Tim- Car is looking good!!

Very cool build!!:thumbsup:

just a brief update. i finished welding up the quarters today and i also finished up mounting the lower valance to the bumper. i just need to finish grinding the welds and work on the corners a little tomorrow and it should be done.

also, the tko is sold and i plan to purchase the magnum tomorrow. i need a bellhousing as well and since i have a credit with mcleod, i drove down there today to use it towards one of their 8710-00's. while there, i was told that they are redesigning the part and should have the new bell out in a couple months. it will only have the starter pocket on one side and therefore be a little easier to package.

so instead of buying a bell, i ended up swapping out my rst clutch for an rxt. my rst was the first version, and they were actually going to rebuild mine with all the new updated parts for free since its still brand new. after discussing the intentions for the car, they recommended the rxt hands down. with the clutch material of the rst, it has to be rebuilt if you glaze it. the rxt will actually fix itself after a little driving and is meant to take the extra abuse. they are actually in the process of adding a sprung hub to the rxt's, so i was told to bring it back before i installed it and they would update this one as well. i really couldnt believe the customer service and their desire to only have their best product on the road. things would have been slightly different if i was bringing them a used clutch though.

but, i still need a bell. the quicktimes are a little more expensive, but they are lighter and possibly a little smaller as well. im not sure which way im going to go yet.

Tim

well i wanted to be done with the bumper months ago, and i really thought i would finish it today, but nope. i got the corners finished up and that was about it. now the quarters are done (except a couple tacks underneath the lip that can be seen in the pics), but i need to finish grinding the welds on the bumper and i still need to fill the jack holes. then i have a few more welds to grind on the valance and it should be done. i will make sure a fit the bumper a couple times when blocking the car and make sure the fitment doesnt change very much. there are a couple areas that can be touched up a little. i will also decide how to make the exhaust exit at a later time.

i also took a couple pictures of the newest and final arm on the wipers and another of how it mounts under the fender. i made this arm almost twice as thick where the bearings mount, but the rest is the same. the extra thickness allowed me to retain one bearing with the snap ring, but the second is retained when it is all bolted together. this extra width improved stability at least another 50%. its friggin rock solid now. i still never figured out why the dse cam moves as much as it does, but i came up with my own geometry to work around it.

i also called up summit and ordered the quicktime bellhousing part #rm-8020. i had summit price match the best price which i found using the google shopping site. i friggin love them. it even beat summits pro shop price by 20 bucks.

here are a couple pics.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0799.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0804.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0808.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0809.jpg

Inspiring Build, keep up the great work! Also congrats on the TKO sale, The Magnum will be nice :cheers:

Very nice work on the bumper. That looks like stout set up on the wipers.

^^What Wayne said here. Looks great.
Keep up the great work Tim.:thumbsup:

thanks guys!

i finally got the bumper finished! this has been the most difficult project to date, and it will still need a lot of work when i get the car painted. i really wish i could have sucked the "wings" in a little more or extended the quarters as that would have helped with the illusion created by the depth difference. although the gap measures the same all the way across (+/- .010), the gap at the edges appear larger. its friggin killing me! but i think with color the issue will disappear. i debated actually making the sides smaller but the illusion changes depending on shadows. with the sun to the rear of the car everything actually looks as it measures.

i also got the quicktime bellhousing today. i was really suprised to see the block plate, or lack there of. the mcleod is a solid plate with about a 6" dia hole in the center. the quicktime is about a 1" perimeter strip and some more plate that covers the oil pan and thats it. i have a feeling they use the flywheel to keep material from going into the engine, but that doesnt really make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside :noway:. i'll call them tomorrow and see what they say. i saved 14lbs though. 27 vs 41. i have a feeling i'll more than make up for that with the larger magnum.

the radiator also shipped last week. mike at musclerodz is the man. i'll take some pics when it gets here.

im going to spend the next couple days cleaning up the trunk lid a little. the gaps need a little more work and the weather stripping channels need some work as well. then i have to pick up some doors and get the sheet metal all fit.

the new quicktime housing......

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0813.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0814.jpg

They make a nice looking bell housing.

so the radiator shipped out last week and showed up today. a huge thank you for mike at muscle rodz. he was great to work with and his prices are by far the cheapest ive found. for those that have followed, i stressed about the ron davis/prc decision for a long time. i was actually willing to pay the extra money (~$250) for the rd quality welding, but once i decided on an internal oil cooler the decision was made for me. prc was $85 extra and rd was about $800 extra. plus, prc would build whatever i needed for the same charge, and that included welding on the tabs on the side.

im actually really impressed with the welding. could it be nicer? yep. but id still give it an 8.5 out of 10 and considering the linear amount of welding, the quality is VERY good. its going to be a little while before i weld up the mounts for it, but its here and i can mark the purchase off my list.

i also rolled the car out for a few more finished pics of the rear. i now need to decide what im going to do for exhaust. it is set up to exit at the outer black oval, just not sure how im going to do it yet. i was hoping that the area would be flat, but that was wishful thinking. im kicking around some ideas, but i would love to hear some opinions.

oh, and just so you guys can see im not crazy. check out the last few inches of the bumper to quarter on the left side of the car. you can see how just a little is shaded, but that part appears like the gap is larger. the entire sides do that when they are completely shaded and its driving me friggin NUTS. put it in the light and it goes away..........

