Next on the "to do" list is finishing the new trans crossmember.... I made one before but cut it up when we notched the frame to tuck the exhaust.....then box in and clean up the frame where we notched it out

Then I plan on mounting up my front Wilwood calipers.... They had to make and then re-do the mount to work with my caliper and spindle. They sent me the modified bracket a couple of months ago and I still don't even know if the changes corrected the situation... I sure hope it did

Then I'm grafting in a tail piece to use a Ridetech fuel filler neck.... Then probably cut more trans tunnel to clear the driveshaft... Then maybe the fuel and brake lines

love the intake. happy to see you making progress

Love the project, Bouchillion Performance Engineering has the deal on the Aluminum Gen 3 Hemi blocks.

very nice-keep up the good work

closed for the weekend

Really Ned?? No work since AUGUST??!! Come on dude.... I've aged a couple years watching this project grow mold...:woot:

Actually ALOT of work....just no pictures added...

I'll get some soon......

Okay here are some updates......

After cutting up the trans crossmember to tuck the exhaust up high and notching the rear frame crossmember to clear exhaust and the differential, I went back and cleaned it all up, boxed it in and made it look much better.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6686.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6687.jpg

Then it was time to mock up the remote coil mounts under the intake, so I mounted them all up on the bracket Precision Metalcraft made for me and ran the wires under the bracket to clean it all up.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6665.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6664.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6672.jpg

Nice!

Now we're talking Ned! You're turning into a regular fabricator!

:cheers:

In several of the pix you can also see the valve covers I picked up from Will. Tim Bruning originally made them for his E-ticket Challenger build, but then had some billet machined ones made...sold the originals to Will... then Will changed his plan to a Viper motor, so I bought them from him....

Then I stuck the Precision Metalcraft intake back on and started to mock up the air intake.
The TB is just a tad over 4 inch diameter, so I mocked up a 4 inch intake pipe and a 3.5 inch pipe..... My concern was if the hood was going to clear the bigger pipe....but both do..so I could use either one.... I rough cut them to get them to fit, but will get them dialed in to be centered between the engine pulley and radiator

4 inch pipe....
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6681.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6679.jpg

3.5 inch pipe.....
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6677.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6675.jpg

My plan is to route the pipe down, make a 90 and then parallel to the lower rad support, under the front of the frame and up into the passenger side wheelwell.... Obviously the bigger pipe is better for airflow.... but the 3.5 inch is going to be a little easier to get it where I want......

As for proportions and visual impact, the 4 inch looks better...... if I mount the 4 inch and then swap for the 3.5, it looks tiny.....

What do you guys think?

Rob and I built all the exhaust, got it tacked up and then plan was to have a real good "TIG man" do the final weld to make it all nice and pretty....

So once I got the crossmember stuff all dialed in, I took it to a local fab guy and had everything but the front V-band clamps final welded. Even before that, the front pipes to the headers were alittle "sprung" after everything was tacked together.... I had to kinda "squeeze" the pipes together to get the collector V-band clamps matched up...wasnt too crazy about having that tension there... so I orded up some flex couplers just in case...

After the joints were TIG welded, the "sprung" section was worse. I messed with ratchet straps to try and bend them in a little etc, which worked, but still wasnt happy. So I cut the front section off and added the flex couplers and its way better now...there is no tension between exhaust and headers at all.... This will also allow for some engine movement and heat expansion etc etc.......I dialed in the front V-band flange and header flange and took it all back to the TIG man to get that part final welded...should be done next week

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6683.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6682.jpg

Even before that, I had to cut some sections out of the floor to clear exhaust and v-band clamps and a tiny notch in the frame to get alittle more clearence from header to frame. So I closed up all that stuff....

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6655.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6654.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6657.jpg

Looks good man. I'd go with the 4" for the intake. Glad you were able to use the flex joints, a good idea anyway. Looks like Mr. Woodall did a nice job

Looks great Ned! I say the 4" as well. I love this build, can't wait to see more.

i think its about that time again. updates!!!

I'm sure Ned will be posting soon

Ned dropped off the car today @ our shop.. He has a small list of things he wants us to do for him to push the project into the next phase of work he wants to do himself..

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/...n/IMG_1837.jpg

Yeah -- but did he drop off a 100K check with the car?

:willy: :lol: :woot:

Yes I did.... But the check is post dated and Cris agreed that he wouldn't deposit it until 2025.... So we are all good to go :)


But in all seriousness..... Monet and I made the 6 hour haul down Monday.... Severe weather warning over the I5 grapevine overpass.... Great.... Luckily it only snowed alittle and we made it fine. It was alittle nerve racking towing in the snow and wondering if it was going to get worse once we got into it. It all worked out fine.... Now we just have to get back :)

Cris and I went over the car and my list...... Now his wheels are turning and I'm sure other ideas will start popping up. My goal is to work within my budget for this stage of the car and get as much stuff done there as my budget allows. Cris knows my checkbook has limits, so the goal is to get the most "bang for the buck"

Before heading back Tuesday, Cris and I will go over the car again after he had some time to process and brainstorm off my list, and then tie up the details.... Then we head back homeward and the ball is in his court

Now I just need to keep myself within my budget.....

we will stay tuned

Man, that was a lot of pages... but worth it!!!! Looks fantastic. Love the wheels/ stance. Killer. Great job.

