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Discussion starter · #22 ·
90% done with the front end modification

Here is the pic of the front end with everything tacked in place:
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Closeup of where the removable crossmember bolts to the rearward lower control arm mount:
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Showing off the jacking plate that is also fully welded to tie everything together; i will also weld a tow hook to the front face:
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These control arms just came in from ebay; they look great:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Camaro-Tubu.../330372822867?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4cebc13753


I also just got this kit in from Jegs, and will install after the control arms:

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/630020/10002/-1
 
Discussion starter · #24 · (Edited)
progress update

I purchased an aluminum 9" ford thirdmember with 4.57 motive Pro gears and a 35 spline pinion.
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I also had Hudlow Axle cut me some 35 spline axles with 5/8" studs:
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Here is the rearend assembled:
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And installed:
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I got the tubular control arms and this Jegs disc brake conversion kit installed. I use Rustoleum High Heat 2000* temp primer/black paint; i taped up and painted the rotors, spindles, brake calipers, and caliper mounting brackets:
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I also ordered these billet steering arms from S&W Racecars :
But, they have TRZ milled into them...
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I have the rack & pinion clamped in place with c-clamps, and am working this weekend on positioning it for zero bump steer. It is a mustang 2 r&p, and the tie rods were about 1" too short on either side, so i welded a fine thread coupling nut onto the end, which also gives me some flats to grab onto when adjusting toe in/out:
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Discussion starter · #26 · (Edited)
got burned out, took a couple weeks off, im back at it now...

i took the manual rack apart and removed the rack and the pinoin and cleaned them, and put it back together. it turns easier now. i took a long piece of all thread and wrapped a shop towel around it and cleaned the bore of the rack out. here is the rack bolted onto the tabs i have welded onto the new tubular crossmembers:
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here is the steering linkage. i got the couplers and shaft from Summit. i tacked the shafts to the couplers while in the car, and removed it and drilled/tapped holes so the joints are removable, then grinded the welds off and sanded them down smooth. this will make it easier for installation/removal:
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my wife helping clean back side of wheels with pneumatic wire wheel. i had to include this. she walked outside and said "i wanna try". i couldn't get the wire wheel in her hands fast enough, lol:
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i bought this Competition Engineeering Wishbone Kit from Summit. I didnt have ER80S-D2 wire for the chromoly. i just used my ER70S mild steel wire and preheated each weld joint before welding. Here it is installed:
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And here it is with a pic of the new driveshaft and 3rd member installed:
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Discussion starter · #27 ·
tie rod design

Well, after hearing about a friend of mine having a wreck at the drag strip b/c of a broken weld on a tie rod, ive decided to redesign how ive extended mine. Its not that i dont trust my welding, but the weld becomes the weak point and with the front end possibly seeing flight time, i want to make sure when it sets back down, the tie rods dont cause any problems.

As seen in a few posts back, i welded on threaded female couplers to the end of my tie rod tubes. My plan was to just thread a male shanked rod end into this coupler. But, a stronger and more dependable design would be to screw a high strength all-thread deep into the existing threads of the tie rod tube, and simply put a female threaded rod end on the other end of the all thread. So thats what i did:

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I cut off a little of the threaded coupler, and left just enough to have some flats to adjust toe in/out with a wrench:
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Discussion starter · #28 ·
progress...

Well, i almost have all the brakes finished. I just need to pick up a couple of inline proportioning valves to be able to adjust how/if the brakes lock up. Im not going to use the GM proportioning valve. Im going with this one from Summit: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WIL-260-10922/

I ran all new brake line and fittings, ordered from Summit.

Here is an example of cutting the brake line:
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Here is the flaring tool kit in action, i picked up at Autozone this week:
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I decided to split the rear calipers on the frame, instead of having brake lines attaced to the rearend housing:
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Discussion starter · #29 ·
interior

got the Trim Parts molded carpet in over the weekend. Got if from Summit: It fit "OK", but definitely had to trim in corners, etc to make it fit like i wanted. Of course, the sides were too wide and required trimming to tuck under the sill plates, but this was described in the instructions that came with it.

I also got these pair of seats off of ebay for $350 shipped (for the pair). I want to replace the drivers seat as soon as i get to the point where im ready to race, with a full containment seat.

