Also, I suggest making a template of the new tub on some poster board. The rear curve, DSE, does not give you the instructions as to what to do there. If you make a template off the new tub, then transfer that to your pan, you'll have the correct line to cut on

A few more shots of the progress I have been making.

Started setting up the rear suspension only to find 2 of the 4 u-bolts I ordered were the wrong size. I have since pulled the rearend back out of the car also.

I started to rebuild the posi with new carbon fiber clutches and 400# springs. When I pulled the springs out I noticed they were considerably smaller than the original springs. I grabbed the boxes for the clutch pack kit and spring kit and ran the #'s online. I found out Jeg's, who I purchased the parts from, sent me, not only the wrong springs, but the wrong clutches. I now have to pull it all back apart and send them back. I did debur the posi carrier and clean it up real well. I also installed the new 3.73 Motive ring gear.

I halfa$$ sandblasted the original subframe to my car. I welded the seams up on it and began test fitting the ATS coilover brackets. I screwed the threads up on one of the lower arms cleaning out the powder coat. I had to call Speedtech to order the double shear brackets for the lower control arms. I'm waiting on those to arrive. I also found out my Ridetech coilovers hit the bracket, so I have to order new upper spring cups that will clear the brackets.

I pulled a muscle in my neck, so no progress over the holiday weekend. I'm just now started to get full movement out of my neck again. Sucks getting older

good updates about your project. keep doing it man and in the end you are the one will see through all your hardwork.




http://www.niceledlights.com

Nice job on the tubs and write up. You are going to have a nice car to enjoy when finished.

Thanks guys...I hope all my hard work pays off with a nice car.

I am beginning to become seriously burnout on my car. I began early last year to make a push in getting this done. My original timeline, set last year, has not panned out. My timeline had this car done by now. I have suffered from many set backs due to mistakes made by suppliers and waiting on others to perform their job which always took WAY longer than they originally quoted me. I am running out of time to have to devote to this car. I do not see myself having the time to finish this anymore. Things in my life have changed and take precedent to the build of this car. I, at this point, am ready to sell it. I'll continue to finish up the mock up and fabrication of this car's setup. However, I expect to be putting this thing on the market in the coming weeks, unfortunately. I could set it aside for a future time when I have time again, but I do not foresee that being within the next few years. I'd rather move on from this and concentrate on my schooling, work and most of all family. I, intend, in the future to get back in the game, but this time around, I'm gonna have to bow out.

Well that sucks, sometimes you have to just walk away for a while and then come back to it. I have had mine for 10 years now, at first I bought it to flip, then I was just going to sell it. I tried to sell it and trade it a few times, but in the end I would just move out of my shop and put it in storage and then when I would feel like the time was right I would pull it out and start to work on it. I have done that 4 times over the last 10 years. Just food for thought, you have some nice parts and lots of time already in your ride, but you are going to lose half of what you've got in thows parts or maybe more. Try walking away for a few weeks, or a months or two and see if you have the desire to get back on it. At the very least get it a roller and then try to sell it you will get way more for it! :thumbsup: Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

Oh and DO NOT put a time line on it unless you are a shop and that is what a customer wants. Everytime you miss that completion date you will get more upset! I go some months with out touching mine and then I hit it hard for weeks or months at time.

I understand what you are saying, however that is not the case with my car. I have owned this for over 12 years now. I have stepped away from it from time to time throughout the 10 years I have been restoring it. I am getting burned out on it, but not enough to quit. The reason for my post is my time is about to have to be completely devoted in another direction for the next few years. I do not intend to keep it just sitting in the garage again for several years. I'd rather sell this car to someone who can finish and enjoy it as I had planned. I will have the car driving before I let it go, so it won't be a pile of boxes. It's unfortunate I have to make this decision, but its the better decision for myself and family at this time.

Sorry to hear you are selling the car ... but you gotta do what is best for you and your family :hail:
I understand cuz I raised my boys and then they went off to college and then I started on the my car.

Thanks guys...I really hate to let this go and am still not completely convinced to do so, but time is becoming a priceless commodity to me. I'll see what things will be like in the coming weeks for me and the project. With all that said, it's more than likely going on the market:(

Please whatever you do, don't rush to a decision. How many guys have let a car go, thinking it was the right thing to do, only to regret it. I would hate to see that happen to you.

Best of luck my friend...whichever direction you go.

