Stock Car Mafia

ehren, I'm glad to hear you are back in the biz of z cars! Life can be pretty damn cruel, but as long as you can find some love for working on the z, life all of a sudden is good

If I were to raise the tank in to the trunk, what is the best way to isolate it from me the driver? I don't plan on drag racing at this point so a tow hitch and chute would be over kill. The welder however is always in reach! Right now I am not going to cut or weld until I can brainstorm a little more and get my exhaust kit in. Clutch and flywheel, harness, and ceramic coated headers will be coming today. The driveshaft will be here tomorrow. Clutch MC, line, and bleeder will be here in a couple days. I borrowed a compression tester from my brother's fiance. Ya she's a total badass car techy like me The topic of paint has been flying around as of late. It's hard not to think about it. After I determine this motor is alive and well, I will work on sectioning my struts for coilovers, getting a set of flares, buying wheels n' tires to set the ride height.

I forgot to mention I ended up getting a decent tan from welding. Note to self: Wear a sweatshirt next time.

Well, I've been away for a while. My close family and I went on a 4 day vacation retreat up to Larsmont, MN and rented a cabin. It was a good time away and gave me some time to sit in front of the computer to do some reading to prepare for more work. My initial plan was to use 1" square tubing to tie both "frame" rails together and use the Jeg's mounting kit to hold the tank in place. To me it just didn't seem very safe or secure for a tank loaded full of fuel. I ended up drawing a full cage for the frame and decided to execute on it. Everything was tacked up and I wanted to test fit. The tank is 10" deep so I cut my vertical sections at 10". I didn't take in to consideration the 1 inch on each side and the tank sat high in the enclosure. To me it wasn't aesthetically appealing so I ground down the welds, made my cuts, and welded it back up. Closer but much better. We worked on centering the Jeg's straps and drilling holes on each side. The top straps ended up being longer than needed so the holes had to be elongated. To be honest after drilling the holes larger for bigger bolts, elongating the holes, and grinding down the burrs, I would have much rather bought metal and bent it myself. A buddy mentioned to me some have used the Armacell R-1 Foam Insulation Tape (#TAP18230) as insulation for the tank straps. 30 feet will go along ways but it ended up working great! With adding the frame, I lost quite a bit of room for the exhaust. When the kit gets here I will play around with the bends to see if I can manage to fanagle it by. I think I got the kit with the lowest bend radius (4") so I may be ok. I still am not sure where the angle iron tabs will end up or how to isolate the tank from the coupe portion. I am going to be grinding down most of the welds as there are some pretty nasty goobers on some spots, but then I can sand, prime and paint it once it is put together for good. I will leave you with one package that came today. I think I got pretty lucky on finding what's inside

With all the errands that needed to be run today right before xmas, I only got a little less than an hour tonight to play around. I ended up getting the ribbed idler pulley from O'Reilly's (Gate's 38008). This is a 70mm pulley compared to the 76mm smooth pulley. This made me opt for the shorter Gate's #K060547 belt. It turns out this was a safe bet. I went ahead and started cutting my lower radiator hoses. I do not remember which hose p/n's as I just matched them up to my coat hangers. Cut the hoses, threw in a 1 1/2" coupler, and put both hoses on the car before tighening the clamps. I'm happy with the results, but may clean it up later if I can find ONE hose.

I also have my fingers crossed on a functional 3.71 CLSD R200 longnose that is coming my way! I was able to get both turbo axles with it as well.

I spent a little time dropping the fuel cell in the car to get a visual and a couple measurements for my mount. I ended up cutting the floor more than just the spare tire well to make room for it without affecting many of the rubber grommets in the floor. These 3 frame brackets will be cut off and ground smooth to give it a cleaner, less hack job, of a look. I needed to get a visual of the tank in the back as I don't want it hanging down too low, but enough to see the sump The vent tube and return line will need angled -AN fittings on them, so there needs to be clearance there. I plan on sealing up the floor so me and the passenger are isolated from the tank. The 180 deg. -AN fittings I got will not clear the side of the tank, so I will swap them for 150 deg. fittings. This may be close to where the tank sits: As for the mount, I am going to use the Jeg's straps that work with the tank (since there are not welded tabs on the tank). I will build a square frame out of 1" square tubing that the straps will mount to. I will have tubing welded to the frame that will run the width of the frame and bolt to 4 90 deg. tabs on the frame. This will allow me to drop the tank by unthreading the fuel lines and unbolting 4 bolts. I am still mulling over the exact design and just measuring and measuring more before I start cutting.

