Tanderson1's build thread..

[tanderson1]

Is Factory Five now including a pink stroller in the kit to help move the parts/engine/transaxle around?

-Michael

Haha, i was waiting for someone to notice that.

I was able to clean out the garage last night, seats, interior, body components are all in my Van waiting to be dropped off at another garage. Anything not project related is in my truck ready to go to the dump tomorrow AM.

40 people showed up for the party tonight so i ducked outside with 8 or so guys and carried the GTM into the garage. Was pretty easy:
1) Remove all the red tape
2) remove the two screws in the licence plate hole, and the two screws in each door jam
3) Removed the glass
4) Set the hood and doors aside.
5) Lifted the body while pulling the bottom lip away from the frame.

Body could easily be moved by 2 people. 3 people could easily move the metal frame.

For now its sitting on jack stands, I will have to get the lift mounted some time this week.

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[tanderson1]

The new wiring harness arrived from SMC Performance today.... This thing is amazing, great build quality, I AM VERY happy with this purchase.

The connectors are high quality, the wire loom is top quality and everything is very clearly labeled. It even has a little light attached to the ODB2 connector for the check engine light.

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Factory Five has asked for some photos of the "surplus" parts that i have so we can see if they are in fact some of the missing parts with incorrect part numbers. Other then that the car progress is somewhat non existent, I have now moved the boxes for the interior and body across town to another garage. Sunday is the day the body will make the same trip into storage. The Canadian GTM kit will be here this week.

This weekend i hope to take photos of all the internal Aluminum and remove it, Get the Lift bolted back in place, and send every aluminum panel to the body shop for powder coat.

PS.... My neighbor across the street (who until now I had never met) pulled over in his lotus today talk to me about the car under the tarp.... turns out he is a mechanic by trade. Looks like the car is already making new friends :-)

[tanderson1]

I couldn't let the day go by without some progress so i went out to the garage and removed all of the aluminum after taking a TON of photos that show how the aluminum was mounted.

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[tanderson1]

I received a quote today to powder coat every aluminum part on the GTM for $300. Somehow i doubt that it will be that cheap in the end, i figured anything under $500 was decent.

Has anyone powder coated every part?
What did you pay?

[The Stig]

I received a quote today to powder coat every aluminum part on the GTM for $300. Somehow i doubt that it will be that cheap in the end, i figured anything under $500 was decent.

Has anyone powder coated every part?
What did you pay?

I powder coated all aluminum panels on my car, and it was around 650 total.

[tanderson1]

I powder coated all aluminum panels on my car, and it was around 650 total.

Mike

I have a feeling they may charge me closer to $650. I dropped all the panels off at the power coaters today and he did seems surprised at the size of the pile.

[tanderson1]

Reinstalled the lift today (its been close to 28 days since i poured the new concrete). I had a little fun lifting the frame up and down a few times, for now its not directly on the center of balance (i couldn't move the frame alone). I rented a hammer drill, it didn't go as well as planned and ended up taking 4 hours to drill all the holes.... I broke 4 crappy drill bits, getting them back out of the holes is not easy.... I should have bought better bits.
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And in the afternoon the first portion of my Canadian GTM kit came in the mail... $270 in customs fees.... ouch...

Box has

1. The brake lines (2 sizes)
2. 4 shocks, 4 springs, 4 spring hats, 4 adjustment collar
3. Painless harness
4. Slave cylinders
5. Gas Caps
6. Gas filler hoses

Still missing the steering rack and some of the shock parts.
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[tanderson1]

The aluminum panels should be back from the powder coater in a few days.

The manual states that i have to put silicone behind the panels, I searched the forum and found nothing so its possible i am over thinking this... but is this just regular Home Depot silicone? Or is there special high temp silicone that i need to source?

[TouchStone]

Home depot silicone works for the aluminum panels. Make sure to find the ones in black.

[tanderson1]

Home depot silicone works for the aluminum panels. Make sure to find the ones in black.

Cool I will pickup a few tubes of this:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/ge-s...-290-ml/941920

[tanderson1]

I was trying to help the Stig out with a question on his thread about screws for the gas cap so i dug my caps out box. It looks like I have a new style that looks quite different from the old style.
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Now I was told that the old cap had a bit of a bend to it to fit the contour of the body. This new one does not. (this is the passenger side, notice that the hole is drilled off center causing the cap to mount off center, I will have to widen the hole.
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This is the driver side. It fits much better but its still noticable that the cap does not contour at all to the body. I may have to do some body work around these to make the flat cap not look crooked.

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[tanderson1]

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Moved everything today across town into an empty garage that someone let me use. Threw the scoop on top to see how it would look. All of the boxes for the interior, body, glass, seats, etc fit inside the car.


On the drive across town i watched a few cars start to pass me, hit the brakes look at the trailer a few times, linger there for a few minutes then take off...... as we got off the fast roads and back into a community my 6 year old in the back seat of the truck asked me "why is everyone staring at the trailer".... cant imagine how much attention this car draws when its finished.

[TouchStone]

It looks like I have a new style that looks quite different from the old style.
IMG_0557.JPG

This is the driver side. It fits much better but its still noticable that the cap does not contour at all to the body.

That is the same style cap I got for my 818 kit. I'm curious if I'll have a similar issue with the body contour.

[kabacj]

Hi Mr Anderson

Both gas caps. New and old have a flat flange that mounts into a recess in the bodywork. I have both types.

