Bartman

Sounds like quite an ordeal. I looked at that site you posted for AC hoses and fittings and it does sound like a good resource. I have everything now except for the hoses that I was planning on getting from Vintage Air (everything else is from Vintage Air, except I'm using an LT1 compressor like you are). So you think it would be better to get my hoses custom made with fittings installed from Ray's? It looks like I would need to find out my thread sizes, but then I'd be getting completed hoses (instead of pieces of hose and various fittings).

There are several different part numbers, but they are all essentially the same. Make sure it's 2-speed and from a 3.8 Liter Taurus, and don't swap the motors, fan blades or housings (that's when you can run into problems). They are pretty popular, but you can still usually get a pretty good deal at a junk yard (around $25).

I used Ross's kit and it worked fine for me. Are you sure you have the correct rotors?

One thing to consider when choosing which engine/transmission you want is the ease and/or cost of the swap. The LT1 engine works with the same mounts as any other sbc (you can use the JTR kit). Since the Vortec mounts the same as an LS1 you would need to use a different setup. You can get an installation kit from John's Cars or make your own if you have the time and fabrication skills.

I'll be taking a wire wheel to the rust areas this weekend and I'm pretty confident that I will be able to remove the rust and find clean metal underneath. The issue for me is how much metal is left and will it be strong enough. If I just treat the metal and cover the floor with dynomat will it be strong enough? I have a mig welder with gas, so if any areas do require a small patch I just need to get a piece of 18 gauge steel and weld it in. I know PRO-15 has a kit that has some type of mesh you can use to strengthen areas, but it sounds like welding in a small patch panel would be cheaper and easier. I would think that the area that has the small holes would be hard to fill by welding due to the thickness af the metal that's left (easy to burn through).

My Odessey sits upright behind the passenger's seat with easy access for cables if necessary. I didn't put it in the tool box because I don't want to puts holes in it for the cables (it will fit). Don't let the size fool you, it performs as well as a full size battery. I've been using mine for a while now with no problems whatsoever. If you want to compare it to something else use the specifics: 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds John Coffey at betaMotorsports used to carry these batteries as well as a nice aluminum mount, but I don't see them listed on his web site anymore. I still need a better mount for mine.

I don't know about that Integra, but remote mount turbo's sound interesting. Don't know if it's a good solution...but it's still interesting to read about it. Here's a forum that talks about taking a Camaro SS from 269 rwhp to 406 rwhp. http://www.viperalley.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=464283&Main=463702 Here's a link to the STS web site where they talk about advantages of remote mounted turbo's. http://www.ststurbo.com/benefits

In general I think the classified section needs to be cleaned up. People aren't deleting items once they've sold. Can't we make them expire after a certain amount of time?

I was wondering about that hood as well. Does it have some special significance or is someone playing a trick on the seller? The current high bidder has won zero prior auctions.

It wound up being fairly easy to remove the rubber sound deadening and overall the floor pan looks to be in pretty good shape (just like Jon said it would). I'm still not sure about whether or not I should weld in replacement pieces or just use a rust treatment, but I'm leaning towards just treating it. If I treat the areas that need it, what do I do about the small holes?

Joel, Looks good in that shot you posted. Could you take another pic from the side? I'd like to see how well the airdam matches the wheel arch and fender.

No, I don't think I'll be entering Pebble Beach. I'll just figure out what to do after I determine how bad the problem is.

I'd like to do this the right way, so it sounds like cuting out the rusted areas and welding in a new metal piece is the right way to do it. I've searched and I can't find a good explanation of the proper way to insert patch panels. Searching around the internet I've found a couple of different options. I could remove the rusted piece, cut a replacement piece to fit, and then butt-weld and grind smooth. The other method would be to make the repair panel large than the opening and lap weld (could use a manual flanging tool on the edges of the piece being welded).

Thanks guys for all the advice. I'll get rid of the rubber and see how bad it really is. That rust encapsulator sounds pretty good. If the worst area is in the picure I posted earlier would you just use this product and apply some fiberglass in the area with small holes? I think I'll only find rust around the edges of the rubber mat on the driver's side (as well as the couple of uncovered area in the pictures above). It seems to be from moisture coming from the inside not outside. The firewall looks fantastic without even a hint of rust, and I can't find any rust looking on the bottom of the floor pan.

Here's some new pic's: In the picture above I put a light underneath so that the holes show up better. That's not rust behind the seat mount it's just fibers that I haven't cleaned up yet. I'm thinking I need to remove the rubber pad and weld in some repair panels.

You didn't mention any interest in getting a Z. I'm over 6'2" 200 lbs. and I fit quite comfortably. You can definitely put in an LSx or LT1 and get pretty good performance.

I didn't realize until your post, that the top is actually a big piece of sound deadening rubber (at first I thought it was an extra pan piece epoxied or spot welded in for more strength:redface: ). So it sounds like I should pull that rubber layer out and then treat the entire floor? I'm going to cover everything with a dynomat alternative as well, but I don't want to let any rust that's already there to get worse. Should I replace that rubber sound deadener or just go without?

Here's a couple of picture's of my floor pans: In general I think they are fairly good shape and I was planning on just covering them with POR-15. My questions are: Do you think that just using POR-15 is enough based on the current condition (they still seem pretty solid) and what should I do about the drain plugs? Should I replace the rubber plugs or go another route (like welding in sheet metal)?

Yes the stereo will fit. I actually modified the lower bracket that was on the stock heater box, so there is exactly the same amount of room for a stereo as there was before. There is a drain tube that you can see on a picture in an earlier post of this thread. The kit does come with a hose that will allow water to drain outside the car.

My bad. I can't find it referenced in the online documentation, but a drain kit came with the evaporator. I'll find out for sure, but this sounds like what you're talking about.