my 89 GT "back in the day" street / track day project build
03-04-2012, 09:13 PM
#31
A little bit more progress this week. Got a couple of the Continental Extreme Contact DW rubber that I will be running for street / wet track usage mounted up on some of the 8" Saleen 5-spoke wheels. They are just little 225/55R16 skins, fairly rounded shoulders that shouldn't track around on the truck ruts too badly, and soft sidewalls to hopefully soften the blow of the 1050 lbs./inch front springs for street driving. LOL On the 8" wheels they look pretty good, I was afraid that the sidewalls look "pulled out" too much, but these particular tires have a pretty good section width for a 225. So now I have some 5-lug wheels with tires on them ready to roll on once I have the new brakes and suspension in either end of the car.
Today we moved the car out of the corner of the shop to get some more space around in for working. My landlords aren't back until the end of April, so I have pretty much free reign until then. Took if off the dollies, and up in the air on some sturdy stands. Also started looking at the rearend assembly to check that the aftermarket axles are the correct length for the SN95 brakes, they seem to be good.
Also started looking at the front suspension stuff, with the new crossmember, SN95 control arms with the FMS extended ball joints installed, and SN95 steering rack.
Started the preparations for removing the original front suspension and crossmember out. Since I will not be reusing anything there, I am going to try to take out the crossmember with the control arms, spindles, and struts still together, all as one big chunk. Brake hard line to flex hose nut came undone easily on the left side, the right is being a bit stubborn, but some heat should fix that up. Got the steering shaft unbolted as well, I have a replacement for that.
This week I have to gather up a few more hardware items, get some paint on the crossmember, and give the rearend housing a bit of cleaning before a coat of paint on it as well. The engine is pretty close to being ready to go back in, so I want to get all of the front suspension stuff done and out of the way to prepare for that.
As they say, "To be continued" ...
Today we moved the car out of the corner of the shop to get some more space around in for working. My landlords aren't back until the end of April, so I have pretty much free reign until then. Took if off the dollies, and up in the air on some sturdy stands. Also started looking at the rearend assembly to check that the aftermarket axles are the correct length for the SN95 brakes, they seem to be good.
Also started looking at the front suspension stuff, with the new crossmember, SN95 control arms with the FMS extended ball joints installed, and SN95 steering rack.
Started the preparations for removing the original front suspension and crossmember out. Since I will not be reusing anything there, I am going to try to take out the crossmember with the control arms, spindles, and struts still together, all as one big chunk. Brake hard line to flex hose nut came undone easily on the left side, the right is being a bit stubborn, but some heat should fix that up. Got the steering shaft unbolted as well, I have a replacement for that.
This week I have to gather up a few more hardware items, get some paint on the crossmember, and give the rearend housing a bit of cleaning before a coat of paint on it as well. The engine is pretty close to being ready to go back in, so I want to get all of the front suspension stuff done and out of the way to prepare for that.
As they say, "To be continued" ...
03-05-2012, 11:05 AM
#33
They aren't bad for the size, maybe 18 lbs. each. The earlier mesh style Saleen wheels that I am going to use for the track are about 16 lbs. each, which is very decent for a 16 x 8" one piece wheel.
cheers
Ed
cheers
Ed
03-11-2012, 08:07 PM
#38
A bit more progress this weekend, took advantage of the warm weather here. Spent most of yesterday at Megaspeed World, the local annual indoor car show manning the booth of the shop where my brother works until some of the other guys made it down. Got a late start today, but by the time I went out to the shop, the temp was nice, especially when I opened up the big bay door, and slid the one open that goes to the attached greenhouse where I had the car put previously.
Used the greenhouse as my paint booth today for the front crossmember, put some Rustoleum epoxy paint on it and let it bake in the sun.
Took the axle assembly out the door using the engine crane, degreased it and gave it a light coat of satin black.
Brought it back in, and started putting the brakes together on it. Realized that I was missing the banjo bolts for the flex hoses, I was hoping to mock up the SN95 brake hoses I have, to measure where I need to cut and reflare the original Fox hard lines to mate up. When I'm back to the dealership tomorrow morning I'll get some banjo bolts ordered up.
A few days ago I had brought home the engine from work. I had one of the techs install the cam, timing chain & gears, and cylinder heads for me. Just makes it a few less things to worry about for me. Looks good with the old FMS 1.72 rockers on it. I'll get the rest of the external bits on, and a coat of paint, it will be ready to go.
My friend Rob Lawson popped by for a short visit to check out my progress today, and make a few suggestions on the upcoming work to be done. He decided that we needed a bit of inspiration for completing the project, so he did a quick mock-up with the pair of mounted tires I have so far:
It's supposed to be warm for the entire week coming, so I wlll try to take advantage of that and make some progress a few evenings this week. Front suspension needs to all come out, hopefully as one big chunk, to make room for the Slot Car K-member, H&R springs, and MM-valved Bilsteins attached to the Global West caster plates.
cheers
Ed
Used the greenhouse as my paint booth today for the front crossmember, put some Rustoleum epoxy paint on it and let it bake in the sun.
Took the axle assembly out the door using the engine crane, degreased it and gave it a light coat of satin black.
Brought it back in, and started putting the brakes together on it. Realized that I was missing the banjo bolts for the flex hoses, I was hoping to mock up the SN95 brake hoses I have, to measure where I need to cut and reflare the original Fox hard lines to mate up. When I'm back to the dealership tomorrow morning I'll get some banjo bolts ordered up.
A few days ago I had brought home the engine from work. I had one of the techs install the cam, timing chain & gears, and cylinder heads for me. Just makes it a few less things to worry about for me. Looks good with the old FMS 1.72 rockers on it. I'll get the rest of the external bits on, and a coat of paint, it will be ready to go.
My friend Rob Lawson popped by for a short visit to check out my progress today, and make a few suggestions on the upcoming work to be done. He decided that we needed a bit of inspiration for completing the project, so he did a quick mock-up with the pair of mounted tires I have so far:
It's supposed to be warm for the entire week coming, so I wlll try to take advantage of that and make some progress a few evenings this week. Front suspension needs to all come out, hopefully as one big chunk, to make room for the Slot Car K-member, H&R springs, and MM-valved Bilsteins attached to the Global West caster plates.
cheers
Ed
