rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
I would like to do drag week actually. I want to get seat time in before that but it is on my list.
The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
- Thread starter rmchrgr
- Start date
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Always thinking! Gotta have beverages, cold ones for the Drag Week trek. Just spoofing here…. Tall enough to make a basket to slide a cooler into it for the food. One semi next to you for the water bottles within an easy arms reach. Ant be turning around while driving for a water bottle.
Only Moms can safely turn around and grab drinks, change diapers and beat the crap out of you.
Me too!
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Re-did the center section of the package tray today so it's all one piece now. It's also three pieces total instead of five. Coverage is more complete now and it will be much easier to have a nicer finished prodcut with less seams.
The far right panel needs to be trimmed a little more so it sits flat. I admit that even after doing the headliner myself seven years ago and subsequently messing with the package tray for these last few weeks I had no idea there was a row of spikes along the bottom of the sail panel for the factory jute padding to sit under. I'm not kidding! I just happened to brush my hand against it when fitting the side panel and said what the heck izzat? No wonder the outside panels were all crooked. A lot of excess headliner material was left too so that will need to be cut. The left panel sits nice and flat now. Just have to trim the far right panel down and then the package tray will be done.
I believe I'm at the point where I can move on to other things. It wouldn't be practical to install any of the panels permanently yet since there is still some wiring that needs to be routed from the trunk to the dash. All the aluminum dust from cutting the material needs to be cleaned up too, it's everywhere.
More to come.
The far right panel needs to be trimmed a little more so it sits flat. I admit that even after doing the headliner myself seven years ago and subsequently messing with the package tray for these last few weeks I had no idea there was a row of spikes along the bottom of the sail panel for the factory jute padding to sit under. I'm not kidding! I just happened to brush my hand against it when fitting the side panel and said what the heck izzat? No wonder the outside panels were all crooked. A lot of excess headliner material was left too so that will need to be cut. The left panel sits nice and flat now. Just have to trim the far right panel down and then the package tray will be done.
I believe I'm at the point where I can move on to other things. It wouldn't be practical to install any of the panels permanently yet since there is still some wiring that needs to be routed from the trunk to the dash. All the aluminum dust from cutting the material needs to be cleaned up too, it's everywhere.
More to come.
abdywgn
dismantler
are the panels removable? if the are not, did you seal them with a fire retardant caulk?
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
They’re removable. I have not figured out how I’m going to fasten them down yet.
I hadn’t seen anything particular in the rules about caulk. Can you confirm that it’s necessary?
I hadn’t seen anything particular in the rules about caulk. Can you confirm that it’s necessary?
abdywgn
dismantler
about the caulk, just thought that's how it should be. don't know if it is a rule or not but would be interesting to know if it is.
mopowers
Well-Known Member
It's not in the NHRA rulebook. If the joints are nice and tight and the material exceeds the minimum thickness spec, it's not necessary. I seam-sealed mine to simply help keep rattles down.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Material thickness is only .032” minimum for aluminum. IIRC the sheet I got was .040”.
On the package tray there will be rails fastened down over the joints. I made a ”trim” piece for the front to cover any gaps and make it look more finished. I’ll post pics of it at some point.
I mentioned putting a rubber seal around the firewall where there are gaps. We’ll see how that works out, might be easier said than done.
On the package tray there will be rails fastened down over the joints. I made a ”trim” piece for the front to cover any gaps and make it look more finished. I’ll post pics of it at some point.
I mentioned putting a rubber seal around the firewall where there are gaps. We’ll see how that works out, might be easier said than done.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Moved on from the rear-seat delete project to start on the installation and wiring of the Holley in-tank pump. The module is Holley #19-350 which is rated at 340lph. Couple things had to happen before setting the pump in place though.
I've had this fuel tank for a while now, like 8-9 years. I got it from a place called Hot Rod City Garage which unfortunately went out of business. Too bad, they made nice stuff. The tank was made narrower a few inches because of the offset springs.
Back when I bought it, for some strange reason I was against electric fuel pumps. I really don't know why. Just one of those dumb things I guess, like trying to make power from a 318. I remember the guy on the phone asking me if I was going to use an electric pump and if so, he would make a recess for it. I said no thanks so they made it with a flat top. Not a good decision because now I'm all about electric in-tank fuel pumps. In tank pumps are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never use a mechanical pump again.
