toedrag

I may have missed it in the thread, but I think the MC is from the NB generation Miatas, which has built-in proportioning within the MC. This is why the middle port is used on the rear brakes. In the Miata application, the two adjacent ports on the end of the MC are used for Front Left & Front Right calipers. In the Stalker application, one of the two ports is used for front brakes, and the other is plugged. One alternative approach might be to move the Rear brake line to the other "Front Caliper" port on the MC, and then plug the middle port on the MC. This would allow full breaking force to both front & rear, which would also mean the proportioning valve would likely need to be used and not left wide open.

I really like your modified micro mirror; I've looked at it a few times in the gallery.

Are parking lights required in your state?

I was planning on doing the bullet style up front and will likely also add side-facing indicators in the middle of the body somewhere.

I was surprised too at how tight it is; it took two hands on the lug bolts to get it to rotate.

Night time report: The re-forming of the hood is headed in the right direction. It's much better than it was, but not yet good enough. Will continue to fiddle with it. I could have nearly finished the steering setup tonight, but Coleman Racing decided to send me the wrong part. I ordered a 4' long shaft, but received a 5" long piece that looks like the business end of their steering rack. Plus, I'm waiting on one more U-Joint from Borgeson. Steering wheel & quick release adapter. I went with a splined style vs the hex style. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27230&g2_serialNumber=3 Back view of the steering wheel, showing it has a 3-bolt mounting setup. Since the 3 holes are a little small for the bolts that came with the Quick Release Hub kit, I drilled the holes a tad. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27232&g2_serialNumber=3 Quick release hub installed onto the wheel, with the weld-on shaft adapter sitting next to it. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27234&g2_serialNumber=3 Differential & Axles being test fit. And don't worry, I remembered to remove the c-clips on the end that goes into the Differential. I've got them in a ziplock taped to the differential, which hopefully means I won't forget about them later. The axles slid in nicely to both the hubs & the diff: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27237&g2_serialNumber=3

You could plastidip the wheels. It's fairly common and holds up reasonably well, as I understand it (never tried it myself) Also, do you plan on having two sets of wheels, one for street & one for track?

Sounds good, thx for the info!

A few more small items, but no pictures of these. My low profile bolt idea for the pushrod to LCA joint was only a slight improvement. Instead of 7 washers on the toe rod, it required 5. Need to clarify with Scott/Stalker what to do here. The brake booster & master cylinder (MC) are from a Miata, years 94-00. It has 3 ports that are 10mm x 1.0 Inverted Flare female fittings. Other fittings used at the brake line Tee fittings & proportioning valve are 3/8-24, which is just a hair smaller than a 10mm x 1.0 fitting. The end result is that the hard lines, which are pre-flared, have different sizes of tube nuts to mate with either the 10mm hole at the MC or 3/8 for the tee fitting & proportioning valve. A happy accident is that I think I get to use 1 of the 3 MC ports for my brake light switch. The bottom of the booster interferes with the firewall shelf, so I had to make room in the firewall shelf for it. Started working on brake line plumbing, but had troubles. I took me 3 tries bending the front brake line b/c there is just about zero extra slack in the piece that's included with the kit, so it now looks pretty mangled, and I'll be replacing it. The rear brake hard line seemed too short, mostly because my location for the rear tee fitting is complicated by the presence of my hitch receiver. It also occurred to me that my chassis doesn't seem to have any of the mounting tabs for the braided flexible lines that run from the tee fittings to each caliper. Need to check with Scott/Stalker on this and likely add it to my "needs welding" list. I fit the Diff to make sure I had room for my new rear tee fitting location for the hard lines. I'm ordering a new 25' roll of the 3/16" copper-nickel brake line tubing to re-do the hard lines.

Been taking care of some smaller jobs over the last couple of days: Trying to re-form the hood shape where it meets the scuttle using some clamps & heat, both from a heat gun & the sun. Will find out later today if it worked (fingers crossed) http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27200&g2_serialNumber=3 Re-greased & installed the Coleman steering rack per Stalker instructions. Here's what it looks like from Coleman: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27206&g2_serialNumber=4 Here's after I finished with it: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27208&g2_serialNumber=3 Tapping the holes on the base of the brake & clutch pedals to 3/8-24 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27212&g2_serialNumber=3

I had plastic spacers on a previous car that saw both street & track duty & they never melted. That car was also a portly one at 3900 lbs, so those brakes & wheels got plenty hot. But then again, it only saw the track a few times a year.

Found it on ebay (yeah...I know) for $14.99 w/free shipping from user 'oeparts'. I like your idea, too. Good thinking with the clear hose.

Did some research on the CTS-V differential venting issue, and I think I understand what's happening now. The original vent p/n, 15852707, has a built-in check valve to let air out of the differential as it builds internal pressure. The ball in the check valve could sometimes stick (open or closed, not sure on that one), resulting in small eruptions of differential fluid, which people noticed as a leak on their garage floor. A TSB was subsequently released, 07-04-20-001A (refer to attachment below), where the repair called for a technician to remove the spring, ball, and outer cover from the installed vent (so that it's now just an open tube w/o any valve). Then, add a small length of tubing, and attach a new/second vent and zip tie the tubing somewhere. In other words, the original fix was to render the original vent useless and just add a second one. Then, GM must have revised the vent cap because 15852707 has now been superceded by 19132947. In theory, presuming that 19132947 doesn't have the issues that 15852707 did, then there is no need to use any hose & filter/secondary vent. Meaning, as long as you buy 19132947, press it into the hole on the differential, then that should be it. That's my plan, anyways. I just ordered 19132947, and we'll see what happens. TSB: TSBDiferentialVent_.pdf Related thread on another forum

Excellent! Congrats! Do you happen to have any finished pictures of your pedals?

