Productive Week, I took some time off work.

3Apr/160

Productive Week, I took some time off work.

So i took a week off work to work on the car. From my previous list these items are now complete.

Check that i mounted down all steering bolts. (torque to spec, with thread lock)
Find bolts that will fit though the new trans mount. (starter bolts fit perfect)
Finish front aluminum,
Rivet radiator down again.
Attach the heater lines again
Fill with coolant (24 litres in there so far, once the engine starts i bet it gets to 30ish)
Mount fuel pump+filters
Mount fuel rails
Create metal mounting point for the fuel regulator
Create a metal floor to mount the fuel pump to on the drivers side)
Create a metal plate to mount the engine bay fuses to.
Fill engine with oil.
Grease all zerks
Install new plug wires. (i have them in a box.... somewhere)
Mount Starter, (new bolt is on order)
Mount ECU, (I already modified the bracket)
Run wiring harness. (I had to change a few ends but i would highly recommend buying a premade one like i did.)
Exhaust (just the factory/GTM stuff for now, Kooks ordered)
Aircond, finish plumbing

These items i missed off my last list are also complete

Engine Grounded (had to buy a few grounding straps for engine/trans)
Fix clutch leak at slave
Fix brake leak at reservoir
Drained the old oil, replaced the filter
Replace the broken bolt on the suspension and find a bolt for the cable shift bracket.
Created block off plates for the air system on the exhaust
Plugged the EGR tubes on the intake
Basic alignment (using tape measure, to be fixed by the pros later)
Install the heater bypass valve (I think this came from crash's site, i bought it a while ago)

These items are still left (but most of these are not stopping me from starting it)

Mount clutch peddle stop (Visited a few hardware stores and came up with a plan, just have to install it)
Wire the radiator fan in. (harness is done but i don't have the connectors for the fans, ordered new ones off Ebay, will be here soon)
Mount the seat (ordered rails from Amazon, not delivered yet)
Fill AC lines. (R134a doesn't seem to exist in Canada anymore, all the kits i can find are 22a, Walmart seems to sell R134a online, i will try that)
Install some kind of fusable link between the engine and the starter/alternator (big positive cable beside the exhaust scares me)
Fill Trans with oil. (Found on Amazon for $40 a litre, its a rip off buy my only choice, i ordered it)
I lost (or maybe never took off the donor) the MAF sensor.... cant start the car without it. (ordered a new one)
Find a way to finish the emergency brake. (I will have to order a longer brake cable, its good enough for now.)
Mount aluminum pieces that go beside the fuel tanks. (have to drill them for the cross over pipe)
Mount fuel tank (I bought a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 rubber at a local hardware store, I will cut a few 2x4 style strips out of it to build a rubber version of the wooden 2x4 that everyone seems to use)
Secure down each of the fuel line connectors
Mount the pillow bearing by the peddle box, the current FFR part isn't large enough to mount the bearing, i will need to weld some new metal on.

I also had my 2 post lift fail which took about 5 hours to fix. The passenger side of the lift stuck fully extended and wouldn't go down, but the drivers side did go down. The car was sitting VERY crooked, I could have dropped the car if I wasn't paying attention. I had to prop up the system with a 2x4 and a floor jack. I then tried to fix the high pressure line fittings that were leaking.... While i did fix the leak the jack would still not descend. I then figured out that i had to much rear weight after the engine and transmission were installed, that was causing the part of the lift that moves up and down to push against the rear of the housing with a TON of force. I jacked up the rear of the car and with a loud BAMM! the whole thing settled onto the safety stops again. Once the car was back on the ground i was able to re-position the jack points, grease the inside of the lift and test it again. WORKS! Was a very stressful couple of hours as the car could have slipped off and fallen 6 feet to the floor. (it was sitting pretty crooked until i could get it to dislodge)

I have completely planned out the fuel system, everything is mocked up now with the proper AN connectors and nice stainless steel braided hoses. I should have done more research on the costs associated with the aluminum tanks mixed with proper AN connectors. So far the fuel system alone has set me back about $5000, that's for rails, tanks, AN ends and fittings, filters, pump, regulator, gauges, hoses, chrome mounts, etc. However if a had to do it again i don't think i would change a thing..... except for the bad planning that left me with tons of extra hose and AN fittings.

I think the best part of this progress was how much floor space i gained in the garage. Its now easier to walk around the car and work.

I think this was the end of day one

Fuel pump and filter location

This is how i mounted them, they are SOLID as a rock, the filters are bolted together and then held in place by the solid AN fittings. I was a little worried at first by putting the weight on them like this but you can use the filters as a handle and hang off this thing, its solid.

Regulator mounting location, i cut a piece of steel, it will be welded in soon. (I have since replaced some of these AN fittings to change the routing.