However, to use an in-tank pump with this thing, it naturally required a recess in the top. Doh! Since I don't have a TIG welder, I brought it to a shop to have it done. At the same time I had them remove the sump from the bottom since the electric pump pickup sock needs to be constantly submerged. Having a sump would keep some amount of fuel away from the pickup which defeats the purpose of it. Thankfully the tank never had fuel in it so it was safe to weld on it.
The shop did an OK job for a reasonable price. To my chagrin though, they failed to remove all the chips and debris before they welded the panels in. WTF? It's a fuel tank! I was pretty clear about it when I dropped it off, not sure what happened. There was all sorts of little bits in the tank I could hear, like sand in a can. Took me about 30 minutes to get rid of all I could hear using compressed air. I'd blow it out and then tilt it back and forth to listen for more bits sliding around. Pretty sure I got it all out. I may wash it out with solvent or something before I fill it up just to make sure. Annoying!
In any event, the pump module went in without issue. The recess and hole for it turned out exactly right and it fits well. There is one really unfortunate attribute of this tank though which is how the wiring for the sender is routed. H.R.C.G. made a recess for the unit itself but did not make a relief for the wires so they kind of get smushed. I put heat shrink and rubber sleeves over the sections of wire that rest on the edges. Hopefully they don't chafe through.
This was a big step toward finishing the wiring, at least for the rear part of the car. I'm going to use individual connectors for the pump and sender here so if I need to drop the tank I can disconnect them easily. The connectors will hang under the access hole in the trunk. I can route the fuel pump power wire and sender connections now.
I'm also starting to mock the exhaust into place to see how everything will fit. I'm still on the fence about the tail pipes - they are big and heavy. Sure, they'd be easy enough to remove when I race it but who needs that? I've previously mentioned going with turn downs realizing they are not the best solution but things are going to be really tight with these monsters.
Parking brake stuff is in too. This is where the tailpipes have to snake through.
The old 3" exhaust system on this car was done a little differently than how TTi handles it - as you can see, the tail pipes were run over the leaf springs out to the rear corners. I like this method because it makes the tailpipes less obvious. I'd hate to cut up my brand new exhaust but if I want to run tail pipes I may end up doing it like below. Probably could cut the TTi tailpipes and swap the cut ends side-to-side and it would be similar to how they were before. The rear hanger brackets would have to be relocated though. The previous system had simple J hangers welded on o the pipes that attached to parts-store exhaust straps.
Old exhaust tail pipe routing. Worked good.
This is how TTi does it, this pic is from them. Seems kind of awkward to me but my guess is that they're trying to both clear the gas tank (if it's stock width) while still utilizing the factory mounting points. Again, I think swapping the ends side-to-side could work.
More to come.
I've had this fuel tank for a while now, like 8-9 years. I got it from a place called Hot Rod City Garage which unfortunately went out of business. Too bad, they made nice stuff. The tank was made narrower a few inches because of the offset springs.
Back when I bought it, for some strange reason I was against electric fuel pumps. I really don't know why. Just one of those dumb things I guess, like trying to make power from a 318. I remember the guy on the phone asking me if I was going to use an electric pump and if so, he would make a recess for it. I said no thanks so they made it with a flat top. Not a good decision because now I'm all about electric in-tank fuel pumps. In tank pumps are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never use a mechanical pump again.
However, to use an in-tank pump with this thing, it naturally required a recess in the top. Doh! Since I don't have a TIG welder, I brought it to a shop to have it done. At the same time I had them remove the sump from the bottom since the electric pump pickup sock needs to be constantly submerged. Having a sump would keep some amount of fuel away from the pickup which defeats the purpose of it. Thankfully the tank never had fuel in it so it was safe to weld on it.
The shop did an OK job for a reasonable price. To my chagrin though, they failed to remove all the chips and debris before they welded the panels in. WTF? It's a fuel tank! I was pretty clear about it when I dropped it off, not sure what happened. There was all sorts of little bits in the tank I could hear, like sand in a can. Took me about 30 minutes to get rid of all I could hear using compressed air. I'd blow it out and then tilt it back and forth to listen for more bits sliding around. Pretty sure I got it all out. I may wash it out with solvent or something before I fill it up just to make sure. Annoying!
In any event, the pump module went in without issue. The recess and hole for it turned out exactly right and it fits well. There is one really unfortunate attribute of this tank though which is how the wiring for the sender is routed. H.R.C.G. made a recess for the unit itself but did not make a relief for the wires so they kind of get smushed. I put heat shrink and rubber sleeves over the sections of wire that rest on the edges. Hopefully they don't chafe through.
