Sam (Bones) Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 You young bucks need to learn how to work WITHOUT! Hurting yourself! Looking forward to seeing this one completed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Ryan, get a roll of NiCopp to do the replacement lines. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AGS-CNC-325/ It has the burst strength of steel, yet will not corrode... and it is a joy to work with. Bends are super easily accomplished with bare hands, (tight bends are quickly and easily done with tubing benders) and flares turn out beautifully. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 You young bucks need to learn how to work WITHOUT! Hurting yourself! Looking forward to seeing this one completed Haha! Looks like I'm learning the hard way, Sam. The lessons that smash you in the face are the hardest to forget! Ryan, get a roll of NiCopp to do the replacement lines. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AGS-CNC-325/ It has the burst strength of steel, yet will not corrode... and it is a joy to work with. Bends are super easily accomplished with bare hands, (tight bends are quickly and easily done with tubing benders) and flares turn out beautifully. Doug Looks like the way to go! I have never heard of this stuff before, I always ran the coated steel lines. The car will never see salt or winter, but if its easier to work with than steel that's a plus. Here's some more pics, rear is in the car and back on the ground. The wheels/tires look really mean on the rear. Fitment is good, but it seems the axle is about 1" to the driver's side. I hope I can adjust it to get the axle centered in the car. The control arms are all rod ends and adjustable. The shocks are some el-cheapo Summit adjustables that I installed last fall, should work for now. I decided not to hook up the sway bar yet, I can do that anytime. Just trying to get the driveshaft measured up and ordered because I know they take time to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I do like them wheels, should see you wed. night I'll call first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 It's looking good Ryan. Those wheels that you've chosen will make fit-up a breeze with the Strange axles. It is a struggle to mount my Vision wheels due to the girth of the studs that are used on these axles! The rim has to be absolutely concentric or it is impossible to get a socket to fit onto the recessed lug nut in the wheel. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Got lots of work done this weekend. Friday, after work I jammed out the last of the metal work on the firewall and got the panels all seam-sealed. Saturday I worked all day to get the body filler looking decent. I'm no good at bodywork, I have no patience for it. I could spend some more time making the firewall perfect, but for now I'm calling it good enough. Got it sprayed in primer and called it a night. I decided to take a shortcut and just use some flat black acrylic enamel paint in spray cans to get-er-done backyard style. The air system in my garage is just not equipped to run a paint sprayer and get good results...too much water. I have already wasted a lot of time messing around with this firewall, I just don't have the time to make everything perfect. I think it came out pretty good. It took 5 cans to get good coverage with no streaks. While the paint was drying, I slammed the new engine and trans together. I also had to move the transmission cross-member back to fit the new Turbo 400 mounts. Once everything dried up, I carefully installed the engine. It looks awesome. Very close to hearing it fire up, all I have to do is run the fuel lines now. Hopefully my next update will be a run video of this thing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Very nice work Ryan, firewall didnt come out bad at all.That motor sure is purdy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 very nice! firewall looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostnFound Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Got a little further on the car, still haven't fired it yet... I keep running into stupid little problems everywhere and I'm still trying to get them resolved. Mostly these stupid brakes, major headache. I got the junkyard Astro Hydroboost unit modified and fit into the car. Master cylinder kit also bolted up nice, but had issues with the lines and fittings at the calipers. The new line coming off the master that runs to the flex at the rear axle is only 3/16" instead of the 1/4" line I took off the car. Thought that was a little small to run two rear calipers. It took me a while to put the core support back together, I couldn't remember what parts went where. Lots of little brackets and hardware. Looks great though with no rust on it. Getting my new steel inner fenders powder coated too. I hope to bolt that stuff up soon, just want to hear the motor fire and run so I know I don't have to take it back out. I rigged up the fuel cell and regulator outside the car, haven't had time to run the lines through the car yet. Also got the carb and linkage all bolted up. Started on the ignition but I ran into a problem with the spark plug wires where the 90 degree ends cause the wire to hit the header/flange, no big deal just need to switch them out for 45's. So basically just waiting on a few odds and ends to arrive to finish the ignition and get this thing running. I'm probably being a little too OCD about some things, but I want make sure its right. Sloooow progress last couple of weeks, but heres a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Looking good, them damn little things will kill ya but stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 I stripped out most of the interior, minus the door panels to make way for new wiring and I think I may have dug myself another hole. I probably should have left the dashboard in, but taking the whole thing out made it easier to get the old harness and broken gauge cluster out. Now it's all mangled and I'm not sure if I should replace it with a stock-looking dash with aftermarket gauges (I have most of them) or fabricate a simple sheet metal dash. Not sure which would be easier at this point. Any suggestions? I started wiring in the essentials to get the motor started and man what a headache this harness is going to be. Wires everywhere! At least its all labeled. Might have to read some instructions on this one... It's definitely not "Painless" or easy by any means. More delays... