Thanks for the pictures. It looks like there's room for it to go there.
Thanks again.

A/C and Fuel Stuff
 

The last two evap. mock up tubes are over at the tube shop.

https://i.imgur.com/pBzYdQgl.jpg

I checked the fit and except for a couple of small interferences, it all looks pretty good. With it tightened on the bench, I can remove the bulkhead and put it all in the car pretty easily.

https://i.imgur.com/EZuX1Yil.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dQV5thFl.jpg

I keep using my bicycle holder for various tasks. At first I thought it wasn’t a good idea, but for odd shaped things it really helps so I am going to keep using it.

https://i.imgur.com/sO6agpFl.jpg

I put the Vintage air conversion kit on the control panel. This was an easy job you can do at the kitchen counter while watching TV.

https://i.imgur.com/kCa1Sdvl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SdjMNdcl.jpg

I started plugging in wires to figure out where I will route all this stuff. The answer is I don’t know yet.

https://i.imgur.com/SjOKfgMl.jpg

Moving on to the fuel system, all the little bits and pieces came in. I figured I could find a 37 degree flaring tool locally but I was wrong. I should have ordered it online. I pieced all the fittings together and again started thinking about where all the wires are going to route. I also put the first piece of Tech AFX fuel hose together and I really like the quality of their product. There will be a short section of hose between the tank and ½ stainless fuel line.

https://i.imgur.com/vyXMX6hl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/04mx1I0l.jpg

For all the wires, I am thinking about putting a small auxiliary fuse box in the trunk, in addition to the GM EFI harness in the RF engine compartment. I have several areas I need to pass harnesses through the body. I haven’t decided if I want to use just a simple grommet, or spring for nice MS style circular connectors. I have a lot to think about.

Some things showed up
 

The UPS guys came by every day this week. It was a little like Christmas in July.

https://i.imgur.com/kRKxfj6l.jpg

These are all things needed to work on all the vents, fuel lines and wiring planning. You forget on these projects how many new things are being added. The original car was so simple by comparison!

EVERY DAY ! you must have been a really good boy! I'm jealous......
Some sweet parts there..

Well it's not a beautifully restored MCC body shell with a sweet LSA but it's a start. :D Those little pieces do add up fast, or maybe I should say FAST.

They sure do add up FAST!, and these will be sweet to watch going together.

A/C Vents Installation
 

I pulled the A/C condenser unit back out after final fitting all the hard tubes. All I need to do on installation is just insulate them and they are ready to go. I bought a couple of crowfoot wrenches to make the removal/install easier. It is a piece of cake with the right tool!!

https://i.imgur.com/WlWtZL7l.jpg

I always liked the original vents that came in the 67/68 Camaros with optional A/C. Spent quite a bit of time laying out the holes and getting the bezels to fit this weekend. I couldn’t find a decent paper template online. Even the Vintage Air template was pretty unusable. So, I made one out of thin galvanized and just reversed it on the opposite side. This took surprisingly more time than I thought it would because I didn’t want to screw up the cut. Because of the odd angles it takes a while to “sneak” up on the right size. If I had a small air saw it would have gone much faster.
Here are a few photos of the process.

https://i.imgur.com/RydKO3Pl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ed5MUY2l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cJZR2Njl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uLg5mRZl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/v3N8BUBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/g5WqUtJl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OFwqTEFl.jpg


I also cut out the opening for the center vent. I like the looks of the optional 67 center vent. It goes well with the stock dash. Everything is just loose so it looks a little off in the photo.

https://i.imgur.com/vt8KED2l.jpg

There is nothing holding the little round vent in place without the factory ducting. I am going to decide whether to buy and try the factory duct, or fabricate one of my own.

I also spent a little time mocking up the radiator but didn’t get too far.

https://i.imgur.com/SnSLFnfl.jpg

Looking great :thumbsup:

VA install ?
 

Been following your VA install and like your fab skills. Question ... you fab'd up the hard line to your vertical bulkhead instead of having the connections coming out of the heater hole, right?

Could you use VA's EZ-Clips and hose instead of hard lines under the dash? Do they make the -6 and -10 hoses to match their connections?