This was a big step toward finishing the wiring, at least for the rear part of the car. I'm going to use individual connectors for the pump and sender here so if I need to drop the tank I can disconnect them easily. The connectors will hang under the access hole in the trunk. I can route the fuel pump power wire and sender connections now.
I'm also starting to mock the exhaust into place to see how everything will fit. I'm still on the fence about the tail pipes - they are big and heavy. Sure, they'd be easy enough to remove when I race it but who needs that? I've previously mentioned going with turn downs realizing they are not the best solution but things are going to be really tight with these monsters.
Parking brake stuff is in too. This is where the tailpipes have to snake through.
The old 3" exhaust system on this car was done a little differently than how TTi handles it - as you can see, the tail pipes were run over the leaf springs out to the rear corners. I like this method because it makes the tailpipes less obvious. I'd hate to cut up my brand new exhaust but if I want to run tail pipes I may end up doing it like below. Probably could cut the TTi tailpipes and swap the cut ends side-to-side and it would be similar to how they were before. The rear hanger brackets would have to be relocated though. The previous system had simple J hangers welded on o the pipes that attached to parts-store exhaust straps.
Old exhaust tail pipe routing. Worked good.
This is how TTi does it, this pic is from them. Seems kind of awkward to me but my guess is that they're trying to both clear the gas tank (if it's stock width) while still utilizing the factory mounting points. Again, I think swapping the ends side-to-side could work.
More to come.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Thank you Mr. Motörhead, glad to oblige. Live to Win!
stroked340
Well-Known Member
Damn,that looks great hoping to have mine sold soon..
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Thanks Dave. End of an era with your car, eh? Wish I could have gotten my act together these last couple years so we could have raced at least once with your old block powering my car. Ah well, I suck.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
So, the tailpipes fit.
This is the right side, looking forward. It's close to the leaf spring but there is enough clearance. The spring won't compress enough to contact the tube. As shown in a previous post, the old system went above the spring arch to the outside and then back to the bumper.
It's pretty close to the right-forward edge of the gas tank but it clears.
This is looking forward and up at the wheel arch.
In the pic below, the two fingers indicate where the EFI fuel filter/return is going to be mounted and about where it hangs down. (note the mount bracket holes above). The pipes won't be super hot at this point though the proximity to the filter could affect it and the lines coming off it. Guess I didn't plan this very well! Regardless, the main feed line routes through the general area where the exhaust tube arches over the axle no matter what so it will have to get some heat shielding. The fuel lines were in similar proximity to the exhaust before and didn't have any problems.
The fuel filter needs to live in close proximity to the tank to keep the return line short so there's not many other places it can go without making things more complicated than necessary. Not sure yet how I'm going to handle this situation but I'm thinking a mount plate can be made to move it more towards the center away from the exhaust tube. I may not even need to do that though. I'll put the filter in and see what it looks like then decide.
The only thing I can see with the driver's side is that the tubing gets pretty close to the rear brake flex line. The suspension is at full droop right now though so once the car is on the ground the line should bow out further away.
Here's the hangers. Don't fret, they will get straightened out.
This shot illustrates where the rear hanger sits in relation to the axle attempting to see how the turn downs might fit. I'm not sure where the connection to the muffler is yet but presumably it's within the clamp area. The axle will move up higher when it's on the ground providing more room. The turn downs that TTi sells are 10.5" long. With the axle at ride height, the end of the turn down would presumably sit just under it.
To be clear, TTi makes a good product. They really can't account for after market stuff or custom parts being too close to their tubing. I guess there is something to be said for either building your own exhaust or having one custom made by a shop since the whole point of going that route is actually to account for non-standard stuff.
The previous owner of my car did just that by having the 3" exhaust system custom fit and welded front to back by an exhaust shop. I didn't think that there would be any fitment issues by going with TTi and there really aren't but I'm still on the fence about keeping the tailpipes. They still look weird to me but mocking them up made me feel a little better about it.
More to come.
This is the right side, looking forward. It's close to the leaf spring but there is enough clearance. The spring won't compress enough to contact the tube. As shown in a previous post, the old system went above the spring arch to the outside and then back to the bumper.
It's pretty close to the right-forward edge of the gas tank but it clears.
This is looking forward and up at the wheel arch.
In the pic below, the two fingers indicate where the EFI fuel filter/return is going to be mounted and about where it hangs down. (note the mount bracket holes above). The pipes won't be super hot at this point though the proximity to the filter could affect it and the lines coming off it. Guess I didn't plan this very well! Regardless, the main feed line routes through the general area where the exhaust tube arches over the axle no matter what so it will have to get some heat shielding. The fuel lines were in similar proximity to the exhaust before and didn't have any problems.
