I second that...:y0!:

Once we've raced and shown a bit, we'll do a build thread.

So, this has been sitting in a corner for most of the year. I've decided to forgive and forget, it's not the way I want to be.

While I work on my Diamond T project, I can putz around on this. Here and there.

This is the tow rig. 1958 Diamond T on a late model suspension, custom frame rails, with a 13.5" custom built aluminum sleeper and a 650hp/1800 ft lb torque Cat I6.

Parts are all there...

It will tow the 4 car stacker and anything else I want, with all the kids in comfort and style.

Where's the slide out...it must have a slide out!
Just kidding! That's VERY cool!

That puppy looks like it will tow anything you need it to.

Glad your coming back to it


Marty-MJ
www.garagescene.net

Now that's a cool project! What a tow rig!

Grendel
Sorry for the headaches on the build. I just read the whole thing from front to back for the first time and as I was looking at some of the pictures I was having a feeling of "the emperor wears no clothes" as I was seeing weird stuff and nobody back in 2014 was pointing it out.
Best wishes seeing this through. You have a tougher stomach than I.


(edited post as I looked closer at picture in question, while I still think the upper coilover mount is odd, it seems to be welded to the firewall brace for additional support)

Please keep this going! You've came too far to give up now!
Love the tow rig too!
Cheers!

More on the tow rig. We're finishing up the sleeper (all 1/8" aluminum) along with assorted body work and moving onto the mechanical work, the 650hp Cat 3406B is already installed.

Since it's snowing, I got around to this again... Pulled it out of the corner from where it's been sitting since we installed two new quarters and cut one to fit the IRS.

More to come, as my soon to be 18 year old daughter pushes me to finish this.

"this" in my previous post means the Camaro.

Spent a fair bit of time noodling on it, reducing drama along with my wife trying to make me a better Christian.

:thumbsup:

Glad to hear you still have it and are moving forward, it's going to be wicked!

Agreed!

Love the big rig JJ, looks like it'll be just the ticket for hauling the family and rigs. One of my favorite Bonneville racers was Carl Heap with his 1943 International...something about seeing something that big go that fast had me hooked.

Big ole Detroit with 4 turbos and a couple superchargers got him a red hat and in the books at 272mph.
:thumbsup:

this is good!

That is awesome... not sure we'll be going that fast with the Cat and a set of three turbos though :)

Took a break on the Diamond T for a bit.

Pulled this out of the corner to assess is, decided to start cleaning up the firewall and look what happened. 8 hours later, I have mud on it, primer inside and out, first run sanded and started cleaning up the driver's side wheel tubs. The flare needs more grinding and shaping.

May even get to cutting the passenger side.

yes!!!!! :headspin:

It's about time, double J!
Keep at it!

Yeah, it felt good to work on it. I got the passenger side NOS quarter welded on. I should be able to get it cut next week.

Have the carbon fiber rockers back, need to cut and fit those too.

Nice to see you back at it! firewall looks good.

I got a little more time today, so I started the wide body on the passenger side, since it got welded in last week.

Obviously, I have a lot of grinding to do.

Wow very cool to see you still at it. Maybe I missed it but how much room are you gaining with the wide body? Its looking good! !

2" per side.

We started to assembly on the rear cradle.

Narrowing it, 2" total, with normal, off the shelf DSE parts, Camaro hubs and rotors. The DSE sway bar fits and doesn't hit the rear shocks, with the upper mounts moved inboard.

The DSE stuff can suck in a total of 1.66" on each side, without mods. I figured .66" is enough adjustment with the custom uppers we built.

That's all new, uncut DSE links and my custom upper arms that use all poly bushings of the same durometer. Should avoid the "multi-link walkabout" people talk about.

We're assembling it with a regular rear diff, while I finish building the 9" and shafts for the Camaro hubs.

While I finish up the grinding with lots of black boogers, my friend Giffin is assembling the chassis.

The rear is mostly done.

That's great news JJ, glad its moving forward now.

Enjoying watching the progress on this here and the <T> on Pirate.
Glad to see both builds churning along.

Thanks man. I have a few :) builds/projects

It's <Jim> and <T> BTW... although I am done with <T>.