Last night I was able to do a quick few things before it got too late. I replaced the torn tranny output shaft seal. I didn't get the GM one with the rubber boot on it and feel this should be sufficient (National Oil Seals #4583). I popped the old one out with a screw driver, cleaned up the surface with some IPA, laid some RTV sealant on the new seal, and tapped it in with a rubber mallet. I also measured the serpentine belt with some minty fresh dental floss. I figured it would have to be close to 54 1/2" or a size bigger. The Gate's belt #K060551 fit the best out of the bunch (55 3/4") but the tensioner is not full loaded and may grab the 55 1/4" belt today and see if that fits better (Gates #K060547). With the belt on I found 2 things that will need to be addressed that have popped up other places on the forums. 1. The idler pulley will need to be switched to a 6 rib pulley. I do not feel confident this will keep the belt on the water pump and I don't want to worry. When I return a couple radiator hoses today at Advance Auto I will be picking up the Dayco pulley (Advance #89015) 2. The belt comes in contact with the lower alternator mounting bolt. I don't know the best solutions to this yet, but I may try to drill out the mount a bit and see if I can get the bolt to recess a little bit.

Those 5.3 turbo builds are something that still interests me. Man, that thing will be sweet when you are done!

Very nice work on this dude!

Keith, I definitely liked the idea of what you did with your rad. I don't know if I could muster cutting up a good champion radiator for that. Right now I have the top hose figured out. I more than likely will take two hoses, cut them, and use a coupler to fit them to one. Socorob, I've looked for a while now and am stuggling to find the thread you are referring to. If you have a link that would be great, otherwise I will just keep searching.

The Columbia River Mandrel ultimate builder kit is on the way for the exhaust. I got an extra 8 ft. of straight tubing just to be safe and have more to screw up with. I will probably weld an X-pipe out of the 2, 45 deg. bends by sawing off an inch from the elbow to make a 4" merge section. I am going to throw the Dynamax race bullet mufflers on to cut down on some drone but still allow it to be loud as f%*k I got the Dynamax 4" angled stainless exhaust tips too. Also the friendly people at O'Reilly's were kind enough to line me up with a few goodies. I needed a new rear seal for the output on the tranny as mine has a slight tear and I know it will leak. The guy also had some fuel cell strap insulation foam that I picked up for a couple bucks. I have to change oil on the daily tonight but I hope it doesn't stop me from farting around too much tonight. The week days are always so tough...

Man thank you for this info! I took the roof trim piece off that houses the dome light and as I pushed them in I was thinking "Oh when I drop this panel I will find them"...Well there are body cavities that are up there and they are trapped! I am going to get the air compressor out and blow those SUM biotches out. I think my best bet would be going with the Tilton 7/8". I've read a few topics on this and want to continue. I have the remote speed bleeder and clutch line with a 90 deg. fitting and quick connect adapters squared away. I will be ordering a Stage 3 Monster clutch and slave here shortly. Well shnit...Here I was thinking there was a better option for flares! Some of you guys must be really good at sanding and painting these because some look really darn good.

Ha! Hopefully I can bring some valuable information to the table for you so you can avoid all the mistakes and pains I had to go through! What year car, engine, and drivetrain do you plan on going with? I've been told to go to some of the ZOOM meets but I probably will get blasted by the purists!

Man I hear you on the "list of priorities". That's why they say it is a project car and it never will be finished! I've been dreaming about engine bay/car painting with my painting buddies and brother (they got a degree in autobody). I got some stainless works 5" hangars I am going to use for the back mount near the fuel cell. Still undetermined (and need to measure) the bracket at the tranny x-member. I do believe that would be enough support. I haven't gotten any flex tubes either.