Just thinking that would save a lot of time with fab work ... just measure and cut em, right?

Great job with the car .... keep the updates coming!

Michael

nice work on th VA bulkhead fittings. need to fab some up for my buick.

Is that a fuel pressure gauge connected to the fuel pump? why do you have it there? Didn't want to install a gauge in the engine bay?

Hey Michael,

There are so many ways to do this. The VA kit comes with tubes that will go out the heater hole. They are in a diamond pattern and would not work on the vertical bulkhead which I wanted. I think a lot of guys use hose assemblies. Some go through the old blower hole to keep away from tight bends. If you use the VA Gen IV, the heater lines are really close to the firewall and since I set the bulkhead in a little, I just thought it would be too hard to make the tight bends with hoses that are a little fatter. I also shoved the evap. unit as far forward to save as much of my glove box as possible. Everything is really crammed in there!! So look into that. Whether you use EZ-Clip or some other hose system, I think you will need a low profile 90deg fitting to use the bulkhead with hose. The EZ-Clip hose ends have two O-rings and the fittings seem pretty long. For tight spaces there may be better options. Hope that helps!

Scott

Center AC Vent Duct Adapter
 

I didn't work on the car last weekend because I was camping and MTB riding in Northern AZ. I have been playing in OnShape to design a duct that will work with the stock 67 Center AC vent.

https://i.imgur.com/bux25Wql.jpg

It may not work out but the plan is to make something that can be 3-D printed and replace the bulky and expensive factory part below.

https://i.imgur.com/F8OxtGfl.jpg

This will hold the round air diffuser in place like the factory duct did when it is finished and snug up the round part to prevent rattling around. Here is what the factory vent looks like. You can see I just copied the mating shape.

https://i.imgur.com/6jJMwO7l.jpg


I need to finish this because it is taking too much time and I want to get back to other things. Anyway I will post up photos if it works out well and probably even if it doesn't!

That helps alot .... thanks for forging the way, sort of, I'll be right behind you!

Michael

Randy so sorry I missed your question. I guess better late than never. That is the fuel pressure sensor for the Vaporworx controller. They want it as close to the pump as possible to avoid pressure fluctuations.

Scott

sweet thread went through 18pages in one session keep it coming

Your car is coming along nicely. My son lives in Phoenix and I am there often, I would love to see your car in person.

Thanks appreciate it !


That would be good. I recommend when the weather cools off this Fall. I haven't been good at getting out there the last few weeks. Dog days got me down!

Done with the A/C duct
 

I haven’t gotten out in the garage much so I have been playing with 3-D CAD. I always wanted to know how to do that but never sat down long enough to learn the basics. Here is the model I made of the 67 Camaro center A/C duct duct assembly.

https://i.imgur.com/tfWmE1rl.jpg

This thing morphed over several weeks and I honestly don’t know how many learning hours I have in it. I just measured and drew up the vent parts and then figured how to make a duct that will match. The duct has little fingers that hold the vent wheel in place so it doesn’t rattle around.
I printed a version to check the idea out and it works pretty well.

https://i.imgur.com/qk9u1Bfl.jpg

Based on the fit I will make a few changes like the diameter of the hose connection and length of the fingers. The final version will be printed in ABS because the melting temperature and strength are higher.
Yes I have too much time in this but it gave me a good opportunity to learn something new and find the relative cost to have small pieces like this printed (about $30-40 in PLA material). Also, now I have a model if I ever want to make any changes to it. I will admit that 3-D printing in various materials sort of appeals to me!

I will try to get out in the garage and do some real work next week!!

Under dash spaghetti
 

I got out in the garage for a few hours to clean up and check out how all the A/C hoses will route.
The home designed center duct seems to work fine.

https://i.imgur.com/MtJhwWjl.jpg

I was able to get the hoses routed to the OEM style vents fine

https://i.imgur.com/pF5wjUNl.jpg

As hard as I tried I could not get the hoses on the defrost ducts because it was too hard to get fingers around. I realized that the hoses can go on before installation and then bend the hose back to reach the fasteners.

https://i.imgur.com/gGLCl6Fl.jpg

Pretty much looks like spaghetti under the dash now.

https://i.imgur.com/6f4pkavl.jpg

I think it all works out. I will buy the Instrument cluster from Dakota soon to make sure I have a home for the controller and those wires.