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0825.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0832.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0837.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0834.jpg

a question for the metal experts; i picked up my new door shells and am acutally impressed with the rear fit of the drivers side so far (still a lot to go). the gap is really consistent and the profile matches the quarter well. i was prepared to weld an 1/8th" round rod to the edge of the door to assist in working the gap, but found that i only need to take off a little in one area. so, would you prefer to weld a rod the entire length of the door, or just remove some material? doing so will likely split the skin, but i can either mig or tig it back closed and then file to fit.

which would you prefer?

i do have to weld a rod to the bottom. the gap is a little too wide (~.320), although very consistent since its within .015 front to back.

also, what do you guys do to build an edge up to get panels to flow better across the gap (height not width)? would you rather build with a weld bead of tacks, weld a rod or do the work with filler?

btw, there is a whole thread on this that i started, just looking for some more opinions.......

i finised working the rear gap of the drivers door today. i filed it down until it was perfect yesterday and then went back and welded it all up to make sure it wasnt going to split. today i filed the weld down until it was perfect again. it measures .190-200 all the way down. the quarter makes it hard to measure since it doesnt angle in 90* but i tried to do it as consistent as possible.

i am still pretty amazed at how well it all lined up. you can see in the second pic that the profile matches the quarter very well for having no work. its in about .015 right under the body line and also a little more at the bottom. i plan to work those areas when i get back to the car next week.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0896.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0891.jpg

Love the build! Keep it coming

so i now have both doors on and i have started working the drivers side fender. it lined up decent to start with, but no where close to where i wanted it. so far i have about 5 slices above the body line and about 5 more within the 3 inches below the body line. it still needs some adjusting, but the top half is getting closer. its a total pain in the ass since each small move can make a big change and since every slice requires the fender off, it takes time to get it back where it was.

i also wasted some time adjusting my slices based on how i sighted it. since the gap varies about .050 now, making it sight right and making it follow a straight edge across the gap were two different things. since the gap will eventually get fixed, i had to go back and redo it. still not done, but much closer than when i started.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0916.jpg

i finished roughing in the door last week and got the hood on earlier this week. i'll finish working the door gap once everything is squared up for good. every small movement changes it just a little, so it would be a complete waste to try to do any more now.

im still struggling with the hood though. im shooting for about .180-.190 gaps and had to make some more adjustments to the tops of the doors and fenders to spread them out just a little and widen the gaps some (another reason im not touching the door gaps till its done). even though i tried to measure and set them correctly when the hood was off, i knew this would happen.

the biggest issue i had was that the passenger side of the hood and the fenders contour were off. by about 3/8"! the front and rear were flush, but the hood sat too high in the middle. i tried bracing it at the front and rear and applying some pressure, but it was going no where. since i dont have my original fenders, and because i cant remember 8 years back to whether they fit this way or not, i had to come up with a plan. i planned to make slices all the way down the inner structure of the hood, but realized that this would take some work to metal finish.

so, instead of butchering the hood, i drilled out 12 of the 14 spot welds that hold the outer fender skin to the inner. i left the front and rear spot welds alone and raised the middle the 3/8 that was needed. i plug welded the holes back up and just need to grind down the welds. its about .020 off in height at the worst spot, but i plan on skimming the gaps anyways, so i figure this is well within spec. i also noticed that when i was done moving the outer skin, a couple reference points now match the drivers side fender. hard to explain, so i'll post up some pics later to explain.

the next step will be to sand off the old paint and the ecoat and start working the width of the gaps. i was surprised at how consitent they are now though. +/- .010 is about what im starting with. i'll see if they get any worse when the old paint is gone.

here are a few pics.

this is the first of the hood after i corrected the high spot. the camera makes the hood look high, but its the angle. it sat about .375" high at the grey spot on the hood.
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0990.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0983.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0995.jpg

Nice work. I can appreciate how long that takes to align and gap everything.:thumbsup:

i knew it was going to be a long project, but its INSANE how long it actually takes.....

It takes a long time, but that will make all the difference in the finnished car. Excelent work.

Keep up the great work Tim.

a real short update. i got all the paint off the edges of the hood and fenders today. the hood still had the original green underneath with two red paint jobs on top. so, i ended up moving the fenders in another .030 per side once all the paint was gone. the gap looks really straight though, and i plan to work it a little tomorrow.

i also spent some friggin cash last week. i got my switches from watson street works, picked up all my sound deadening from second skin and purchased the tremec magnum. everything should start trickling in this week. ill post up some pics when i get them.