Here are a few things I am still brainstorming on: - Trim Clips and Pins - I need to find a bulk pack of the pins! Everytime you push them through to remove some interior they get lost or stuck in a spot you can't reach. These have to be sold somewhere. - Clutch MC - I've read that most have used the 7/8" MC but I do believe that Zzeal used a 3/4" with his LS2 and it was plenty. - Fender Flares - Who makes a good set of plastic molded ones? I got the fiber glass ones from TheZStore and ended up returning them because the fitment was pretty bad. - Exhaust brackets - Will the rear stock exhaust bracket (and an similar mounted one on the passenger side for duals) be adequate for holding the exhaust up with the only other support being the V-Band at the header collector? I may add another set of V-Bands around the front of the diff so I can drop the center section for driveshaft removal/tranny service.

Yesterday I was able to make a stop at Napa and see if I could find some rad hoses that would work. I wanted to get the fans mounted and test fit them. I bought some nice stainless flange bolts and nylon nuts for the fans. Centered them by eye and drilled away. And of course the top radiator hose may work but the bottom is proving to be a pain in the ass. I am going to need to trim and add a reducer to the top hose. I might have to pick up a hose splicer from Jagsthatrun and make my own hose.... I am also wanting to flip the throttle body as the ear sticks out and I'd like to hide it. Once flipped you can't get the bolts started as it hits the steam vent line. I also spent about 30 minutes just starting at this plastic panel. I could not for the life of me figure out how to get the damn thing out without breaking it! Turns out there is a little plastic center plug that allows access to the bolt for the hatch shock. Once my neighbor pointed that out I was golden! The liquid/vaper tank and all the hoses were easy to get at then. You have to weasel the hoses out from the bottom and then around the side. The gas cap filler neck has a security bolt that prevents you from getting the neck out. I took the carbide bit to it and out she came! I intend on getting a steel fill neck for the Jeg's tank and try to use the stock fill neck to route it behind the license plate. I want to shave the gas tank flap, sidemarkers, and maybe some other stuff down the road. My buddy had to take his engine hoist back yesterday so I made a run to Harbor Freight to pick myself up a nicer 2 ton lift. I cut away more plastic on the exhaust tube on the alt. and I believe I am good to go with it now.

I'm digging this post up from the grave, because I am trying to identify a upper and lower radiator hose that will work with: LS Series Gen 3/4 water pump Champion 3-row Radiator Does anyone have part numbers or store you can get hoses that are the correct length? The lower is proving to be quite difficult.

Stony, that is a really good deal!

I am looking for a set of Hyperblack/Polished/Matte Black set of wheels and tires. I'd prefer all 17 x 9.5" -19 offset but if the fronts are 9's that would be fine. PM me if you have something of interest! Thanks, Wade

I made a stop at Welle Auto Supply and bought some supplies: - 3/4" and 5/8" heat core caps - SEM black seam sealer for the tranny tunnel - More PB Blaster... - Engine enamel paint for the valve covers. I finally found the color I wanted

Stopped to get the headers tonight and the welds turned out pretty good! The welds had a little bit of drip through so I took my carbide bit to it to clean them up. I also cleaned the primary tubes up more. I am going up to Forest Lake to drop them off to get ceramic coated! They are going to throw the 1800 deg. flat black coating on them. I didn't want the ugly chromish looking coating and I'll have them back for $240

Well since the V-bands came in, the welder that I had lined up let me run them down to his place at 6:30. Looks like I can pick up a nice set of tig welded headers tomorrow!

disepyon, I will let you know how the shaft turns out! I think I talked to a Frank? (owner of DSS) and he's a busy guy but was able to take my order over the phone and said hopefully by the end of the month I should have it with the holidays coming up. I really was going to try my shot at the wiring but to be honest I run out of time at the end of each day and I was getting sick of pushing it back day by day. Jim's Performance will be reworking my harness, deleting all the unnecessary wires, relooming it and labeling each wire. I will still have to add my own relays for the fuel pump, fans, and main relay. It doesn't sound too complicated. Be sure to post up your harness work as you go! I made a summit purchase today...I will post up my parts list at some point in time soon. The Jeg's tank is sitting at my door step at home, and I bought 24 ft. of 1" x 1" 12 gauge steel tubing from Discount Steel in Minneapolis. They wanted to charge me over $50 for 3, 7 foot sections (cutting cost. etc.). I figure I will whip my sawzall in the car tomorrow and cut it down when I pick it up tomorrow More updates to come. This weekend should be a long one!

Because racecar bro! I wanted an aluminum shaft, but it really comes down to how much your willing the wince when you hand over the credit card.