Progress Thread Fire Hazard GT build: On the road

[Husky44]

Here's some old pics to show some of the journey.


Car was towed out of a garage in IA in 2003, where it had set dead for 10 years.

Original 289 was shot.

Complete basket case with rust;

spent over a year at a body shop, came out with a nice paint job, and was immediately loaded on a trailer and hauled to WA, where we moved in 2004.

Discovered then that some of the structural repairs weren't square, so I ended up tearing it back down to rebuild quite a bit of the rearend. Bought a 91 LX donor car for the motor, trans, and rearend (body on the 91 was beyond saving). Rebuilt the motor and tranny in 06.

Got those installed along with new wheels, and lots of little stuff, before I moved the car to AK in OCT 06.

Modified the 8.8 and installed it, along with Bullitt brakes all the way around. Found a great deal on some Recarros out of a BMW, and inherited aHUGE project rebuilding the floors to fit those. In the process I canibalized the e-brake and console from an 01 to put an e brake handle on the hump rather than under the dash.

Then I took 2+ years off to go to grad school. This is about how she looks today.

That's the Reader's Digest version. My wife says I should write a book telling the whole story. Wound up with lots of headaches, and two lifelong friends out of the deal.

I'll try to take some more pics in the next few days to update progress (once I make some!).

 

[rdharper02]

Right on. I've been trying to start my Master's, but work keeps me in schools that have no direct connection. I honestly think I am going to go for a degree in "Organizational Leadership". We'll see if time allows. The car looks great. Reminds me of a 64 Biscayne I had. The body was absolutely straight, but the floor was Swiss cheese. Unfortunately, I sold it for a little of nothing. Beyond that, I’m glad to see someone sticking through their project beyond what I have. Truthfully, I would ditch the pushrod motor for a Coyote if I didn’t have so much wrapped in the turbo.

 

[Husky44]

64 Biscayne would be a cool car to have! There was more rust than just floorpans. Only original metal on this car is the doors, the firewall, transmission tunnel, and the right quarter. NEVER again... always start your project with a solid body.

The Coyote definitely crossed my mind several times. Problem is, I'd need to do a new front suspension, which means ditching the brake setup I have (specific to 1st gen spindles), new transmission, new computer... By the time I got done, it was quite expensive. But it sure would be cool.

I admire your abilities with the turbo. I looked at going that route on my 95, and quickly convinced myself that I was a KB guy. I'm willing to sacrifice the performance advantage of the turbo for the simplicity of the SC, mainly because I'm not smart enough to run a turbo. Getting this 5.0 put together in my 67 is taxing my knowledge and Google abilities.

Org leadership sounds like a great degree! I tell people that leadership and organizational theory are some of my hobbies, as I read a lot about those things even when I'm not in school. I got turned on about leadership in the Army.

FWIW, in my experience grad school is one of those things you just do. There's never a good time. I did my first grad degree when I had no time because of work (looking back, I wasn't near as busy as I am now), but the opportunity presented itself. My second one was even worse, my wife was going to school full time, but I was going to get paid to go to grad school (on top of my regular job) so long as I carried a full load. It was a butt-kicker, but I survived. The cool thing about grad school is you get to study the stuff you're interested in. No "art history" or stuff like that.

Good luck with the turbo, and with the school decision. I'll keep watching for progress.

 

[rdharper02]

Today I acually got the Jeep fixed and the brake fluid sensor wired. Slow, but not bad for a lazy day. Still thinking about scouring the local wrecking yard for the drop down plate holder. I dont know why, but the one I have drives me nuts. Paid to go to Grad school doesn't sound bad. I could handle that, but don't see it in the near future. For now it's just schooling required for work. Yeah, I regret the Biscayne, but we all have cars we should have kept. It's probably for the better in my case. I would have converted it to an Impala and made it look like it belonged in a Doctor Dre video.....lol.