Any trips back to MSR-C since the Accusump install?

Bought a 'normal' size socket had cap screw at a local supply store today, and it helps a tiny bit with clearance to the toe rod. However, with the threaded end of the bolt now facing the driveshaft, I started wondering about how much clearance there would be to that. I suppose if it's a problem, I could use a half-height nylock and cut off the extra threads. And sure, I could flip the bolt around and use the half-height nylock on the toe rod side and cut off the extra threads; the reason I probably won't do that is because I think there is less room on the toe rod side vs the driveshaft side, and since the low profile bolt head is smaller than the half-height nylock, it makes sense to keep the bolt head on the toe rod side. A half-height nylock seems like it should be fine in this application, and many others in the suspension system, because it's a pure shear load. I'm thinking the low profile socket head cap screw with a half-height nylock would probably work and might even allow the removal of most/all washers being used as spacers. On a related note, I wonder how many people would replace all full height nuts with half-height ones when used with bolts handling shear-only loads, for weight savings...Plus, looking at the 1/2-13 configuration in Grade 8 Yellow-Zinc, the half-height ones are much cheaper ($0.44 for full height vs $0.26 for half-height on McMaster)...

Yeah, that was a disappointment...I'll keep looking for others.

Excellent idea! :hurray: I took that suggestion and just found this on McMaster, p/n 92220A273, which is a low-profile socket head cap screw w/145k psi tensile strength & C39 hardness, which is pretty close to the Grade 8's in the kit, although not cheap at $6.58 for qty 1, but I only need 2 of them: http://www.mcmaster.com/library/20131028/92220a273l.gif

Only squeezed in about 45 mins today: Rear wheel hubs fitted. Had some spare washers and played with the rear toe rod; the driver's side needed 7 washers to have 1/8" clearance from the pushrod bolt, but again, this with all the suspension bolts loose. Not sure if that number will change once the suspension is compressed. Maybe I can find a steel spacer instead of using all those washers? http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27132&g2_serialNumber=3

Could you leave only the GM ECU on battery power, and have the cut-off switch disable power to everywhere else? That's probably not SCCA/NASA compliant, though...

I also forgot to mention that Scott said to then use this extension, or one like it: http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/pics/3/5/3594_4_500.jpg I just plan to tow either a little utility trailer holding track tires or a small cargo carrier. I couldn't find a usa7s or Stalker picture for the utility trailer I plan to use for tires, but it's this one from Harbor Freight, and a picture of it in action on an Elise: http://www.boefabrication.com/Media/Images/TowBar2.jpg Here's a Stalker with custom trailer, but I'm not sure what this one's hitch looks like. I haven't found pictures of the rear of a completed car showing the hitch receiver: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17158&g2_serialNumber=2 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=17161&g2_serialNumber=2

There ya go...Right tool for the job. Thx for sharing. I'll probably pick up one or two of these.

Yeah, it was an off-menu option; before I placed my order, as I was looking over other people's builds, I noticed several with hitches and then asked if it could be added. Looks fabricated to me: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27127&g2_serialNumber=2 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27130&g2_serialNumber=2

I asked Scott to add the hitch receiver, which he did for a reasonable cost. I can take some more pictures of that tomorrow if you want. If I had a longer 1/2" bit (24" or more), I could have just drilled through both, but b/c of the various frame tubes interfering with things, I couldn't do it with the 6" bit that I had.

Finished the rear suspension test fit, but I seem to missing a couple of cone washers & nuts, but no biggy. A few of the 1/2" holes in the rear control arms on the passenger side were too narrow, so I had to drill them with a 1/2" bit, which required that I get creative due to space constraints. For the upper holes, I inserted the drill bit from the rearward side of the bracket. I know what you're thinking: "If you could get a drill bit in there, why do you need to drill it out?" Well, all I can tell you is that the full (non-threaded) shank of the bolt wouldn't pass through that hole with moderate pressure, and I didn't feel like hammering it through was a good idea. Once I attached the bit to the right angle drill and spun the bit with a quick shot of the trigger, that's all it needed, and the bolt would slide through with ease. Maybe a round file would have worked just as well, but I don't have one of those. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27118&g2_serialNumber=2 For the lower holes, I had to insert the drill from between the brackets http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27120&g2_serialNumber=2 For the other set of brackets on the rear end (the ones closer to the seat back), I had to remove the seat back panel b/c there wasn't enough room to do my little drill bit trick. But, once the seat back panel is removed, you can just drill the holes normally. (No picture of this) My other helper, assisting with control arm installation (and nut/washer thievery, as I found out later) http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27122&g2_serialNumber=2 Installed front hubs and went ahead and attached the caliper bracket & caliper. A couple of the wheel hub mounting holes in the spindle were a little too narrow right at one end, so I had to touch them up with a 3/8" bit. And in case you're wondering, these are...apparently...6 piston calipers. Wilwood thought it was important that you know that http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=27112&g2_serialNumber=2