Plastic Fantastic 2

[SuperBuickGuy]

EFI upgrade


and replacement tank.... it's squarer. I keep telling myself that it's $100 in material and $40 in fittings and parts.... these tanks are $200.... and their welds are better - why they haven't learned to clamp it in place first is a question for the ages.


and finally starting to learn on my new welder - aluminum learn


not pretty to begin


however, practice


I need to add the material back that I machined off - thus the welding.... next up drill holes in my non-practice pieces, then make those permanent....edited

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

more parts arrived today





when they said 7" they mean 7" .... thankfully it's just enough
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the order of events - I work with the time available - I really need to spend some quality time with the welder and milling machine, but that wouldn't be tonight...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Okay, enough with Uber hookers.... onto more chipping away at this project
heh, I punned


basically the tabs are in the way so I need to move them towards the centerline... yes, people do make stuff that put 13" rotors on these.... but where's the fun in that?edited




clamping is so much fun


lest you think I gave up on eyeballing... no, I will not



success.... bolt hoes in place and bolts go in.... which there was so question whether or not this would work since I learned today that my key for the chuck is not the key for the chuck that fits my mill



next step.edited I've taken a tremendous amount of metal off the back, so welding in new backing blocks is more then a good idea


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[SuperBuickGuy]

first, make holes (aka void warranties)




weld a bit of aluminum


dang, the appearance I know what I'm doing....


fit an Astro top


(I love these things)

 

[SRountree]

Sweet looking!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I appreciate the kind words

Brakes
Today I received the bolts for the front calipers.... time to finish this up

first a bunch of milling on what I welded yesterday

I resisted the urge to sharpen the carbide (I should have but it worked)

then drilled the holes




wow, it works, errr... well that's no surprise that it worked just like I planned


Installed new upper ball joints


for the life of me, I can't figure out why this is an issue now - but one bolt should be shorter to attach the hubs.... thankfully, Mr. Cutoff wheel came to the rescue



and look, the rear


and the front - to be honest, I don't know of a 14" rotor for this application (the C5 uses a 13")...edited


Getting close to final assembly

and the rear
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[rtj]

Your alum welder and mill drill paid off fast. Nice job.

 

[phantomjock]

...and the front - to be honest, I don't know of a 14" rotor for this application (the C5 uses a 13")...edited

Ahh Ha! Wondered why the mod to the uprights. Obviously matching the caliper to the disc - but didn't "get" why. Surprised that floating hats could be matched to a 14" disc. Add some extra complications ordering, etc.
Its's all a compromise isn't it?

Very nice work.

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

master cylinder size.
Stock C3, no assist is 7/8"
Stock C3, with assist is 1 1/8"

2010 Camaro SS is 1 1/8 however it's a much shorter master cylinder.

Called Wilwood and they recommended 1 1/8 with the caveat that I need to measure the piston size to properly calculate the swept area.

I'm using the smallest of hydroboost (no power steering, yet) to aid in braking....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

didn't have a lot of time, but enough to put the wheels on

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and drill holes for the pump

 

[Red77]

This is coming together very well. Great work on getting the spindles modified too, I know that took a good bit of head scratching before you committed to the changes. The results look great!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

a bit further

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so I've been waiting on some parts to arrive so I can finish up the frame
such as rebuild parts for the C6 front suspension


it was cheaper to buy this as a kit then individually... and hate on Chinese (like I do) but they put lube points on all the moving points... I guess we got too smart for that?

and fuel line....edited

which I bought twice not knowing that aluminum is advised against by FItech.... ah well, it was really cheap and I'll use it for other stuff... new brake line is under that stack too


Got around to removing the seats and carpet for the next phase


what I wasn't waiting for was more metal work inside.... this is why I like up to 75... no metal floors, or speedholes in the metal floor


I'll get on fixing this Thursday... ah well. This year finish goal was more of a hopeful guess.

 

[Red77]

I'll bet FITech advises against aluminum from a liability standpoint. As long as you know what you are doing and insulate the mounting points, aluminum is perfectly fine. The problem is when it isn't installed correctly and it chafes against steel, has a sharp bend right at a mounting point, etc. Plenty of folks out there that don't pay attention to those things and end up burning their cars down.

I hear you on the grease fittings. Back when I was a Ford tech and asked about why they took them off ball joints and tie rod ends the answer I got was that more damage was done by over greasing than undergreasing. While I can understand the reasoning to an extent, I want to make the choice. All of my personal vehicles get parts with grease fittings when they get replaced. Too much time spent fixing NVH issues on Lincolns for picky customers to live with squeaks on my own rides.

 

[BBShark]

Have you used Cupro (Copper Nickel) fuel line? Really nice stuff, bends easy, doesn't rust and doesn't fatigue.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'll bet FITech advises against aluminum from a liability standpoint. As long as you know what you are doing and insulate the mounting points, aluminum is perfectly fine. The problem is when it isn't installed correctly and it chafes against steel, has a sharp bend right at a mounting point, etc. Plenty of folks out there that don't pay attention to those things and end up burning their cars down.

I think aluminum is fine, and will use it on fuel line on something else. But their warranty has the condition and the stainless was $17.00.. that said, I had a diesel suburban that didn't have rear brakes when I bought it. someone loosened the steel, GM installed line and it was against a corner. Diesels rattle, and it wore straight through the steel

Have you used Cupro (Copper Nickel) fuel line? Really nice stuff, bends easy, doesn't rust and doesn't fatigue.

