MI have thought about keeping it satin as well although it's hard to take care of and I'm not sure how to blend or match satin to fix a couple scratches and a door ding. The sheen of this epoxy is highly affected by temp, amount of reducer, and gun settings. I surprisingly get a lot of compliments on it though. Many people have suggested not painting it. Since I can't decide what to do its stayed like this all summer.

The bugs I've been chasing down are just part of the process I guess. Although building an entire car from the ground up I figured my research and new parts would be acceptable. I can say there's a few outstanding vendors, a few so-so, and a few I won't deal with
again.

Detroit Speed, Summit, Wilwood, Matts Classic Bowties, Dakota Digital have been great in terms of service and quality parts. I also want to point out Formula43 has been amazing to work with. They helped me resolve some issues with a different brand set of wheels and built me a new set and delivered ahead of schedule and with great lateral and radial runout.

OER, Painless, Vintage Air, and AMD have been so-so. Some OER parts look great and fit well and others aren't close. PUI/OER seals and trim fit terribly. I haven't found good fitting seals or door strikers yet. The AMD hood was wavy and the front latch holes are drilled too far back by 1/2". The front upper valance and cowl boxes took some work as well. The VintageAir system is nice but mine came shipped with the wrong air handler outlet to fit the dash hoses. The quality of the mounting brackets is suspect as well. They are very thin and the paint falls off. The Painless harness kit would be great if all the wire colors and connections actually matched the instructions. I tested continuity on every wire tracing things out but that's wasn't enough when I later found the alternator idiot light wire was factory spliced into an ignition wire. I bought a fast ratio steering box from AI-Cardone to get by until a DSE 600 box is available. The threads were so sloppy the bolts pulled right through. I got a replacement and it only had power assist one direction. I bought and AGR box and it only had assist the opposite direction. I ended up getting a box from autozone that I'm running now. It has power assist both directions although the center is sloppy. Hoping DSE ships more 600 boxes soon.

I'm working through some minor American Powertrain issues right now. After consulting with them and ordering a complete kit for just shy of 6k so far it's been hit and miss on which parts will work. Granted I have a bit of a unique setup as I explained to them with half height body mounts and welded in DSE like x-member. The parts are nice quality but the shifter stick is very tall, bent to the left (even though the trans is rotated that way 5 deg) and almost touching my steering wheel. The clutch master cylinder bracket leaves a huge open hole for water to get in where the old factory rod and boot passed through. Because of the factory hole and the bracket design there's also not much metal to get a bolt through. One clean hole and another right on the edge of the original hole. The rest of the support is by the pinching of the firewall between the two plates of the bracket. Again the bracket is nice quality just like the APT crossmember but the bracket doesn't overcome the factory firewall limitations like the Keisler or MSP brackets do.

I only mention the challenges so others have a heads up on things to consider before investing time and hard earned money.

I built a new crossmember for the 6 speed and had to modify the car a bit as well. My original plan was to run some tubing or flat bar with some ribs across the two legs I had shooting straight down from the crossmember. I figured it's better having the fasteners in shear rather than tension so I cut the caps off the 2x3 crossmember and welded in 1/2" plugs. My original design would have been less work but I'm glad I put the time in now that it's done. The .010 ridge on the edge of the plugs was to locate it with .125 exposed for welding all around the perimeter.

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...364EF566FE.jpg

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...DB72CD18C4.jpg

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...24D1501736.jpg

I got -.010 TIR on the transmission input shaft bearing race so I decided to get some .007 offset dowels. It will take me .002 the opposite way but I feel better with .002 rather than .005 offset since that's the max allowed.

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...EAF77F1AF8.jpg

I got .0025 TIR after putting the moroso offset dowls in. I'm very happy with that.

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...59635869D3.jpg

Nice work! That's exactly what I need to do to my car, I'm just dreading and procrastinating in taking it apart. Any plans in coming down to Los Angeles? ha ha

Hey Brendon, After talking to you I'm glad I took the time to dial in the bell housing just to make sure there's no question.

The transmission is in and the mount looks like it will work out.

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/...08D0C36C01.jpg

Nice job on the cross member.

Thanks Wayne.

Test drive was a success. No drivetrain vibrations and shifts smooth. Now on to buttoning up the transmission tunnel and a few other updates. Swapping the 3.25 gears for 3.89's now that the close ratio Magnum is in.

Very Nice Build!! Very Nice!!! I like to see home built cars, it lets me at least think I have a chance on working on my own car, instead of pain someone. Your skills and thought processes are impressive. I like the way you approached everything while working on your ride. I was at a standstill on how to approach certain things on my car, Qtr panels, outer wheel wells, Roof, and Truck. If I follow your process, I can finish the rear of the car. I was not sure how to tackle the cowls with sealant. You showed me when and how. I want to thank you for documenting every step of your build. You have helped me in more ways than you can think. Thank You!!!