 

[rdharper02]

So my time off is over. I can add getting the driveshaft in, coolant hoses, vacuum lines, driveshaft loop and the downpipe to the done list. The down pipe took about three hours to get right. HP really didnt make it user friendly. The flippin thing comes off the turbo and then slips into the second half going back to the "y" in the exhaust. The second half has about four bends in it, each going a diffrent way. To add insult to injury, you have to put tension on it to keep it located in the trans/hanger bracket. If it leans one way you hit the crossover clamp. The other way it doesnt alow the slip joint.

I still have the interior wiring to finish and the battery wiring to re-route under the vehicle. If I get some more time off, I might actually be able to fire it up.

Thanks again for the help

 

[Husky44]

Hooah for progress! Can't tell you how much time I wasted reinstalling an oil pan after the pump shaft came out with the dizzy.

I managed to get back brake lines plumbed, including fabbing up a mount to attach the new T Block to the old 8.8 pumpkin bracket. Ready to go after the rest of the brake lines this weekend, then start on the fuel plumbing.

Work keeps interfering with my garage time though. Hopefully this weekend!

 

[rdharper02]

I feel the same way, time away from the car keeps giving me more ideas on things I should/want to do. Good luck and let me know how the brake lines go. Mine always leak the first time around...lol

 

[Husky44]

Update time: Brake lines are in. Overall, install went better than should be expected (from me).

-Only had one instance of flaring the end before i put the flare nut on...
-Ran the line to the rear axle from back to front, then cut to length and flared the front fitting on the car. No big deal, but when I put the flare tool back in the vise on the bench, I decided to put it in differently so I wasn't fighting the tool shifting when cranking down on the lock nuts. Great idea, except I forgot that only one side of the tool is beveled.
-Installed the two front lines, and hooked everything up to the m/c. The instructions for my m/c kit say very clearly which line to put the 10mm nut on, and which line to put the 12 mm nut on. I did it exactly like the instructions said. Too bad the instructions are backwards. Remove lines, cut, and switch the nuts to the proper lines. Now I don't have enough line left to connect the front line to the T-block.
-Back from Napa with a new section of line. Hook everything up. Every single front fitting is leaking. No problem, loosen, then retighten. Wound up bottoming out the PS fitting that connects to the flex hose. WTH? Back to the internet, to see what's next in "how to stop brake lines from leaking" on Google. Somewhere on page 3, someone put a warning: Make sure you have the fitting oriented the right way, using the beveled edge, and not the back (non-beveled) edge. Back out to the garage, where I discover my boneheaded mistake from earlier.
-Remove front lines, cut, and re-flare everything. Fortunately there's enough bends and slack that I can do this without having to buy new line, although it was close on the DS front. For some reason my flares, which had been perfectly centered and generally came out very good on first try, suddenly decided to go 0ff-center on this line--5 times! Finally got a good flare, and got everything hooked up, pressurized, and no leaks!
-Check rear axle system again--main line into T-block is leaking slightly. Loosen, retighten. Still leaking. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat, with just a little more elbow grease. Little known fact: You can round off a flare nut fitting with a flare nut wrench. So I know have a perfectly round fitting torqued into the T-block at someting around 127 lb/ft. Vice grips did a nice job of polishing the fitting to a show-quality shine. Good thing too, as it was getting late on Sunday night, and I wanted it all pretty before I went to bed!

That's where it sits now. Good news is while contemplating my dilemna all week, and figuring out what parts I needed to pick up, I realized that I'd made a design error. I had to replace the T-block that came on the car, because it had a hose fitting pressed into the input side, whereas I was running hard line all the way... Hey, dummy! You forgot to put a flexible section in to allow for axle movement! Figured that out on Tuesday, so I had plenty of time to get my order in to Summit to get the fittings and adapters I needed to put a braided stainless section in between the hard line and the axle lines this weekend.

Should have that knocked out tomorrow, then it's on to plumbing fuel.