Good to see it coming together.

Got a door on, so I can set gaps with the quarter and soon to be carbon fiber fender.

Funny, with the quarter in the right place, I don't have to grind door hinges... I didn't grind these, but based on fresh metal, someone did..

Also, won't show 'em yet, but I think the carbon fiber rockers will look amazing.

I do have Ring Bros billet hinges for these, now that the doors fit in a factory location.

That's a new door skin, BTW. It's been reinforced for the smaller fiberglass mirrors that will be shaped and fit to clear the wide body on this car.

Its' coming together, and looking good.

jydracing 63 split window
 

Was looking at your build thread. As for the body, I doesn't look like you changed much, added some Bondo to the firewall to smooth it up, split the rear fenders/quarters so as to make them flair more.... "why did you not put the spacer metal under the quarter panel instead of on top"???? Will you not have to build up the body putty to cover the hump of the metal???? Would it of not been easier to fill a gap, by welding the metal under the cut fender, than to building up putty up over the filler metal on the outside of the quarter??? Your rear cradle looks nice, but it looks exactly the same as when it left the shop in Baldwin, Kansas. The DSE parts look exactly the same also???? What did you change about them???? New ones or are they the same ones???? They also look the same as what left Baldwin, Kansas!!! Your build is coming along nicely!!!! Are you doing it a Blue Ribbon Restoration??? I do not see any high priced Lamborghini's, Porsche's, or Ferrari's, in any of the pictures???? Maybe at another garage????

You couldn't let sleeping dogs sleep, eh?

I will answer your questions.

I guess you didn't see the other pics? Where I cut off both quarters, re-did the wheel tubs that weren't welded on as it would not pass a NH safety inspection the way I got it from Baldwin, KS?

That the body is now 2" wider through the quarters to actually fit the IRS and rims/tires spec'd out. The spacer metal follows the natural lines of the car and provides a lot of metal to shape the way I want to. I plan to keep the filler to a minimum. Easier to take metal off the top and shape it the lines I want.

Like here: https://lateral-g.net/forums/show...&postcount=296

I had to replace the wheel tub (He cut off the outer mounting flange) and its now welded to the quarter, unlike this:

https://lateral-g.net/forums/atta...1&d=1429392642

To remove this:

https://lateral-g.net/forums/atta...1&d=1429392642

I even matched both quarters to the trunk panels. Good gaps at the doors and trunk lid that I didn't have before.

Want the email where he sent pics that match up to those cut lines but didn't show the other welds?

Want more pics of how it left Baldwin, KS? I know you're friends with Chubby, but you really won't help your friend by attacking me. I have all his pics and his email, including where "I will hang on to the money and airfilter until you deside to not post any of this."

Yep, I posted it and yep, he kept money he did not earn.

Yep, the firewall was done right, so it got mud and sand work.

Why would I take pics of customer cars for my build thread? This build is happening in the back ground of several shops. I now own two and contract with two others.

The cradle itself is the same, the body has been modified to reinforce the cradle. A tube welded through sheet metal does not make a solid rear IRS mount, certainly does not handle the forces that can be applied to it when racing. The cage was reinforced through the back wall, where he cut for the wheel tubs, we also added a tab and gussets to grab the top of the bolt. We did fit a 9" to it, but want to use a stock diff to keep costs down. This car won't need 9" strength. It also kept Camaro hubs, instead of the Corvette ones he sold me. The Camaro axle shafts even fit. We're also installed the DSE sway bar he said wouldn't fit and guess what, it doesn't hit the coil overs the way he mounted them. We do have to modify the coil over mounts he welded in to fit rims and tires spec'd out.

DSE parts look the same, eh? Here's a pic of the DSE parts he modified. This got all new DSE arms and custom uppers. Pay attention to the cuts at the hex. There is more than 1" of thread engagement missing on some links. Do you want to buy the DSE left overs?

https://lateral-g.net/forums/atta...1&d=1458226965

and then look at this pic:

https://lateral-g.net/forums/atta...1&d=1457295839

I'll post up a side by side pic soon, but I am not taking this apart again.