I have the cut down OE glovebox in and I will post up how to trim that to work with the Vintage Air setup soon. I am taking some mountain bike riding time off this weekend. Hope everyone has a good Labor Day weekend.

Nice work!!

It amazes me how much tech is out there to make stuff like this possible. 10 years ago you would have to spend a lot of money just to do stuff like this.

Yes I agree. It is amazing what you can do now.

Odds and ends
 

Wow! Time flies I haven’t worked on the car much in several weeks. I have mostly been picking up a few things and waiting for the weather to cool down. I purchased all the Dakota Digital parts and my GM cooling fan.

https://i.imgur.com/wDM0fFpl.jpg

I have a radiator being designed by C&R to match the fan and my Vintage Air condenser. I really like this fan, 18 inches in diameter and 850 Watts. Looking forward to having this PWM controlled but I still have a long ways to get there.

https://i.imgur.com/GqZ7lPnl.jpg

The Dakota gauge set looks really clean. It is going to be nice to have an accurate, smooth digital setup.

https://i.imgur.com/irPIkUhl.jpg

I spent my time figuring where is the best place to mount all the electrical boxes. It was just sort of a lazy planning weekend. As much as I appreciate all the digital gauges, I am still going to miss the original gauges.

https://i.imgur.com/jLliIVol.jpg

The styling was so good and I can remember the night it rolled over 999999, that was 30years ago and I only put 7K miles on since then. I really need to get this thing running so I can drive the wheels off of it and start piling on the miles and enjoying it again!!

Mounting Dakota Boxes
 

I spent a few hours mounting the Dakota boxes for the gauges and the residual power box that slow dims the interior lights and turns on headlights at dusk. Small jobs but they take a while planning and making the small brackets. I had to pull everything else out to avoid spark damage from the welder.
I added a ground stud to both planning ahead for all the wiring.
Here is the residual power/headlight control box mounted behind the driver’s kick panel.

https://i.imgur.com/3KFhsTgl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EZp0GDfl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RiRcWNdl.jpg

I just mounted the main box up under the cowl where it will be close to the cluster and all the other wires.

https://i.imgur.com/kmNzFV6l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vMDLOKUl.jpg

Great planning ahead and execution to boot!

I see you are using rivnuts or nutserts. Do you like them and have you had any failures? What brand nut and tool are you using?

Thanks!

I like them, especially for light jobs. I have had them spin in the past when the hole was drilled poorly. I think these are Rivnut brand from Hanson Rivet. I am using a fairly inexpensive squeeze plier tool. It comes with a bunch of different size tips.

https://i.imgur.com/Q2cd33fl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/J8xvg51l.jpg

I think for limited access and larger sizes this style would be easier to squeeze.

https://i.imgur.com/W33V90Nl.jpg

What's the make/model of the fan? Is it a GM fan from a Cadillac SRX?

Nice job mounting all the boxes. The ground studs are a great idea.

Those gauges look great!

Fan Information
 

I am pretty sure the fan is from the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. The GM part number is 23455465. It is a monster about 22 x 24.

Hope that helps!

Scott

Thanks. That helps a lot. Great build.

Tinkering with the firewall pad
 

Nothing too glamorous this weekend, I am trying to figure out all under-dash stuff so I can weld up all the stray holes. I like the factory style dash pad in these old cars. I spent some time trimming it for all the extra brackets and the Vintage Air bulkhead. I had the pedals, column and emergency brake in and out about 5 times.

https://i.imgur.com/Q6iMnYvl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vMSp0bJl.jpg

I spot-welded some studs to the firewall so I won’t have anything coming through the other side. I thought to just use some plastic air cleaner style nuts. These are the wrong color but the idea worked great. I will see if I can find them in black with a hex head, or some sort of speed nut that will look good.

https://i.imgur.com/p1zBMzfl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iQwbepql.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TjqMcf2l.jpg


I still plan to put sound mat underneath, but planning to keep the pad. If it doesn't work out I can just take it a shop and have some carpet cut to match.
I will hopefully start mounting the electric throttle pedal next. I need to find a way to make it look nice by hopefully welding on the early style pedal parts.

