RebekahsZ Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 Kitchen is pretty well finished. Got some time in garage and did some transmission work. Installed 18" remote bleeder hose for throw out bearing and a 36" AN3 hose with a 90 degree bend to the clutch master cylinder. Disconnected trans from bell housing. Very easy job. Would prefer a 30" AN3 hose, but couldn't locate one wit 90 degree bend. Both lines were purchased from Speedway Motors. I hope I torqued the bleeder fitting tight enough-don't want to break it, but I don't want it to leak either. Shorter (12") remote bleeder line would have been adequate, but I couldn't figure out how to restrain the shorter line when I'm not using it. Changed T56-GTO offset lever for a T56-Camaro offset lever in the shifter mechanism: this allows me to junk the complicated GTO shifter mechanism for any F-body short shifter. Very easy job. I bought a Hurst shifter and wasn't impressed. Searched LS1tech forum and bought short shifter from MGW-love it. Topped it with a button shifter handle for use with linelock. Removed boss on driver-side of engine block that conflicts with JTR headers-didn't see any description of this in anyone else's build write-up. No pics yet, but I removed the front LCAs and TC rods; air chiseled off the TC rod bushing cups and painted all the above - to allow install of adjustable LCAs and TC rods. Mocked up rear disc brake conversion. Received engine harness back from waitformeperformance.com: was hoping for just a few wires to have to hook up. Holy crap! There are a ton of wires to wire up. Each wire is marked, but I'm gonna need a lot of help there. Got F-body alternator back from rebuilder. All for now-I'm pooped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Worked on car all night this Saturday and here are the pics to prove it. I really like the way the 240z oil pressure sender relocation turned out. I think the remote clutch bleeder is going to work out as well. I got my new strut inserts in the rear along with the DP bolt-in camber plates to allow the increased tire clearance to run my Rota RB 16X8s. I installed my Technotoys adjustable LCAs and my adjustable TC rods (can't remember supplier). Removed and started painting my JCI motor mounts (I think the next time i install them will be permanent). Removed my fuel line from inside the tunnel and am in the process of making it for the second time. Hope to get fuel tank sandblasted and to paint shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 JCI mounts and steering shaft painted and installed for final (I hope). Radiator, fans and shroud ordered to ship Monday. Finished bending up solid fuel line (major PITA); headed Monday to get AN fittings welded on both ends. Fuel tank re-sand blasted and delivered to paint shop for shiny black paint (on the outside). Rear disc brake calipers are at machine shop ready for pick up. Just gonna clean up garage today and get an order off to Summitt for fuel fittings and high pressure hose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) Cleaned garage and organized boxes of parts into categories - I was getting disorganized. Gave away a bunch of L24 parts I don't need anymore to a friend who came over and helped out. Hard fuel line is in, running thru trans tunnel and is awaiting a motor at one end and a fuel tank at the other (see pics). Rear disc brake setup is all painted (see .Drifting Hydraulic Handbrake thread) and awaiting reciept and install of 280z stub axles to replace my bent 240z stub. Front brakes and suspension are totally complete. Cable e-brake handle and cable are installed; went ahead and swapped sides for the cable anticipating the need for shorter cables to go with the disc conversion. Transmission tunnel spot painted in primer. Fuel tank is to be ready Tuesday to be picked up at the paint shop; will wait to install it until stub axles, diff and axles are in place. . Radiator is on the wayThought about going to extended wheel studs, then reconsidered because I have 4 sets of wheels all requiring special nuts! Spent another $350 at Summitt.com on odds and ends; I should have everything ordered except exaust tubing (mandrel bends} and wiring suplies. I've stopped keeping reciepts and keeping traci of expenses. Sorry about the duplicate post-I fell asleep in the chair and my finger hit the send button before pics were attached. Edited September 6, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Cleaned garage and organized boxes of parts into categories - I was getting disorganized. Gave away a bunch of L24 parts I don't need anymore to a friend who came over and helped out. Hard fuel line is in, running thru trans tunnel and is awaiting a motor at one end and a fuel tank at the other (see pics). Rear disc brake setup is all painted (see .Drifting Hydraulic Handbrake thread) and awaiting reciept and install of 280z stub axles to replace my bent 240z stub. Front brakes and suspension are totally complete. Cable e-brake handle and cable are installed; went ahead and swapped sides for the cable anticipating the need for shorter cables to go with the disc conversion. Transmission tunnel spot painted in primer. Fuel tank is to be ready Tuesday to be picked up at the paint shop; will wait to install it until stub axles, diff and axles are in place. . Radiator is on the wayThought about going to extended wheel studs, then reconsidered because I have 4 sets of wheels all requiring special nuts! Spent another $350 at Summitt.com on odds and ends; I should have everything ordered except exaust tubing (mandrel bends} and wiring suplies. I've stopped keeping reciepts and keeping traci of expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 26, 2011 Author Share Posted September 26, 2011 Got a good weekend in the garage. Changed to 280z stub axles due to bent stub axle on one side-that job was much easier due to the tips learned on this forum. Wrapping up disc brake conversion and hydraulic handbrake combo. Chasing leaky lines