Also for any of you wanting to do a windshield option for the sake on inspection passing...

http://1drv.ms/1F35gsR

 

I just got word that "Natalie" left the factory yesterday. UPS Freight just set me an email saying they will be delivering in the morning!!!!!!
I have to say I have not been this excited about a delivery in a very long time. I plan to be at the shop when the trailer door rolls up so I can inspect every inch of that thing before it gets signed off.
Murtz, Natalie is the first race chassis to leave the factory with a windshield frame. The pic of the girls is inspiration, but my wife does more for me than those two ever could....she puts up with me!

 

UPS strikes again.... or was it the Friday the 13th thing? I called UPS to be sure they would phone 1 hour before delivery so that I could be at the shop when the chassis arrived. I don't want the driver hitting up the secretary for a signature if there is damage to the powder coating.
I look up the tracking on the website and the package as cleared the hub in Harrisburg, PA and was scheduled for delivery by "End of day" Friday. When I phoned the Service number I was told that in fact the truck had made it to Wallingford, CT and was out making deliveries. The gal told me that she would call me back within 30 minutes to confirm the driver received the message to phone before delivery. Two hours later I still did not receive a call back. I phoned "Service" again and guess what? The chassis is on a different truck that left Atlanta at 9:10am this morning!
It appears that UPS put the bill of lading on the truck, but when there was no room for the chassis they didn't take the paperwork back off.
Last night I was able to get confirmation that the chassis was physically in Roanoke, Va and headed to Newburg, NY overnight. Newburg is only an hour from me so I thought I would drive there today and get it. I figured that the less time it's in their hands and the fewer times it changes trucks the better. Unfortunately they do not answer the phone on Saturdays so it looks like I get to chew my nails down to the knuckles waiting for Monday.

 

Can understand your stance, I'm the same, don't trust anyone! For good reason, however, I've been burned by a lot of "reputable" people in the automotive aftermarket. Can't really call the engine a full-burn this time, but 7 months for basic machine work is a bit crazy, Glad on monday, I pick up the LS7 block. I'll throw some photos up when it comes!

Glad your project is finally going to steam ahead, after UPS gets in gear.

 

Great! Now the real fun begins.

I'm surprised at how much fabrication I'm doing.

 

I am hoping this makes things better.... my rear subframe will be done with sandblasting Monday so I can grab that too. I ordered a set of tubular upper front control arms yesterday and paid for a set of tubular front lower control arms that Keith Tanner had listed on another site today. Looks like I have to pull apart the front suspension before I even get a chance to mount it. at least it will lighter and have more adjustment than what I know how to use, LOL!
I just want my car in the garage where it is safe and I can play with it. I need to grab the V8R rear diff mount kit (or build my own) and pick up a fuel injection system and this thing is running before I know it! {FAMOUS LAST WORDS}
Pray for more snow....no big storms, just what the wife has been getting for 30 years... 3" twice a week weather she needs it or not!

 

Natalie is finally home safe. UPS Freight "lost" her 3 times. The paperwork was in one truck and the car got shipped on another. The tracking stopped working so there were a lot of calls made. When I had confirmation that it was on a dock in Newburg, NY I went and got her myself.

 

Cool! I love that color. What color did you order for the body panels?

Did it come with that tray for the "dash"?

 

.boB
I did order the wiring tray. I have an idea that I am going to be adding heat to the car as well. I will have to come up with a way to mount the fan and heater core and figured I could form up a small dash to hide it. The dash will also have to hold the radio...gotta have tunes!
The body is being ordered in Black but then a friend has offered to scuff and spray it in Merlot Mica Metallic like the 95 M-edition. Knowing him there will be a lot more pearl mixed into it. He did all the work on Nadine so I trust his judgment with the color.
I have opened all the small packages. I am glad I don't have t pay their bill for shrink-wrap! I will be printing off the build guides tonight and getting them into the build diary I have been keeping. This way I have the book in hand and once finished I will have a disc with all the pictures to tuck into the back. It might help me or the next owner down the line.
Yes, I just said NEXT OWNER! I didn't think I would ever sell Nadine but when I get a project in my head the money has to come from somewhere!