:captain:

My tool and die friend finally finished the pieces for my rotisserie that he and I collaborated on. It is my design with his tweaks. It uses a worm gear to rotate the body when attached. I incorporated trailer spindles and tapered bearings. My friend machined the round stock for me to accept the bearings and helped me to get the worm gear setup to work within my design. The chamfered areas are to allow for better weld penetration and also to allow room for the piece to fit over weld beads. Once I have the rotisserie done and post finished pics of it, it will make more sense

That looks like it will be awesome.

Do you have any dimensions and such for that?
I know of a machinist that would probably like to see that. He's helped me out on a few projects and I even get to sleep with his sister all the time.:yes:

Please be sure that selling the car is absolutely the right choice for you. Of course, I am biased... I have had mine since I was 17 in '89.
Last time I drove it much was in '97 except for once on my birthday in 2004. I know it will be worthwhile when I drive it again Someday soon.:cheers:

I know that feeling. I'm still living it myself. I wanted my TA on the road before I moved away to, originally, Colorado. That was July 2010. I missed it by a small amount. The car is still sitting back in Georgia and i have no idea when I'll be able to bring it out to where I am. I'm in Kansas now and am trying to get back to Colorado. As much as I hate seeing and knowing it's sitting, that's easier than me having it out here with me and having to move it each time I move. So I try to be patient and save my money. Admittedly, I live vicariously through people on this board. I get ideas from their builds and I learn what I can so that I can apply it all to my car when the time comes. All the while though, my car is for sale also. If someone comes along and buys it, fine. If not, fine. I have other priorities to devote my time to and can't change that without making what I believe would be a mistake. Maybe take a similar approach to what I have done. Put it up for sale and see if anyone wants it. If you don't need the space it occupies, let it be. Just be sure to put it in a state that it won't deteriorate too much. Maybe one day you'll get back to it and finally finish. Patience and perseverance.

Good luck.

Thanks guys...Time will tell. I won't let this car sit idle for a number of years as I have done before. I've owned this car for quite a few years now. If I let it go, I can always buy another. It's not the only car on the planet:)

I'm off to purchase a new refrigerator thanks to the heavy thunderstorm we had here last Monday. Any ideas on how to prevent this from happening again? Maybe I need to invent a circuit breaker with a built in surge protector!

One more step closer

Your selling and reinventing a roto at the same time. :willy:

I'm bipolar:cool:

I ordered new carbon fiber clutches and spring pack from Eaton through Jegs to rebuild my Eaton posi. I specifically asked for the 18 pack clutch set. I had to send back the first order they sent to me. This time, I did get the right spring kit, but they still sent me a 14 pack clutch set. I'm tired of this. Will this clutch set work? I'm about to go bipolar on Jeg's:lolhit:

I got out today and did some work on the car. Another frustrating day:rolleyes:

I was wondering if anyone has had the problem of sliding a new yoke onto a new pinion. I can barely get my Moser yoke to slide onto my Motive pinion. Any tips to get this to slide on more so I can install the washer and nut to pull it on further? Trying to set the pinion preload and get the rearend setup.

What's wrong with this picture? Look at the lower attachment of the coil-over. These are the 3.6" stroke coil-overs from Ridetech with 8" springs. I believe I'm going to have to go with longer coil-overs with 10" springs. Any ill-effects having the 4.1" stroke coil-over on the front? Also, is there any problem with shimming out the steering arm around 1/4"? I'm having interference with the Truturn at the wheel.

Are you using Ride Tech lower control arms also? I would think that if you bought all the components from them or a vender then you should have the correct shocks? I would call them and see what they say, but yes you seem to have an issues with the shock being to short.

No, I'm not running Ridetech's control arms. Ridetech didn't seem to be hugely familiar with the ATS/Chicane brackets, which allows for a coil-over with more stroke. I'll have to call Speedtech tomorrow, I suppose, to hopefully get an answer. When I spoke with them in the past, they didn't seem hugely familiar with this particular setup either. They didn't design my front setup and I don't know how much experience they have with it.

Why not just build a higher lower mounting point on the control arm? I'd do a temporary one and make sure you have the desired travel. Is 3.6" enough stroke?

