Details Details.....

My stuff arrived from Fibersteel Friday so this weekend I finished up the brake and Clutch hydraulic lines and got them secured to the floor with clamps and got the holes for the front and rear badges and crests drilled. Kind of a tricky job with not template for the crests but the old measure four times drill once worked out ok for me. I also mounted the engine cover tie down straps.

STOP!!!!!

So while I am waiting for T/R to ship me the new J tubes I thought it would bo good to get the brakes and clutch lines run. This requires drilling a few holes in the front tub and the center rib in the passenger compartment and also in the rear firewall. I used a .500" diameter drill to do this as the fittings were already on the lines had and they needed to fit through the holes. My Brother Bob came over to help and he did some nice clean tube bending up front to make sure it all fit nice. We also mounted the master cylinder for the brakes. The clutch cylinder has a resivoir on it but the instructions say to mount one so I guess they have changed parts for that. Did not have time to fill and bleed it all but it looks like it should all work fine.

Finaly it's home!

I finaly brought the car home to my place from MANLAND. I have hooked up the steering for the time being with tack welds just so I can steer it around a little easier. I have also started to install the exhaust system but ran into some trouble. The original system that T/R sent with my kit was made wrong and required me to send it back to them to have it fixed so the collector hung a little lower to clear the frame. otherwise the J tubes coming back from the forward cylinders could not be inserted into the collector. Anyhow I sent it back and they fixed it but since I couldn't fit the J tubes in the first place to check their fit now I have the back part in place and the J tubes are not right. Soooooo back to T/R they go to be exchanged for a new set. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

Just a few pictures

Just a few shots to show how the kit looks all uncrated and on jackstands. The crate is pretty sturdy and takes a while to get it all broken down and it makes quite the pile of stuff to haul to the dump.

The Motor

The Motor for the car is a brand new 1776cc dual carb (kadrons) with a Engle 110 cam. I'm shooting for reliability in this car so I didn't want to build a hand grenade motor. I'm pretty sure the 1776 will do the job in a 1300lb car!

More Power

So you have probably noticed that since I have the wheels on the transaxle must be in the car. Well your right. Again like I said I deviated from the instructions a little bit since my first goal was to get it on it's wheels. I will say this, I think it would be much easier to put the engine and trans. together first and then mount it in the car. The reason I say this is because after the trans. is in getting the motor in between it and the chassis and firewall is a tight squeeze. It can be done but you have been warned! You can see in the pictures the scratches on the frame and firewall that happend when I wedged it in there. Once it's in bolt it to the trans. and your good to go. DO NOT FORGET THE THROWOUT BEARING!!!!!! In case you are wondering no, I did not forget mine but I know someone who did and he had to remove the engine to install it. This isn't something you want to do twice especialy if the car is painted before. You don't want to risk damaging the paint do you?

Wheels of steel

So after all the hassle with the front end the rear susp. was pretty easy. There is no right hand left hand etc... marked on the parts so make sure you get it right the first time. The instructions are very clear about the measurment from the upper shock mount to the end of the spring plate. I used what the manual says 11 1/4" inches and I think the car sits just right at this height. As far as getting the ends of the spring plates pushed into the bushings, do yourself a favor and use long old bolts or all thread to pull it all together and then replace them one at a time with a bolt and nylock after you get it all snugged down. The spacers between the spring plate and the mount are approx. 5/8" it does not mention that in the instructions and that is the measurment I got from T/R on the phone from Tom, he should know he has built a few of these. The spacers are just tube steel. after that pop on the wheels drop it on the ground and adjust your front ride height. The two adjusters up front give you about 2" up or down each. Here is my car on it's wheels for the first time.