 

[rdharper02]

Oh, i can compare.
I started routing my 0 gauge battery cables to ensure they are above the driver exhaust manifold. I opened up the hole in the driver side trans x-member and routed the cables through both holes (after using emblem adhesive and fuel line as a grommet). This is when I noticed my Summit line lock kit is leaking again. I've already had to replace two ends and plan on doing a couple of more (Great, so much for just bending it up). I actually got the cable ran to the trunk and plotted out a new spare cover and plate to allow the battery to set on. 3 days later, after soldering heavy cable, installing my master on/off and cutting the carpet....I have no power. Tomorrow is a new day, and I have a couple of more days off. I honestly think I need to tighten a few connections, but quit tonight to ensure I substain from the hammer tossing competition (I hate doing drywall). Oh, I forgot, I was under the car and found that I have a whole lot of resistance turning my newly built rear-end. I may have very-well set the pinion pre-load to 14 ft lbs vice 14 inch lbs. Joy At least we're on the topside of the grass and have time to work on them.....lol.

 

[Husky44]

but quit tonight to ensure I substain from the hammer tossing competition (I hate doing drywall).

I got a new truck out of that event! Got so ticked when doing ball joints on my old suburban that I threw a 1/2" ratchet through the wall. Wife declared "that's it, I'm fed up with you trying to save money fixing that truck. Go buy a new one." That very night there was an 8 month old 05Excursion sitting on the Ford lot. It's been a good truck!

At least we're on the topside of the grass and have time to work on them.....lol.

That's the thing I love about my project car. I don't get too frustrated because it's my hobby, not my transportation. I try to keep it all in perspective. I have a rounded off nut on a toy-- not cancer.

 

[rdharper02]

I went back to it after dinner. I have power now. After searching for loose connections and running a continuity test through all my wiring I found a point that power was'nt passing through. Guess that NHRA approved ON/OFF switch needs to be in the "ON" position. Maybee I shouldnt have hidden behind the plate. LOL....at least I know it works now!

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I went back to it after dinner. I have power now. After searching for loose connections and running a continuity test through all my wiring I found a point that power was'nt passing through. Guess that NHRA approved ON/OFF switch needs to be in the "ON" position. Maybee I shouldnt have hidden behind the plate. LOL....at least I know it works now!

Chin up RD. Time to regroup has always always been the buffer between getting it fixed, and a really f'd up end result.
(trust me,......I know)
Many a time I've trudged up from the garage fuming because something wasn't going the way it was supposed to.
After time spent in the "rational world",...I've always come back down to solve the problem.
Just do a thread search on me and you'll discover a myriad of day of disasters/day after solutions.

 

[Husky44]

I went back to it after dinner. I have power now. After searching for loose connections and running a continuity test through all my wiring I found a point that power was'nt passing through. Guess that NHRA approved ON/OFF switch needs to be in the "ON" position. Maybee I shouldnt have hidden behind the plate. LOL....at least I know it works now!

That is hysterical! I can totally see me doing the same thing.

It's crazy how often 30 minutes back in the house solves problems that you couldn't solve in 2 hours in the garage.

 

[rdharper02]

Well I asked the wife about the new truck. No luck, she bought me the one I have....lol. It continued today. I worked on removing the former owners wiring (actually not bad). I decided my line lock light needed black trim, so scuffed it up and painted it. When I went to install it I broke Hurst's poorly soldered wires off and had to break out the de-soldering iron. Got back to doing the gauges, line lock, 2 step and fan wiring and found I needed more female spade connectors. Ran to autozone and bought some. I also found a 3 position switch to run the manual fan off and on switch. Decided that needed to be black also. Scuffed, painted, re-painted (hopefully it holds now). re-assembled my home-made radio/switch panel. finished my connections and waited for the paint to dry. Sprayed my drivers-side rool cage and starte putting in my "gauge isolaters" (installed to fit my smaller gauges in autometers panel). I put some high-temp black around them and did my best rendition of Benny Hill running around in order to tape/clean up my mess. Somewhere I cut myself deep enough to require a stitch, or two, but (to the wife's dismay) refuse to wait 3 hours to get a couple of stitches.
All the while I have been debating between a 99 and 92 I found. The 99 would be a quick "flip" enabling some extra car cash, but the 92 would be my semi-rad race project. Oh well, Its coming around and getting closer to starting (my goal before going over-seas for work).