The fuel filter needs to live in close proximity to the tank to keep the return line short so there's not many other places it can go without making things more complicated than necessary. Not sure yet how I'm going to handle this situation but I'm thinking a mount plate can be made to move it more towards the center away from the exhaust tube. I may not even need to do that though. I'll put the filter in and see what it looks like then decide.
The only thing I can see with the driver's side is that the tubing gets pretty close to the rear brake flex line. The suspension is at full droop right now though so once the car is on the ground the line should bow out further away.
Here's the hangers. Don't fret, they will get straightened out.
This shot illustrates where the rear hanger sits in relation to the axle attempting to see how the turn downs might fit. I'm not sure where the connection to the muffler is yet but presumably it's within the clamp area. The axle will move up higher when it's on the ground providing more room. The turn downs that TTi sells are 10.5" long. With the axle at ride height, the end of the turn down would presumably sit just under it.
To be clear, TTi makes a good product. They really can't account for after market stuff or custom parts being too close to their tubing. I guess there is something to be said for either building your own exhaust or having one custom made by a shop since the whole point of going that route is actually to account for non-standard stuff.
The previous owner of my car did just that by having the 3" exhaust system custom fit and welded front to back by an exhaust shop. I didn't think that there would be any fitment issues by going with TTi and there really aren't but I'm still on the fence about keeping the tailpipes. They still look weird to me but mocking them up made me feel a little better about it.
More to come.
NICE!!!!!
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Moving along nicely. Got most of the fuel line bent up and situated. Went through a lot of anguish while deciding how to route it in front of the trans cross member. I even made a thread about it here. All in all it came out pretty good though. Just a note - I will cover the short section with something if I can find an appropriate solution but just so everyone understands, it's going to stay as-is for now. I can't mess with it anymore.
Pics below are obviously the hard line from back to front. The majority of it is 3/8" aluminum line with stainless gravel guard. The section between the trans x member and the front-outer bulkhead is actually stainless though. I had made it for something else but ended up not using it. It happened to fit nicely in that spot with the bend already in it, just had to trim and re-flare it. That material is rigid AF. Probably didn't even need the spring guard but it was already on.
I may end up getting rid of the second filter right before the trans x member. It's only there because the hard line did not reach the x member and I didn't want to make a whole new front-to-back line. It won't cause problems to have the second filter but it's not needed. If I remove it I'll cut the hard line back and use flex hose.
There are a few more things to finish with the hard line - needs one or two more cushion clamps; have to connect the hard line from the frame rail to the regulator/filter and then that contraption has to be connected to the fuel pump ports in the tank.
Pics
I made a drop-down mount bracket for the regulator to keep it away from the exhaust. Not the most perfect piece but it gets the job done. Even though it's pretty far away, the line will get covered with fancy heat shield stuff where it passes by the exhaust. Yes, it's a road sign. Doing my part to be green and reusing stuff.
While all this has been going on, I have in fact been paying attention to the wiring. I ordered a bunch of things for it including a Deutsch-style bulkhead, some modern connectors for things like the water pump, fan fuel pump and sender etc. and lower-cost than Holley-brand pressure transducers for the EFI.
More to come.
Pics below are obviously the hard line from back to front. The majority of it is 3/8" aluminum line with stainless gravel guard. The section between the trans x member and the front-outer bulkhead is actually stainless though. I had made it for something else but ended up not using it. It happened to fit nicely in that spot with the bend already in it, just had to trim and re-flare it. That material is rigid AF. Probably didn't even need the spring guard but it was already on.
I may end up getting rid of the second filter right before the trans x member. It's only there because the hard line did not reach the x member and I didn't want to make a whole new front-to-back line. It won't cause problems to have the second filter but it's not needed. If I remove it I'll cut the hard line back and use flex hose.
There are a few more things to finish with the hard line - needs one or two more cushion clamps; have to connect the hard line from the frame rail to the regulator/filter and then that contraption has to be connected to the fuel pump ports in the tank.
Pics
I made a drop-down mount bracket for the regulator to keep it away from the exhaust. Not the most perfect piece but it gets the job done. Even though it's pretty far away, the line will get covered with fancy heat shield stuff where it passes by the exhaust. Yes, it's a road sign. Doing my part to be green and reusing stuff.