You need to change the thread title to "...... now at JCG"


--Eric

Glad to see it's moving along Ned....

I'll have to get over there to see how it's coming when Rudy and I are down for the Grand National!

Ok before I start a Part III build thread, I figured I would do some updates of stuff I got done before I dropped it off at JCG.

First I adapted a RideTech/Coachworks camaro fuel filler neck to work with my tailpan. I used the tailpan section from a '68 Camaro and cut out the recessed section of the donor piece and cut out a matching section on my Cuda tailpan...then it was dialed in and fully welded.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7027.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7028.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7031.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7032.jpg

I removed all the original mounts for the stock license plate and am currently building an aluminum license plate holder that will be held on with magnets :) That way I can pop it on and off easily and have the tailpan look totally clean when I want to....and fill the car with gas.....

The Camaro piece works out pretty well, but it does have the slight offset point to the passenger side....it doesnt completely line up with the filler hole on the tank.....cutting the filler neck and aligning it with the tank inlet is on the "JCG to do list" :)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7034.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7033.jpg

Next on the agenda was to cut out a small section of the floor to allow me to drop the seats down about 1.5 inches. The Cuda floor has a "lump" near the door, the was an issue with all the seats I tried. They all just sat too high..... I'm 6'3" and my head was only about 2 inches from the roof....with no carpet or headliner....and the view out the windshield just didnt feel right....it was too high..... When Monet sat in the car one time when I was moving it around and she randomly said "are these the seats you are using? The sit really hight"...I knew it wasnt just me.....shes about 5'6" and I had never mentioned my concern......So out came the cut off wheel and welder :)

I removed the "bump" and was able to drop the seats down about 1.5 inches....much better... It just feel better sitting in the car...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6692.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6694.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_6695.jpg

Then it was time for the air intake tube....decided to go with the 4 inch and keep in clean and simple....down straight from the TB, parallel to the radiator base and under the frame and into the wheelwell. I mocked it all up and Rob tacked it together for me. I'll get a good TIG man to final weld it all up

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7227.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7229.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7230.jpg

You can just barely see the tube at the corner of the front valance....I'm going to black coat the tube going into the wheelwell, so you will never see it...the car is really low too, so it should disapper pretty good.

Then I mocked up the rear brakes... had to drill out the hat since the Moser studs have a small collar at the bottom that wouldnt allow the hat to sit flush with the axle flange.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7222.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7223.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7225.jpg

Mark at BentFab made me some frame passthrough for my fuel and brake lines... the car is really low and I didnt want to run my lines under the frame, so I used the original holes for the torsion bars and made some small block off plates.
Mounted up my fuel filter too..
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7214.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7213.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_7216.jpg

Cris thinks the 10 AN line is way overkill for my 600 HP N/A motor and dealing with making the huge SS hardlines will be more hassle than its worth..so we may step down to 1/2 inch and tweak this are alittle.

Well I think thats most of my updates.... the car is now in the passionate and capable hands of all the guys at JCG....

So once some progress is made there, I'll start a new post.... My Cuda Project Part III...now at JCG :)

On a side note.....before trailering the car down to Cris I added some LED lights to my car trailer. It only had the one tiny light right inside the door and it didnt offer much light. So I bought some LED lights off ebay for $25 each for string of 600 LED in 15 feet and wired them up Sunday....pretty easy too.

Low energy needs, no heat and easy to install.... one tiny power wire, one ground and 3M adhesive strips on the back....just roll them out and stick them on

Huge difference....you can actualy see in the trailer at night.... I highly recommend it. I may even add some more down low to be able to see under the car even better too.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...x/IMG_7253.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...x/IMG_7252.jpg

hope the pics helped. makes a huge difference

Can't wait to see more Ned. Looks great!

thats what we are hoping for

Dang, I was hoping you would opt for the multicolor LEDs.

Good stuff Ned :thumbsup:

I just take the LED "ice cycle" Xmas lights off the house and put 'em back in the trailer on the 1st.

I have a disco ball on order.....

Awesome idea on the license plate/magnet mod. I hate that damn spring loaded license plate mechanism.

Will the Camaro gas cap be better for not spilling gas when using the California style filler nozzles? I'm always spillin.

Finally time for some updates!!!

Cris has been super busy at JCG, so I've been patiently waiting my turn :)

First up was to complete the radiator close out panel to clean up the front upper valance-radiator area... the idea was to carry on the theme of the inner fenderwells that Tim built....
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_2032.jpg

I'm planning on running a 5 point belt, but dont want a full cage or a bunch of bars in the interior, so after checking out a bunch of 1st gen builds that have done it, Cris made a support plate to weld to the body that will allow me to run a bar behind the front seat.... removeable and no bars to smash your head on :)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...I/IMG_2033.jpg