Husky, I've seen a 66 and 67 out here for 5k and below. Your car makes me want to buy one, but I know I won't want to get rid of them. In our line there is only so much we can ship...lol.

Mike, trust me, I've followed most of your threads. Great work. I've added you to my retirement "bucket list". It's catch alligators, work a shrimp boat and help you work on one of your builds...lol. Honestly, I really enjoy learning about everything with gears. Thanks for the support Guys.

I'll through some more pics on the photobucket soon. Hopefully you guys will give me some honest opinions.

 

[rdharper02]

Took a second crack. Gauges are in. Switch panel is done, gas tank is back in and the interior is in. Still have not figured out where to mount my 2 step switch off of. I've seen guys do it off the clutch pedal, but it seems to require constant adjustment. I'm thinking of doing a bracket off the shifter. I need to do more research.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Well I asked the wife about the new truck. No luck, she bought me the one I have....lol. It continued today. I worked on removing the former owners wiring (actually not bad). I decided my line lock light needed black trim, so scuffed it up and painted it. When I went to install it I broke Hurst's poorly soldered wires off and had to break out the de-soldering iron. Got back to doing the gauges, line lock, 2 step and fan wiring and found I needed more female spade connectors. Ran to autozone and bought some. I also found a 3 position switch to run the manual fan off and on switch. Decided that needed to be black also. Scuffed, painted, re-painted (hopefully it holds now). re-assembled my home-made radio/switch panel. finished my connections and waited for the paint to dry. Sprayed my drivers-side rool cage and starte putting in my "gauge isolaters" (installed to fit my smaller gauges in autometers panel). I put some high-temp black around them and did my best rendition of Benny Hill running around in order to tape/clean up my mess. Somewhere I cut myself deep enough to require a stitch, or two, but (to the wife's dismay) refuse to wait 3 hours to get a couple of stitches.
All the while I have been debating between a 99 and 92 I found. The 99 would be a quick "flip" enabling some extra car cash, but the 92 would be my semi-rad race project. Oh well, Its coming around and getting closer to starting (my goal before going over-seas for work).

Husky, I've seen a 66 and 67 out here for 5k and below. Your car makes me want to buy one, but I know I won't want to get rid of them. In our line there is only so much we can ship...lol.

Mike, trust me, I've followed most of your threads. Great work. I've added you to my retirement "bucket list". It's catch alligators, work a shrimp boat and help you work on one of your builds...lol. Honestly, I really enjoy learning about everything with gears. Thanks for the support Guys.

I'll through some more pics on the photobucket soon. Hopefully you guys will give me some honest opinions.

Sure,....as long as you don't ask if these pants make your butt look big.

#1. According to the time of your last reply, I'm seeing like it was 4:31 AM. What're you,...a Vampire or something?
#2. What do you do that takes you over seas for work,...(Aren't there enough helpless victims for you to suck the blood out of right here in the states?)
#3. Why aren't you posting pics of the stuff you "can't find the motivation to do"? Seems to me this has turned from a plea for inspirational advice to a progress thread. ( W/O pics of course) Don't just put the pics on the photobucket, put them on here. ( Then you'll get to experience what it's like to have the true Cybercritics comment on your work)

***BONUS!!!*** One of them may even do a mirror image photoshop one of your posted pics for you

 

[rdharper02]

1. It was actually 2:31 here on the West Coast. I get on a roll and work until I'm not making progress. It's a bit quieter around the house, besides the wife gave me a "work release pass". You have to get all you can out of those.
2. Military
3. I did not realize I was making progress. Besides, I've seen how they beat you up on the Zephyr. Honestly, I tend to work in big spurts (when I get a chance) and can't seem to pace the photographs/storyline. I'll see if I can figure out ho the new site posts pics. Of course I'm hoping that I get the super bonus photoshop with mud flaps, KC lights and off-road tires in the back (bachelor party style). I doubt whoever does it will get the bachelor party comment.

