Build Thread 1978 Fairmont. I bet somebody back home’s thinkin’…I wonder why he don’t write..?

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Partial Fail.:nonono:

The tire still hits the outside corner of the intercooler on a hard right turn, barely. ( coincidently right where that freakin red plug now occupies) At the same time it pinches the hose because it now stretch’s across that section of the inner frame rail. if it was just that rub where the tire touches I could live with it, but I’m gonna have to change the hose routing at minimum.
 
So does that mean a different sized intercooler?
Thought about it..
Or a rack limiter - that won't solve the hose issue, but it should save the hassles with the intercooler. :shrug:
Thought about that too.
For now, its a re-route on the hose..Once I get it out of harms way, The "rack limiter"
Will be the sound the tire makes when it hits that red plug.
 
Well that was a bust.

The fitting had to be turned downward to get it to clear the inner fender panel. That forced it against the intercooler core, and that both caused the JB weld to separate and crack, almost completely blocked the fitting, and just fcked the core all the hell up.
It's garbage now.

Before I knew all of this, I filled the reservoir up with water, and turned on the recirc pump. When I heard water hitting the floor, I knew it was a done deal after that. Taking it apart revealed the rest.

That forced me to rebuild the cold side, and order a straight through A2W intercooler. It's still rated for the same power as the one I just trashed, but doesn't flow as much CFM. ( probably because its a straight through thingy and its more efficient )

The old routing for the cold side ran infront of the radiator saddle, and this time around it'll be behind it. The air charge Tubing will not travel out of the engine compartment that way, so no chance of a tire hitting or even rubbing anything this time around. It does hang barely below the saddle though, and now there are openings on both sides of the front spoiler where the charge tube used to run ...I'll have to think of something to fill up those areas.
 
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So....
* insert appropriate amount of of disgusted emotions in the space below.

:nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono:.....

I tell Kate that I built this car to show,......not to have it sit in an endless state of dis-repair/modification stand by.

To prove that, i look into the numerous regional cruise-in events that go on continually throughout the year down here, and tell her that even though i just came from one 45 days ago,..my next goal is to make the Bama coast cruise in the 3rd week of April, going on in Orange beach.

I look at the event, and it’s a three day thing, slotted to take place 4/22-4/25..I look into rooms,...I can book a 1 br condo with a private driveway for 775.00 for the three nights....
I book it.

Then,...for whatever reason, I decide to take on the oil pan swap, and the k member swap...and as usual,...sht hits the fan. The k member swap forces the front wheels forward, and they now hit the intercooler that has been in the same space since this build was a baby..

Instead of stopping right there, and solving the problem by replacing the lower control arms with adjustable units that would allow me to not touch the intercooler so that the tires could be effectively moved rearward,. I choose the opposite. Primary reason being that the control arms in question are on back order,...and won’t be available till first of May..

No said the mutherfcking finger...I need this fixed sooner, than later. I choose to modify the intercooler instead.

And...as is typical for all things I touch,..I fck the intercooler up beyond salvage..effectively destroying it, and forcing a redo of the entire cold side, and it’s requisite water supply lines....Which are now too short to reach the yet to arrive new intercooler water ports....

All because i decide to replace the perfectly good, albeit heavy ass factory K member with a lightweight unit instead.:nonono:.

The new one is a straight though design, it’ll fit under the engine, behind the radiator saddle....but,....I gotta build the charge tube, re do the water lines, and make the mount tabs to hold the thing in place.
And...it won’t be here till Thursday, one day after my day off, leaving me only Sunday to figure it out, and get it working. Then get the car to an alignment shop...with only days to go before taking the thing on another 500 mile round trip...untested.

So....the better part of conservatism tells me that being stranded with a project like this 100-150 miles out of town is not the desired outcome, and I bail..leaving the Monster an me free to fight another day.

The next several of these events are dead of summer things,...nothing i’m interested in being part of..I’d rather just do a couple of local,Saturday night cruisins and save the Monster for my one big favorite....The week long Mississippi Gulf coast event in October..And come hell or high water..I’m going.

Provided I don’t change something between now and then.
 
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Oh Mike your so predictable!

