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Beach Cruiser Update
Well it's summer and I don't usually get much done when it's warm, but I've made a lot of progress since my last post so I thought I'd share. Front subframe is finally finished and installed in the car along with the motor. The car finally rides on all four wheels for the first time in 4 years! I plan on getting the car back in drivable condition and then flog on it for a while to make sure it's like I want it. Then pull the subframe and motor back out to clean it all up and refresh it, then off to paint. I'll be doing a lot of Auto X and some track days at VIR with it before I determine its worthy of paint. Stay Tuned, I'll post more often now that I'm actually making progress.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1020662.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1020663.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1020657.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1020665.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1020659.jpg |
Nice progress.
What front sub frame is that? Looks like you are running c5 or c6 uca. |
It's a C5 frame with a Mustang rack. Built and designed by me in my massive shop (as seen in the background of the last pic)
Lots of Props go out to Matt at AME for some tips, and Rodger at Ironworks for some of my laser cut parts. Other than the lasercut parts, I built the whole thing with a 4" cutoff wheel and a Home Depot welder! Including the Ebay Vette parts, I have less than a thousand tied up in it. |
what was it like putting in that vette IRS?
what year did it come out of? a bitsh? |
looks great, do you have any pics of the IRS install?
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nice work, I'm part of the "I cut everything on my frame build with a cutoff wheel" club also :thumbsup:
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I have lots of Pics of the IRS install, no kit, I did it all myself. Any particular details you want to see? I'll post them in the morning.
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IRS is from '96 vette, 3:55 posi, and disk brakes. Not too hard to do with basic tools. I had some parts laser cut for me, but I have the templates in DXF format that any shop can cut. I'll try and post some more build Pics tomorrow.
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Irs
Pics, hurdles and any info re the IRS install would be great.
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Here's some pics of the IRS Install, I made my own "dogbones" and used Vette products Camber and Toe adjustment rods, so every degree is adjustable. From the pics you can see that my front mounts for the trailing arms (dogbones) are also adjustable. I wanted to try and be able to dial out some of the anti squat that these rear ends have, I don't know if it will do any good or not, or if it will even work, but at least it looks cool! the mounts as you see in the pics are set on the stock angles. The other strugle was where to mount the sway bar, the pics are a little difficult to see, but I built a tunnel in the trunk pan and mounted the bar above the gas tank, It worked out real well, and the bar sits perfect on the frame, but changing the bar is going to require me to drop the tank. The car has the DSE mini tubs in it and that makes things fit real easily, especially the front dogbone mounts. If I had to do it all over again, I would probally mount it higher in the car, I can still get the dropped look with it, but it puts the axles on an upward angle.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1010564.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1000011.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1000693.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1000679.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1000688.jpg |
She's hot! :cheers:
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I was about ready to post that I couldn't believe nobody had made a comment on the bikini babe!
Darren |
She's also the same vintage as the Camaro! :cheers:
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Your subframe is exactly what I'm in the midst of planning. It looks as if you're using a fox body mustang rack. Did you have to modify the rack at all or are you running it stock width? Did you have to use any inline reducers to get the 3gpm GM pump to work with the 2gpm Ford rack?
Are you using the stock steering arms from the C5 spindles? What have you figured your bump steer to be? Sorry if this is too many questions. I'm happy to see someone else going about this on their own, rather than opening a crate. |
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The rack is from a 92 mustang. Two turns lock to lock on the steering wheel. I havn't plumbed the lines yet, but I suspect I'll have to get my local hose shop to make a custom line for me. I'm no where near that point in the build yet. The bump steer should be pretty minimal from my calcs, but I havn't put the car on the alignment rack yet. AME makes these cool bump steer spacers that effectly lower the Tie rod mount on the spindle, that seemed to fix the issue. The rack is stock I did not mofify it all. Contact Matt at AME for the spacers, they make a kit with the rod ends and all. I plan on taking the car to my local race shop and make sure it's all square and can be aligned properly before I go any farther, as soon as I can borrow a trailer it's on the way. I hung the front fenders on it last week and I'm able to get a 305 18" tire on the front with only a slight amount of rub on the frame at full lock. 315 18's on the back.
