SC Saga  #19

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3/23/07

The car continues to sit in the garage waiting for brackets and fabrication.

4/25/07

Roy and I have done some work on the blower bracket and serpentine belt system. Roy fabbed up an idler bracket using the double plate style of the blower. We will try to round up a 75” length on a 6-rib belt tomorrow and see if we have enough idler travel to make it work.

I like the idea of it, and if properly executed, should work OK.

We do have an issue with the alternator. The only one we can fit in the space is a small output GM unit. I am thinking of putting a second alternator for the second battery, in place of what would be the smog pump (non-existent on this car). I don't know if I can fit it in there, but Roy and I will give it a shot tomorrow.

A machinist, Brett Hawman, is going to be coming over next week to help me learn to use my newly purchased lathe and mill. Brett is also VERY hip on CNC machining. He will tutor me (for a price), and line me up with tools for the machines.

Meanwhile Roy and I will do our thing tomorrow.

I also need to get moving on the Styrofoam mockup of the fuel cell for Rick's Hot Rods in Texas to fabricate.

AND, we need to mount the Vortech Renegade fuel pump system, run some lines, get the AC lines remade, and a few other little items.

THEN, I can send the motor back to QMP for dyno testing and final reinstall.

4/26/07

I discovered yesterday that someone had closed the trunk on the car. More on that in a moment. Roy and I had a productive day. We got the correct length belt, used the mill for the first time to slot the idler mockup templates, and I went to Grand Rebuilders and got a modified GM alternator putting out 200 amps! It fits perfectly. We then fabbed up two cardboard templates for a bottom stabilizer bracket for the alternator, and a top stiffener piece to go between the alternator and the blower bracket above. These will make for a lean and very strong system. The idler worked nicely, and had plenty of adjustment.

I got to WAAG after closing time, so I will return there tomorrow to have Mike cut me the four pieces out of ¼” steel.

I may have him powder coat them later after we trial fit them.

QMP will not use all the accessory bracketry we are making for their dyno test. But we need all this to make the engine work in the car.

Our next move, after the brackets are made, will be to drill them here. I was informed by machinist Brett that plasma-cutting holes carborizes them, making them extremely hard and tough to drill. So we will do our drilling on the mill.

Roy and I must now make brackets to hold the radiator and condenser, not too daunting. I will go to AutoZone tomorrow and buy a new condenser, OR ask around for a higher performance unit.

While we have the hood latch assembly out, I cleaned, ground, primed, and painted it. I will similarly attend to the core support, as it has been a little battered over the years.

I STILL want to try using an airbrush to detail the hard to reach areas of the engine compartment.

AND, there is the sticky issue of replacing the heater core. It has not shown itself to be leaking, but at approaching 20 years, it is a near certainty it will be bad shortly, if not already. I have run the car for the last two years without the heater being connected. And not run it much, for that matter. I have suggested possibly cutting the firewall for access and making a cover plate, rather than pulling the dash out of the car, which is a monstrous undertaking. I'll do some research on that and see what gives. I find it utterly amazing how much work has been required to do this final iteration of the car. Staggering. Gives a WHOLE new meaning to “sleeper.”

Vortech must supply the “brick” air chiller piping and unit and the injector “bonnet”, the right valve cover must be modified to allow intake air tubing to be mounted, and the VERY tight air inlet tubing itself must be made. This is not cakewalk thing.

The original air box location at the right front of the engine compartment can be used.

I also owe Vortech a bid on their new dyno room. I'll give Todd that info tomorrow.

Roy and I still have not addressed the driveshaft angle. I need to get the car up on the rack, and get some measurements while the engine is in right now.

And I intend to cut out the floor and get to the oft-mentioned foam mockup of the fuel cell.

I did manage to get the trunk open. It is an electric latch only, thanks to Nick's insistence when he shaved the car, and someone had removed my foam block and shut the lid. I powered up the battery line with a charger and got the remote to kick it open. There SHOULD be another system in place for safety.

5/1/07

Roy and I worked out the idler bracket for the alternator/serpentine belt.

I had WAAG cut them, I drilled and slotted them, Roy assembled them back on the motor after some massaging,

and Jorge and I worked out the drilling of the two alternator stabilizing brackets,



and fitting some custom cut sleeves to some of the pivot bolts.

It all looks wonderful.

You will notice the right rocker cover blocks the air intake on the blower. This is a common issue, and I'm looking for either a premade cover or modifying this one to clear. Still, getting the air inlet bends to go 180 degrees under and forward to the fender well will be daunting, at best. Todd is familiar with this challenge as well.

