Project "independence day"IRS and 3500 swap

[3400-95-Modified]

Damn, I just looked up that rogue fab bender... Those aren't that expensive if your buying it for one tubing application only... I'm quite surprised. I'll have to mention that to the race car driver I work with next time he wishes we had a bender.

[Driver_10]

Damn, I just looked up that rogue fab bender... Those aren't that expensive if your buying it for one tubing application only... I'm quite surprised. I'll have to mention that to the race car driver I work with next time he wishes we had a bender.

It was like $690 or something "shipped". (With Some small amount of welding required)

Its a great bender that makes good, tight radius bends fast and easy! Plus its American made. No Chinese slave-labor bullshit!

[caffeine]

Is that loop track legal? Last time I read the rules I seem to recall that the loop is supposed to be within 1 inch or so of the driveshaft all around. I could be wrong though.

[Driver_10]

Is that loop track legal? Last time I read the rules I seem to recall that the loop is supposed to be within 1 inch or so of the driveshaft all around. I could be wrong though.

I wanted to run a full length exhaust beneath the car with the exhaust pipe exiting the back in a conventional manner. No side pipes or dumps. (Side pipes would sit too low and get crushed while dumps aren't quite street legal: it has to fully exit the vehicle)

This oval shaped hoop solves both problems by freeing up lots of space around the tunnel where both the exhaust routing and the drive-shaft will be placed.

I will later add a divider to separate the two and make an effective safety loop in the process (fringe benefit, since this isn't made to be a 1/4 mile drag car). The other purpose of this design, other than maintaining the strength of the main cross-beam, was to minimize the amount of stuff dangling under the car.

This car will be used in "real-world" driving. That means speed bumps and pot-holes. I don't want my precious exhaust getting flattened.

[caffeine]

Project "independence day"IRS and 3500 swap

Yeah I run my exhaust straight back as well. Haven't had any ground clearance issues but I don't have a loop installed on my car yet anyway. However I did test fit a Jegs safety loop and it clears my exhaust fine.

[Driver_10]

Yeah I run my exhaust straight back as well. Haven't had any ground clearance issues but I don't have a loop installed on my car yet anyway. However I did test fit a Jegs safety loop and it clears my exhaust fine.

I have a 4x2 steel cross-beam running through the middle of my car. My clearance would have been somewhat more "compromised". LOL!

Speaking of which... I do love looking back through your build pics. Im envious of the amount of space that 3rd gen guy have to work with.

[caffeine]

I actually just found some autoX pics from September. Was a rainy day but still had fun!

You can see in the pic my exhaust, as well as other things, has very little ground clearance. However I've never had an issue with bottoming out on the street. My suspension is setup quite stiff though.

[Driver_10]

Looks a bit low in the middle. But I think all F-body exhausts are like that. Looks like somebody clipped your door.

[caffeine]

Ya someone backed into my door in a parking lot 2 years ago or so.

[Driver_10]

Ouch... I once spun out through a ditch and whacked my drivers side door. Came out without so much as scratch. :P

[Driver_10]

Seeing as how Ive been away from the house for two weeks, this is a bit of a late update. (and a small update at that since it wouldn't stop freakin sleeting the whole time I was home)

The space frame, now more or less complete, was given a bit of finishing work prior to priming. I moved the batter tray to the other side, capped off holes, boxed in and gusseted joints and reinforced bolt bosses.


After that was all done, I went about the work of fastening the rear sheet metal and bumper supports to the frame. At first I couldn't really see a way to fasten it since the frame and mounting points for the rear bumper support didn't line up. It took a bit of ingenuity, but I'm happy with the results!

I cut a few 2x4 rail pieces to fill the gap.


Passenger side


Drivers side


add some gussets, apply a little bit of primer to stop the rust and serve hot!


with the small stuff out of the way, I went ahead taped off, and laid down to primer!






Then I stuck the suspension pieces back in and put the wheels on so I could move it.





I took one last look at her before sticking back under the tarp for storage.



And I knew that I would miss her dearly while I was in Alaska... which is cold as hell... which is where I am right now >


See ya'll when I get back.

[Purple pit]

Damn that is for sure not for me. Just can't take any cold anymore. LOL a month ago it was warmer up there than was in my area.

[Driver_10]

Its been a LONG time since I was able to get any real work done on this project. I stopped working on it to get a shed built for storage to get all the stuff OUT of my garage as well as upgrade my tool and tools storage.












With storage and tool fixtures fabricated, I got back to work on the car. The poly bushings that I used were deflecting badly from torsional forces. I had a local machinist to carve out a set of housings to contain a set of sealed ball bearings to replace the poly bushings in the cantilevers.


I tired to find a set of tapered roller bearings to use instead of ball bearings, but none were available for my application. Besides, the ball bearings are rated to 1500lbs dynamic load (800 static) So the cantilivers should be good 3000lbs per corner. The ball bearings are easy to change, so I will keep them as they are for the time being.

I also pulled off the old Bilsteins and drop springs to install the new Koni DA front shocks and ground control kit.




I went ahead and used the "shock mount mod" for shock travel






The upper shock arm perches were badly rusted, I decided to chip the rust off and apply some grease to the mounting pad area and rubber gaskets to keep the water out and slapped it all back together.

Heh heh... I'm gonna get a kick out of watching the UTI kids at discount tire change the tires on this thing.

[Driver_10]

Shocks in (and HORRIBLY out of alignment, Ill add) I got back to completing the runners and wastegate arrangement on the turbo headers.

I started off with building the inlet transitions that feed into the turbine. They made out of 1.65 tubing for a smooth delivery.




I used a set of 2"-1.5" cones to make the smooth transition for the runners.

The exhaust smoothly flows into the exhaust housing with peak speed and inertia. Should promote fast spool up!

https://scontent-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/10390887_739412599449239_9040873046014079454_n.jpg

I put a 2' v-band clamp to make assembly/disassembly easier.


After reviewing a lot of options, I decided to mount the wastegates low for the sake of structure rigidity and space constraints.

I used the contour gauge to get the rough shape, and used plasma to cut the pieces from 1.875 stainless tubing. They were massaged to hug the runners and then cleaned them up for welding and tacked them on the pipes.






After tacking them on along with the flex-sections, I went ahead and traced their outlines on the runners to mark the area that needed to be cut out.


(Here's a tip for using the plasma cutter for exhaust pipe fitting. Fill the pipe with wet towels prior to cutting. It will capture all the slag and make the job of prep cleaning a breeze!)

After cutting and messaging the runner to desireable size, the sections were back-purged and welded, before the final welding attached them to the runner.

[Driver_10]

The wastegate flanges were finally added and attached for final inspection before the runners were welded into the turbo flange. Looking pretty good so far.




(By the way... That cat in the pic is just mounted on v-band. I just put it there for the time being because it looked cool for the picture)


With the wastegates oriented in their permanent place and the runners hemmed up, I went ahead and did the final welding on the turbo inlet flange. (No back-purge required)




Well... I may be able to squeak out a bit more progress before I leave, so keep your eyes on the computer. Aside from some severely overcooked welds, Im happy with the progress (regardless of how slow its coming along) :P

I'm gonna try to have this engine mounted and exhaust installed before I take off for work in the next few days!