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looks like an awesome project
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More updates.... I swear this build is going to be longer than Marty's Truck! After a long cold wet winter, I've finally gotten back on my project. I trailered the car to my local shop to check sqaureness and Alignment shortly after the first post. It came in 1/16 of being perfectly square, so I'm happy with how the suspension is turning out. Alignment specs are right where I wanted them, from +1 to -5 camber and Minimal Bump Steer. I pulled the motor and trans back out and am now doing the brake plumbing and smoothing the firewall. All the rear brake lines are done as well as the master cylinder, prop valve and the new Hydraulic Clutch assembly. I cut the old beat up firewall out and I'm going to make a new smoother piece. I'm also going to relief the section behind the motor about 1.5" for additional clearance. (the motor is set back about an 1 from stock) I'm not happy at all with the motor mounts, so I'm going to cut them out and make a new set with 1 3/4 DOM tubing, extending up to the shock mounts for additional support on the suspension.
The last pic shows why I havn't been working on the car as much as I should, I've developed this nasty racing habit that I can't kick... Sorry to disappoint you guys with the pictures but the Bikini babe is gone, My wife said I couldn't keep her when she moved back in the house this fall. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030022.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030024.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030026.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030028.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030015.jpg |
Awesome job:thumbsup:
Love the 4th gen WS6 btw, would like to see more on it.:) |
I just noticed that it was stated that the rear end should have been up higher and I have to say that it is several inches of from the stock ride height angles.
The other thing I noticed is that the square mounts on the top outer mounting bolts are not being used. The way they are supposed to be supported is by the bolcks on the frame and the batwing bolts to the bushings are centered under a load otherwise you will compress the bushing all of the time eventually distorting it and making it loose. Paying close attention to the way the factory did things is very important and some parts are there for a very good reason even though it will work without them for awhile. There are lots of details that will come up and the solutions are out there but you have to decide if you can afford them or not. Custom offset wheels will make or break the way you build this and the way it looks or you are stuck with a lot of compromises. $3-$5k worth of wheels can remedy a lot clearance issues. :cheers: |
Ok, it's been forever but I'm still building this car. Decided to go over to the LS1 camp and upgrade with new stuff. Here's some picks on the gas tank mods, More to follow
More updates, worked on the fuel tank today, major PIA gotta find 1/4" somewhere to take out the the assembly. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030557.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030558.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030559.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030560.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030566.jpg |
Update with Photos!
New clutch is in! http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030520.jpg All race cars have to have a white drive shaft http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030515.jpg Brakes are now fully plumbed http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030546.jpg Fuel pump before http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030542.jpg And after cutting it down to fit my tank http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030543.jpg The LS1 Fairy also stopped by yesterday too! http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030551.jpg That's a tight fit, but clears! 315's on all four corners! http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030555.jpg |
It's looking good... if you ever need a hand I'm really good at holding a trouble light(Thanks to my Dad).
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Mill's looking good.Will have some this week to bend your sway bar arm's and ship them to you.This traveling has killed me for getting anything done.Scott
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Summer time is not very good for me to get anything done on this car, seems every time I'm in the driveway Bikini clad girls ride by on thier bikes on the way to the beach! Very distracting! Anyway, made some more progress this weekend dispite the heat.
Finished up the plumbing and installed the tank. For such a small part of the build, sure did take a lot of time and effort. Then again, I could just buy all this stuff and bolt it in, but where's the fun in that? http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030571.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030572.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030574.jpg Also swapped the LS1 Oil pan for the CTS-V unit, not sure if it will be to low or not till I drop the motor in the chassis, but the donor car needed the F-body pan back. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030570.jpg |
The tank looks good, I liked the subframe as well. I hope that oil pan works for ya.
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She's Alive again! No pictures, but since I got fuel to the carb I was able to start up the old small block! First time the motor has run in 9 years! I have a regulator problem to solve, but she runs! I'm going to be swapping in the LS motor sometime this fall for fitmit purposes. I've finally collected enough parts to make the motor complete with Accessories, coil packs, starter, flywheel ect.... It's all the little stuff that you need to complete out a longblock that kills ya! Stay tuned!
