Fauxre Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 I've been pondering hood pins for a while now. I was at the AHA "Fun Under the Sun" kit car show in Pomona last weekend. Saw a Velo Rossa that was going for the classic look by using leather straps to secure the hood. The enormous belt buckles really detracted from the sleek lines of the car. And to add to the distraction, the builder used the VR style tilt front end AND had the original style center hood opening. Why? That means it had four of those big buckles mucking up the front end. I had already made a tentative decision on my latch arrangement, and after seeing that VR, I felt much better about my choice. I chose the modern Aerodynamic panel fasteners from Aerocatch. I toyed with mounting them on the side of the tilt hood but the curvature seemed too extreme and problematic for my feeble mind to tackle. So I went for what I perceived to be the simplest mounting spot... the old Z's fresh air intakes in the cowling area under the windshield. After a little eyeballing, I marked the spots on the hood and made my cutouts. A couple of brackets tacked into the vent openings and the pins are mounted. I'll be making a new fiberglass cowling to fit under the hood. I'm working with this cardboard template for now. I'll mold in a "cup" to conceal all but the pin and nut. I think the final look is pretty slick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Bought some cheap carpet at Home Depot to make a temporary interior. Covered the trunk and did a little two tone up front. It'll do for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Started the Title / Registration process today. Fees were only $146. I now have 2 one day moving permits in order to get my Brake and Lamp inspection, which I've scheduled for Wednesday. I also have my BAR certificate of Sequence number. After passing the B&L inspection, I go back to DMV and they will issue a long term (good for 90 days) temporary moving permit to get the CHP vin verification and smog inspection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 I drove to the closest inspection station for the brake and lamp inspections. Passed the lamp inspection fine, but I was told the brakes were pulling to the right too much, and would need some work. The good news is they didn't charge me for the brake inspection since all the tech did was a test drive. After talking with the tech., it seemed the most likely cause of the pulling brakes was the 40 year old hoses, since the calipers, rotors and pads are all new. After replacing the hoses yesterday, it still pulls to the right, albeit somewhat less. I know I need a front wheel alignment, but what else could be causing my problem?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Air in the left side maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I feel bad for you-in my state you just tell them you want a license, give them the money and put on your tag. Sometimes you gotta have your wife hold your rifle while you put the tag on. But then again, it rains here and you gotta smoke weed indoors, so there is that to deal with. Keep fighting the man-I can't wait to see a video of you ripping down the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 4, 2013 Author Share Posted May 4, 2013 Air in the left side maybe? Drained half the reservoir bleeding each side. And pedal is firm. Not likely air in lines. Did some searching here and found a couple things that might be contributory. Still have the old tension rod bushings, all other suspension bushings have already been replaced. I'll replace those, check the thickness of the new rotors to make sure they're even, check for a piston hanging up and have the front aligned. Hopefully that combination will eliminate the pulling. I understand that even though the tires are new, they could be contributing to the problem also. But the tread on my tires is directional, so I can't swap sides unless the tires are removed from the rims and flipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 It won't hurt anything to run you tires backwards if you just want to swap them and see if it changes your pull. I've mixed mine up before and didn't realize it till a buddy pointed it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 Ok...I think I've solved the brake issue. While replacing the tension rod bushings, I noticed the calipers wobbled slightly on their mounts. Apparently I left out the lock washers when I mounted the calipers. The mounting bolts bottomed out in the holes leaving the calipers slightly loose. With the washers installed the calipers are mounted solid and she stops perfectly straight. She still drifts slightly to the right when cruising, so I'll get her aligned tomorrow and then head back to the inspection station this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 TADA!!! VR's aligned. She tracks and stops in a straight line. Now that she's been driven for more than 2 minutes at a time, an annoying cycle has emerged. The cooling fan is wired to constant power, so it continues to run even after the ignition is off. It turns off after 15-30 seconds. Then 20 seconds later turns on again. Then off. This goes on for 5-10 minutes. A little rewire is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Had to take the VR to a different shop for the brake inspection. Turns out the first shop is flakey. When I arrived for my 2:00 appointment, I was told that the tech didn't have anything to do in the morning, so he went home. The guy at the counter wouldn't even call him to see if he was coming back. I immediately called another shop who said to come on down and they'd squeeze me in....which they did. Unfortunately, she still failed the inspection. Everything is good, except for the pedal travel. Too long...too mushy. After some searching here I think I've got it figured out. The reaction disc has fallen out of its place in the vacuum booster. It's a simple thing to fix, normally, but the two halves of my booster shell are "welded" together by corrosion. In my attempts to separate them, I've mangled the locking "lips" beyond repair. So, I've ordered a new booster which is scheduled to arrive today. If that doesn't do the trick, I'm out of ideas. Everything in the brake system is new...except for the hard lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 Third times the charm... passed the brake inspection this morning. Back to DMV on Thursday, then it's of to CHP for vin verification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 Trip to CHP office was a breeze. All my paperwork was in order. The only snag occurred when I was told that the old vin plates had to come off and be surrendered. That meant a trip home to drill out the rivets. No big deal. With my old plates in hand, a new vin number was issued and a new plate affixed to the drivers door jam. The metallic tag has an adhesive backing, but two rivets are provided by CHP that must be installed by the owner. I was instructed to drill holes at the marked locations on the tag and tap the rivets into place with a hammer. The rivets act as anchors as well as anti-tamper devices. One more hoop to jump through before DMV title and registration is complete... Smog referee inspection next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 All looking awesome! Which referee you going to? The one at the Solano Community College is a pretty nice guy. Last time I was there he kept egging me on to do a LS1 swap in my 280ZX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 That's where I'm going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 Looks like this last hoop jumping will take a little longer than expected. The smog check is now a two part process. On my monday visit, the ref copied all my paperwork and took a couple of pictures of the car. He then faxed it all to the main office in Sac. who does some kind of "investigation". In about a week, the office will contact the ref with an approval or denial...he'l call me...and then I go back to get the BAR sticker attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 I finally got the word yesterday... BAR approves!!!! I go back to the referee on friday to get my official smog exemption sticker affixed to the engine compartment. I was feeling sooooo good, that I started working on a new cowl for the old fresh air vents under the windshield. Using the cardboard mock-up..... I traced the part onto a piece of masonite. I carved floral blocks to make the recesses for the aero latches and hot glue them in position. I inserted shims under both ends of the masonite to get a slight curve. After a couple of coats of paste wax, the whole thing was covered in two layers of glass matte. After some trimming and sizing, I'll add sidewalls to get a rigid panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Today was a really good day. The Velo Rossa title/registration process is complete. A trip to the Smog station this morning, a stop at DMV on the way back, and I now have this BAR sticker affixed to the firewall...this registration card that indicates NO model year...and two fresh new license plates waiting to be mounted. New title should arrive in 3-4 weeks.As daunting as this title/reg. process might seem at first blush, it's really not that bad and less expensive than I thought. $146 DMV Fees (partially based on vehicle value)$69 Brake inspection$59 Lamp inspection$0 CHP Vin verification / new tag$0 Smog inspection / sticker$274 Total Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Congrats!!!!! And people talk about how complicated/difficult it is to BAR label a swap, which is only about 1/3 the process you went though. It's really not that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauxre Posted July 4, 2013 Author Share Posted July 4, 2013 Congrats!!!!! And people talk about how complicated/difficult it is to BAR label a swap, which is only about 1/3 the process you went though. It's really not that bad. Thanks Nathan. Neither process is all that difficult... when you know the rules for each and build accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.