Ludachris
Founder & Zookeeper
- 8,052
- 3,071
- Nov 12, 2001
-
Newcastle,
California
Don't you just love how one project turns into 20 nearly every time you dig into something? The wiring and the brake lines aren't going to be an improvement you feel, but the suspension and subframe bushing updates will be. The car will feel so much better because of that. I bet your fab skills are improving every day with all of the custom work you're doing.Captains Log 07072020;
The adventure continues. It feels like nothing has really been done since my last post, but I realize that was over a month ago - its time for an update whether I like it or not. Lets start at the very front of the car.
I was making bash bar to go under the bumper - to support it correctly, hold the intercooler, some ducting, the new horns, and oil cooler. A friend helped me bend the parts, its a bit more complicated that an I anticipated though because the bottom of the intercooler actually sits lower than the bottom lip of the bumper. I don't have a good work space for this type of thing, so that is progressing very slowly and for now I'm sticking with the crappy solution that I had before. At least its sturdy.
The front subframe is installed, the new front passenger suspension (OE Spec) is installed. Nothing is torqued down, though, as its still mostly in the way while I continue to work on the wiring. Speaking of wiring, I'm still working on that, deliberating taking my sweet time due to how important it is to be done right. The driver side suspension is down, still. I have some surface rust to knock off in the fender well before proceeding.
The rear brake lines that I f'd up .... are replaced. What a job. A good friend of mine came over and helped with that. We ended up removing the exhaust, the drive train, disconnecting the suspension and dropping the rear suspension to get them installed correctly. Much more work than I wanted. During that work, we found that my rear subframe bushings are shot - big surprise. Also, the few ball joints in the rear are bad, some bolts are seized in their bushings, and my struts/shocks are in a deathly ill state. What luck. I'm already working with GSX_Dude to get the rear diff bushings, waiting on them is my biggest blocker. A rear poly-bushing kit from extremepsi is around $100. The arm with the ball joints are $45 each, need two. And I think RIX Racing has a pair of coil overs with a price tag I can afford - which will be my first set ever.
Some of that will have to wait until Friday to be ordered, because that sh** adds up fast. None of it does me any good until the diff bushings get here. This does give me ample opportunity to finish running my fuel lines correctly, which is a work in progress. Speaking of works in progress, I've made some headway on rewiring the main input jumpers on my fuse box in the bay. I wanted to relocate it, but I'm not sure I actually will. Other things I'm waiting on:Well, that is all for today. No pictures this time.
- SS 2.5" 45 degree elbow - for intake. Ordered a 3" because thats what I was told it was - wrong.
- Several various sized fittings for vac/boost
- Several hose ends for fuel and oil lines - need a final count after confirming angles and clearances
- The will to repaint all the parts that have been chipped due to butterfingers, like the CAS, t-stat housing, VC, and such.
Roll credits.