I'm using annealed stainless, not easy but not terrible to bend either. I'm using Cupro for the brake lines for that very reason.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

extent of the problem




passenger side is fine




Needed bench space so put the tank roughly in place


so the plan.... at $300 plus shipping, there is zero chance I'm not building a replacement part(s) myself for the floorpan...edited

 

[phantomjock]

Will you separate the body from the chassis to cut out the floors? I did and think it was a lot easier. May be time to think interior mods too? - Or are you "wedded" to a more-or-less stock interior?

I'm on front suspension just now - when I get some progress I'll post it up. Making the rack and pinion front steer. Some fun stuff.

Your efforts (and skills) are inspirational!

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Will you separate the body from the chassis to cut out the floors? I did and think it was a lot easier. May be time to think interior mods too? - Or are you "wedded" to a more-or-less stock interior?

I'm on front suspension just now - when I get some progress I'll post it up. Making the rack and pinion front steer. Some fun stuff.

Your efforts (and skills) are inspirational!

Cheers - Jim

at this moment, I know I'm going to do something but not quite sure what. The seats have some issues, the carpet smells funky, dash is utterly rubbish so I'll be replacing a lot anyway... and why replace when you can update? (don't answer that, I know, why do things the easy way? is kind of my thing). As for the floor, the body is coming off again anyway to plumb it but I figure I'll start with it on the frame to lessen the chance of twisting the body.... there's also a part of me that says "cut it out, then use it as a mold to make a fiberglass floor in it again.... fiberglass is pretty easy to lay when it's on mostly a flat surface ... there, that's my range of thinking at the moment.

 

[rtj]

I’ve seen some pretty decent dashes made from 2D pieces of sheet alum.

Great progress!



Edit:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forum...2705816-fs-c4-custom-made-track-car-dash.html

C4 example, but same idea. I think the c3 ones use the oem dash pad and mount the sheet curved on oem holes. A bit of bead rolling on thin sheet and it could be pretty light.

Great progress.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

the pictures don't work on that thread... I hate our IP

In related by not thought... I'm thinking about one of these

https://store.langmuirsystems.com/p...vaGCNdbsMDGiucim1RBwhKqkkyRYZCVhoCEHIQAvD_BwE

 

[rtj]

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

ah, full race

onto floor flixes, first treat the rust on the passenger side




this will need something a bit more substantial

CAD


now in metal


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[rtj]

These will spoil the NCRS vibe you have going, but are closer to what I remembered seeing.










Someone is selling fiberglass repops of John Greenwood’s dash.

https://www.classicaircraftautoinc.com/apps/webstore/products/show/4692888

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I like that upper one a lot, but I think Optima makes me keep the stock dash.... I'm going to have to review the rules again...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Foretaste of the Buick wagon that's coming next




cut hole, remove undercoatingedited


remove metal from flange

spray with weld-through primer first to mark the edges


eventually I'll weld this on both sides, but this is a start



and finally another project in the wings

initially I was/may weld this - but the cap retainer would need another solution
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[SuperBuickGuy]

Finish up the floor detour


a few notes.editededited
1) the floor is going to get the ceramic coating that the FJ40 got - it's 1/4" thick so those seams disappear as does the rust pits on the other side
2) underneath it gets undercoating so the patch will fully disappear (like it did on the '40)
3) FOR THE LOVE ALL THAT IS HOLY STOP BLOCKING WINDOW CHANNELS WITH ADHESIVE WHEN YOU HAVE A LEAK... damn fools, GM designed the windshield system to allow the water to run under the molding then away from the car.edited The molding keeps water from being driven into the windshield frame.edited This car had a leak, and they plumb filled up the channels with window adhesive.... the leak is in the valley (below the window) .... just remember this, if I see you, Bubba, doing this I pray for your eternal soul to be damned to a hell where you do nothing but try to weld up pinholes, naked, and over your head, with your cheeks glued together window adhesive.edited Prayer works, so you are now on notice there is an 11th commandment.

onto cleaning the body so I can complete the color change



and rebuild the rear floor... I think I'm simply going to raise it to clear.... there's little reason to give it huge luggage space and it's far easier to just bond it back 2" higher.

 

[rtj]

I like that upper one a lot, but I think Optima makes me keep the stock dash.... I'm going to have to review the rules again...

Makes sense.

 

[mfain]

a few notes.editededited
and rebuild the rear floor... I think I'm simply going to raise it to clear.... there's little reason to give it huge luggage space and it's far easier to just bond it back 2" higher.

Man, you do some good work fast. I'm a lot slower - guess I'm getting old. Raising the rear floor looks like the simple fix. Mine became more complicated after I changed from one IRS to a different one. I needed room for the exhaust to run over the cradle, a battery box, and duct work for the differential and fuel coolers. Took me forever. Here is an under- construction shot.

Pappy

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I really appreciate the compliment. I don't have your experience so I need to work quick because it'll take at least 3 iterations before I like this (e.g. did you notice I have 4 spindles?)... I already noticed there's a problem with this - the offset driveshaft I knew about but with all the other considerations, the diff yoke is at 4 degrees (up) and the transmission is 2 degrees down. I can cheat about 3 degrees by turning the differential and raising the transmission - but that creates a cascade of other issues.... ah well, In my mind's eye it'll be pretty cool to have a C3 that runs with C7s.... that's the ultimate goal, but it's taken 2x more time to get to this point and I'm resigned that it won't be done before October (driving season).

more.... I spent most of the day on honey-dos, so I had 2 hours tonight to get further....edited
doors are off


I knew pulling the booster was a pain, double the pain for a true 4 speed car because there are more bits in the way


however, I won

ish.... I still have to put the other back in


ah well, having brakes that will suck the tailights through the gas tank will be awesome.