blueovalz

The torch won't melt it, but will instead burn it. If the previous owner sanded or roughed up the steel before applying the resin, then this will be a tough job. If not, I'd opt for a well positioned puddy knife under the resin and chip it out. If you were to use the torch, I'd do it from inside the car by heating the steel instead of the resin. This will cause the resin to soften and break the bond, and while warm, will more easily be scraped off the steel.

Yeah, these are like the old AFBs. You'll have to remove all the top screws (about 8 of them I think), lift off the top plate and you'll see the jets at the very bottom of the bowl. I believe the needles come out with the top, so care is required in placing the top plate back onto the main body when done, making sure everything is lined up and needles are properly inserted in the jets.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for some kind of custom off-set vent, hood scoop, bulge, or what-not, that would say "this powerplant is different."

Would tilting the engine over a few degrees be of any benefit on the turbo installation? It may also give some extra room on the oil pan issue as well IF you're up to custom oil pan fabrication?

Great set of pics (not pecks)

Hang in the Aux. You're going where no gearhead has gone before!

A 245/16 set-up can be had with stock diameter springs and no flares. If this is the size of tire that you want to use with large flares, then the wheels will require a lot of offset, or, you may want to use wider wheels/tires to avoid too much of a gap between your tires and the bodywork. Radical, to me, implies wheel sizes in the 11"-12" width, which would fill out nicely the wheel openings of the larger flares.

Dan! A new picture! Thanks for another crumb Hungry for some more pics of that beautiful paint and body though.

Just in time for Christmas

A few weeks (months?) ago, a member asked a question about help in making the crease on the side of the door perfectly straight. I thought I'd share my method for future "searches." My method involves drawing a straight line on the door (assisted by my new friend and tool-the laser leveler) where the crease should be located, then along this line every few inches I draw a cross-ways mark perpendicular to the longer line. Below is a photo of these lines on the crease of NON-straight door as witnessed by the contours of color from sanding through the uneven surface. "Guide" coats work as well, but this method leaves little to chance and can be done with one color: Next, I sand the areas above and below the crease (My method was a stick parallel to the crease but the sanding strokes are 45 degrees to it) lightly and patiently until the cross marks slowly disappear on the side of the long line that I'm sanding. Once this is done, I know that that side is flat up to the line, and not further because even though the cross marks are gone on that side of the line, the line itself is still there: Then I continue onto the other side until the cross marks are gone there as well, but still leaving the long line intact: Then I prime it knowing the line has to be straight. If not, then some of the cross marks would not sand off being the adjacent surface was still too high or uneven (requiring more filler or more sanding either way). This is what a final sanding looks like after being primed:

Thanks for the kind words, but I wouldn't be able to answer your good questions in an appropriate amount of space. What I have started doing for those that need some assistance and will use the search function, is share any new or old tips as I progress through the car. An example is the use of a laser to create perfect wheel arches and painted stripes, adding a hood scoop that matches the contour of a hood, etc, and tonight I'm adding tips on making the "perfect" crease that exists on the side doors. For more detailed info, e-mail me and I'll send an abbreviated Word document on some things I've learned about glasswork. To give a short and quick answer to your questions: I am self-taught in fiberglass work. I watched my dad work with a patch of fiberglass as a 10 year old kid, and the "monster" was created. Trial and error (mostly error in the beginning) has been my best teacher. The fiberglass was laid over a particular type of foam (that doesn't react to the resin) that was sanded to shape. Panels that had very little curve or angularity were made directly onto the steel counterpart (rear hatch and doors, but the doors, due to a couple of sharp creases had to be modified after the glasswork was done) and then separated. The brake ducts were again foam shapes with glass laid over them, and then finished out. Starting out with pre-made fiberglass parts is an excellent way to get your foot into custom fiberglassing. This is exactly what I did with the hood. I cut the power bulge off, moved it rearward, and modified the rest to work.

'nuff said!

Thank you Tim (Your car BTW is looking great).

This was why I was so proud of my first car. It was faster than a PINTO !!!!

My understanding is that the higher the amp rating the higher the "turn-on" RPM. My driveshaft driven alternator pulleys give it a 2:1 ratio so that the alternator spins at twice the speed of the driveshaft, which is a bit high in my opinion, especially with the new 4:11 gears in the dif.

