Here comes trouble Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 EDIT last page here : Update............http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larry...m/ph//my_photos........... Have Harbour Freight's largest sand blaster and the powder coating gun... and free oven ...............Found a source for the coilover sleeves http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106293 Making camber plates, http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106293 located a CNC operator to cut the plates out and waiting for the monoball housings Just about have all the parts to assault the suspension.. Recieved a small settlement in court for the damage done to the Tomahawk Zee/Cobra http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larry...e76.jpg&.src=ph (and hope the very (same)******* is reading this who could have saved himself a wheel borrow load in attorney fees if he had the balls to talk to me...now see if you can beat your attorney out of the remainder. LOL my settlement comes directly from the attorney not you.). I plan to make adjustable front lower control arms and TC rods. GTO headlight trim rings and bead roller thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthrea...4046#post584046 .. ...adjustable clutch rod thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106902 ..FIRST PAGE begins here........................................................................................................Stable Works 250 GTO on 1978 Silver Z.(ownership for years).. I bought the Stable Works kit in 1996 and got the package deal (headlight covers, flip top gas cap, cross-lace Dayton wire wheels etc) when Rod Simpson was the owner. I started Saturday and this Monday. the body kit is mounted for fit......The biggest surprise was that I have a R 180 differential. (duh) The underside was free from rust. Surface rust on one place at bottom corner of hatch back opening. Used a 3/8 air ratchet with no WD 40 and no broken fasteners until I got to the grille. The sheetmetal front of the radiator support is covered with surface rust and will need attention. A little fender and door bondo in the places where known but all in all the car is very straight....which means that the GTO body kit fits very good and appears that I can make door, hood and hatch lines very straight I have a scrap pile of aluminum that I have been collecting, so I can get some argon mix for the wire welder and a coilover kit together for the suspension.. I will post pictures when I get some film.... http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=/392a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Flash Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Larry, Great to see that you're back in it! Good luck and keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerrari GTO Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Great to see another member doing a GTO. My car will be coming off the rotisserie soon and the reassembly/body kit will finally begin. Keep us posted. It would be good to get a thread going and have all those on this board who are doing GTO's list themselves so we could contact each other with questions/ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-not Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Thought I'd put my $0.02 in the GTO thread. Here are some detail shots of my Ford powered 77 280z / GTO. The inside door handle was relocated, a new flat door panel was made, power windows and locks installed. The door pull is Victoria British #9-269 The Gas cap is from http://www.cobraaccessories.com "gas cap assembly with internal locking cap" $195.00. The mounting flange was machined off to fit in the body recess and the back of the cap was drilled and tapped to fasten it from the inside. The hood strut took a lot of searching to get it right. I made a fiberglass cover for the wiper area, it was a fairly simple mold to make. The radiator is Summit #SUM 380425 with a perfect fitting 90 Taurus fan and shroud. I hope the pictures are here Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Too bad you have to give up (temporarily?) on the Tomahawk. I'm glad to see you're moving on the GTO. You'll probably finish your GTO before I ever get my VR on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerrari GTO Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Hey Wagz, you have been sounding kinda down about your VR project lately. Don't let the gremlins get you! Oh yea-I think it was you that already started the thread for GTO builders to list themselves-sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Hey Wagz' date=' you have been sounding kinda down about your VR project lately. Don't let the gremlins get you! Oh yea-I think it was you that already started the thread for GTO builders to list themselves-sorry.[/quote'] Nahhh, I'm not really down about not having the VR done. But, I sure would like to be driving it. Typical life stuff conspires to keep me out of the garage. Family is a priority. My kids sports and school stuff takes gets a lot of attention (especially during baseball season) . I can't be too down about that. This spring I joined with a couple long-time associates to start a new Project Management/IT Services consulting business. A new business takes a lot of time. Being a partner takes even more energy. When I do have time to get in the garage, the 260 gets most the attention right now. It's close to being on the road and ready for paint jail. It wasn't me who started a GTO builders thread (that I remember, anyway). A long time back I offered to help John Washington update and maintain the GTO Replica Registry (GTORR) but, we've never taken any other steps... If there isn't already a thread, I'll second your suggestion to start one. I'll have to do a quick search... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 Mark I was checking your site again.. Looks like you have accomplished a fair amount with quality work on the VR....... My clear headlight covers were never trimmed to fit and came as two indistinguishable oversized pieces. After figuring out on which side each went... I taped them to the fender and used a black marking pen to outline the contour of the headlight opening on the outside of the covers being slightly generous with a 1/8 inch margin outside the contour. Once properly secured to the fender headlight well it is fairly easy to get an accurate line drawn on the headliht cover using the actual headlamp well as the guide as seen thru the clear plastic cover. .................... I have a small hand held grinder that takes approximately 3 1/2 inch grinding disc about 3/16 thick. Best to use an almost wore out disc around 2 inches in diameter. The thicker disc and smaller diameter are easier to control and more precise in cutting around the radius of the headlight cover ..... My bandsaw actually cracked the plastic when I experimented with it and luckily, I had a large amount of excess to work with without damaging the useable part of the headlight cover. ..................................The cutting disc has to be used with caution to keep cutting along the black cut line. The grinder I have has a finger rest aiding in improved dexterity. I found it best and faster to groove a line around the headlight cover before completely cutting thru the plastic because of heat build up and melted plastic along the cutting groove. A little heat build-up actually does no damage except the plastic gets gooey in the cut and slows down the cutting. The melting of plastic is amazingly confined to the cut and what spills out can be easily removed after it cools without damage to the surrounding plastic. You do not want any more heat build up than necesary though to prevent spreading. I have one headlight cover cut out and find after trimming that the sides are fairly the right size and the top and bottom are slightly oversize of which I will trim more tomorrow. I also have this 20 inch bastard file to smooth the edges. I sit in a chair with the headlight cover piece in my lap with my left arm holding and gripping the cover to prevent any movement as my right holds the grinder partially resting my hand on the cover for added control. I am right next to the car fender for quick quality control checks.Apparently Thunder Ranch and Stable Works send thier covers un trimmed Any buyer should inquire about this before buying covers "becuz trimming the headlight cover knowing what they cost is about as comfortable as a dog crapping razorblades". I have an idea how to fabricate headlight cover trim rings out of aluminum or hopefully stainless steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-not Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Sorry, Thunder Ranch does not trim their headlight covers. They do label the right and left sides. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Larry - Whatever happened to Nate (Nezzie76)? I bought his V8-Z from him not long after you went to Sheridan. Several months later he came back asking to buy the car back. I sold it to him and never heard from him again. He drove his VR when he came to buy the V8Z back. It was rough, but he had done a fair amount of work to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 LOL... Mark !..... our young friend is the one who splashed my Tomahawk in an attempt to obtain a mold and made off with a lot of my tools and parts. Once I find him , the sheriff will serve him with a court complaint that I put his name on. I hear he is married and working for Comcast. He returned my Tomahawk hood and trunk to my friend Ocbaar before I got home. He had earlier agreed to settle with me according to Ocbaar but has avoided me. Not a bad kid to work with but his imagination just got away from good sense. I doubt if he ever gets that VR straigtend out without my help..warped Thunder Ranch nose and maybe crooked chassis........I just wish that he would get in touch with me so the problem can be resolved without going to court. I filed suit against three other people with him. I have already won judgments of $269,000.00 against two of them which I will probaly never collect but I will own court judgements on them for the next 20 years to figure out a payment plan. It's called "due process" and keeps a lot of people who call themselves "lawyers" well fed. The above is in a well documented complaint and public record in (Eugene,Oregon) Lane County Circuit civil case # 16-05-04556 and the two judgments signed by Judge Karsten Rasmussen against Penny Cooper and Kaleb Crandall. I will be delivering documents to Mr. Crandall's employer demanding 25% of his salary. I doubt in 20 years, Mr. Crandall will be able be able to even pay the 9 % interest on a problem with me that he should have shown more responsibility. Penny Cooper could