jevs

LED lights for the front turn signals (dual "filament"). I got my Speedhut order. Installed the rear diff vent, this is the newer part number 19132947, I have to have this even if I need to hook a hose on later. I figure I will try this first and see how it goes. Notched and dimpled all the steering shaft.

The bolts for the LS3 covers setup on a camaro are actually: 12560226 COVER BOLTS M6.0x1.0x14.5

I am also using a Signal Dynamics module. But I am using the Pentastar model. It has a brake input. This way when you turn on the blinker, it never starts timing out until you let off the brake. Also if you hit the brake again during the 10 second time out after that, it will reset the timer and continue blinking. Basically it stays flashing until you let of the brake for 10 seconds. This will make it more user friendly at stop lights/signs. It also has the other functions of press and hold for different times of blinking. So you can hit it when you want to make a lane change and it will shut off on its own etc. Hitting the switch again automatically cancels the blinking also. I am using a momentary switch and two diodes attached to the blinker inputs to initiate and cancel the hazard lights. The diodes have to be used to isolate the two inputs from each other so the hazard switch can send a 12v input to both lines. I am going to use a momentary (on)-off-(on) toggle and a lengthening shaft, or buy a momentary joystick or something for the blinker switch. I have not decided for sure. I want to get the wheel on first. I want it to be in about the same location as a regular car so it can be hit without taking hands off the wheel.

I should say I dont trust the drivers around me enough to rely on just mirrors. People here drive terrible. Constantly wrecks to deal with.

Yeah, I don't totally trust them. I do use them though as long as I am moving faster than the guy in the other lane, then I can tell when I can get over without looking over my shoulder. Its hard to look over your should were I drive because the guy in front could slam his brakes at any time. Traffic sucks. Of course these cars probably make it easier to look over the shoulder with no roof in the way.

The vice grip is clamped to the original hose fitting tube. The socket is inside it to keep the vice grips from crushing the tube and get a good clamp on it so you can beat it out (by hitting the vice grips). The slide hammer is just a first attempt that did not work, but it provides a good way for you to pull while hitting the vice grips and help guide the fitting out since your beating the vice grip at a little bit of an angle. However, you can probably have just about as good luck without anything pulling. Just stick something in the tube so the vice grips don't crush it, then beat the fitting out. Being able to pull at the same time just helps it along a little. It comes out pretty easy once it starts. The whole job was easier than I was expecting. I was prepared to pull the water pump if need be to press in the fitting and then if that failed I was prepared to weld it. Luckily none of that was necessary.

Similar, but the shape of these tapers to the outside and they are smaller. I like the size, but I am not sure if they are going to be big enough to scuttle mount or not until I sit in the car. I might have to get them up on the cage closer, not sure. If they get too far away they could be a bit small. However, I love the way they look. I am still not crazy about the price, but they seem to be well made. I will have a big 14" rear view mirror also and all the mirrors are convex. It might be awhile before I get to mess with these anymore or figure out where to put them......

I got the new mirrors. 3.66 ounces. I like them. I am not sure where I will mount them. I will have to sit in the car and make sure they get close enough to my face to be useful. On the scuttle or if needed I will make a mount for the cage.

Installed the CBM Motorsports -16AN thermostat housing and top fitting. The recommended fitting for the water pump is a Summit weld in bung. I did not want to weld the water pump if I did not have to. I was told they tried these press in fittings before and it split the water pump. However, there are two different sizes. I spoke with CBM about this and mentioned the difficulties I was told about. They told me to use the CBM-10620 For the new LS3 I have. I figured worse case scenario, you can still weld this one in as well. Once I got the old fitting out, I measured the hole and the fitting with my calipers and found the fitting to be just about right for a light press fitting. It went in very well just using a small dead blow hammer without excessive force. Here is the methods I used if anyone wants to know. Remove the old fitting: I used a crappy slide hammer and attached a socket that just fit into the pipe. I then clamped the socket inside the pipe with vice grips. The slide hammer did nothing but pull the socket out of the pipe. My second attempt was to just pull on the slide hammer while smacking the vice grips. I kind of pulled the slide hammer in the opposite direction of the hitting so It would come out straighter. This worked like a charm. Install the new fitting: I put the fitting in the thick plastic bag it came in and then wrapped some tape around the threads to hold it on. Then I used an X-acto knife to trim the plastic with enough skirt to cover the face. This protects the threads and face when your installing it. I then coated the fitting with a light coat of sealant, making sure none gets on the lip. This also acts as a lubricant to install the fitting. Only put it on the fitting and not the water pump, that way the excess gets squeezed to the outside and no excess is on the inside. Next I used a 35mm socket and whacked it in with the dead blow hammer. Wipe off any excess sealant (not much to wipe off if you apply a light coat). I was dreading pulling the pump to press the fitting in or weld on a bung, but this worked well with no issues and no removal of the pump.

Not much done this weekend due to other obligations. I got my oil pan on. I had to ensure it was flush with the engine since I don't have a transmission mounted. I got a huge bunch of parts including the seats over the past couple weeks. I really like the Kirkey's now that I sat in them and see them. I like the Airknit as opposed to the tweed or vinyl. These things won't wrinkle or look cheap or anything. The covers are made pretty nice and go on easy.

Not my design, this is the way it is made. If I have any issues when I am done, I can work from there to correct it.

Is that a fan? I am not sure it is going to do much inside a bucket if it is.

Only if you want to try to get the sealant loose on the lens.