I have thought of that, but the amount of fabrication to execute that is more than I am willing to do at this point. I did speak with Speedtech today and was able to get more info than I did before. They spec'd the same size coilover that I have on the rear with the AirBar, which is 5.2 stroke, but with 10" springs. That would be the easier solution to this small hiccup, it seems

I have emailed James of the OLC Camaro and Tyler, the originator of the ATS/Chicane bracket setup and both have confirmed to me the 5.2" stroke coil-over with 10" springs is what the system was designed to run. I got a rough measurement of front suspension travel in the neighborhood of 7", so the 5.2" stroke shock will definitely work. Now I just gotta convince Ridetech that is what I need and the system was designed to run.

I had some problems in setting up my rearend and finally realized why I was having so much problems. The Moser yoke I am trying to run is out of spec. I spoke to Moser and was told that the yokes are put through a heat treating process after they are machined and sometimes get out of spec from the heat treat. I sent it back to Moser to get them to broach it for me. Hopefully, I will get it back and all will be good to go. I am so ready to finish up this suspension so I can get the body ready for paint.

I'm doing my best to hang on to this car. I really don't want to let it go after working on it for so long and have so much time into it. I really want to see the fruits of my labor. Time is not on my side, but I'm trying to tough this out.

Hang in there. You aren't the only one struggling and you are farther along than most.
I have more parts than time right now, and no money for remaining items at this time.

Lately I have considered changing the name of my project from "Someday" to "Setback"!

I moved just 9 months ago and just last weekend moved back... Once listed my house "sold" in 8 days but then the appraisal killed the deal coming in way under sale price due to all the foreclosure/short sell stuff on the market.

I will say organizing the garage is pretty easy since I have a fresh memory of how it was.:thumbsup:

You'll get there.:cheers:

Fortunately I can say that I have nearly all the parts I need. One area I haven't given much focus on and will have to be a work in progress is the interior. I did change directions on my gauge setup and ordered and received the new Dakota Digital VHX gauges the other day. I can't wait to see those in action. I love all the options these gauges have. New Vintage has a better looking version of this style setup, but they lack all the options the VHX gauge set has, so I went with those. I just wish they were a little more retro looking.

I'm on the downhill slide and in the coming weeks I should be able to show major progress on my build. It's been stalled lately with all the changes I have made and all the snags I have kept hitting. I definitely have lived, first hand, the 'nothing fits' experience.

I got to see those gauges in person at CARCRAFT St Paul last Saturday. I was really drooling, lemmee tell ya.

Can you highlight some things they offer NV USA does not with their 3 in 1 sets? Without getting too muddy? I am curious what pushed you to the decision. When I talked to NV it sounded like the sky was the limit... if you pay enough.

The VHX gauge set has the optional BIM add-on modules. They add to the original cost of the VHX gauges, but can be added at later times. The VHX set has dual digital displays, so allow for more things to be displayed as well as 2 trip meters. You can set one trip meter for oil changes to remind you when to change your oil. It has a 0-60 timer, 1/4 mile eta and mph as well as RPM recall and MPH recall. The cluster is wired with a single CAT5 cable coming from a seperate box where all the main wiring is done allowing you to remotely mount the box removing a bulk of wiring from behind the dash. They give you digital display of all readings as well as analog. They have warning lights and you can install a shift light. You can also setup different warnings especially if you add any of the BIM modules. One of the BIM modules that I purchased allows you to add 4 more temperature readings. I'll add one for the trans and oil temp. I'll also add a rearend temp later to it. You can also add another module to give you a compass reading as well as a temperature reading inside the car or outside. There are several more BIM modules that do different functions. It can also display what gear your in for automatic trans cars. They are awesome gauges, I am just not overly smitten with the display appearance options.

I concur with your last statement 100%

I think the font could be better... bolder or something. I like that NVU has a variety of looks, and if you want to go custom for about $200 more the imagination can run wild.

That said, I really like the features now that I hear your testimonial and took the time to look at their site more. I didn't really grasp the scope the first time as I was mostly browsing for appearance.

I definitely want to do a pair of 3 in 1's but I am not sure yet what they will be or when that might happen. Thank you for the info. Did you announce what color scheme you went with? I might have missed it. For my ride it would likely be blue with silver face but I admit I would prefer the red lighting especially at night. I had an '08 Pontiac Grand Prix and an '82 280-ZX that both had red cockpits and it is hard to beat and easy on night vision.

I never mentioned the color scheme I went with. I decided on the carbon fiber setup with red. I chose the red for the reasons you mentioned. The blue is just too harsh on your eyes at night. I like the red layout much better. After owning a 2001 WS6 TransAm, the red, to me, is the only way to go.