 

Yeah, I was impressed with the packaging. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of instructions included. Like, what are all those hardware bits for?

The build guides are not really worth printing out. They're kinda vague. Look at the fuel tank installation instructions; only 2 lines. And the wiring section I think is a little skimpy: "Hook up the wiring harness and your battery".

I wasn't able to order a wiring tray; wasn't available last year. I had to fab my own. Since this is a track car, nothing extra. If it doesn't make the car go faster, it doesn't go on.

Things just don't fit as well as I'd like them to. I realize this is a kit car, and I'm adding a V8. But I didn't think it would be this time consuming. I've spent days just on cooling.

 

What rad are you using and what issues are you having? I am using the Mishimoto 3 core with slim fans and shroud. I am really hoping it all fits behind the front tubes. I know there is room in the nose cone but the rad fits so well right now.

 

I'm using the radiator from V8 roadsters, as it was the thinnest one I could find. There's no room for the fan, so it's going on the front as a pusher. The oil cooler also goes on the front. But there's enough room between the radiator and the alternator for the P/S fluid cooler.

The standard LS1 water pump pulley (the liberty bell) is huge, and there's no room for that, either. I switched to a Corvette LS2 water pump, and then spaced it out 3/4" to match the rest of the pulleys. That just gives enough room in there.

The upper radiator hose is a little bit of a problem. It would be a lot easier if V8R had installed a 90* elbow. I ordered some parts from HPS Silicone hoses to try and build something that will work. If that doesn't work, I'll have a shop weld on a 90* elbow that fits close.

When I get it all together, I'll post some pictures.

Another problem I ran in to is the sway bar. I bought the bar from FM that clears the Corvette pulley. But it doesn't clear the LS1 pulley. So I had to move the sway bar foreward 1".

You would think that switching everything over to the Corvette drive system would solve all these issues. But the LS1 Corvette system sticks out so far to the driver's side (17" from center) that the alternator would hit the frame tube. I suppose you'de have to bite the bullet and buy all new LS3 Corvette stuff.

 

Thanks for the tips. I am using a rearward mount BF subframe so I am hoping I can get a little more room in the nose. The kit relocates the sway about 1-1 1/2" forward as well. I am using the Corvette balancer and will most likely use the accessory mounts I did for "Nadine" as I still have my templates. I will let you know when I get there. For now I am just mocking things up and taking notes for myself.
I got the Exomotive shock spacers installed tonight and bolted up the front subframe and suspension. In an attempt to protect the powder coating I grabbed some pipe insulation at Home Depot. A little masking tape and it should keep me from screwing things up if I'm careful. The tins at the firewall are in and the rear bulkheads have been trimmed (a couple welds needed to be cleared or the aluminum wouldn't sit flush).

 

A few more pics of progress... nothing major!

 

I haven't done a lot in the last couple weeks. Been trying to recover from long nights of plowing. Snowed every Sunday into Monday for 6 weeks. Not that I am complaining, this is how I pay for my toys. It's just that plowing that many hours on top of al the other stuff I do adds up and wears you out. St. Patrick's Day is usually when us drivers get to start to relax and start prepping for Spring/Summer lawn businesses.
Back to the car:
I got in the 10 pounds of insulated P-clamps I ordered in various sizes. Now I can plan out and route the brake and fuel lines before tearing back into the front suspension. I have to swap the LCA's for the tubular V8R ones I got from Keith Tanner {Caution: Name Drop}.
I also got in the DS rear caliper and hardware to finish up the hubs out. The car will be able to sit on its own 4 wheels for a while.
I did have a small issue with the steering shaft connecting to the rack. The slip joint in the column felt short. When I removed it for inspection I found two sets of clearance groves for the retaining bolt. Is it possible they use the same shaft in more than one car? Since the splines still have lots of engagement I am going to proceed but If you have first hand knowledge I would love the feedback. In the mean time I have another parts column to check with once the snow melts in the yard.
Speaking of snow again.... I goofed! I cleaned the garage to make room for the car and put the engine hoist out in the shed. Guess what? Now that I am ready to test fit the engine and trans I can't get to the damn thing ;-( Patience is something I haven't been blessed with!

 

LOL well I managed to make it 54 years with out hearing the term insulated p clamp and thanks to google and Chris I have learned something and can go home now.