While all this has been going on, I have in fact been paying attention to the wiring. I ordered a bunch of things for it including a Deutsch-style bulkhead, some modern connectors for things like the water pump, fan fuel pump and sender etc. and lower-cost than Holley-brand pressure transducers for the EFI.
More to come.
Last edited:
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
I put the front end in the Duster other day. Might seem a little out of sequence to install those parts at this point so I will explain why I did it. Looks like a car now though!
So truth be told, I am stuck on the wiring. Everything I need to do the job is on hand - harnesses, connectors, terminals, tools, shrink tubing, yada yada yada. The problem I'm having is layout, meaning where to locate the distribution centers and how to route everything from said distribution centers to the individual termination points. Essentially, the front end was installed so I could put the driveline and exhaust in to see where everything will ultimately end up.
Over the last few years, I have been watching a lot of YT videos on Holley EFI. There's a guy on there with a channel pretty much dedicated to dealing with Holley EFI stuff in race cars. In one of his longer videos, he made a point of saying it's best to have everything in place before starting on any wiring job. That definitely struck a chord with me and made me rethink how I was going to reassemble the car. I know from past experience that it can be a struggle to route wiring even in the most optimal situations and after watching that video it became clear that I had to put stuff in the car first.
Before the driveline can go in, the front end obviously had to be installed. Easy enough job to do, I don't think it took 45 minutes to get everything in place. I even torqued most of it to spec so I don't forget later. When the car was disassembled for paint, the steering linkage and brake stuff was merely disconnected so it all went back in easily. Have to say it's nice working on new, powdercoated parts that aren't covered in grime.
Here's the full-boogie QA1 front end - K-frame, adjustable strut rods, upper and lower control arms, etc. Sorry Denny! That's a Flaming River steering box I've had for like 20 years but never used. Unfortunately, it's several pounds heavier than a factory unit. If I had known that Mancini was eventually going to reproduce factory style, aluminum 20:1 boxes I would have bought one of those instead. I still may since they're not that expensive - light is might.
I have not installed the T-bars yet because I was uncertain of whether it'll be easier to put them in after the exhaust is on. Right now however, the car still has to be supported by the lift. It occurred to me that I probably will have to put them in first because at some point the car will have to come off the lift and moved backward to get the engine hoist in place.
The one major caveat to installing the driveline now is that the engine is going to have to come out again. I'm changing the the whole thing including the pistons and cam so it has to come completely apart. Suppose that's not a huge deal in the scheme of things but it does create extra work. I'm sure custom or race car builders have to do that sort of thing all the time to check fitment etc., probably just goes with the territory. Putting the engine and trans will also aid in plumbing the brakes, trans cooler and fuel lines.
My forlorn 416". Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Yes, there are two different valve covers. The Cal Customs will be replaced with super-cool no-logo Mickey T's
It remains to be seen whether I will get the car running with the existing engine combo. I'm wary of firing it up since it's been sitting in it's current state for eight years and is probably not real happy inside. I would like to drive it around just to see what it's like since I never got to do that after it was built. Before I decided on changing stuff the plan was to take it apart for inspection and a re-gasket job anyway but I'd rather not do that job twice. There's also the idea of installing new headers on a 'new' engine and ruining the coating which I'd like to avoid. Suppose I'll have to cross those bridges when I get to them.
More to come.
So truth be told, I am stuck on the wiring. Everything I need to do the job is on hand - harnesses, connectors, terminals, tools, shrink tubing, yada yada yada. The problem I'm having is layout, meaning where to locate the distribution centers and how to route everything from said distribution centers to the individual termination points. Essentially, the front end was installed so I could put the driveline and exhaust in to see where everything will ultimately end up.
Over the last few years, I have been watching a lot of YT videos on Holley EFI. There's a guy on there with a channel pretty much dedicated to dealing with Holley EFI stuff in race cars. In one of his longer videos, he made a point of saying it's best to have everything in place before starting on any wiring job. That definitely struck a chord with me and made me rethink how I was going to reassemble the car. I know from past experience that it can be a struggle to route wiring even in the most optimal situations and after watching that video it became clear that I had to put stuff in the car first.
Before the driveline can go in, the front end obviously had to be installed. Easy enough job to do, I don't think it took 45 minutes to get everything in place. I even torqued most of it to spec so I don't forget later. When the car was disassembled for paint, the steering linkage and brake stuff was merely disconnected so it all went back in easily. Have to say it's nice working on new, powdercoated parts that aren't covered in grime.