and trying to get all the air out of each brake system. If anyone has tips for bleeding brakes on calipers that leak fluid around the bleeder nuts and bleeding a wilwood master cylinder that doesn't have a bleeder screw, I would appreciate any advice you have. Put wheels on car and rolled it out into the sun for the first time in about 6 months; nice to have brakes and axles. The dust on the car had gotten so thick I was worried about scratching the paint. Washed that car up and it looks great. Back in the garage up on jackstands hoping to get differential and axles installed next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tir33d Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 A simple method is a gravity bleed, Crack the nipple and let the line furthest from cylinder and let it drip for a while, do the same with others one at a time till you get all four done. Otherwise if its due to air around the nipple you can get a air powered suction bleeder. I always plan to waste a bottle of fluid in the process, take your time. I notice you don't have a return line back to your tank, my 280zx had a return line which is now plumbed to the valve on the rocker (I don't understand how, or what conditions it works under - I believe its a purge type system for the fuel tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Brakes finished!!!!!!! Had to re-flare 2 lines. Found out that Maxima rear disc calipers are positional when bleeding, just like people described with lots of other calipers. Rotate that caliper to place bleeder absolutely skyward and stick a piece of wood in it to replace the pads and rotor and LOTS more air comes out. After 2 days of fighting it, like magic I've got a firm pedal! Started on Wolf Creek axles and got CV adapters in and torqued before calling it quits at 4am. I think I'm taking a break from the car for a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) Worked 'till 4am Sunday night and got a lot done while wife was out of town. Rear suspension is DONE: Re-use my old coilovers with 250# rear springs, DP camber plates, Tokico Illumina struts, R180 WRx CLSD diff with John Coffey output flanges, RT diff mount, poly mustache bar mount, Wolf Creek CV axles, Maxima disc brake conversion with cable e-brake, hydaulic "drifting" hand brake with dedicated brake plumbing, 280z stub axles, new bearings and seals. Front suspension is (almost) DONE: Re-use my old coilovers with 225# springs, Technotoys adjustable LCAs, Adjustable TC rods, EMI camber plates, rebuilt stock front brake calipers. All brakes pads are Porterfield. Hurst Linelock is re-located. 3/8 hard fuel line is plumbed inside the trans tunnel running from firewall to gas tank. Installed Rota-RBR 16X8 and set it on the ground to admire and ouch!: front tires rubbing on airdam. Gotta change the length of my TC rods. See pics of all. Motor is in (for now) on Prothane and Suspension Techniques poly front mounts and I even bolted up the driveshaft and installed MGW f-body short shifter. Hope to start mocking up radiator in between things this week, then install fuel tank and all flex lines this weekend. Edited October 12, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 A few pictures of this weekend's progress. Wolf Creek axles in. Yes, that is still a CLSD R180, hope to upgrade to LSD R200 this winter, but I have to stop the insanity and get the car running first! Limitations I see with the Wolf Creek axles: weak link is the hardware. To install, the 40 year old stub axle nuts and bolts are re-used on both ends of the axles. I will be worrying and inspecting them for nut rotation after every event. When I do the R200 conversion, I plan to change from the 8mm stock bolts, which I red locktited, to castleated nuts on 5/16 grade 8 bolts with cotter pins. Perhaps then I won't be so worried about dropping an axle. Fuel tank module is together with Jegs pre-filter (for the big chunks) Walbro external pump (I understand from the forum that this thing is loud), Corvette FPR. AN6 fittings from Speedway and a combination of black push-on high pressure hose and a braided line (due to tight bend radius) I had fabbed locally. The push on hose was SO easy to work with - I hope it holds up. Fuel tank was sand blasted and painted basecoat/clearcoat black. An internal sump was welded in and a larger supply line was added to feed at the base of the sump. An access panel was added to aid in future clean-outs. Source for access hole was a 300zx which was cut out of the donor fuel tank and welded in. The access cover is the top of the 300zx fuel pump with the holes welded closed. Spent a lot of time cleaning out the sandblasted tank. Even after lots of wrinsing to get out sand, I wound up having to use lots of duct tape, ala tack rag, to get as much silica out of the tank as possible. I'm going out now to start fighting the tank into place under the car. Mother-in-law in hospital, so I may not get much else done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Made more progress today. My buddy came over and helped me get the tank in-what a PITA. I've pulled the tank down about 5 times since I've owned the car (20 years) and it doesn't get any easier. I'm never confident that the rubber fill pipe is on adequately, but it has always sealed in the past, so I'm optimistic. Fuel lines are all hooked up and ready to go. Checklist: Motor mounts-done, drivetrain-done, suspension and brakes-done, fuel system-done. Moving on to cooling system and cold air intake. The Champion radiator kit I bought needs a lot of finish work. The shroud didn't fit and had to be tweaked and drilled to mount the fans. The lower radiator hose tube is going to conflict with the right-sided fan, so I need to have that changed. I will have a flange made on the same trip to allow the cold air tubing to be bolted to the radiator support. Got radiator in for first test fit/mock-up. My emergency brake handle was very sun damaged, so I cut off the faded plastic, drilled out a