I really like the gauge layout with this style setup. It allows you to continue the use of the original gauge carrier keeping a stock appearance. My interior scheme will be retro, so this will fit better in there. My car is an original console gauge car with factory tach, but those gauges just wouldn't work with the electronic transmission, at least not without spending more money. I built a custom console that is reminiscent to the original console and I was going to utilize aftermarket gauges in the console as the original was. Now, I can't do that with this gauge setup, so I may make use of that area for a double din stereo headunit with GPS. As of right now, I will probably just make it a pocket for storage.

Mine has original console with an early 4 pod aftermarket insert in front of the shifter. Mine is straight and not angled toward the driver. My tach is on the column and just have OE Speedo and fuel in the cluster.
I would either do a full aftermarket gauge layout or a pair of 3 in 1's in the cluster and it is pretty obvious which is a cleaner look. I really haven't compared overall costs.

I'd like to see or try the blue at night before I decided, and I see they have a dimmer option that might dull the effect.

To get a nice set of aftermarket gauges, you will spend quite a bit more than what the cost of the Dakota Digital VHX setup costs. I weighed both options and chose this setup for all the reasons I have mentioned before. I even had an AutoMeter gauge setup prior to purchasing the VHX and decided I did not want gauges scattered all over my dash like a race car. Everything is integrated within the VHX, so it, to me, provides a cleaner, simpler look.

As I wait for Moser to fix the yoke they sold me and for Ridetech to swap out my front coil-overs, I got a little more work done on the rotisserie. I, now, need to find someone that can cut an 8" hole, 7 1/2" hole, 6" hole and a 5 1/2" hole from 1/4" plate. Also make a few gussets and brackets to mount the pneumatic ram jacks.

Finally got to drop my motor into the car and found some fitment issues. I purchased Dynatech headers and was told that the one's I am buying WILL fit with the DSE steering box. Well, no can do. Doesn't fit:mad:

Also, I received my Moser yoke back from Moser yesterday and it still doesn't fit. It fits just like it did before they were suppose to broach it for me. I'm at a loss as to what to do with this rearend.

NOTHING FITS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought Dynatech was supposed to be the go to?

Sorry to hear about the frustrations. :(

It seems to me that there was a run of Dynatechs where something changed. I might have read it on Team Camaro? If you still have the boxes I would call with part numbers and lot numbers in hand and ask them what is up. I might have heard that Dynatech is now owned by Speedway, perhaps you will have some good luck. It seems you should be due for some right?

I would be chewing hard on Mosers' @$$. Stand firm, make them make it right at no cost to you. :mad:

I'm supposed to have the revised headers. I just checked my purchase and they were bought on 12/15/2011. I called their tech, but only got voicemail. I left a message, so I'm waiting to hear back from them. As for Moser, I'm kinda in a pickle here. This yoke was purchased through Jegs in 2004. I can't get anyone at Jegs to dig that far back to find the purchase. Moser won't take it back because it has sat on a shelf for several years and obtained a patina, so it does not look new anymore. I'm dreading calling them. I am quite angry about all this. I dented my freshly smoothed firewall while installing the motor last night to top it all off. What I get for trying to restore a car in a closet. I am almost to the point of moving it over to the double garage and kick my animals out. I'm tired of cleaning up their shed hair all over the garage anyway.

My thread has turned into a 'rantfest' it seems. I sure am due some good luck, but don't see that happening anytime soon. I have taken off for the next 3 weeks. This is do-or-die for this car. If I don't major progress on it within that time frame, its hasta la vista baby.

So what are your goals for the 3 weeks? If you are giving yourself an ultimatum you might consider setting a benchmark even if it is something you don't share publicly.

I have gotten a bit too accustomed to not making my goals with mine and while I don't like it I do believe I named my project accordingly... although "Setback" has a nice ring to it too.:lol:

As I read what you wrote about the age of the yoke I remembered the story. While it would mean more out of pocket for you do you have any "Clutch and U-Joint", "Proven Force" or other drivetrain/differential specialists in your area?

Alot of us love our cars so much it is tough to enlist help like that sometimes preferring to use race shops and such. That said, machined tolerances and setup are not that different from high horsepower race/touring than they are from heavy duty/ over the road abuse plus some of those guys share our passions outside of work.

Just thinking outside the box, but what you seem to be struggling with is all in a days work for some shops and it would be one mountain reduced to a molehill and out of your path.

Please keep us up to date on the Dynatech saga too.

I wish you the best over the next few weeks.:cheers: