Thanks Mark, I guess I've doing this long enough that I worry if no little issues pop up during any sort of work.. lol

The car is going to be killer when done. All the parts just seem to be working together so well so far as far as fitment. I never get sick of looking at pics of your 3-link and now that everything (the DSE SFCs and the 3-link bracing) is coated it looks almost factory. Once we get it done and corner scale it the car should haul ass. Sure, the paint isn't perfect and some of the gaps are less than ideal, but it's filled with what I feel are some of the best performing parts out there and it should look nice enough to take to cruise night or a car show as well as perform good enough for the track.

Next week.. LS2 time :)

Did you weld the DSE connectors to the 21st Century sub, or make it a bolt in deal?

Welded.. it butted up right to the subframe like it was made for it. Also, it was the exact same width. I will post up a little pic later if I can, if not it will be in the story.

I should note that you could MAKE it a bolt in deal, but it would be easy to cut it free from the subframe if I should ever need to. Welding is also what DSE reccomends.

Are you going to reapply paint to the sub frame connecters?

We are going to shoot the subframe connectors and the tip of the subframe (where we welded) in the same undercoating stuff as the rest of the underside of the car.

What is that stuff anyway?

It's made by a company called FUSOR.. it's stays sorta rubbery. The best part is that it adds very little weight to the car. Maybe 2-3 pounds.

They say it holds up pretty good, guess I will be have to judge that for myself.

http://www.lord.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1204#805

This is the super cool stuff though.. stronger than welding..

http://www.lord.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1150&pid=5

Was it on the car when you bought it? Just wondering how it might hold up near exhaust stuff.

I recently went and spoke with a local line-x dealer and he thought the line-x would melt if it were within 6" of the pipes/muffler.

No.. sloppy paint was just on there.. lol

Should hold up.. it's an OEM quality stuff. I guess time will tell

I thought Line-X would hold up great, I thought lots of guys ran it. I just didn't like all the weight it added.

The dude says it goes on, nearly molton, at 175 degrees. He didn't think it would take much more than that w/o melting.

look's awesome........... :thumbsup:

the line-x guy I spoke with
 

said that it would withstand 280 degrees. I am going to use it on some under hood areas.

Steve you car is looking fantastic, did you ever speak with FAST?

Give my ass a call

I am anxious to see how it holds up too, but I have really great confidence that it will do JUST fine. All of the FUSOR stuff is amazing, it isn't cheap at all, but all of it works better than anything I have seen so far. The undercoating is really nice, it stays nice and flexible, goes on really uniform and looks amazing. Unless something terribly dramatic happens to change my opinion, which I am 99.9999% certain it won't, this stuff will go on every car I build. Until they come out with something nicer. Seems really silly, but if you see it and touch it in person, you just say "wow, that stuff is cool!"

M

What is the method of application?

Spray?
Can it be brushed or rolled on?

Spray.. has a special gun I think. I will snap a picuter and ask tomorrow morning when I'm there :)

I'm glad everyone seems to think this is good stuff, I'm anxious to hear how it holds up on Penny as well. I've ordered the exact same stuff to do the underside of my camaro and hopefully some sound deadening inside (might use Fusor 804 for that). I figured if it's good enough for Penny, it's gotta be MORE than good enough for my heap! It does need a special gun, Fusor part no. 312: http://www.lord.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1207#312

I ordered the gun from this place: http://www.crestnetsales.com/sealers.htm
At $128.62 it's WAY cheaper than I could find it locally - I was quoted $275 for the gun here. Hopefully that helps, and I hope I'm not hijacking your thread, Steve! I don't post much, but I'm really enjoying following the progress on Penny, with more than a little envy! :drool:

no problem.. these threads are supposed to be about passing along information that may be helpful and not just "hey, look at me!" type deals.

So far I like the Fusor undercoat. I will be curious how it holds up and and how it cleans up. It certainly looks nice and the best part is that it only added a few pounds to the car.

We used their structual foam on some voids in the firewall. That suff would be cool to fill all the A-pillars and other voids since it would stiffen the area and deaden sound.

Thanks for the comments on Penny.. she's getting there.

We put the line-x under my car and it seems to help with vibration and with sound deadening.

Hi Steve,

Yes the foam will help in the Stiffness of the "A" pillars, but your main concern should be in rotational stability. If at all possible I suggest that you "glue" in the front windshield and disregard the rubber boot.

The glued in windshield will add quite a bit to the overall stability of your unibody.

Just a suggestion.

