Project "independence day"IRS and 3500 swap

[ericjon262]

Looking good! what kind of welder are you using?

[Driver_10]

Looking good! what kind of welder are you using?

Im using a Miller diversion 156 tig. By far the best 1700 bucks Ive ever spent in my life.
(Ive got the foot pedal and a flow-gauge. The wleder is around 1,400)

[ericjon262]

Im using a Miller diversion 156 tig. By far the best 1700 bucks Ive ever spent in my life.
(Ive got the foot pedal and a flow-gauge. The wleder is around 1,400)

I plan to get a nice Miller TIG one day, right now, it's not in the budget, maybe the prices will come down over the next couple of years, or I can find a craigslist score.

[bob442]

In the event my separation settles... And I still have a shirt on my back, I was going to swap a c5 or c6 IRS into my T/A, along with the front suspension. Haters hate away.

[pocket-rocket]

Nice work.

That DS system looks huge. What kind of capacity is it going to have?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Driver_10]

Around 3 gallons.
I wont be 100% sure until I leak test the tank and measure the amount of liquid it can hold.

The best part is that I will be able to perform oil-changes from under the front bumper. I wont even need a jack

[85maro]

Can't wait to see this finished. Updates?

[ForcedFirebird]

Can't wait to see this finished. Updates?

It might be a bit before he replies. He is working in Alaska on oil rigs and is gone for month(s) at a time.

[Driver_10]

Actually, Ill be home in the next next 10 days, but ll only be there for a week and a half. I was hoping to have this car done by the end of August, but that ain't happening.

However, I will have some work done on the car before I return to Alaska, and you can look forwards to some very interesting (and hella expensive) updates by the end of August. My even be posting a vid of the engine running before I leave, if I'm lucky.

[ForcedFirebird]

OH! Didn't know you were back home.

[Driver_10]

No... Im not home right now. I WILL be home in the next week and a half.

Im spending a few days in Alaska to myself with little more than a rental car and some fishing gear.

[Driver_10]

Hello again...

Well folks, I cant really call this a complete update. I was only home for two weeks (Going back to Alaska tomorrow) and it took the better part of a week to re-acclimate myself to the Texas heat. (it was no warmer than 70 degrees the whole time I was in Alaska) I had intend to have the car setting on it own wheels by the time i left for work, but it is what it is.

I bought some yummy goodies including a 14' brake upgrade and some suspension goodies (which are still on back-order)
Heres the Brake combo I'm running. CTS-V 6-pot calipers and 2011 Camaro SS two-piece rotors. Not exactly a "thrifty" purchase, but you only live once.


Im having a new set of Timken hubs modified for the combo. I also bought a full Banski performance rear suspension package for the C4 rear end.


I also pre-ordered a set of Koni D/A front dampers (Again, not cheap) and a set of Afco D/A rear shocks; both of which are on back-order


these remote reservoir, types will be used to set-up the rear...


Now for progress pics.
The original IRS mounting was done by welding together a bat-wing mount and placing it directly onto the frame of the car. After seeing the car on the ground, I soon realized that car's body was not nearly rigid enough, so I built a jig to capture the mounting position and then cut out all of that pretty mounting work out along with the Firewall (bye bye floor-pan)


heres the mounting Jig along with the new, bigger, badder IRS cradle.


After cutting out the rear floor-pan, I used a set of cheap carpenters "straight-edge" lasers to perfectly squared up the final cut. Hard to believe that this was cut with little more than a cut-off wheel and a sawzall. The new cradle is also aligned and jigged into final position as well.






Id highly recommend these little guys. They only cost 14 bucks apiece! Greatest alignment/straight edge tools ever made.

[Driver_10]

I managed to squarely cut the ends off the subframe connectors that were installed in the car prior. They have been capped off to prevent water from rotting them out from the inside.


selfie!


I cut out and welded on some plates to serve as mounting pads to create welding pads for the cross-member and subframe connectors. This will allow me to effectively join the rear suspension to the new vehicle chassis and roll-cage, taking away all stress from the quarter panels and outer body of the car.




And unfortunately... that is where I stop. I was hoping to have this car sitting on it own wheels before I left again for Alaska, but I guess thats not to be.

Well, folks... The next update will be at the end of November after I get back home from work. So look forward to it!

[Purple pit]

Wow, just wow(in a good way). Is this just for you or is this going to be a auto X car?

[Jonpro03]

Yay! 3500 + turbo + megasquirt!