Thanks, I found those years ago :rofl: I already have the CF covers for my BBC

Got a little more done today. I welded the shifter hole closed a bit since the LS T56 is longer and I moved the shifter back.

So, I haven't been getting done as much as I would like on the car because of work and work stress, but I set a goal for this weekend; get the engine and transmission back in the car. I managed to get that completed, despite the horrendous humidity. I also managed to get this completed while helping Zorns with his car.
So the engine and trans are back in the car, hopefully for the last time with this iteration of engine/transmission combo. I bead blast the bellhousing and painted it since it was pretty grody. I also "bench" bled the hydraulic clutch setup so I didn't have to worry about a remote bleeder or try to mess with it in the car. This was much easier than I expected. I was actually able to get all the air out of the setup without actually bleeding it. I just put pressure on the slave and pushed in the master. I did this several times and after a few minutes I stopped hearing air moving in the system. After this I cracked the bleeder and pushed in the master and no air came out. I bled the master until all the dirty fluid came out. Hopefully all the air is out and I don't have to worry about it again.

With work stress and everything else, I just need to keep telling myself "do one thing today". Scott Quoted that one time from Steilow and I think it is great advice. I have to stop thinking about the project as a whole and just pick off small pieces and it will get completed before I know it.

I hope to get the spindles bead blasted again and painted so I can get the front suspension reassembled and make the car a roller by the weekend. I also got the proper outer bearing for my aluminum Kore3 hubs to work with my early 2nd gen spindles from my GTA since I am not using them on that car right now.

Progress is good and another piece of advice is to make a nice detailed list of "to do's". With any build, there are so many small and large items to tackle. You can try and keep it in your head but from first hand experience, you end up constantly thinking about the build so you don't forget anything.

Yeah, that is good advice, but if I were to do that I would have an entire book :shock:

Seriously though, I do write some things that I may forget. I have a crayon and I write stuff on the windsheild, like "no oil", no trans fluid etc. Right now I just get out there and think about what I have done and if I cant remember, I just double check everything.

Bear does not believe in plans!

:scratch:


Didn't I say I had a plan for the weekend......

Start adding crap to an excel spreadsheet and group it by priority or whats needed for first start.

Mine sort of worked out well.

but not for the project.

Your last comment would drive me insane. If I had to double check everything, my build would have taken years. When all the little small things need to be gone through, remembering them all will be a challenge. If that's how you work then that's fine. I just know when I did my build, my photographic memory served me well but the list is what kept me sane. Felt good checking stuff off the list too.

So what's next for you to do?

I did the same thing. I broke it out by the different systems on the car, what doing each job will cost, and how much time I estimated it would take.

I have an overall. I dont really need to put it on paper.... I change my mind about stuff frequently, so that would get old. Plus I buy new things and makes double work for me, no big deal. I dont care how long it takes me. After I complete all this the car may come apart for body work anyway.

I dont double check EVERYTHING, just key things. Right now I can tell you most of the stuff I havent done or things that are only finger tight at the moment.

After I do the spindles, bead blast my calipers, paint them and then reassemble them as I should be ordering my wheels in the next few weeks. And I want to get the car to "roller" status so it isnt necessarily trapped in the garage anymore. I would like to roll the car out and sweep the floor real well. With all the grinding and leaves the floor has a lot of crap on it.

After that is put my V bands on the headers, weld the 45 degree bends to longer pieces of stainless to replace the existing mild steel pieces of the exhaust so I can put the other side of the V bands on that and finish the exhaust. After that, the interior needs to come out and I think I am going to put the subframe connectors in the car while the interior is out for the new AAW wiring harness.

I have a detailed spreadsheet with all the things I have bought. I don't have labor on there though.

If your style of work suits you, stick with it. We all do things differently.

It may not look like much, but I got my calipers painted and rebuilt. I am not happy with the way they turned out, but I know for next time if I ever use this paint again.

I dont have any pictures of the process, but I wound up getting used calipers that were really bad looking from brake dust. I took them completely apart, bead blasted them to clean aluminum, painted them, put new O-rings, dust boots, pins, hardware and rattle clips.

It was so hot yesterday and I was using a two part paint, part A and B, so it has a cure time. Unfortunately because it was so hot the second coat, as the directions say to do, was too tacky and the brush wound up pulling the first coat and made it look bad. I wound up putting some reducer in the paint after I got the second coat on and the abutment brackets came out pretty nice since coat after coat the paint wasn't so tacky.

Here is one, all rebuilt and loaded, ready to go on the spindle when I get the spindle painted.

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...721_185253.jpg

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...721_185309.jpg

I didn't take a picture, but I also painted the driveshaft with the paint since I had about half the paint left after the calipers and abutments. normally I wouldn't paint stuff like this with a brush, but I figured what the heck. You can see all the brush strokes on the driveshaft, but I kind of like how it came out.

How would you describe the finish?

Somewhere between brush strokes and tiger stripes?

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...721_192151.jpg

You ain't got nothin on Mark42

Huh?

Fuggin really?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...d/HPIM6487.jpg

I dont get it, but OK. Mine is chromeoly :shrug: and I have a carbon fiber one in the basement....

Mark42 polished his stock aluminum driveshaft--the one you see above.
I mimicked his, but didn't go nearly as far with the polishing as he did.

Re blasted my spindles tonight since they flash rusted after I hit them the first time when I cleaned and got them ready to send to Keith at Customworks for modifying and drill/tap for the brake brackets. One of Keith's friend made him a nice spindle jig to hold the pin so the holes for the brake bracket are 90 degrees to the pin when drilling.

Also got the spindles painted too. I am hoping to get the suspension all buttoned up and back together this weekend.
Hopefully I can get one side assembled with a hub each night so they are ready to put on the car on Saturday. I am using the hubs from my 91 GTA. I bought new outer bearings with races since the pin diameter is .750" compared to the later spindles at .840" Eventually I'll buy another set of hubs from Kore3 with 1/2" studs so I don't have a metric stud on the front and standard on the rear. For now I'll use these hubs since they are not being used.

I also need to get the pitman arm off the old steering box to put on the 600 series steering box I have for the car.

Teaser shot of the brakes on the spindle, dry assembled for now.
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...725_200308.jpg

Sharp looking.

Hey, on the caliper painting front... I painted the calipers on my '98 after rebuilding/replacing. Glass beaded the outside, then painted them with Duplicolor ceramic engine paint in red. Been holding up very well, cleans up easy, and no brushing.

Well I got a few things done today. I got the suspension basically done in the front. I cant tighten up all the upper control arm pivot points until I get my alignment set. I got the hubs on too, I forgot what I pain in the ass it is to pack bearings.
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...727_135642.jpg

Also I weighed the stock brakes with the spindles, came out to ~54.4 lbs and has a 10" rotor. The new setup weighed in at 49.6 and is a 13" rotor! So with the tubular control arms and the coilover setup with the lighter brake package I am saving about 17 pounds of weight per side! I think 1/2 that weight is unsprung, so that is a great thing to lose so much.

I also got the shifter hole for the transmission trimmed and the transmission bolted in, driveshaft in.