Or hey, how about the front upper arms that hit the coil overs? Here's a pic of that... it needs a new upper mount or a shorter shock or a different upper control arm. We went with new arms and mounts. Even with the proper alignment (note the shim behind the stock upper control arm). Several others have needed similar mods. I even have pics he sent showing contact, if you know to look for it.

Want to keep at this? I am glad you're a good friend to Chubby. Good friends are worth having around. Good friends also know when they're not helping their friends. Per court documents, this was supposed to be dead.

Back to build shortly.

Here's a Scott Mock cut lower link vs the DSE as-manufactured.

DSE in no way shape or form suggested cutting or running cut links with less than specified thread engagement. Happy to send the email conversations if you like. DSE says you can narrow them up, by spinning the links in, not cutting them...

The mounting points of the rear suspension were full FEA engineered, unlike before.

I am done with Scott, it's about my build now. My 18yo daughter wants to race this along side me in my other car(s), so it's received a saving grace. It will be safe, it will be right. It wasn't when I got it from Baldwin.

If Scott wants to talk, we have the feedback thread... If you don't have constructive criticism or positive feedback, stay out.

DoubleJ, the build is moving forward with excellence! Keep at it, and your daughter will be racing the car before you know it!

More work on the body ( I have black boogers from grinding) and Giff is working away on the sub frames. Giff is my pit boss who's been hustling to work out bugs in the IRS and front sub-frame. Patience of a Saint, as I'd be throwing stuff through the window. We're good at bouncing ideas off each other.

I really want to run C6/C7 arms, since they're much lighter than the ones I built. They're also available off the shelf and pretty cheap. They'd be shared architecture with my 2015 Z06/7.

To keep the shock out of the control arm, we came up with this - we offset the shock from the upright. We feel the uprights will help it handle a bit more stress and FEA testing shows that it will.

Talking with Darren at Ride Tech about a set set of spacers for the offset side in front, although I could make a spacer, it wouldn't be as elegant. Also ordered the stuff to put his rear shocks into the DSE lowers and new upper shock mounts that will keep the coil overs out of the 5th Gen Camaro DSE sway bar that fits wonderfully in the back. May have to swap my rear shocks for something that can handle more angle, as these were not ordered correctly. They float in the lower control arms (SAE bolts were installed in metric holes), hit the previously installed sway bar and float in the top bracket. They may also hit/rub on the chassis when we move the mount from the outside to the inside of the rear frame rail to clear tires. The DSE rear sway bar looks like it will clear. It installed easily, like it was originally supposed to. Funny, someone told me it wouldn't fit.

Getting the new springs ordered too. I can't run ones that were beat to crap due to poor installation/configuration.

Tempted to go with the Ride Tech 5th gen components in the back. They really rock.

This is the last bug to fight, shock placement.

The way I got it, no rim/tire specififed would clear the shock or spring.

The stock/cut sway bar was hitting the shocks when I got it from KS. I was told the DSE bar didn't fit, but it does, nicely in fact. The mounting points for the sway bar didn't change, when the length of the arms did... because the arms were cut well past where the sway bar comes in. Ironically, we didn't have to cut the stock sway bar, the DSE lower control arms had provisions for it. It probably wouldn't' have damaged my springs, either.

So, on to pics. I have pictures of every spec'd rim hitting the springs of the coil over. The only tires that fit were the front Boyd Coddingtons that were on the car when I shipped it out there. Yep, I got the front tires on the back and back tires on the front.

The first pic is a 18x10 with 8" of back spacing from a Z06 vette, hitting the shock. I think the new upper control arms will allow a tighter placement of that shock in-board.

So, what I hope to do is move the shock mount inside the frame rail, swap the shock tops for something that will handle the inboard mount angle. I think it will actually clear the mounts, if I use the same mount the was installed outboard the rails. I may get a more compliant (read squishy) ride, but that can be changed with spring rates.

Thanks guys. It's refreshing to actually be back on this.

Looking real good. Love to see the progress.....hopefully when its done, you can look back at this tough build, and it will become one of you favorites!!!

I'm looking forward to the next steps, please continue to keep us in the loop...