svt 65 stang

[Payton King]

I like the black hood with the boss style stripe.

[SN65]

Hi All,

Yesterday, I worked on the final engine plumbing details. Radiator and air intake. Everything went pretty well. Not perfect, just pretty well. :-)

To complete the air intake I need to locate one sensor and plumb up one vacuum line.



My biggest problem is the lower radiator lines. I have posted some photos (more available at the website) showing the incredibly tight spaghetti bowl of lines and hoses in this area. Everything is pretty good, but I only have about 1/8" clearance between the sway bar and the hose / thermostat housing. There is plenty of flex in the plumbing (if the sway bar pushed on the hose, there is about 1 1/2" of movement). My problem is that there is nothing to tie the hose / housing to save the power steering rack and doing this is a bit problematic. I am thinking that I can make a bracket that ties the bolt of the housing to the rack, but there is nowhere on the rack to bolt to. I am going to have to kick this around for a while until something comes to mind. In the mean time, I am going to place a rubber "shield" around the sway bar to keep it from chaffing the radiator hose.




Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Catch ya'll l8r

[SN65]

Hi All,

Anyone notice the download I posted on the SN65 homepage???

[Steve Chryssos]

Originally Posted by SN65

Yesterday, I worked on the final engine plumbing details. Radiator and air intake. Everything went pretty well. Not perfect, just pretty well. :-)
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Catch ya'll l8r

Bob,
I'll be blunt. That looks terrible. And its function may be even worse than its appearance. Time to redirect your exemplary fabrication skills to things mechanical. Pull all the hoses, lines and wiring apart and piece it back together like a puzzle. Prioritize the systems based on their importance as well as ease of fabrication. Examples:
a) Have Addco or Hellwig bend you up a custom anti-sway bar for more clearance. They'll put the kinks wherever you want them. I doubt the custom bar will be very expensive.
b) You can use a combination of bent SS tubing and rubber hose to direct your lower radiator hose.
c) It may be necessary to weld a short 45 degree aluminum elbow onto your radiator's lower inlet--pointed upward from what I can see.
d) Bend custom power steering lines. Big towns have shops that bend high pressure hydraulic lines for construction/farming equipment. And Jones Racing Products makes braided Teflon lines for your rack. They're a pain in the ass to assemble, so I suggest you find a local hydraulic line shop instead.
e) Shorten or lengthen various wires as necessary so that they can be routed together and all in the same direction.

That car's way to pretty to have hose and wire heading in all different directions. I hope you fix it right.

[SN65]

Originally Posted by streetfytr68

Bob,
I'll be blunt. That looks terrible. And its function may be even worse than its appearance. Time to redirect your exemplary fabrication skills to things mechanical. Pull all the hoses, lines and wiring apart and piece it back together like a puzzle. Prioritize the systems based on their importance as well as ease of fabrication. Examples:
a) Have Addco or Hellwig bend you up a custom anti-sway bar for more clearance. They'll put the kinks wherever you want them. I doubt the custom bar will be very expensive.
b) You can use a combination of bent SS tubing and rubber hose to direct your lower radiator hose.
c) It may be necessary to weld a short 45 degree aluminum elbow onto your radiator's lower inlet--pointed upward from what I can see.
d) Bend custom power steering lines. Big towns have shops that bend high pressure hydraulic lines for construction/farming equipment. And Jones Racing Products makes braided Teflon lines for your rack. They're a pain in the ass to assemble, so I suggest you find a local hydraulic line shop instead.
e) Shorten or lengthen various wires as necessary so that they can be routed together and all in the same direction.

That car's way to pretty to have hose and wire heading in all different directions. I hope you fix it right.

Hi SF,

I think you have hit the nail on the head. I am going to have to start with the plumbing and configure the swaybar to fit. With that said, everything (except the re-routing of the engine coolant connection at the block) is exactly as stock. I only rearrainged the plumbing to avoid the sway bar.

Also, it looks better in person, the photos flatten everything out and items that are actually in the background look like they are right on top of each other.

Thanks for the input.

[CAMAROBOY69]

Whoever put that video together on his site gets "Coolest compilation video of the century" That was a very impressive video. I have made many of these and I know how much time it takes to put them together. Then to make the pics switch with the music is just beyond impressive!!!
If you guys havent seen the video you HAVE to watch it!!

[SN65]

Hi All,

Two steps forward, one step back.... :-(

Yesterday, I wanted to help make some headway on the bodywork. I decided that the best place for me to concentrate my efforts was on the front valance. I had already cut the ductwork for the vents. All I had to do was fit them up to the inside of the valance, tack them up, and then wait for Wayne to weld the seam. Simple right? Well after I did the final fit up and tacked them in place, I decided, what the hell, I can weld the seam. After all, I know how to weld. It can't be that hard. That was my big mistake. I followed all the proper procedures and after about 30 minutes I had everything welded up. I then started to examine my work and found that the piece had warped at the end of the passenger side vent. I didn't think it was that bad, but after Wayne looked it over, we decided that we should order a new valance and do it over again....



I was so depressed. I thought I was helping out and, when all was said and done, all I ended up doing was creating more work. :-( On the other hand, my little excursion into the realm of Wayne's world has been a revelation. There is more to properly crafting steel than a basic understanding of the proper procedure. Also, just because you can weld, does not mean that you have the "touch" required to weld these thin sheet metal panels. I guess I will limit my welding to heavier brackets and structural items until I develop a lighter "touch" with the welder.

On the plus side, it does serve as a nice "mock up" of the final piece. When in position on the front of the car, it shows us what the finished panel will look like. It is going to look killer. Also, it has revealed a slight interference with the ductwork and the heat exchanger plumbing. We are going to resolve the interference issue by relocating the fittings on the exchanger from the front of the unit to the sides.

On another note, Wayne did get the front window pillars painted last night so that I can start on the final dash assembly. I will be working hard on this aspect of the build while I leave the bodywork in the hands of the experts.



It is now after lunch and I have been working on the dash assembly all morning. The defroster vents gave me a bit of a fit, but (after a bit of trimming) I was able to get the ducts installed and aligned. We should now be able to run the defrosters as we drive around the Chicago area this winter. :-)




Catch ya'll l8r

[Diognes56]

Me -> to SN65

David