 

[rdharper02]

Here we go.
i picked my 92 up when it ran fairly poor. It was intended to be a parts car.

Idecided to make it my street/strip car and sold my blue car. The motor was well built and had a lumpy N2O cam.

I'm minus alot of the evolution phots, but removed the battery,and re-wired a good bit after installing the turbo. The wiring toward the hood hinge is my 2 Step, line lock and fan wiring. Its been loomed and hidden.

The rearend was done around the same time I started the engine bay. I used UPR control arms and Coil overs with Strange shocks. I welded (with help) a new 8.8, cut the ends, added an Eaton, my FRPP 3:55s, Mosers w/C-clip eliminators and ss brake lines.

Then the final install

The battery relocation has been ongoing. I opened up the tranny x-over mount and grommeted it to put th 0 gauge cable through it and started my switch and battery box mount. I put another floor together, so I could get a cleaner install. Cut, fit. re-cut, re-fit....throw hammer...

The breaker, wiring and mount took awhile, but I'm happy.

The drop down battery switch came out decent. Scrapped the old Caddy plate holder for an 80s Camaro. The hood bumper will be used for bothe spacers when I get my hood pins done.

The gauges,and wiring still need some work. I found that my wide-band is wired with constant/keyed resversed and my Line lock light ground came undone. Heres the mess I started.

I had a heck of a time with my switch panel. Just couldnt figure out how I wanted it. I spent hours debating the way it looked and ended up painting small parts that did'nt come out looking right. Finally came out with this.
View attachment 134891

All the wires are labeled ( but the A/F gauge..lol).

It ended up looking realy plain as it came together this morning. I'm not a huge fan of red, but cant get the inside quarters out with the roll cage.

As far as the front end, I put in a UPR k-member, coil overs w/Strange adjustables and some MM corrective A-Arms. This is a poor picture, but represents what the car looks like "on the ground".

So I got it running today. A/F is off and I learned a new rule. If you did not tighten one end of an oil line, you probably didn't tighten the other. Also found my TFAL controller is not working. Could not get it to upload.
http://s1117.beta.photobucket.com/u...Whitey progress/327start_zps500e15b6.mp4.html

 

[Husky44]

Husky, I've seen a 66 and 67 out here for 5k and below. Your car makes me want to buy one, but I know I won't want to get rid of them. In our line there is only so much we can ship...lol.

I'm retired military myself. The 67 has made two PCS moves during it's project stage. I'm hoping to be able to drive it onto it's trailer for the move this summer.

The old ones are great projects, but get someone knowledgeable on the cancer issues. A 5k car will likely need double that in bodywork. Good news is that the Fox cars make great drivetrain donors. I got my engine, trans, and rear end for less than $1000 after I parted out the donor car.

Your work looks great to me. I refuse to post on-progress pcs that show detail.

As for my weekend, I got the parts to finish the brakes but didn't get to it. Worked on plumbing fuel system instead. Hoses from tank assembled and installed to the bulkhead fittings. Hoses in front assembled and installed. Would be done, but I managed to order male tubing ends instead of female, so finishing brake and fuel plumbing is this week's evening chore. Then it's on to wiring!

Have a great week everybody!

 

[RangerJoe]

Took a second crack. Gauges are in. Switch panel is done, gas tank is back in and the interior is in. Still have not figured out where to mount my 2 step switch off of. I've seen guys do it off the clutch pedal, but it seems to require constant adjustment. I'm thinking of doing a bracket off the shifter. I need to do more research.

I just wired mine last week. I have a cool diagram for using a negative wire on the clutch switch to operate a relay. It works out really well. Let me know if you would like me to send it to you.

Joe