I am doing LED headlights as well. GE Nighthawks. Right now you can get $100 off each headlight on Amazon with the "clip coupon". However, it is one per account so I had to order one and then my wife ordered one. Saved $200. $305.96 shipped for the pair (looks like they are 310.06 a pair today). These also look closer to normal headlights than the others I was able to find (if you somewhat want to keep it period looking). http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showpost.php?p=89210&postcount=49 They also say these are the same as Trucklight, but I think they have changed. They now have a strip in the middle with the GE logo.

7" Round GE Nighthawk LED Headlights fit the Speedway stainless steel buckets good. The light is nice and white. They seem to be very bright. This will make my car have 100% LED lighting (except I am not sure what Speedhut puts in their gauges yet). Pictures are off angle otherwise it blinds you

It has been a long couple days. I am sick of looking at mirrors! The good news is that I finally made my pick and ordered them. I ordered the Race Mirror Club GT in carbon fiber. I just could not find anything in a cage mount that I liked. The round ones suggested here would have been good for me, but I wanted something a bit smaller. I also like the APR suggested, but these are a bit smaller and offer lots of replacement parts etc. They were $244 shipped. I did not want to spend anywhere near this much, but I finally gave in due to fatigue and still finding nothing better that I liked. There were some ok motorcycle ones, but then they would have caused more work getting a secure mount. http://www.racemirrors.com/ClubGT.htm Now I can get back to work on the car. I am done ordering parts until I run across something else I need that I don't know about yet.

How stable are the APR Performance universal fit carbon fiber? Do they vibrate and/or move around much? I have been looking at side mirrors all day. I mostly looked at cage mount ones and cannot decide on any. Wondering if the scuttle mount would be as good.

Ordered the 14" Longacre with short brackets PN 22535 Amazon Prime shipped $57.64 looking at the side mirrors you guys posted next...

XCARGUY, what is that hook clamp bracket thing for in front of your rear view mirror?

Can I use roll cage mounted side mirrors and center rear view mirrors on my car and have good viewing? I have not sat in one yet so I have no idea. I see some people have them mounted this way though. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=6907&d=1409713915 Any recommendations for a rear view mirror and side mirrors that would be good for this and look decent and remain fixed and stable at speed? No chrome please I would prefer to mount this stuff to the cage rather than the scuttle since it would be easier and stronger.

I changed my mind and bought the: 47700 Kirkey Seat, Aluminum, Intermediate Road Race, 15 Degree Layback, 17 in. Hip Width 47741 Kirkey Seat Cover, Highback, 20 Degree Layback, 17.00 in. Width, Black , Airknit Apparently Brunton is building an XL car with these and likes them. These were on my list initially, and after hearing that I decided to go back to them. As a bonus this eliminated the Vinyl vs Tweed decision also. There is only one option: Black Airknit (whatever that is). These are considered a road race seat instead of a drag race seat also. The 15º back is a good match too. They are also heavier gauge than the pro drag. https://www.kirkeyracing.com/product/10/47700/SEAT-ALUMINUM-17-INTERMEDIATE-15-LAYBACK-ROAD-RACE

Depends how fat or stocky you are I need a 16-17" to feel right from my measurements. This means I will get a 17 and the outer size is 18.5. At 18.5 this leaves about 1" to play with on the drivers side Think a side glide would fit in a half inch? I was going to Rigid mount because I may add the seat back brace just in case I ever do anything that requires it. Probably never will knowing me, but I like to plan ahead just in case.

After plenty of research and looking at my own needs/wants I have decided to go with the Kirkey 41700. The only issue now is....black tweed or black vinyl. I am not crazy about the tweed look, but many think it is more "comfortable" for various reasons. However I saw some pictures of the black vinyl and they look nice to me in the car. Of course this is just pictures. I have no idea how they look in real life. Any opinions? Either way it is $210 if I change my mind later. I am tempted to try the Vinyl just for the look and see if it bugs me. I am just not sure if it looks cheap in real life or not. In pics it looks a little more OEM I suppose because I am used to having black leather in a high end car. I have not had cloth seats in anything for a long time. However, most everything has had a top of some sort and A/C.

Today is shop for seats day. I have some in mind I am going to research today, but I am open to some suggestions of something I may have not seen yet or feedback for ones I do already know about. I am looking for light weight & decent look without breaking the bank (no $1000+ seats suggestions please). I really want to stay below $500 each and less is better. I am not planning to use sliders because I want it to be as low in the car as possible unless there is something with no height penalty (side mounted sliders or something). Brunton Recommends the Kirkey 41 series. I am also looking at the Ultrashield spec Miata (trying to find some dimensions now). The Ultrashield Rally Sport is also one of the ones I have marked for consideration. I am also open to something nicer looking with more padding as long as it does not add much more weight. I am trying to sell myself on the Kirkey, because functionally they fit the bill and the cost is good. For some reason I am just not crazy about the looks. Anyone agree/disagree?

I'm sure they are on new cars, but probably not old ones that "came without em". However, this is a statement from the safety inspection manual that probably gets you out of a lot of stuff also. "Inspect Vehicles for Proper Lighting Equipment. Do not inspect side marker lights, parking lights, four (4)-way flashers, backup lights, interior lights, license plate light or clearance lights." There is also no check on an emergency brake unless it's a commercial vehicle. Given the problem of no good parking brake option I may skip that until I can find out if one can be made for in front of the diff with a single disc and a single caliper. This location supposedly holds a lot better according to the off roaders. With all that said, I have to add a little light for blinkers. My thought was that I might as well have a running light in there too. Some day I will sell the car, so I am making things a little easier for people that live in socialist states like California.:flag: MVIRegulationsManual.pdf