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Seats are a little dusty from sitting on the shelf in my garage during this project (i should have covered them with sheet or something).
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i took the manual rack apart and removed the rack and the pinoin and cleaned them, and put it back together. it turns easier now. i took a long piece of all thread and wrapped a shop towel around it and cleaned the bore of the rack out. here is the rack bolted onto the tabs i have welded onto the new tubular crossmembers:
Image


here is the steering linkage. i got the couplers and shaft from Summit. i tacked the shafts to the couplers while in the car, and removed it and drilled/tapped holes so the joints are removable, then grinded the welds off and sanded them down smooth. this will make it easier for installation/removal:
Image


my wife helping clean back side of wheels with pneumatic wire wheel. i had to include this. she walked outside and said "i wanna try". i couldn't get the wire wheel in her hands fast enough, lol:
Image


i bought this Competition Engineeering Wishbone Kit from Summit. I didnt have ER80S-D2 wire for the chromoly. i just used my ER70S mild steel wire and preheated each weld joint before welding. Here it is installed:
Image


And here it is with a pic of the new driveshaft and 3rd member installed:
Image
What is the rack out of?
 
Discussion starter · #33 · (Edited)
throttle linkage

I decided to make an adjustable throttle linkage, to compensate for changes in future carburetors. I know i could have used a bent rod, but its worth it to me for the adjustability, reliabilty, and quick throttle response.

I picked up most of the parts from McMaster-Carr:

Pillow Blocks
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Rod Ends (McMaster-Carr was the only place i could find a 3/16" bearing and 1/4" shank)
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All Thread
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Aluminum Shaft
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I go the linkages from Speedway Motors:
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Here is the sub-assembly. I fabricated a mounting plate, and used 3 coupling nuts, and cut the all thread.

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Here it is assembled to the carb. I used a plastic tube from the hardware store to space the billet linkages out from the pillow blocks:
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Threads like these amaze me. How such a monumental (in my eyes) fabrication job, almost seems like changing spark plugs to some of you. Lol i really need to take some metal fab classes. The knowledge of being able to do something like this is priceless and will help you achieve virtually anything you can think of with your project car and many other tasks.

Awesome work!

Chris
 
Discussion starter · #35 · (Edited)
moving forward

Im ordering coilovers in a couple weeks. im gonna go with These QA1 Pro Coil overs/ for the front, but havent nailed down the spring rate yet, im gonna wait untill next week and put it on the scales to be sure.

In the meantime, im moving forward. This past weekend, i built rear speaker brackets to mount the 6 1/2" sony explodes i picked up from wal-mart. Im not shooting for super high quality sound, just some fair sounding tunes.

First i made it them out of some cardboard:
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Then, i unfolded the carboard and traced it out on a scrap piece of 20 gauge aluminum i had laying around:
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Cut it out with a jig saw and metal blade:
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Then i made me a clamp with my vise and some scrap angle:
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All folded up, and riveted the corner overlap with 3 pop-rivets:
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Test fit:
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I cut the center circle out with a hacksaw, PITA!:
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I cleaned up the edges with a hand file, then primered them, and painted them satin black. I also split some 1/8" vacuum line, and used it as edge trim and used 2-part epoxy to glue it to the edge of the brackets:
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Mounted in the car by using sheet metal screws into the roll cage:
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I just hope i never have a slick blow up on me, lol!. I also picked up some 4x6's to mount in the kick panels up front, and will work on that this week. I have a 200watt Custom Austosound radio that will be pushing these.
 
Discussion starter · #36 · (Edited)
been a while since ive been able to work on it. but took it for a drive, and no clearance issues with the driveshaft. purchasing rear coilovers next. i also got the 4x6's in the kickpanels, and the Custom Autosound radio sounds great through them. Ill get the pic up soon
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
Discussion starter · #38 · (Edited)
Trying to get back in the swing of things

It has now been about 5 years since i have done anything to the car. Kids and a relocation put a damper on the progress for sure. I have probably only put about 20 miles on the car total since i started this thread in February of 2010. I honestly roll it out in the driveway once every few months, start it, and drive it to the deadend of my neighborhood. But, i feel like im finally at a point to get back at it.

My original goal was a street/strip car setup, and i would still prefer that.
One thing that i haven't liked is the steering rack situation. There are a few things that i dont like about the way i have configured this setup:

1) I made the adapter that bolts to the end of the steering column with power tools and a welder. So the first shaft section is not exactly centered with the steering column, which causes some slight wobble and some tight spots when turning lock to lock.