Here's the full-boogie QA1 front end - K-frame, adjustable strut rods, upper and lower control arms, etc. Sorry Denny! That's a Flaming River steering box I've had for like 20 years but never used. Unfortunately, it's several pounds heavier than a factory unit. If I had known that Mancini was eventually going to reproduce factory style, aluminum 20:1 boxes I would have bought one of those instead. I still may since they're not that expensive - light is might.
I have not installed the T-bars yet because I was uncertain of whether it'll be easier to put them in after the exhaust is on. Right now however, the car still has to be supported by the lift. It occurred to me that I probably will have to put them in first because at some point the car will have to come off the lift and moved backward to get the engine hoist in place.
The one major caveat to installing the driveline now is that the engine is going to have to come out again. I'm changing the the whole thing including the pistons and cam so it has to come completely apart. Suppose that's not a huge deal in the scheme of things but it does create extra work. I'm sure custom or race car builders have to do that sort of thing all the time to check fitment etc., probably just goes with the territory. Putting the engine and trans will also aid in plumbing the brakes, trans cooler and fuel lines.
My forlorn 416". Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Yes, there are two different valve covers. The Cal Customs will be replaced with super-cool no-logo Mickey T's
It remains to be seen whether I will get the car running with the existing engine combo. I'm wary of firing it up since it's been sitting in it's current state for eight years and is probably not real happy inside. I would like to drive it around just to see what it's like since I never got to do that after it was built. Before I decided on changing stuff the plan was to take it apart for inspection and a re-gasket job anyway but I'd rather not do that job twice. There's also the idea of installing new headers on a 'new' engine and ruining the coating which I'd like to avoid. Suppose I'll have to cross those bridges when I get to them.
More to come.
stroked340
Well-Known Member
Everything looking good..sold my duster so no race 
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Man, talk about a struggle. In advance of the wiring and engine compartment fit up, I decided to tackle rebuilding the column. The outer jacket was all beat up and scratched, the shaft was collapsed and I could feel it moving in and out when I drove which was unnerving. The plan was to scuff and repaint it and swap out the shaft for one of my other ones. I've done this job enough times where I could probably do it in my sleep but this time around I must have actually been asleep. No lie, it was one disaster after another.
First of all, my Tuff wheel grip somehow got a chunk taken out of it. I'm pissed about it too because this was one of the more accurate repros that Dale's 'Cuda Shop sold many years ago. Naturally, its no longer available.
Luckily (?) this piece of foam broke off relatively cleanly so hopefully it can be glued back together.
Even if it can be done cleanly though, there is still a small chunk missing. Not sure what I'm going to do with it.
The Tuff wheel adapter is actually pretty heavy and I wouldn't mind ditching it. However, I'm not a big fan of the larger diameter/thin grip standard wheel. The larger wheel would work better with the 16:1 steering box though. That may be the impetus to get the lighter 20:1 box.
Continued below.
First of all, my Tuff wheel grip somehow got a chunk taken out of it. I'm pissed about it too because this was one of the more accurate repros that Dale's 'Cuda Shop sold many years ago. Naturally, its no longer available.
Luckily (?) this piece of foam broke off relatively cleanly so hopefully it can be glued back together.
Even if it can be done cleanly though, there is still a small chunk missing. Not sure what I'm going to do with it.
The Tuff wheel adapter is actually pretty heavy and I wouldn't mind ditching it. However, I'm not a big fan of the larger diameter/thin grip standard wheel. The larger wheel would work better with the 16:1 steering box though. That may be the impetus to get the lighter 20:1 box.
Continued below.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
The next disaster was the paint. As mentioned, the outer jacket was all beat up. Unfortunately, the scuff-and-shoot idea went out the window as soon as the first droplets of paint came out of the nozzle.
I actually had to go back and look at this thread from when I did the column the first time and figure out what paint I used. Besides laying it on too heavy here, that particular formula turned out to be too shiny.
To dull it, I tried a matte clear. I probably didn't wait long enough for the base to dry. It had also gotten colder out which didn't help. Either way, there was something between the two layers that made the clear shrink and crack. Grrrr...
Thought I had the surface clean enough to re-prime and try again but nope, same deal.
No choice now but to strip it completely. Suppose I could have used the outer jacket in the background but all the collars had to be re-done anyway so it wouldn't have matched.
Continued below.
I actually had to go back and look at this thread from when I did the column the first time and figure out what paint I used. Besides laying it on too heavy here, that particular formula turned out to be too shiny.
