Project WidowMaker - The Build Thread

[The WidowMaker]

the wheel purchase is DONE!!!

i have to give a big thanks to jon at driverz inc and jason rushforth. ive bugged the crap out of them for the two years since i put my deposit down (no, im not kidding its really been two years) and they are both awesome to work with.

the wheels are going to be 3 piece stepped lip, brushed outers, grey centers and 19x9.5 fronts and 20x11 rears. the stepped lip gives me the same centers as a 18/19 combo and the hoops are a little lighter as well. i also decided to go back to the original 275/35 front to match the sidewalls a little better with the 315/35 rear.

the style? well i'll keep that a secret until i have some pictures. i want people to keep reading my thread so i can get help and advice, and i don't want anyone putting me on their "banned" list. once you see them, i hope you all agree that they fit the car.

[The WidowMaker]

the plan is to have the frame at the blasters sometime in july and have it painted and assembled by the end of july. because i have to notch the frame a little to clear the 315's i wanted to push forward with the wheel order so i have them to know what needs to be clearanced. i also have to get the exhaust done since it needs to run through a crossmember and another has to be notched as well. in addition, i had never bent up the bars that go between the mid crossmember and the upper control arm crossmember and those have to be welded in. so, i borrowed a coworkers tubing bender and got those done. while i had it, i also rebuilt the tranny crossmember.

the original idea was that i wanted something that tucked up tight for exhaust clearance and didnt require the removal of the exhaust to drop the tranny. but since i was going to have to notch the outer "wings" anyways and i didnt like the amount of meat left for the tabs that sandwiched the drop out piece i just fabbed a new one.

the old was 1.5"x3" .120 wall tube with 1.5" dom in the middle. the new is a double 1" .120 wall all the way across. because there is no hinged joint in the bends, its acutally much stronger than the old one. and since its so small, i think i might still be able to get away with not dropping the exhaust. if i do, the v band clamps will make that pretty simple.

here are some pics. clearance is 1/4" to the floor, and the floor doesnt give when i am sitting in the drivers seat.

[tones2SS]

Keep up the great work man.
Can't wait to see those "secret" wheels!!!

[waynieZ]

Nice work on the crossmember it looks like it has plenty of room for the exhaust. you did a nice job tucking the tank up there out of the way too.

[The WidowMaker]

Can't wait to see those "secret" wheels!!!

hopefully in 6 weeks i'll have some good pics!

[buickfunnycar.com]

Great job on the bumper...looks awesome!
Can't wait to see the new secret wheels...

[The WidowMaker]

first, a small update on the wheels. i narrowed my rear more than i thought which left 4.25" bs on an 11" wheel. i do have a 1.5" pad for the z06 brakes but that still left a large lip. since it isnt a stocked size and would take a while to get, plus the fact that it was costing more since its really not that popular right now, i decided to change to the smooth lip wheels. hopefully only a few more weeks. jason is also looking into some extra programming to get the wheels lightened from the rear of the center. my fingers are crossed.

[The WidowMaker]

i need to get the exhaust done so i can get the frame to the blasters and get it all in paint by the end of the summer. its taken a lot longer than expected, and my few hours in the garage at a time goes by really fast.

i started with a mix of 3" and 2.5" tubing and transitions from columbia river, and bends from pypes all in 304 stainless. i spent some time polishing all the stuff from CR since it didnt come done. overall, im pretty happy with all the pieces i purchased.

now the issues...... i had debated whether to keep the donut gasketed joint from the edelbrock headers, or cut it off at the collector and do v-bands. im glad i left it alone, but i hope it doesnt leak. assembling and disassembling has really done a number on the gasket. i hope to get some more before its put together for the final time.

issue two.... don't make a 16ga stainless exhaust your first tig project ever. i practiced a little before the tacks, but fitment has to be dead nuts perfect or i blow a hole. and i do mean PERFECT! and i still havent figured out how to fill a damn hole. some pieces are tacked without issue, especially those done on the bench, but it seems that if i blow in one there are a few more holes before it sticks. im still tacking everything together, so hopefully i can practice a little more and maybe the back purge will help things a little. i am AMAZED at how well a tig tack holds though. 2 tacks on a piece and i cant break it apart. i have to knick the tack with a grinding wheel to make it work.

issue three..... maybe i dont understand the mandrel bending process, but i was hoping that if i cut a piece in the middle of a bend that it would be the same size as a piece cut from any other random part of any other tube. its not! the bent piece is smaller and that has led to some fun issues. its not a huge difference, but the extreme ones are about 1/16" different. that means when joined, one has a ring exposed all the way around the joint. i have a feeling these are going to be fun to final weld.

i could talk for hours on the "experience" i have had so far. if you see something, i probably have an answer for it, but id rather not bore you with any more babble. here are the pics of where i am now.

flex joints so that the rest can be solid/poly mounted.





there is more room here than it appears. this was all complicated by flowmaster not having the muffler in a offset in/out. no hangers are in place yet, so its resting on the holes in the mid crossmember. this is the easy side though. the watts link is 6" higher on the other side. its going to be interesting to say the least.



i have it coming under the frame behind the tire now. i just need to decide where to run it, and whether it will come out under or through the rear bumper lower valance.

[tones2SS]

You're doing a great job on the car. Keep it up!

[The WidowMaker]

Keep it up!

i hope to have some more pics in the next few days. i need to notch the watts/shock crossmember, so its going to take some time.