New Radiator is here!
 

My radiator showed up this week from C&R. It really looks like a nice piece. .

https://i.imgur.com/n3BMGw6l.jpg

I mounted the Vintage Air condenser and everything lined up perfectly.

https://i.imgur.com/T9b9a07l.jpg

I knew I would need to trim some of the stock fan mounting tabs but it didn’t take too long. If I ever needed a fan on the road these mods could be done easily with a cheap hack saw. I will trim and clean-up a little more to make it look nicer.

https://i.imgur.com/BFQMxeXl.jpg

I like it, slightly modified OEM up against purely fabricated aftermarket.

I was going to work on mounting the throttle pedal but ended up thinking about how the transmission cross-member will tie into the floor. Here is a first draft of what the doubler will look like on the inside.

https://i.imgur.com/GZ5FtGbl.jpg

Unlike some of the DSE cars and Mark’s cars at Sled Alley, I don’t have the seat pans out already. I will try to make it just as stiff, but it will be a little bigger and heavier to keep the seat pan installed.
The idea is the tie into the seat pan for stiffness, and stiffen the floor and trans tunnel at the same time. I haven’t quite got it all worked out but this is close.

Electric Throttle Pedal Installation
 

Finished the firewall pad installation so I needed to get the throttle pedal in the right spot in case I needed to trim the pad some more.
I Started by installing the stock pedal to take a few reference measurements. I don’t know if it is exactly right but the car drove well so I figured just copy it.

https://i.imgur.com/FGBYQarl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3qm7l5sl.jpg

I ended up lengthening the pedal bracket tabs to fit the firewall contour the best.

https://i.imgur.com/axDU3eFl.jpg

I couldn’t work it out without making this little bracket. Maybe there is a better way but this worked. I will fill the stock pedal holes from the other side at a later date.

https://i.imgur.com/XdLracml.jpg

Here is how it fits.

https://i.imgur.com/LySm3lel.jpg

I just chopped and slotted the pedal bracket to make a home for the stock pedal rod which was also chopped and hacked away from the stock mechanical pedal assy. I ended up lengthening the rod after this. I hate it when I cut stuff twice and it is still too short!!

https://i.imgur.com/mD4OrH9l.jpg

The complete assembly in the middle and parts left-over on the left and right. I just like the look of the stock pedal better than the plastic one that comes with the electric assembly.

https://i.imgur.com/Bi3CcgVl.jpg

Here it is all together with the stock pedals.

https://i.imgur.com/FAVtPctl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kP0Kteyl.jpg

Next move onto either the trans cross-member or radiator install, both pretty big jobs!

The pedal looks right at home in there. :thumbsup:

What a slick setup for the pedal mount and I love the original pedal in there. Please excuse me if I steal your idea.

Thanks for the comments guys. Wayne if you steal the pedal idea it will be perfect. That way if it doesn't work in your car I will still have time to change it before mine is running!!

lol I'm not sure about that!

Starting Transmission Cross-member
 

I finished welding the pedal this weekend. I took it nice and slow to avoid overheating anything. I also wrapped the pedal lever with cooper wire dunked in ice water to keep the temperatures down and cooled it with the air hose frequently.

https://i.imgur.com/OLfbaacl.jpg

I put together a simple pedal stop with a shoulder bolt and an old metal self-locking nut. The pedal seems pretty strong but I thought it best to not constantly hit the lever on the side of the housing.

https://i.imgur.com/Ymy6hmvl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/evWaEHIl.jpg

I moved on the transmission cross-member. I started by cutting out and rough bending the top doubler plates. I am using 10 gauge material and I probably used everything in the shop at one point to bend these around. I don’t have the proper rolling equipment so it was more like blacksmithing with a couple of big hammers. I still have a ways to go before they fit well enough to be useful.

https://i.imgur.com/yKtCsdOl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HQlBEhHl.jpg