To dull it, I tried a matte clear. I probably didn't wait long enough for the base to dry. It had also gotten colder out which didn't help. Either way, there was something between the two layers that made the clear shrink and crack. Grrrr...
Thought I had the surface clean enough to re-prime and try again but nope, same deal.
No choice now but to strip it completely. Suppose I could have used the outer jacket in the background but all the collars had to be re-done anyway so it wouldn't have matched.
Continued below.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
While dealing with the paint mess, I worked on swapping the steering shaft. I switched out the collapsed one for the original column shift one that I took out of the car 10 years ago. What I failed to realize was that since it was a column shift shaft it does not have a provision for a lock collar like the floor shift ones. More on that in a minute.
Without realizing that I had the wrong steering shaft, I went ahead and cut the bottom of it to install the u-joint coupler. That actually went OK. For some reason, I decided to put the roll pin in which was not a good idea at this juncture.
Next step was to get the lower column bearing on. Last time I did it, I used a collar bearing I got from an electric motor transmission supply place. The I.D on the bearing was a few thousandths too small so I whittled down the O.D. of the shaft to be able to slide the bearing on.
I didn't realize it 10 years ago but I mistakenly bought an eccentric bearing.
I took the old bearing and mocked it up on the replacement shaft. I slid the jacket over it to see what it fit like and the bearing got stuck in the jacket. I couldn't pry it out with my fingers so I grabbed a hole-alignment tool with a crow foot on the end to pry it out. (Like I said before, not thinking here) It was stuck in there pretty good and while prying on the back of it, the crow foot ended up killing the bearing.
It's toast. All that grinding for nothing.
I ordered a new bearing from BAC that got here in two days. Still eing lazy and impatient, I didn't want to knock the pin out and remove the coupler so I tried sliding the bearing on from the top - no dice like before. Instead of grinding down the shaft, this time I honed out the I.D. of the new bearing with my air grinder. Took a long time but I finally got it on from the top.
This one is nicer than the one I had before because it has set screws. It also has a collar that butts up against the bottom of the column jacket so no need for the OE white plastic donut.
Continued below.
Without realizing that I had the wrong steering shaft, I went ahead and cut the bottom of it to install the u-joint coupler. That actually went OK. For some reason, I decided to put the roll pin in which was not a good idea at this juncture.
Next step was to get the lower column bearing on. Last time I did it, I used a collar bearing I got from an electric motor transmission supply place. The I.D on the bearing was a few thousandths too small so I whittled down the O.D. of the shaft to be able to slide the bearing on.
I didn't realize it 10 years ago but I mistakenly bought an eccentric bearing.
I took the old bearing and mocked it up on the replacement shaft. I slid the jacket over it to see what it fit like and the bearing got stuck in the jacket. I couldn't pry it out with my fingers so I grabbed a hole-alignment tool with a crow foot on the end to pry it out. (Like I said before, not thinking here) It was stuck in there pretty good and while prying on the back of it, the crow foot ended up killing the bearing.
It's toast. All that grinding for nothing.
I ordered a new bearing from BAC that got here in two days. Still eing lazy and impatient, I didn't want to knock the pin out and remove the coupler so I tried sliding the bearing on from the top - no dice like before. Instead of grinding down the shaft, this time I honed out the I.D. of the new bearing with my air grinder. Took a long time but I finally got it on from the top.
This one is nicer than the one I had before because it has set screws. It also has a collar that butts up against the bottom of the column jacket so no need for the OE white plastic donut.
Continued below.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Back to the paint. After making a huge mess stripping the old paint off the individual parts, it was time to re-spray.
I got smart this time and hung stuff across two pole jacks. Just realized it looks kinda funny. This is SEM high-build primer to fill in some of the gouges and deeper scratches.
Here's the new paint. I used a flat finish this time instead of satin - much closer to the original 'suede' texture. After pouring rain all morning, it was suddenly over 60º and sunny which helped facilitate the even texture.
Painted the lower mounting plates too. The firewall plate is glossy and the small retainer piece that sandwiches that ruber gasket behind the plate is flatter. Why the factory used two distinctly different finishes on parts that bolt together under the dash where they're rarely seen is a mystery.
Continued below.
I got smart this time and hung stuff across two pole jacks. Just realized it looks kinda funny. This is SEM high-build primer to fill in some of the gouges and deeper scratches.
Here's the new paint. I used a flat finish this time instead of satin - much closer to the original 'suede' texture. After pouring rain all morning, it was suddenly over 60º and sunny which helped facilitate the even texture.