Wow, you are doing a killer job man.:thumbsup: Went to the magnum A?

Tim looking great!!
Damn wish I had seen you had that TKO600 for sale:_paranoid I need a tranny..lol

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_0837.jpg

What is this port for and where does it connect on the motor? I have a smiliar radiator and don't know where to hook it up.

What are the other two ports for? Oil cooler?

If its anything like the beecool modules, that port is for the fan relay temperature probe. But someone familiar with a ron davis rad should confirm for you.

Awesome job.Amazing work you are doing.:thumbsup: Scott

Just went through the entire thread, amazing work for doing it yourself in your own garage. :thumbsup:

thanks for the comments guys. i got one side of the hood done and am about 80% done with the other side.

its for the steam port. i didnt do enough reading before i set this up, but it appears that some guys have a way around running the line from the head to the radiator. id have to find the info, but i think they are tying it into the water pump. if thats the case, i'll just plug it.

the other two are for the internal oil cooler with -10 fittings.

yeah, and i blame you and dave :thumbsup:. by the time i spent the money sending it to liberty i was in magnum territory. i just wish tremec would have had it 3 years ago when i got the tko. i was looking at a modded t56 at the time and those were BUCKS.

im not too worried about fit since my tunnel should be large enough, but im going to have to come up with a new mount on a freshly painted frame.

Ha, you're welcome, Tim. :D

Seriously, I think you made a good choice. I think it's a no brainer right now for those who are purpose building for any kind of moderate or serious tracking to go with either the Magnum or be an early RS600 guinea pig.

I'm really anxious to see you out on a track when this is done.

i think the magnum still takes the cake. its a close ratio 5 speed with a useable 6th gear for freeway crusing. on the tko, the .82 would be spinning a little too high, and the 1 to .64 is a pretty big gap.

ha, im not :_paranoid . im going to have a TON of driving to do to get comfortable with the power, braking and even the manual trans in this car. its pretty embarassing to say, but ive never had a dd manual car. drove a few and got used to it, but im not really good yet.

I would agree. The .68 of the RS600 is a decent trade off, but if you have the room for the T56 as your tunnel should, good call.

Ah, one thing I learned recently is don't sell yourself too short til you get out there. You might surprise yourself. :thumbsup:

You're reminding me how much I miss a manual DD!

its here!!! i pulled the motor, bolted it up and stabbed it all back in as a unit tonight. i have lots or room still left, so im pretty happy. i knew i would have to change up the mount from the tko, but the ideas that i had hoped would work, wont work. im going to try and borrow a tubing bender and see about making another crossmember. if that doesnt work, i'll cut 4 sides out of some 1/8" flat plate and make something else. i really wish i had a friggin waterjet!!!!

the shifter also threw me for a loop. its acutally clocked/tilted about 5-10* towards the driver. i thought the tranny was sitting a little sideways somehow, but the mount and motor are flat.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1020.jpg
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1019.jpg

Widow, the half-cocked shifter threw me for a loop too when I mocked mine up as well. I thought something was wrong. I then called Tremec and they said that was the way it was designed. But, before the call, I was stressing, checking all the measurements thinking something had to be wrong. Lol!!!:lol:

i found the info on here shortly after posting. they should put a friggin sticker on it that says something like "hey dumb ass, we know".

i finally got the new trans crossmember finished. i literally spent 10 hours making the damn thing and i have another 5 pieces that didnt quite work. when i made the first, i made the cross, mounted the tabs to it, positioned it, and then tacked it in place. since the front tab was still there, i had to make these pieces fit that tab. much more difficult!

my original idea was to use 100% of the existing tab and not have to weld to the painted frame. but, the magnum positions the mount about 4" back from where the tko was. i wasnt really comfortable building that much angle into the mount. so i had a decision to make. i could either cut off the old tab and weld in a new one, or i leave the original and weld on a much smaller tab to the rear. the first option would have messed up 4" of paint where the old tab was once it was ground off, and it would mess up 4" of paint where i would weld the new one on. the second option only messed up 1 1/4" of paint and won for that reason.

unfortunately i knew going in that the exhaust would have to be reworked slightly. the front section is 3" tubing, but the flex joint is over 4" and is in the way. i was actually surprised that it clears when mounted back up, but i literally have 1/8th. i have to cut the flex out and reweld it back in about 3" forward.

here are some pics.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1052.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1055.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1058.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1060.jpg

Nice, congrats on the tranny... Sounds like a great combo.

very nice progress
I like the cross member that thing looks good.
what clucth are you going to run?

Nice progress Tim.:thumbsup: Keep us posted.

i swapped out my mcleod rst for an rxt a few months back. should stand up to my driving a little better.

i went to opg and picked up the other door today that had been backordered. got it installed and im pretty happy with the fit. not perfect, but good. im going to finish working the hood and then come back and worry about the gaps.