Hurst pistol grip and epoxied it to the old handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) Got some work done today. Loaded up old L24 and delivered it to a friend. I have room to work. Connected and adjusted e-brake handle (cable e-brake on Maxima Disc conversion works great!). Changed zccjdm.com adjustable TC rods from RACE spec to STREET spec and rotated camber plates to get max reasonable caster and camber without cutting/rubbing front fender or airdam. Will see how much caster/camber it is when alignment is done. Front tires no longer rubbing. Mounted street wheels/tires and set ride height front and back. Everything seems to be clearing. Edited October 31, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 (edited) Yesterday and last night was all mock-ups. Trimmed out hole in radiator support for the cold air tube. Built an aluminum flange for the cold air tube as it passes thru the radiator support. Had to buy new tube, because I cut the 1st one too short! Learned the hard way that aluminum cuts much better with a little oil (tip from a friend). Test fitted hood-it hit the cone filter, so I shortened the aluminum tube and got the cone closer to the radiator. Re-test fit hood-perfect! Moved to radiator. Had a couple of options: aftermarket lower hose or F-body lower hose. GM has discontinued the lower hose, so that kind of sucks. The motor end of that hose is 1.5", the radiator end is 1.25". The Champion radiator that I have (modeled after stock 240z tank) has top and bottom hoses that are 1.33" and the bottom hose has a big bend in it that conflicts with the electric fans. I found a parts-house hose with the right bends to allow use of a 1.5" mandrel bent aluminum tube from Speedway Motors. I will have that tube welded onto the radiator. Now both ends of the hose can be the same diameter and that should allow me to use parts-house hoses in the future. I'll edit post with Part Number in future. Steam vent will go into a threaded boss in the top radiator tank instead of into the top radiator hose. Test fit my drag rims-will order tires now and see if they fit. I've tried to determine the max tire that will fit, but I get conflicting information. Just have to order and hope for the best. If they don't bit, it won't be the first time I bought something twice. Edited November 14, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 Got radiator back from the welder and mocked it up again. Lower tube now no longer conflicts with the fans. Steam vent fitting in top tank looks great and the steam vent tube hides underneath the cold air intake and looks much more sanitary. Drag tire came in and I mocked that up-I have good tire clearance with MT ET Drag 26X8.5X15. Since it fit, I have ordered a second one. Met with aeroZ, who lives about an hour away; got some motivation, he finished his swap about 6 months ago-great car. Picked up another mentor! He gave me the manual that came from his stand alone harness from PSI. The manual is written for dummies like me. Also got to talk a lot with a friend who is an electrical engineer. So, I'm fired up to get the wiring going. Have a lot of parts ordered thru Summit and Haywire, when they arrive, I'll see how they work and if I can use them. Have found local sources for colored wire and heat-shrink crimp connectors. Gonna try to get a lot of wiring done over the holiday weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 Got some wiring done today. Nothing is connected, but I have several electrical components located and installed onto the car. DBW pedal, Fuel pump relay, PCM, Painless 7-circuit fuse block. That may be it for the week. Next is to install battery cables while awaiting fan relays. Finally put a bunch of L24 parts on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 "I hate snakes." -Indiana Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 Had a death and a heart attack in the family, so I haven't been working much overtime to pay for project-ran out of money for a few weeks. Getting some overtime this week and put 2 sets of SUs, the GTO oil pan, and my old Dellorto sidedraft carbs on ebay. Still waiting for 2 items to sell and I've already got over $1500 in my Paypal account! The GTO oilpan was worth $270. Time to go shopping!!!! The fan relays I ordered are on back-order and Haywire is holding my last pile of wiring parts until the order is complete, so I'm kind of frozen on the fans. Weekend goal (in addition to getting a Christmas tree up) is to get remote battery cables in and attached to bulkhead connectors on the firewall closed to the starter and fuse block, locate the CableX box, and mock up some temporary header extensions with PVC so that I can see if my O2 sensors wires need to be lengthened. Really wanted to have side-exit exhaust, but I just can't see a practical way to do it without it scraping the ground all the time, plus it is something that a cone could catch on (not that I ever hit any cones)! Hoping to get this thing cranked before the new year. I welcome all LS1/2 wiring advise-any helpful tips you want to throw at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxgsfmdpx Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nice progress!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbhead Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Excellent job! Really appreciate all the pictures, helps understand how your doing things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Thanks guys, I was thinking of having the Admins move this to the Member Projects forum since it seemed like I was just talking to myself. Bring on the advice, I still don't have a primary build mentor (although I am PM-ing a handfull of guys for specific advice) and I'm kind of just working thru this bit by bit. I really do want as much help as I can get, because I really don't know what I'm doing, I'm just not afraid to go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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