On another note thinking about your time out. I do enjoy the days gone by of reading when you first joined your racing stories. Do you know that is 10 years ago now since you joined? You have such a knack at story telling and a way with words. Your a great writer first a mechanic second.
 
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Do you have collector car insurance? Triple A? You have that shiny Newish Titan- Rent a trailer and Tow the Monster down there and Cruise/Show at the event-leave the titan and trailer in the driveway of the condo :D
Slap yourself Raggedy.

The guys that trailer their cars to a show event are....* how to skirt the language filter here....Pus sies..that forgot that they built their cars as street cars too..but for whatever reason choose not to drive them when they could be best enjoyed.

Im telling ya,...Driving that thing from Florida last month was with the LJK singing along, the 2j competing for my ear, and the road zipping along at 75 in South Alabama was worth the risk of a breakdown..The difference being that that version had been running for months before the trip.
 
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Slap yourself Raggedy.

The guys that trailer their cars to a show event are....* how to skirt the language filter here....Pus sies..that forgot that they built their cars as street cars too..but for whatever reason choose not to drive them when they could be best enjoyed.

Im telling ya,...Driving that thing from Florida last month was with the LJK singing along, the 2j competing for my ear, and the road zipping along at 75 in South Alabama was worth the risk of a breakdown..The difference being that that version had been running for months before the trip.
Then I’ll point back to my first two questions- collector car insurance(w/t towing) or Triple A
(Platinum towing)?
I have faith in ya to finish the piping and water lines/mounts etc
 
You just had to go and make things difficult on yourself huh?
Meh...it’s always about making it better..Having that intercooler up under the left front fender was always a pain in the dick to deal with...hopefully this will make it the lesser of two evils with no interference to have to make concessions for.
 
I’d have to check, but I’m 95% sure I told you to keep the stock crossmember, and I know I warned you about the JB Weld on this.
I’m not going to bust your chops as much as you have others, at least this time. :jester:

So, I told you so, and I think you really enjoy doing it over more than driving these creations. It makes for good drama.
Good luck with meeting the date for the gathering.
 
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i got the whole summer in front of me with a car that is 99% complete, and not just complete, it’s at the point where I gotta look HARD for things that need upgrading/ changing...One missed show is a minor inconvenience.
 
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For those that have wondered, I didn’t just go away.

I was exiled. For being a bad boy.
For being an opinionated, self righteous prick. ( Usually my normal behavior I know, but this last time I was all but begging for it) So I got smacked down with Thor’s Ban Hammer.

It took me a few weeks to realize that this wasn’t my “normal” behavior, and the longer it set in, the more I realized that an apology was in order. So, starting at the top, and since he was also one of the “most offended” I reached out to Noobz and apologized, not really expecting anything in return other than to lighten my load.
Since then, we have exchanged a few emails, and he has offered to allow me to come back here and sit in my chair on my front porch, occasionally yell at the damn kids running across the lawn, and blather along nonsensically about this thought or that.

I cant go into certain rooms,..( No great loss, I never went into the O/T forums anyway,...I’d just get myself banned for saying more stupid sht that I know nothing about)
I have to steer away from controversial topics.
I have to leave the How much power, What muffler, What wheel, What color, and Why am I so stupid threads to the nice guys here.
Additionally, I appear to have lost simple powers, like being able to edit my own thread title,..that may just be a glitch IDK.

I know there are some that will read this and think “ that dick-head is back”. And there will be just as many that won’t even bother to look at it. To those that have read this far along, I’m sorry to you as well, because having to watch Me spout off some angry ill informed rant about this thing or that can’t be that much fun for anybody...So.......once again, not the guy I really wanna be.

So,...before you start thinking I’ve become the sites Snow White, and now dance and sing with all the furry and feathery little woodland creatures,...smack yourself..I just cant be such an ass.
I love the fact that you are still here. Unlike My conscience, I love having you around and my life would be meaningless without you. For years, I thought Mike M was an ace humourist who worked with a gas axe and old parts to improve Fords. Like "A Study of Humour under Nz Rule".

(I purposely removed the @ and ! because that would make Nz N@z!...)


Now, I realize you are just serious card toting member. That's good. This forum needs more just like you. My profound respect dude.