The fickle motorist who wants a weekend warrior.

In reply to Gunchsta :

It is simple, really. Nothing more than an engine swap with some scope creep. My master plan was, in this order, find a cheap car (this was free,score!), apply big lazy power (so hopefully it won't be stressed and break on the road trip) and have fun in a car that I like. Steps one and two are done, and aside from a couple minor setbacks step three is going well. I'm pretty confident we'll make it to Gainesville, and the road trip in a questionable car is the whole reason my dad agreed to the project. Will we be fast? Maybe, depends on time at this point.
 

We have the budget for real power, but before I go through the trouble I'm gonna make sure the car actually works. we have the budget for traction, but again, time to set up a diff could be the same time it'll take me to wire the car. 
 

The big things left:

cooling system(I have a big radiator that should fit),

seats (waiting for the harnesses to arrive), 

electrical (the part I am actually scared of),

exhaust (I have scraps and a plan),

windshield (I've never made one before but it shouldn't be too bad)

brakes (there is no line to the rear, and they all need looked over)

driveline (have one I hope will work, it may be too short since we manual swapped)

after that it's just ignition (HEI, doesn't get simpler) and ironing out bugs. Also tires, but that's easy. Once that stuff is done I'll worry about the open diff and the vortec stuff/cam. 
 

TL;DR. It is simple. If it wasn't, you wouldn't see me doing it. 
 

*edit. New page must begin with pictures! So here's where I left off with the firewall

So I have a strict budget for this adventure outside of the challenge budget rules. The stuff that is exempt still has to be paid for, as does the trip out and back. Still. Some (not strictly necessary) expenses are worth it. 

Today is unseasonably cool, barely above 90, but this will be a welcome addition. 

Drivers side done aside from one floor patch still needed

The shade thing is awesome. 

Fancy heads harvested.

They do not appear cracked either. But are in desperate need of a good cleaning. 

regular oil changes were not in the mix. 

Other side is nearing completion. Tried to leave as much room around the engine as possible. 
 

the drivers side is tight, but nothing I could do about it. 

But where o where to land that gas pedal?

In reply to hobiercr (FS) :

All in good time. Brake pedal surgery first. We did briefly float the idea of using a boat throttle. Didn't seem like a good idea with a manual car. 

In reply to barefootskater :

Motorcycle twist throttle on the shifter.

So back to the spool for autocross.  Once you're moving decently it's not even noticeable.  As is becoming a challenge theme for me(autocross finishing position) my datsun finished 7th in autocross with a welded diff.  It really only sucks to back up while turning.  
 

Plus there is basically no part cheaper on the planet than a 9" mini spool.  I have a 31 spline one in the basement but i believe you probably have 28 spline axles.  

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

Correct, the car is 28 spline. And you are also correct about how cheap those mini spools are. That, coupled with a spare diff I already have (3.50) and I think that's the route we're gonna take. Plus spools are more hardcore anyway, which is appealing. Good to know that it won't be complete suicide for dodging cones. 

Tonight I submit myself in need of guidance. I've never installed harnesses before. I looked up the rules and NHRA stuff and I understand angles and all (the rest may as well be written in hieroglyphs) 

The question is this: for the shoulder straps, what is the preferred attachment method?

-Harness bar?  If so, how far back from the seats?, what material?, are there proper (or improper) ways of attaching a bar? Weld? Bolt?

-bolted to the rear deck? Roughly 3' behind the seats, original and untouched framework that supported the rear seat back. 
 

For regular use and the trip out we will only be using the lap belt portion of the harnesses, but I dread the thought of getting to Gainesville and not being allowed to run because of a safety issue. Thanks all!

BFS, i have everything to build a decent motor except a crank and block.  If you want it all ill sell really cheap.  Vortec heads, gmpp hot cam pkg, mild cam but 1.6 roller rockers, long tube headers, Vic jr knock off intake etc.

CHEAP 

In reply to Justjim75 :

PM sent

So this is what I'm working with

the seats will be 2-3" higher when properly mounted. 

So. How would one attach harnesses? 
*edit. I should note that the holes in these seats for shoulder straps are too low so the straps will be over the top. 