Painted the lower mounting plates too. The firewall plate is glossy and the small retainer piece that sandwiches that ruber gasket behind the plate is flatter. Why the factory used two distinctly different finishes on parts that bolt together under the dash where they're rarely seen is a mystery.
Continued below.
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Now that the paint is 'done', I have to make a choice about the steering shaft.
Seems like I have three options;
I stopped here because I didn't want to look at this crap anymore. I also need to sleep on how to proceed with the steering shaft. My impatience cost me two days plus I'm probably going to have to take the coupler off the shaft now anyway.
More to come.
Seems like I have three options;
- Drill a hole in the original column-shift shaft and hope it's straight and in the right spot
- Use my extra floor-shift shaft even though it's for a power steering application and is already two inches shorter than a manual steering shaft. I would have to knock the lower cross pin out and drill a new hole for the coupler pin. It winds up being almost the same length as a cut-down manual shaft.
- Swap the top half of the previous floor shift shaft into the column shift shaft.
I stopped here because I didn't want to look at this crap anymore. I also need to sleep on how to proceed with the steering shaft. My impatience cost me two days plus I'm probably going to have to take the coupler off the shaft now anyway.
More to come.
Last edited:
rmchrgr
Skate And Destroy
Despite the prior aggravation and do-overs, the column is done and back in the car for now. I'm anticipating having to take it out again for one reason or another but at least it's off the floor.
Out of the three options I described in my last post, I ended up using the shorter power steering shaft. Yes, I had to pull the shaft apart a little to get it to the right length but it had to be done. And even though I managed to drill a straight hole for the coupler roll pin on the column shift one, I didn't trust myself to drill the lock collar roll pin hole precisely. The coupler roll pin position is less critical. Worked out OK in the end I guess.
To keep the two halves from moving in and out, I re-used a little metal retainer tab/spring clip that was on my original column-shift shaft. I didn't take a picture of it before I put it in but it's a genius little thing. It's double D shaped on the outside that wraps around the wider part of the shaft with spring tension. It also has an angled, 'T-shaped' extension that digs into the top half to keep it in place. This clip had to have been made for this exact purpose. I looked around on the internet for something similar to show as a reference but couldn't find anything so I drew a picture. See below.
After wrestling with the column on the bench and getting it put back together, the paint was touched up. Came out OK for a rattle can job. Again, it is close to the original suede finish but is lacking the slight metallic quality. I'm not spending $200 for a half pint of the obsolete original paint so good enough will have to do here.
I super-glued the steering wheel foam chunk back on. It's not perfect but there really isn't anything else I could have done for it. I'll find a new wheel at some point but as with the paint, good enough will have to do for now.
The column bracket was given the speed hole treatment and repainted in the original glossy finish.
This key chain is from the original owner. Tuster sounds funny.
Thankfully this column ordeal is over. Have to give myself a pat on the back for sticking to it and finishing despite being super annoyed about having to re-do stuff. Definitely helps to keep things rolling.
More to come.
Out of the three options I described in my last post, I ended up using the shorter power steering shaft. Yes, I had to pull the shaft apart a little to get it to the right length but it had to be done. And even though I managed to drill a straight hole for the coupler roll pin on the column shift one, I didn't trust myself to drill the lock collar roll pin hole precisely. The coupler roll pin position is less critical. Worked out OK in the end I guess.
To keep the two halves from moving in and out, I re-used a little metal retainer tab/spring clip that was on my original column-shift shaft. I didn't take a picture of it before I put it in but it's a genius little thing. It's double D shaped on the outside that wraps around the wider part of the shaft with spring tension. It also has an angled, 'T-shaped' extension that digs into the top half to keep it in place. This clip had to have been made for this exact purpose. I looked around on the internet for something similar to show as a reference but couldn't find anything so I drew a picture. See below.
After wrestling with the column on the bench and getting it put back together, the paint was touched up. Came out OK for a rattle can job. Again, it is close to the original suede finish but is lacking the slight metallic quality. I'm not spending $200 for a half pint of the obsolete original paint so good enough will have to do here.
I super-glued the steering wheel foam chunk back on. It's not perfect but there really isn't anything else I could have done for it. I'll find a new wheel at some point but as with the paint, good enough will have to do for now.
The column bracket was given the speed hole treatment and repainted in the original glossy finish.
This key chain is from the original owner. Tuster sounds funny.
Thankfully this column ordeal is over. Have to give myself a pat on the back for sticking to it and finishing despite being super annoyed about having to re-do stuff. Definitely helps to keep things rolling.
More to come.
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