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Did a little motor swapping today and found some chassis issues between the SBC and the LS1, no problem, just more time time to fix. Here's the proof... It's a shame to pull a running motor for trial and error!....
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030621.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030625.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030626.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030630.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030631.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030632.jpg |
Spent all day doing sheet metal work to smooth out and close in the firewall before the motor goes back in. I forgot how tedius that kinda work is. Anyway, got the smoothed firewall "roughed" in. I'll really smooth it out over the winter when the subframe is out of the car. Tomorrow back in goes the LS1.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030644.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030646.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030647.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030648.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030649.jpg |
Fogot to post what I did yesterday, Here's the frame mods to move the rack.
I took me almost 5 hours today to move stuff 3/4"! But, I was able to move the rack forward and low enough that I think It will clear with no problems. Tomorrow I'll fill the firewall and hack off those ugly sway bay mounting plates. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030638.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030637.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030640.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030643.jpg |
Dropped the LS1 back in the chasis! It fits much better now. Now the chassis can suport an LS1 or a SBC! No mods needed! Anyway, here's the pics. I think I'm done for a while...
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/P1030651.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/P1030653.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/P1030655.jpg |
After reading through Badmotorfinger's thread, I thouht I'd share a clip from my 377 running right before I pulled it out. I built this motor in 1986 and it still purr's!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=MVFgb1UG4L0 |
I'm on the cheap so I grabbed a set of OBX headers off of a wrecked 4th gen. Spent a little time moving a tube or two and corrected the angle issue on the drivers side and Viola! Custom headers that fit my 1st gen home made chassis. Here's what I did.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/P1030661.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030659.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030660.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030666.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030664.jpg |
You're making some good progress. Keep at it!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: |
Did you make the lower coilovers mounts on your IRS, or are they available online?
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No Kit on the rear, I made all of it.
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I've made everything on this car, most of it with a 4" cut off wheel. I had bracket parts laser cut for me from an autocad sketch that I did. If you read through this entire post you'll see where I commented about moving the IRS up in the chassis, that happened in the gap in the posts from '09-'10. I moved it up about an inch and a half. I like the way it sits much better now. I'm really getting the itch to drive this car in the spring so I'm trying to surge ahead on it this winter. Plan to pull the front sub and get it powdercoated over the winter while I finish the firewall. I still have lots of wiring to do, but the Brakes, Clutch and fuel are all plumbed. Still need to plumb the powersteering.
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Started to the wireing on the LS, not decided yet where to mount the PCM. May bolt it behind the inner fender or inside under the dash, not sure yet. Also spent way to much time fabricating these "flanges" that I'll weld into the firewall to suport the front subframe downbars. No machine shop here, just a bunch of hole saws and a drill press, but I think they turned out ok. Here's some pics...
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030672.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030680.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030686.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030688.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030689.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030684.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030683.jpg |
Spent the last week tracing out and marking wires (just to be sure) and removing what I don't need from the engine harness. Wasn't too bad, just time consuming. Now I've moved on to the power distribution blocks that will supply power to all the components under the hood. Most people just buy relays and make some homemade bus, but I had all the panels and the wires so I thought I'd try and see if I can make it work for a cleaner install. I think I'm going to mount the PCM in the center of the dash where the old dask speaker would have been and bring the harness out through the trans tunnel above the bell housing, should hide almost all the wires. I'll mount the fuse boxes in the same location as the 4th gens, and tuck the wires up into the fender and through the firewall which should also be hidden. Here's some pics!
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030693.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030692.jpg http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030691.jpg For all you mechanical guys, the new custom bent sway bar arms came in yesterday, after the wires are done, I'll pull the front sheet metal and mount the sway bar (hopefully for the last time!) http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/f...g/P1030694.jpg |
There is no way I would try and figure out all that LS wiring on mine own.Man you are brave.:thumbsup:
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