PS love the copper/gold color!

 

Jim, I am here to educate as well as brag!
I can't wait to get this thing together and show it off in the sun. The color really POPS!

 

I haven't posted here in a bit so here goes....
The garage got cleaned and the hoist is back in there. I also got the steering knuckle extended 1 1/4" on the rack side. I really think I could have gone to 3 1/2 or 4" with that. The only thing it affects is the hole in the firewall that the shaft passes through. This should eliminate the need for special headers and allow the use of off the shelf Hooker Block Huggers. I have a set on order and will post pics when they arrive. The angle of the u-joint is not extreme and the wheel turns freely so I see no issues.
I am ready to tdo the first test fit of the engine/scatter shield/trans. I am going to have to block up the tail of the trans as I have the crossmember mounts from Exomotive but not the cross itself. Add that to the list of V8R parts I need. At least this will give me an idea of what I am up against. The Racing Beat sway and end links are installed but I think the bar will need to move forward to clear the balancer. I am worried about room for the rad and fans but I am not above putting them in front of the frame and spinning the fans in reverse as pushers. Pics to come!

 

Don't get to anxious to get the cross member. I didn't find it useful. It's not that well designed, and didn't fit well at all. It's supposed to fit between the rails, but it wasn't wide enough.

After messing around with it for a while, I made my own.







If you haven't purchased one yet, I'll sell you mine.

 

Holy overdue update Batman......
I bought the trans cross member from .boB and it is a little loose as he stated. The floors need to be opened up in order for the reinforcement pieces to fit around the tubes properly so I think the issue will solve itself then.
I haven't done a lot to the car in the last few months. I picked up some urethane rod from another builder and will use it as the spacer for the fuel tank. The fuel system is ready to go with the Deatschwerks pump installed, the filter located to the top of the tank and the lines al run with 8AN feeds and 6AN returns. I used billet quick connects at the ends for easy service.
The car was a rolling chassis and that really helped me get/keep the garage clean. Then I bought V8R tubular front control arms from Keith Tanner (Yup, that KT). They are getting cleaned/painted/new bushings before I install them.
I bought seats from a Cobalt SS Supercharged at a great price. Got front and rears in leather figuring that with all the climbing in/out I might need matching material for future repairs. DON'T BOTHER! They don't fit the car....DAMNIT!!!! Oh well, they will be really comfy in the plow rig this winter ;-)
I also picked up a quick release hub and adapter for the steering wheel. Test fit the MOMO and its great. Of course seating will be different than the milk crate I have now....
I extended the steering knuckle o both sides for the joint and plan to extend it further. If the lower half of the joint is extended then it moves the joint away from the header so you don't have to dimple the collector of the exhaust manifold to get it by. BF extends the upper half to gain the distance they move the rack forward but the shaft still interferes with the exhaust. I am getting a set of stock LS Block-huggers to test the set up.
Details and pics of that to come.

 

I picked up a set of seats this week... They say Mazdaspeed on them but they are clearly not from a 'speed. They have "wings" at the shoulders and slots for harnesses. Came with sliders ad the 4 point harnesses so for the money they will be cool.....IF THEY FIT! LOL
PO said that they were in his Miata but he didn't drive it (Unfinished project). What the hell... they will match the pedal assembly!

 

SO the seats don't fit and NOW they guy tells me that he "Never opened the boxes". He is just now ordering an Exo kit but wanted cash instead of the seats..... I'm thinking he knew they were too wide.
Oh well, Now I have something for that 323 GTX I have been looking for... LOL

 

Maybe it's time for a good olde fashion set of 90-97 NA seats in black cloth. I figure $150 for the pair (typical price on craigslist) and you'll be able to at least sit in the chassis


Bill S.

 

2000 NB seats here already. Was trying for something fun. I might try to slice and dice the Cobalt seats. If I can get a bud to do the stitch work they will fit once I take 2" out of the frames.
EVERYTHING on this car has been Hurry up and wait, or do it twice!

 

Got a good trade for the NB1 seats... NA seats recovered in Leather. Seat heaters and lumbar already installed.
For the picture hounds....I'm thinking of red body work now...