Stock Car Mafia Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 The columbia river exhaust builder kit came and I ordered a pair of their v-bands. I am not really happy with the quality of those pieces and probably will send them back. The Vibrant V-bands were better quality with a groove/indentation the pipe sits on and makes welding on easier. These ones from CR slip over the tube the whole extent and you set where you want the piping to end. It seemed like the bands won't clamp flush in the clamp either like the Vibrant set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) Weird that you are having to do so much crossmember surgery..who's mount kit is this? Do you have a spare slip yoke to try? They are like $30 from Speedwatmotors or Summit and you can have it in 2 days. I've twisted 2 yokes off and one of them had to be knocked loose because the twisting kinda locked it on. Even so, it did not damage the output shaft of the tranny. I'm sure you've checked both for simple burrs? While the trans is out, saw off the nipples on either side of the back up light. They will bump the tunnel too. Don't get frustrated, I had my motor in and out a million times before I was satisfied. And I'm still not satisfied. You are doing great. Slow down, take a deep breath, take your wife out for a fancy dinner. Then get back to work! Edited January 3, 2016 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 The kit is from Hawks Third Gen. I think it is a SUPER solid kit, it just takes a lot of massaging. I'm sure some may get away without cutting the crossmember but I did just so I don't lose any sleep over it or have to pull the motor back out down the road. I might have to order a slip yoke to give it a shot because I don't think there are any burrs on the yoke or output shaft. Maybe the shaft has a slight twist in it as this was a pullout. I've looked at the splines and they don't look twisted. I took some pictures but I don't think I have any of those ears or nipples rubbing the trans tunnel. I would assume because yours is a 240, that's why you had to. I only was frustrated that day. The great thing about having a garage is you can walk away at any point when you get frustrated. I did and went back out the next day like nothing happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 The driveshaft is being RMA'ed through DSS. It's a bummer as now building the exhaust will be on hold. I did get a piece of 4 inch round stainless steel from work that will be used to clearance the front diff mount for exhaust. I need to locate some new spindle pins as at some point I'll be sectioning the struts and I might as well get them and new bearings and seals while I'm at ithe (and the good stubs and companion flanges for my diff swap). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Search the forum for the 5/8" bolt mod in lieu of spindle pins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramagedained Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Search the forum for the 5/8" bolt mod in lieu of spindle pins. When cutting the pins apart to do the 8.8" swap I couldn't come up with a good reason that they were designed that way in the first place. Stock Car, you can have the rear up rights/strut tubes I took out of my car for free if you come pick them up from Fridley. Though I'm not sure if/how the 280 ones differ from what was in my early 260z. They're yours if you want them as a spares should something not work out sectioning yours. Edited January 5, 2016 by bramagedained Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Bramagedained, I really appreciate that offer. I would for sure love to pick those up. I've been daydreaming about if something does go wrong with the sectioning, that I might be kind of hosed for a while. Of course I always overthink every situation and look at the worst case scenario. I'll shoot you a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) So I wanted to post a little update as I've been working a couple hours here and there for a few days. It's been busy outside the garage too, sorting out parts, planning, and just work/life stuff. One thing I didn't like about the Hawks kit, is the welded portion and the bolted motor mounts hung lower than the frame rails on the car. I did want to weld them up solid on the bottom but didn't like the look of the two lips hanging lower than the rail. I don't have any good pictures from prior but here is one for comparison: I just took a 4 inch cut off wheel and roughly zipped off the bottom tab of the welded portion. From there I grinded it smooth and tried to weld the gap upside down. The weld pool drip I would get made this process pretty hard. I ended up just welding little bridges spaced apart until I had filled in most of the gap. From there I ground it down, looked for more holes and kept filling. I believe it took about 3 welding/grinding sessions to get it mostly filled in. From there I just cut off a good sized chunk off the bolted portion of the motor mount. Of course I just eye balled this and got it pretty much flush with the bottom of the welded mount. I am happy but still would prefer to cut up another 1/16"-1/4" so the mount looks "symmetrical" all around the plate with a small gap. If I get bored we will see. These are things I probably waste too much time looking at that NO ONE else will notice. Other than the z members here Edited January 9, 2016 by Stock Car Mafia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Lastly, I spent just a little time last night removing the frame rail brackets that were left from cutting out the spare tire well. I needed this cleaned up so I can start fabbing the hard mounts for the fuel cell. I thought I was supposed to have this done weeks ago? I was initially going to grind them down, but it was easier to use the air hammer/chisel to slowly work these off the frame. I will need to tack/button weld some small holes shut but I will clean everything up after all the hard work is done, including cleaning up some of my shitty welds on the tank frame. I have these brackets for sale if anyone is interested. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Well I just spend my morning drinking coffee correcting all of my spelling mistakes. Honest to god I never noticed them before but I promise I am not a bad speller at all. I blame it on the autocorrect on my phone. I am guilty of not caring about how I spell when I text. lol I plan on 2 solid days of work this week. That's of course if I don't get distracted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 The temps up here have dipped in to the negatives now. Thank god for a heated garage! The original owner sent me a text yesterday of the day him and his wife bought the car in 1990. His wife was the one who had a love for the car, so I send him update periodically just to touch base and show them the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 I went through and used some SEM black seamsealer for the tranny xmember. Here is a closer picture of the tank mount setup I was going for. The 4 arms coming off the cage will sit on 4 angle iron tabs that are welded to the frame. The top nut was welded on to the arms and the bolts will thread through the bottom. It is pretty slick. I have put no thought in to the floor pan yet. haha The tank turned out really nice but the tank doesn't look exactly level when you look at it from the side. I already fully welded the tabs so I am a little bothered by it. I may just get some steel collars to raise the back of the tank. It will be a temporary fix that will probably remain permanent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) I also got the mustang reverse light switch that I threw in the tranny. I now realize why Keith mentioned to remove the ears on the tranny...3 of them are in the way when you tighten it down. I cleaned them up the best I could and was satisfied. I also get the intake parts and relaxed in the kitchen and put it together. Edited January 10, 2016 by Stock Car Mafia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Love your build! I can't tell how low it hangs but you might want to reconsider your tank setup. I have a rear sump in my stock tank and it barely clears when I back out of my (very steep) driveway. I've also scratched up the fittings coming out on a parking block once too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramagedained Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 The temps up here have dipped in to the negatives now. Thank god for a heated garage! I saw -9° on the thermometer in the back yard this morning. I've just decided that today is for mounting gauges to the dash which I can do at the work bench inside. Those are some dedicated fans at the Vikings game today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 You got that right. We gave a few tickets away at work to a few of our customers and I can't believe they'd want to go in this weather! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Love your build! I can't tell how low it hangs but you might want to reconsider your tank setup. I have a rear sump in my stock tank and it barely clears when I back out of my (very steep) driveway. I've also scratched up the fittings coming out on a parking block once too. Thanks Rossman! As I can tell, I do believe it will be ok as the car sits now. I do have the ability to raise it an inch or so more if I really need to. I do believe the car will be a little bit lower after I throw the coilover kit in and get some wheels and tires, but hey I like to live dangerously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 I had the pleasure of meeing bramagedained on Sunday to pick up his rear uprights. His car is definitely clean and I feel he's been making some killer progress with having the limited time he does. Thanks again for the uprights! If i do use them at some point, I am sure it will show up on the thread. Now for a little update. Sunday was pretty slow progress. It was rather cold and I was distracted by the Vikings game and decided to have a few beers after I got back from up North to soften the loss. I was able to get the tranny bolted back up and dropped the motor back in the car, in anticipation to be doing the wiring and exhause. I never noticed this before the but headers rub on the driver side knock sensor. I am a little bummed about this as I swear I looked for issues before I got them ceramic coated. I guess I will have to live with a few scratches here and there but hell no car is perfect. I figured as I get closer to starting this beast, I need to identify and correct any issues as I strap on more stuff on the motor. I shaved the lower alt. bracket bolt and removed quite a bit of material from the bracket as well. I did not get a side shot for those who would be interested. I got 2 hours in the garage tonight and got sick of staring at the pile of exhaust piping and wanted to fab up an X-pipe like Josey did in his build. The merge section has a width of 4" so all I did was shave off 1" off each bend. I used a chop saw and I was a pain in the ass to get the cuts perfect. It took a little massaging after i was cut to get them flush and also symmetrical. Honest to god I am happy with it and it actually was quite fun making it. That is it for tonight. I have our company owner coming for the next couple days so I know the next few nights will be limited if not null of any updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Looks awesome! Consider having an AN fitting soldered onto the fuel rail-I've had several buddies have the push-on fuel fitting pop off and spray the motor with gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock Car Mafia Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 I've been holding back some pictures of the parts collecting downstairs, but I have a set of black Holley EFI fuel rails and AN fittings going on the car. The nightmares I've heard about the pushlock fittings scared me away from using the stock rails or soldering on an AN fitting. I am struggling to envision a proper mount and location for the pre filter and fuel pump on the car. My initial plans were to route the fuel line to the pass side of the gas tank and have the filter and pump inline and mounted straight to the side of the fuel cell cage. With the length of the filter, pump, and straight -8AN fittings, they end up being longer than the 20 inches on the side. It would interfere with the exhaust routing. My next plan was to use T-Bolt clamps and mounts and mount the pre filter, pump, and post filter under the car on the frame rail. I am still unsure if this would work, since the fuel line will be the highest point and I don't see it gravity feeding to prime the pump before I run the car. Is there any insight on this? Otherwise my 3rd option is listed below. I drew up what I might plan on doing. I'll need to make a a platform that extends off the cage, I don't really feel 12 gauge square tubing is necessary for this and may just use angle iron. I have 2, 180 deg. AN fittings that ended up not working for the vent and return lines so I can use them here. I really want the pump mounted flush or lower than the tank so I don't stress it out when my fuel level is low. The fuel line will then run up the back side of the tank and then (hopefully) through the frame rail where there is already a nice rubber insulator. I am definitely open to any other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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