Progress! 
drivers seat mounted, with sliders from the van that donated its engine. Bracketry from bed frame, even remembered to hang the anchor for the anti sub strap

usually one would put the sliders on the seat and mount the whole thing. By the time I had the seat bracket to where it would accept the sliders I was worried the whole thing would be too tall. And I want the sliders because I'm 5'8" and dad is over 6' with much longer legs. So this way I can still remove the seat and even with the roof chopped 3" there is still enough room for both of us while wearing a helmet. Good enough. 
 

Hood is drilled and mounted

That system consists of about one foot of 3/8" thread rod left over from a job site (would normally have gone in the trash, but technically I paid for it, not sure on budget ruling here), 8 fender washers, 4 nuts, and still needs 4 wing nuts for the top side. Not complicated but it took me forever to elongate the holes I didn't measure well enough before I drilled them. 
 

Cooling system! Well, radiator mounting anyway. Big brass honker from the free ramcharger. I figured if it could cool a 440 with an automatic, it should be sufficient for a 400 with a manual trans.

Big chunky cooler, it actually fits easier than the Chevy van one was going to. It shows signs of leaking but 1-it is brass and I'm a plumber, and 2- it may not leak that bad, the ramcharger was running that way for who knows how long. The fancy angle is because the original radiator used to live well in front of that frame rail (somewhere in the 12.5" I removed) and it is tall and I didn't want it to stick out the hood. The only trouble I see is the upper hose will live where a Chevy alternator is traditionally located. I'll cross that bridge later  

That's it for today. Things went well, though I was a little late getting home and I'm in trouble with wife. 

122 days left. Goal is to drive around the block before august. That means at least getting the driveline sorted (it may be good now, idk, but still needs an adapter u joint for that sweet 9"), fuel system, wiring, and exhaust. I think it's doable. A good goal anyway, something to work towards. 

In reply to barefootskater :

Keep plugging away, you'll get it 

In reply to Indy "Nub" Guy :

Gonna plug away tomorrow. Finish welding all the body parts, do the exhaust, shroud the radiator. If I get that all finished in time... than I can come home early and score points with the wife. 

Late start this morning. Such is parenthood. 
First up was to finish welding the roof pillars and the firewall. Nothing exciting to show, just imagine lots of boogers and ruined paint (most of my patch panels were made from what I removed from the doors). 
Exhaust! I did not think it would be so time consuming. Block hugger headers, courtesy of some ill tempered fan of dangerous chevys. Scraps of old exhaust I've been hoarding. Most of what I used came from the exhaust system on my dads old work truck, probably 7 or 8 years ago. Some from the van where we got the engine, some from the scrap bin at the dealer I used to work for. 

Then I climbed under the car about 50 times taking measurements and making marks and cutting, checking angles and fitment, tacking, checking again, brainstorming with dad, more climbing, more cutting. Rinse and repeat. Some idiot decided to lower the car too far and too soon. Should've finished all the under car stuff first. Oh! Also I had to install the starter. Which didn't fit. Luckily I found an older one which did. The bellhousing we have was the culprit, it won't fit the new style starter.  Anyway. All that to make this fancy exhaust system

which is complete and will exit the car here

and should be pretty good. Block huggers are not ideal, but with the room we have (don't put your engine halfway in the firewall, it limits a great many things) it was either stock manifolds, or block huggers. Weight and power is the goal. 
 

That was all I did today. Dad was figuring the accessory stuff out, and radiator hose routing. Problem:

our solution is to use a short belt. Hopefully. 

it'll be close but it should work. And it's starting to look like a car again

Woot!

*edit. And here's a shout out to the mopar fans that have so far had no reason to be excited

Other alternator option is pivot it out past the head on the long lower bolt and make a new upper bracket and use a longer belt

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

That's not a bad idea, and it may be a good backup plan. Gets close to the upper control arm out there. 

My buddy had a similar problem with a turbo 2jz swap in a Volvo,  he put a 90 on the rad by 45ing the stock outlet then adding another 45ish piece that left just enough space for a hose and clamp.

You'll notice im an absolute master at modifying pictures but maybe youll get the point

In reply to Justjim75 :

That is basically the plan. Hopefully we get lucky with a short belt and there is enough room. The radiator is cocked back about 45* so at the very least it's gonna get a copper 45 attached to it just to level things off. Nice part about brass is it solders well. If the belt doesn't work, well, it's hardly the first problem and I doubt it'll be the last. 

I remembered you saying something about brass and being a plumber or i may not have suggested something i didnt do myself.  My friends looked modified but very useable 

Come on you know you're jealous of my pic editing skilz