Cool idea but I hate the idea of pulling the basically new windshield.. also, how hard is it to remove it at a later date? (for repair)

hard to pull it without breaking..... yes-kinda. to better explain, most glass shops can successfully cut out a glued in window, but they will tell you right up front that it will probably break.

almost(if not ALL) new cars have glued in glass, usually the reason for removing it would be if it needed replaced.... and then it doesnt matter if its broke.

in your car with the full cage.... i dont see where the minor amount of extra stiffness from the glued in glass would "help", i would think that tieing the A-pillars to the front down bars(look at a pic of the a-pillar in a nascar) would do way more than glueing in the glass.

windsheild
 

Steve,

I would be shocked if you windshield is not glued in. Most glass shops will not put glass in the way they use to...buytle strips. They have a tendency to come out during a crash.

My glass was recently put in and they glued it. Better sealing with no wind noise as well.

removing windshield.(no breaking...of course)
 

Breaking a windshield while removing???

That has never happened to me!

I had a friend tell me how to remove them a long time ago and i used his method ever since and never even scratched one.

Maybe you all know about it but i felt it could help if you don't.

The method involves 2 person. One in the car the other outside. You use a Piano cord and insert it thru the glue between the windshield and the frame (after removing all moldings and cowl grill if you don't want to take chance of scratchint it) a thin screwdriver will help making the start up hole.

Then, simply take your time with your buddy and "slice" the glue all the way around in a 'sawing like' motion from the in side out. It'll come right out and all that'll be left to do is cleaning. The piano cord are easily available and are metal so the cut the glue as it was butter and don't give up.

wear some gloves as it becomes hot at some point and the possibility of cutting yourself is there too.

removing a windshield is not something we look forward too but this method is fool proof and you will never fear windshields again!

Hope it helps,

Lead.

We pull glass all the time at the shop here and we rarely break one. Glass is kind of expensive and the insurance companies kind of frown if you break them all the time. :-)

Even if you have a role cage installed, the windshield (and, to a lesser degree, the rear glass) opening is still a large rectangle. Glueing in the glass has the same effect as installing a cross brace in the middle of the opening. If you were going to install a full NASCAR style cage, I would not wory about the windshield, but most of us want to have a "little" space to move around in the cabin and also have "some" room for a passenger. A NASCAR cage does not allow for either.

The windshield glass is a major structural component on all late model cars. Especially when you consider the size of late modle windshields.

Tomorrow we bolt in the LS2 and T56 and start the process of getting her running. Should take 4-5 days for all the systems then back to BOS to get the front sheetmetal re-hung.

Yesterday we finished up the LD 3-link and the brakes.. the results:

http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/rear1.jpg

looks great, were you an interior decorator in a previous life time?? :lol: I really like the tread pattern on those tires also, are those the toyos or nittos? Also have you figured out what you are going to do about the exhaust yet?

Maybe.. my house, when I was single, was pretty well decorated.. chicks dug it :)

Those are Toyo R-Compounds.. they had sizes Nitto didn't in the NT01

Yes, No.. might run the old exhaust and dump it before the axle. However, there's plenty of room to run it over the axle, but it looks so nice and clean I don't want to clutter it up. I am going to stick with the Spintechs and the oval tubing though.

There is precious little available in 17" in widths over 275 with any kind of good compound for track use.

Honestly Steve, how many miles do you see from tires with UTQG ratings of 200 and below?

I had an older porshe with the RA1's and got about 12,000 miles for a set, but it didn't have a ton of torque to beat on the rear tires

I would think these tires will last 10-12k miles.. if I am very hard on them all time then less. I've heard the Toyo's last better than many. When they were down enough they will be race slicks.. lol

I might put 5000 - 10000 miles on this car a year.. so a set every year or two isn't that bad. This isn't a daily driver and I like the way they grip on other cars Ive driven. Besides, it's a pain to own a track set and a street set of wheels and tires.. :)

Does the mfr advise shaving them for dry use?

In the "care and feeding" section of many "R" compound tires on tirerack.com there are statements to the effect that running "R's" at 6/32 can cause asymetric, localized wear.

Insert "shaving" :unibrow: joke here ---> [_______________] because I know SOMEONE is thinking about it.

Driven the porsche in the rain, it got squirelly at 7500 rpm at 70 through a big puddle but that was about it, actually worked good, although it was nerve wrecking

Looks great Steve.

Steve,
I am a three link dummy, so please forgive me. Why so much coil adjustment on the left vs. right. A function of the left Watts link being on top?

Beautiful setup! Way above scrub line for all the worriers out there.

Thanks,
BT

Look alittle closer. :) I think you're looking at the passenger/outboard Watt's link bolt, not the shock mount bolt.

I was looking at the same thing thinking WTF. haha, the underside looks beautiful. :hail: :hail:

the directions say: right foot to the floor, left foot removed from clutch pedal quickly, shift accordingly while steering in tight circles alternating left to right. rotate and repeat, check progress often. post video for all the cool people to see :unibrow:

Damn.... I guess you can't watch it then. :pushbutto

That is a thing of beauty.

Gunna be, ok, already is a great car.

Where does the line for the rides begin? I'll pay.