch
then I found a good flasher in the garage, now the blinkers blink. Installed a brake switch. Removed the seats so I can weld in harness anchors.
then the power went out. No cutting. No welding. No radio. Hoping that it's not out for long. I'm well on track to having harnesses done and gauges mounted. Then it's just windshield and registration and I'll be using this as my daily to make sure it's ready for the trip. Crossing fingers for electricity.
What can I do without electricity? Well turns out I can install a spool in our 3.50 diff.
life hack: if you don't have the special tool for adjusting the adjuster cup things on a 9", just use a Chevy 4wd spindle nut wrench.
it works a dream.
Power came back on. Gonna do seatbelts.
How about some recent overall pics and a quick rundown.
You'll need to log in to post.