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballubet Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Nice progress! The snowball will slow down.....eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Looks like a painless harness. Looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Nice progress! The snowball will slow down.....eventually. I really hope so...I won't have any money left for gas and tires! Looks like a painless harness. Looking good its a Painless 21 circuit pro-street harness pn: 50003 with switch board. Seems to have all the circuits I need plus an extra fuel pump circuit. I wish this kit came with the wire loom to cover the bare wires but had to order it separately. Not sure how I'm going to mount the fuse block yet, it doesn't fit like the stock one. I still have to wire the lights and gauges but the engine is ready to fire. Hopefully this week sometime. Maybe. I'm sure something will delay me some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Figured I would give a small update. After getting the new engine fired up, I took a short break from working on the car. I was getting a little burned out with it. I am very glad the motor fired up without issue. The days are getting much shorter and colder so I can't get much work done outside anymore. We relocated the car to the garage so work can continue without having to worry about weather and daylight. Looks like I won't be driving it until next spring. That should give me plenty of time to finish the car up. I took all the wiring back out to tidy up the connections and wrap it up in some wire loom to make everything look nice. As soon as I get the brakes and steering working, I'm sending the car off to have a roll cage professionally installed. I'm having a local race shop do the work, they build some really cool stuff. I'll update with pics once I get the car back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 That is coming together nicely for sure. Are you going to keep it home for the winter instead of putting it in storage like you planed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 That is coming together nicely for sure. Are you going to keep it home for the winter instead of putting it in storage like you planed? Thanks, Steve. Yes, It's staying here for the winter. I didn't think there was room for it in the garage, but it fits pretty well. Hoping to get the cage done and get the car back here before the snow starts flying. That way I have all winter to sort the rest of the car out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'm finally making some progress on the Monte. Almost nothing got done on the car from October until now...oh well stuff happens sometimes. Got all my brake lines ran this weekend and brakes bled. I'm stuck on this rack and pinion conversion. The rack bolted in nicely, but the steering shaft has not been easy to figure out. There's 2 shafts and 3 u joints to connect the rack to the steering column with a bracket and rod end in the middle to hold everything. I have it mostly into place but when I try steering, it turns to right lock and back to center ok but to the left it will only go about half a turn and then it binds up. I'm having a hard time with this thing, if anyone has done this before and has pics of their set-up and how you ran the steering linkage please send me a pm or post it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbreese Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Ryan, There was a member on this site some years back that did the RnP conversion but for the life of me I can't recall his name/ screen name. Some other member may recall his name. Looked really nice. You may want to check out the Team Chevelle site on either the suspension, performance or pro touring section . Quite a few people have done the conversion and I'm sure could give you some guidance. Sorry I couldn't help ya. I would like to do the same to my Monte one day and shave some weight off of the front. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Got the steering to work good enough to load it on the trailer. It steers but I'm not totally happy with it, I'll have to modify it later. It's finally at the shop to get caged up. Check out our super safe, definitely going to work ramp set up to get it on the trailer. I will update later this week with pics of the cage being installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Yes Ryan.... That ramp setup really scares me. The steering looks like a lot of work went into it. Good Work!! rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 moving the brace closer the the center universal would greatly reduce flex of the steering shaft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share Posted May 2, 2016 Ok, well it took a little longer than expected, (doesn't everything?) but the roll cage is done. I am without a trailer at the moment so the car is stuck at the shop. Once I get it back, the mad rush is on to get it completed. I'm changing a couple things on the car, the rack and pinion is coming back out. I couldn't get the steering shaft to work properly with headers in the way. It was a cool idea and with enough effort I'm sure would work but I don't have time to mess with it right now. A manual box will be used instead. The hydroboost is also coming out. I wont have to mess around with any power steering lines or pump that way. No pictures of the cage completed yet, but I have some of the main hoop and halo bar being fit up. More to come once I get it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Getting there, looking good. Hurry up the nationals are less than 90 days away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.