The radiator/condenser tray looks factory:

but is in fact 4 inches LOWER and 4” more forward. Gotta watch those speed bumps now! I only have 4” of ground clearance there.

 

It all comes apart, of course, to have Vortech finish drilling the mounting system. I have NOT given Todd his dyno room price, as I'm still in overwhelm with the business challenges here.

Next on the Condor list is getting a new condenser, and mounting it and the radiator and fans for a final accessory fitting.

Still have the tank, lines, pump, etc to do. But we ARE making progress.

I MAY get an electroplating kit to make some of the bracketry real pretty. That means money, and I am WAY short on that right now.

5/7/07

I juggled the cars around and the SC is on the rack now. Roy and I will launch into some final fitment of the radiator (I MAY raise it a bit per Jorge's suggestion), and cut the trunk out for the fuel cell mockup.

6/3/07

Todd Armstrong came by Saturday (yesterday) and had a look at the SC. I found a box of bracketing which would have obviated making the idler which Roy and I fabricated. I will substitute the Vortech unit and install my spring-tensioner idler later. Todd agreed the blower should move over about 2.5”, and will order some revised bracketing plates to accommodate that. He also agreed we could rotate the blower slightly to put the outlet up inside the hood scoop on the right side for clearance. I was unaware that the blower was infinitely rotatable (a very good thing in this case). It's just a friction fit in the bracket. I returned to him an unneeded aluminum elbow. It appears we are getting close to having this blower setup completed, so I can THEN take it all out and over to QMP. Todd put some clay on the top of the injector, and we appear to have plenty of room for a bonnet.

6/16/07

Been over a week and no word or parts from Todd. This is SO slow in getting done. No news, it takes ALL the fun out of the project, and the car just gets dinged up sitting in the garage.

Roy, Chris, and I have fabbed up the fuel cell, and we calculate over 20 gallons. That should be fine. I COULD squeeze perhaps 3 more gallons by extending the tank into the front part of the spare tire well. Gary and I will discuss it when he returns to start welding on it and the KiloKub.

On Tuesday, when I return from the dentist around 1 PM, I'm hoping Roy and I can get the fuel pump mounted, run some lines, set a fuel filter, and get ready to receive the fuel cell.

The car is getting lower, due to the weight, and I need to think of some way to jack up the suspension a bit. Perhaps some spring pads an inch or so thick.

AND, Roy and I have to address the heater core once we pull the engine out. So still plenty to do here to get it running.

7/4/07

The revised Vortech brackets arrived Monday July 2 nd and Roy and I (mostly Roy) got them installed, including drilling out the phantom hole. We rotated the blower so that the discharge tube fits perfectly under the Ram Air scoop on the right side of the hood. We're now waiting for the word from Superior on the bonnet for the throttle body ,and for a mockup of the intercooler “brick” from Vortech.

7/19/07

Roy and I did some work on Tuesday getting the cast aluminum 90's to fit in the fender well. I did some hammering on the area, and ground down the stud and nut on the upper control arm, and milled off some material on the elbow itself. I also cut one elbow on an angle. The two pieces and a neoprene coupler just fit, but are tight against the hacked off nut, and this really can't be a proper solution when the engine tilts over under torque. Roy happened to notice some spare 4” vacuum hose from our sawdust collection system, and it worked perfectly. I contacted Rob Anderson who was not keen on the idea, citing it could collapse (not likely with the wire core), was not particularly attractive, and that Vortech had a way to produce molded plastic pieces, if I could get him a template. So perhaps the two approaches can be forwarded to him for such a plastic production.

I happened upon a box of injection parts: ignition, coil, fuel rails, computer, etc. They will happily go with the motor soon to QMP for REAL use. Meanwhile, Roy and I need to work up aa pair of water tanks in the left fender well for a puke tank on the radiator, and the “brick” water reservoir. Having Gary available would be VERY handy right now. He isn't. So I might just screw around making either foam pieces or TIG something together in the real lightweight .030 aluminum sheeting I have here for templates.

I need Gary to also cut the necks off the radiator, rotate the inlet neck on the upper with tighter to clear the blower assembly, and remove the filler neck altogether, and install a nipple in the upper left part of the tank to connect to the (soon to be) new puke tank.

I also need to hunt up a new AC condenser.

This all will allow us to move the radiator backup 2-3” and gain some needed ground clearance.

 

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