2) I don't particularly like the angle that the output shaft of the rack goes more up than towards the column. This causes a pretty steep angle change in the swivel joint of the last shaft section.

3) I don't care for the strength (or lack there of) of the mounting tabs for the rack. I would feel more comfortable with a more robust mounting configuration.

4) I don't feel comfortable with the size/strenth of the rear removeable crossmember. I want to beef it up.

With all of this considered, I have recently come across this manual rack kit from a company called SmithRaceCraft. I'm not sure if this kit was available when i did the mods back in 2012, but it seems spell out a similar fab project for a manual rack. I like a few things about this "kit":

1) The front crossmember has tie-down points, although they look a little flimsy in the pics.

2) The rack mounting looks more robust than what i came up with (although i bet the location will be very similar), and has mounting feet as opposed to the single mounting point on each side of mine

3) The steering shafts/linkages slide into the steering column, which will center it.

4) It has a template to suggest how to cut the rear crossmember for the linkage to have a more direct entry into the steering column. This is something i did not do. I simply ran my linkages on top of the rear cross-member, which is less than ideal when looking at the angles the swivels are dealing with.

5) The rack seems to have a different angle on the output shaft, which should make it a little easier to turn (right now, excluding the tights spots from off-center wobble, its still a little tight).

I have come across this thread thread on yellow bullet about this kit, and it talks about the motor mounts people used to avoid interference with the front of the engine and rack.

So with this kit, it solves several concerns i have. I probably wont end up using the steering arms, as the ones i have from S&W have to holes, probably for a tighter turning radius, which i have heard is necessary with a manual rack like this. I will probably also add some more material to the rear control arm mounts since i will probably be cutting into the rear mount a little more.
 
Discussion starter · #39 ·
Trying to get back in the swing of things

It has now been about 5 years since i have done anything to the car. Kids and a relocation put a damper on the progress for sure. I have probably only put about 20 miles on the car total since i started this thread in February of 2010. I honestly roll it out in the driveway once every few months, start it, and drive it to the deadend of my neighborhood. But, i feel like im finally at a point to get back at it.

My original goal was a street/strip car setup, and i would still prefer that.
One thing that i haven't liked is the steering rack situation. There are a few things that i dont like about the way i have configured this setup:

1) I made the adapter that bolts to the end of the steering column with power tools and a welder. So the first shaft section is not exactly centered with the steering column, which causes some slight wobble and some tight spots when turning lock to lock.

2) I don't particularly like the angle that the output shaft of the rack goes more up than towards the column. This causes a pretty steep angle change in the swivel joint of the last shaft section.

3) I don't care for the strength (or lack there of) of the mounting tabs for the rack. I would feel more comfortable with a more robust mounting configuration.

4) I don't feel comfortable with the size/strenth of the rear removeable crossmember. I want to beef it up.

With all of this considered, I have recently come across this manual rack kit from a company called SmithRaceCraft. I'm not sure if this kit was available when i did the mods back in 2012, but it seems spell out a similar fab project for a manual rack. I like a few things about this "kit":

1) The front crossmember has tie-down points, although they look a little flimsy in the pics.

2) The rack mounting looks more robust than what i came up with (although i bet the location will be very similar), and has mounting feet as opposed to the single mounting point on each side of mine

3) The steering shafts/linkages slide into the steering column, which will center it.

4) It has a template to suggest how to cut the rear crossmember for the linkage to have a more direct entry into the steering column. This is something i did not do. I simply ran my linkages on top of the rear cross-member, which is less than ideal when looking at the angles the swivels are dealing with.

5) The rack seems to have a different angle on the output shaft, which should make it a little easier to turn (right now, excluding the tights spots from off-center wobble, its still a little tight).

I have come across this thread thread on yellow bullet about this kit, and it talks about the motor mounts people used to avoid interference with the front of the engine and rack.

So with this kit, it solves several concerns i have. I probably wont end up using the steering arms, as the ones i have from S&W have to holes, probably for a tighter turning radius, which i have heard is necessary with a manual rack like this. I will probably also add some more material to the rear control arm mounts since i will probably be cutting into the rear mount a little more.
Wow, another 5 years went by fast. I did end up installing the above mentioned kit from Smith Race Craft, and some new front coilovers. I'll get some pics posted soon. Hoping to start making some more progress in the spring.
 
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