Nice info. The guy who set up my one-wire system told me I had to have some kind of small resistance (idiot light) in order for the system to operate correctly. So installed a small filament bulb as suggested. When I reach about 15MPH (driven off the propeller shaft), the light goes out, and the voltmeter jumps up to about 14vdc, and stays there, regardless of the load (90 amp) until I slow back down again. Surprising observation about having an alternator in the car with you. It starts a very pronounced whinning (almost like a jet turbine) at the point in which it starts charging, other wise, very quiet. Things you don't realize when they are under the hood.

Actually, the differential propeller shaft is offset toward the passenger side of the car by about an inch. Pete, I believe, has some good info on the driveshaft alignment and tolerable angles and important considerations when shortening one. A search should net some info on this subject.

Some pics of it are on on my fototime link. It fried the electronic dishwasher controls, caused the refrigerator's in-the-door ice and water dispenser to throw ice and water all over the kitchen floor every time I turned it on, and killed several solid state devices in the house, all from outside in the garage going to 2 six-foot grounding rods in the yard. Curiously, I took a picture of a 5 foot streamer arcing to the roof of my Hybridz, with arcs coming out of the wheels, over the tire's sidewalls, and into the concrete floor as a "battery charger" humor shot, and not a single solid state ignition part was destroyed. So who knows.....?

F1 uses CF brake rotors that get red hot.

The "serious hp" look

Exactly, and the upright crossbraced bar is a good add-on as well. I looked at these pieces, and without any work other than slotting the holes, the parts have enought margin to move 1/4" across the uprights easily. The most complicated part will be mating the two sliding half-links together so they function well, and look good. but that not a big deal. A welded piece of angle on one halve can be bolted to the other half to make them slide in and out relative to each other along slotted holes.

In regard to Jeromio's thoughts, since in his idea (which is a good one) bolts must be loosened and retightened, then how about modifying it a bit. Using two transverse links, cut and modify each of them so that a single link is created by two mating halves that are held together by a couple of bolts placed within overlapping slotted holes on each half. This transverse link is held onto the uprights from holes in the vertical sides of this link, which gives them enough room to be slotted as well. To adjust, loosen the two bolts in the center of the link, and one side of the upright-to-link bolts, slide the half-link (lengthing or shortening) just a bit, and then tighten down on all four bolts (nuts back-welded to ease the job) making the link rigid once again. In my case where the uprights are replaced by one large single plate with no need for a transverse link, I can simply slot the holes of the "saddles" and move them independently.

It is very close to fitting. This comment is based on some custom wheels I had fabricated (16" instead of 15") that had a backspacing of 4-9/16" which is only 1/16" offset. Only an accurate measurement with the known tires that you will be using can answer this question as tires will be very important here.

3/16" toe. I can't help it, but it just sounds like too much, but if it works in a particular case, then..... I'd be afraid the cords would be showing after a few laps. I also investigated the use of inboard rod ends instead of outboard. My last idea was replacing the bottom caps that hold the rubber bushings in place with fabricated caps that were in essence "blocks" with a hole in each one that allows a long 3/4" rod to be inserted through both "blocks". this rod would pass through the rod ends as well. A spacer tube between the two rod ends would insure the rod ends always stayed the same distance relative to each other and that forward thrust torque would be distributed evenly between the two rod ends. One advantage to the inner rod end option was the spacing between the rod ends was almost double the distance verses using outboard rod ends, thus the minimum incremental adjustment was half of the outboard design, making toe adjustment more attractive.

Another thought here as well. Adjustability: Using any rod end in this manner, the smallest granularity acheived will be 1/2 the pitch of the threaded rod end (1/2 turn of the rod end in or out) and then this must be used in relation to the distance between the rod ends, and the tire size. For example, a reasonable distance, with spacers, between the rod ends will be about 7". If one were to use a NF 3/4" thread for adjustment (16 TPI), then the finest increment of adjustment is 1/2 turn, which is 1/32". A 32nd of an inch, separated by 7" will give the finest increment of adjustment at the tire (assuming a 24" diameter tire), as far as toe-in or out is concerned, of between 3/32" and 1/4". I feel this is much too coarse of a "minimum" amount of change for any single "half turn" adjustment. This then brings in perhaps the use of a counter threaded rod or tube using left/right hand threads, at least on one rod end only, to give the infinite adjustment needed for proper set-up (unless toe adjustment is not critical for what you are striving for)