probably pay the debt in full if she had the business sense to charge everyone a nickel for intercourse with her. Sitting on a gold mine and don't know it ! LOL I feeel better with that slander, defamation and libel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Wow! Sounds like a bunch of trouble!! I had read your posts about tools and parts being stolen and your Tomahawk being damaged, but I had no idea Nate was involved. That probably explains why I never heard from him again. He seemed like a pretty decent kid. Your right about him getting married. That's how I ended up with his V8Z. He wanted to buy an engagement ring and he knew I was interested in his car. He offered me a good deal and I snapped it up. He came back few months later asking if I would sell it back because his fiance really liked the car and wanted him to get it back. So, I sold it back for exactly what I paid. Last I knew he moved to the Beaverton area, then he just dropped off the radar... Too bad he was involved. I hope you're right that he temporarily lost control of his good sense. I'd hate to think he's the kind guy who would do that as a matter of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Punched out holes for the headlights and turn signal lights. I had 2 sets of headlight buckets (Carello ?) off 2 Fiat sports car(s). The headlights are self contained with headlight adjusters and retainers in a tear drop steel bucket with a small compact chrome trim ring. The compact units with a hole cut in the headlight well could contain the entire head light unit including trim ring and fit precisely under the clear plastic headlight cover. The adjuster screws and retainer ring are covered and hidden from view by the headlight trim rings. I have seen GTO s where the guts of the headlight unit are exposed and ugly. The Fiat trim rings are not screwed or fastened but actually with lots of pressure pop off. Out of the back end of the teardrop is a water proof grommet with a 3 wire fitting. I removed the Fiat trim rings and substituted VW chrome trim rings which have about the same contour as the GTO fenders giving the appearance that the VW trim rings are an extension of the GTO fenders. The Tommahawk also uses VW headlight trim rings due to the slope of the fenders. When the trim rings are painted the same color as a Tomahawk, it appears they are an extension of the fender,In my Yahoo pictures there is photo in Kit Car magazine of the (1st) prototype Tomahawk with painted VW headlight trim rings. A "Stallion" Cobra replica body was utilized somewhat in making the mold for the Tomahawk because the "Stallions" were larger in dimension than most other Cobra replicas. I wanted headlights unlike the Z units which are an unbelievable chore to change. The far east "copy" engineers must not of had anything to copy when they they came up with the z headlight system.. ............My aluminum scrap pile is growing and hopefully I will be able to take some pictures and buy some supplies.. I have not spent any money yet but will need argon mix for my wire welder (the turds depeleted that by not turning off the argon tank valve and also drained my acety/oxy by the same type of careless misuse) ........I discovered a new sawzall blade today and will tackle the fenders tomorrow. ...........My body fitting has gone as far as can until the final fitting takes place. and de parts are a tight fit !!!!!!!!! ......I want all the body parts removable when I do the suspension and coilivers for easier access http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=/392a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 17, 2005 Author Share Posted June 17, 2005 Y Not Bill ...does your hood hinge connect to the original Z hood hinge bolt holes (Alpha style)?????...... I have been able to locate only one of the Corvette hoodhinges for my GTO (GM part #3912640> Right hand and #3912639>left hand @ $28.90 a piece) These hinges are very simple and connect to the top of the radiator support on the fender sides. I slipped the remaining left hand hinge under the hood and it raised the (predrilled and threaded) hood almost level with the fender and nose piece. The two bolt hole hinges came with Stableworks supplied long bolts and nuts which uses the long bolt's head as an adjuster stop against the stationary lower part of the hinge and radiator support..to accurately position the hood at nose piece and fender level height..ingenious use of a longer bolt and.. a nut on the threaded bolt is used to actually tighten the hood to the hinge after the long bolt is propery threaded in place to the hood's mounting holes.... the nuts on the long bolts are actually used to tightly secre the hood to the hinge and act as a lock nut................... I am bidding on a set of Corvette hinges on eBay to recover the lost hinge. I would like to use the Stanza scissor trunk hinges as used on the Tomahawk hood but this one Corvette hinge appears to adjust the hood merely by dropping it in place without bolts or adjustment. I have had problems in partially cracking a mold seam in the area of the decklid opening during mounting of the rear tub and some gelcoat chipping off the fiberglass on the edge of one headlight well on the nose piece but the GTO body from Stable Works may not be of Tomahawk uniform quality but it is quite straight and some real skill was placed in it's original molding for a good fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 17, 2005 Author Share Posted June 17, 2005 Any ONE have any ideas how to cut and fabricate metal trim rings out of aluminum or stainless steel.....ie.. stationary jig saw (Metal cuting blades) , hand held jig saw/sawzall, metal cutting bandsaw..... air powered nibbler, grinding disc. tin snips, shear ..... common edged rock.........flat metal sheet material or flattened tubing.........I (believe I can) make a pattern for a headlight cover trim ring for flat thin stainless steel plate that will need a little mig welding and bending to properly fit. If I can find the proper metal cutting stationary jig saw blades. .. I have a long throat stationary jigsaw that I have never used and have no knowledge of available metal cutting jig saw blades... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-not Posted June 18, 2005 Share Posted June 18, 2005 Here are pictures of the Thunder Ranch hinge setup. They give you the "U" shaped piece that bolts to the hood, you have to make the rest. I welded a 1" angle between two 1/8 plates that bolt where the original Datsun hood hinges were mounted. The oversize holes in the plates allow for adjustment in all directions. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 18, 2005 Author Share Posted June 18, 2005 YNOT BILL... Thunder Ranch hood hinge is different than Alpha hinge. I have an old article that details a buildup of an Alpha GTO 250 kit that I will scan and attempt to place in my Yahoo Photos so it will be readable and viewable. Do you have any engine heat problems with your hood ? (on your very impressive GTO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted July 4, 2005 Author Share Posted July 4, 2005 1. fiberglass inner fenders... Cut and Opened the rear fender wells as far as possible for the severly reversed 8 inch wide X 15 Dayton cross lace knock-off wire wheels with and welded the cuts in. I should have opted for 10 inch wide rear wheels with 3/12 inch offset. The Stable Works supplied inner fenders were obviously not made with my 1978 in mind most likely due to some subtle changes over the years...I am glad I installed both front and rear inner fenders at this stage without the rear tub permanently in place or the front bolted on since the front and rear were constantly removed during the fit.many times. With substantial trimming the driver's side fit flush up against the top of the Datsun fender well but the passenger side had at least a half inch or better gap on top and still required persuasion from the Porta-power to overcome the "warped " set to fit flush against the upper fender well after considerable trimming. The inner fenders will require substantial fiberglass work to fit and seal properly to the front and rear fenders. I reduced the rear inner fenders by half just to get them to fit. The rear fender cuts are welded up. ................................................................................. 2.The welding stage ($38.00 to fill the argon mix bottle) is fairly complete with the addition of welding in a 2 inch wide steel strap over the front portion of the stainless steel trim on the 1/4 windows which will allow bonding of the fiberglass sail panel of the rear tub. I sandblasted the outside of the 1/4 windows and painted them black. The inside 1/4 window glass blends with the black interior plastic panels..... I welded in straps on the door insets for a better bond and contour for the fiberglass door skins. The driver's door has a gap at the top that will need more attention............................. 3.The eBay Corvette passenger side hood hinge arrived in sad shape with the spring retainer for the pivot pin collapsed.. I was able to resurect the retainer with channel locks and the hinge now has no slack or wobble. I sand blasted off it's "multiple" colors and rust.............................................. 4.. Installed hidden rear license plate light and and a chrome trimed/smoked plexiglass license plate purchased at a garage sale @ 3 for a $1.00 ................................................ 5. I almost have enough to do front and rear coilovers and new polyurethane rear end bushings. The diff is an R180 which I will probably replace with an extra R200 out of one of the parts cars.. (I am not admitting to an automatic in the 1978 Z). Do not have a spindle pin remover anymore . With the rear fender wheel wells totally opened up I may not have to remove the spindle pin and do the 2 inch sectioning on the vehicle with the wheels off and strut cartridge removed.. ................................................................ 6. I have a piss ant web camera that I will attempt to tke some pictures with since I now getting far into the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=8223&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/my_photosI had this little Cool Cam pocket digital that I thought was useless but it seems to take pictures.... These pictures were the practice shots. I will be taking more to detail this project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-not Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 I can rember when I was at that stage of the build. I like the VW headlight rings, what year, model are they? I have some British (AH 100-4) rings that aren't perfect. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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