xcarguy Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 z, Nice to see an update . . . just knotch the hood, watch the wheelies and avoid those low flying 2x4's. x . . . . . . :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) So, I had to take the whole suspension off and go to the highest (lowest mount point - still not very high) settings. I was inspired by having my number on the car, so I had the side panels vinyl wrapped and added the 228 placards and "AR" for my class (A-Race). http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g156/subtlez28/M-spec/61B0A6A9-B1DB-4981-BD6E-32956247396E_zpsmndtnrlc.jpg Then I installed the side pipes and see they are a little close for comfort to the vinyl. I bent out the passenger side as it had even less clearance. Time will tell. I'll keep a fire extinguisher handy when I start her up! May need some heat wrap. Open for suggestion here. As you can see, we also started the wiring. Since I decided to keep the air intake on the shelf, my battery placement was compromised. I wanted it under hood to avoid extra safety equipment. The solve was to recess it into the shelf, and actually bolt it to the passenger side of the trans tunnel. I used an Odyssey battery and their aluminum box. I suggest you go direct with them, they were a pleasure to deal with and give a great direct price! http://www.odysseybatteries.com/mainpages/accessories.htm I'll get a pic of that up when I finish up the wiring. I went with Speedhut's new CAN-bus style controls that pick up signal from the ECU, eliminating the need for extra sending units. I also ponied up for the GPS speedo. It has all kinds of cool toys like 1/4 mile times, 0-60, etc and will not be effected by differing street and track tire sizes. I chose to have the fuel gauge in the speedo. This should be cool watching one go rapidly down, while the other climbs! You can fully customize your set up. I went yellow. Hey, they look good on a Ferrari, and more importantly should be easy to see. http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g156/subtlez28/M-spec/3F9750BA-184F-48BF-BE2C-D87C962E0CED_zpsqt9g1bo1.jpg The blue tape was to protect the dash panel, but may have to stay. I dig the contrast! Another friend of mine, who happens to be both a car nut and engineer has been invaluable with the electrical. Starting from scratch with just a painless T-bucket kit was a bit overwhelming. So, as per past practice another issue bit me. We added the radiator and struggled a lot to build hoses to fit the tight chassis. After paying for a bunch of AN stuff that would not clear, we ended up with heavy duty industrial hydraulic type stuff. The local industrial hose shop was a huge help. We filled it up with Evans water-less coolant. I come back from a few days of vacation and find some coolant on the floor. Just a couple drips mind you, but more than I would expect with all new parts... There was a pin hole near the welds on the tabs. http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g156/subtlez28/M-spec/7AE81969-4032-4C89-A790-2207BFE88F11_zpsjcymasih.jpg After I quite sobbing, I tried epoxying it. However, not wanting to take 2 steps back, I tried to do it in place with out draining the coolant. That didn't work. The coolant made it's way through the epoxy and formed a new pin hole... twice! Today we drained the coolant, wire wheeled off the epoxy (Quick Steel) and re-did it without coolant. That seems to be holding. Wish me luck! Edited July 29, 2014 by subtlez28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I would suggest that you consider adding rubber spacers [on both sides of the tab] of the rad and the hard frame mount to prevent from structurally loading the thin aluminum shell of the rad. If you can find a spool type spacer that would even be a better fix. Dave W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 I would suggest that you consider adding rubber spacers [on both sides of the tab] of the rad and the hard frame mount to prevent from structurally loading the thin aluminum shell of the rad. If you can find a spool type spacer that would even be a better fix. Dave W I hear you. I do have foam behind the tab, but could add some under the bolt flange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihckb2 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The welding on the tab doesn't appear to be tig welding, could be one of the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 With the oil pan being the low point... I could not run over a 2x4 laid flat with my 23" race tires... Do you already have a low profile oil pan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Something else that will help the integrity of the radiator mounting tabs is to have them welded across the front of the tab, such as this: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=6888 Welding the tab across the front will help prevent minor flexing during vibration and thus greatly reduce the possibility of inviting unwanted pin holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Something else that will help the integrity of the radiator mounting tabs is to have them welded across the front of the tab, such as this: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=6888 Welding the tab across the front will help prevent minor flexing during vibration and thus greatly reduce the possibility of inviting unwanted pin holes. Well, I guess it is sort of epoxy welded now... It isn't like vibration caused my issue. The car has not run or moved yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Do you already have a low profile oil pan? I am running the LS3 Corvette pan, as directed by Brunton. I'm not comfortable with the fact it it s the lowest point. I already looked into dry sump pans, but at $2k minimum, that needs to wait. A friend of mine is a drag racer. He puts bars in front of oil pans on old muscle cars to take the bottoming out post wheel stand. He recommended I do the same. That might be the best route for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I am running the LS3 Corvette pan, as directed by Brunton. I'm not comfortable with the fact it it s the lowest point. I already looked into dry sump pans, but at $2k minimum, that needs to wait. A friend of mine is a drag racer. He puts bars in front of oil pans on old muscle cars to take the bottoming out post wheel stand. He recommended I do the same. That might be the best route for now. Another thought...I haven't checked the dimensions of the Flyin Miata Moroso LS pan, but it may be worth looking into... Or another route: a skid plate or sump guard. From [url=http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=73869#post73869][/url]http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=73869#post73869 http://usa7s.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=5002&stc=1&d=1367087363 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 I know how boring updates are without pics, but... I just had to share with anyone who cared: We made leaps and bounds in wiring today! I was able to spin the engine, and be sure I had oil pressure! All I need to do now is add fuel, check for leaks and (fingers crossed) it will be running! I promised two friends of mine that helped a ton, that they would be present for the initial fire! So, hopefully we can all get together in the next couple days. Waiting is killing me, but they really deserve to be here when it comes to life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Fire it up! . . . . Whose gonna know? :jester: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Fire it up! . . . . Whose gonna know? :jester: Lol, that's exactly what another car buddy (not one of the two primary helpers) said. I am so fired up! I cannot wait to go kart it! I still have not fully fit the hood or rear body work. But, hey, the scuttle fits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 IT LIVES!!!!! Just need to tie ups some electrical stuff, fit some body work, and get it aligned! Lets go racing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Congrats!!:hurray: Can't imagine the nervous excitement you must have felt. Such a delicious sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Way to go, subtle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 So, I had the car running... I somehow resisted the urge to street drive it... But Friday I trailered it to an empty lot and drove it a bit. What a thrill! I was very happy with everything, really. I loaded the car on the trailer under it's own power. The LS engine, T-56, LS7 clutch, and Speartech harness all did their jobs flawlessly. I do not have the rad fan wired yet, and only had the catch can zip tied in. The only issue I had was the catch can leaking a bit. Have to solve that by Saturday and get the hood on it. It is time to go racing!! The lot was freshly sealed, and I didn't want to get in to much trouble, so I took it easy. I still managed to get asked to leave. Damn Hot Rodders! It felt about like driving in the rain, traction wise. I cannot wait to hit the road course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Excellent! Congrats! Do you happen to have any finished pictures of your pedals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMike Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlez28 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Excellent! Congrats! Do you happen to have any finished pictures of your pedals? Thanks! I'll get you one. It is pretty tight in there. In fact, I drove in the video without a right shoe. I need to get some tight race shoes. You should be better off with your XL Congratulations! Thanks Mike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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