You will need to sweeten up the fit to how you want it to look

Hope that helps.

John

[tanderson1]

Powder coater called, all parts are ready for pickup tomorrow, ended up totaling $600. (double the quote but i figured it was going to be $600)

Had a crappy day at work, it started by the other managers and I laying off our entire department, ended with me getting laid off.. lucky for me I have worked for that company for 10 years so my severance will more then cover the complete cost for this car... so thanks work, you bought me a car!

Severance works weird at this company so it looks like I get 11 months of pay but its contingent on me not working for those 11 months, I dont have to look for a job i just have to not work. So it looks like i will have some time to finish this car.

not the best day but the end result is money to pay my bills, and time to finish my car.... I guess i can get used to this.

[Presto51]

Powder coater called, all parts are ready for pickup tomorrow, ended up totaling $600. (double the quote but i figured it was going to be $600)

Had a crappy day at work, it started by the other managers and I laying off our entire department, ended with me getting laid off.. lucky for me I have worked for that company for 10 years so my severance will more then cover the complete cost for this car... so thanks work, you bought me a car!

Severance works weird at this company so it looks like I get 11 months of pay but its contingent on me not working for those 11 months, I dont have to look for a job i just have to not work. So it looks like i will have some time to finish this car.

not the best day but the end result is money to pay my bills, and time to finish my car.... I guess i can get used to this.

Well part of me said bummer on the job front,

But then the other part of me says.....

Are you done yet

Ron

[Edgeman]

Man that sucks! Just when everything was coming together for you. Give me a call any time if you need a hand or any questions.

[tanderson1]

Took a couple days to get my life back in order, went for an interview, have another next week. While sitting at home for a year and getting paid sounds amazing it my be increasingly hard to get a job with that long of a gap in my resume. I still haven't decided but I may go back to work if an opportunity presents itself.

Back to the car....

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I received the LCD screen that i would like to use for the dash, I still have to test it out and find an LVDS adapter to drive it via HDMI. I plan to take the screen out of this plastic housing and build it into the gauge cluster. I still have to make sure

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Concrete company came on Tuesday, they helped me carry the GTM frame out to the lawn and they started drilling 17 3" holes in the floor in a grid pattern. Once drilled we could see that the problem was even worse toward the back of the garage where there was almost a solid 12" of air under the 2" slab. They then used a high pressure pump to push concrete into the holes. You can even start to see water and concrete start to squish up through the cracks in the floor. The whole operation took 2 hours and cost $1800.


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All of the parts are now back from the powder coaters and ready to be riveted to the car. They look amazing. I ended up going with the semi-gloss black, total cost ended up being $600

[tanderson1]

So i was able to spend a solid 8-10 hours on the car today, Some of those hours were spend running around town for parts... a great progress day regardless

Started by riveting and siliconing the aluminum around the suspension parts
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Took a brake from that for a while and tried to fit the shock mount to the lower A arm, it hit the side of the A-arm and wouldn't mount all the way in. I used a cutoff wheel to take off 1/16th or so of an inch... I had to repeat this for the other side as well.
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When I was in the USA picking up the kit I grabbed some Vanilla Coke... this stuff is amazingly good, why don't they sell this in Canada.
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These are the spacers that attach to the bolt that holds the strut. The spacers are not large enough to fit over the bolt, I will need to drill the spacers out a little larger, is this normal?
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Continued...

[tanderson1]

These bolts still need to be torqued to spec but all 4 suspension assemblies are now mounted.

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This is another problem that I cant figure out. The manual is very clear that the Rivnut has to be mounted from the top to mount the peddle assembly. If you do this you cant mount the pedal assembly anymore. It would make much more sense to mount from the bottom up. It would also allow it to be removed easy once the dash is installed. If your reading this any you remember how you handled this please let me know.
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[Edgeman]

Rivnuts go on the wheel side (you will have to mark and drill) and the side you show is bolted.

[Edgeman]

http://vraptorspeedworks.com/ac-blow...ate-plenum-45/
This is a good addition, relocating your blower motor inside.

[tanderson1]

Just checked the tracking information on the last of the Canadian kit as well as the missing parts from Factory Five. Both boxes should be here this week.

The steering rack is one of those parts, i need to mount that before mounting the battery tray, the boxes also include the last of the parts required to finish the suspension.

The trans is the last missing piece between me and a go-kart.

[tanderson1]

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Shocks are now assembled and the front 2 are now mounted. I only had about 45 minutes yesterday so i couldn't get it all 4 installed.

I also installed the steering rack.

[tanderson1]

Work asked me not to come back when they found out the company that i plan on going to.... so i had a whole day today. I used most of the time to get caught up, trip to the dump, return some broken stuff, register my motorcycle, go for a ride (nicest day of the year so far).

Finished off mounting the shocks on all 4 corners and mounting the wheel spacers.
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The bolts for the steering rack appear to be missing, the manual says "Steering system hardware (FFR# 25545, 25524)." but i can only find one of those bags and its the bump steer kit. No bolts and no washers. I will check again tomorrow with fresh eyes but i may have to contact FFR about this, i cant even find the part number on the box contents list.
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I have to figure out something here... the rear tie rod end's adjustability is at its limit yet the tire is still pointed toward the outside of the car. its possible that I need to buy a different tie rod end that has a longer shaft.
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I couldn't resist mounting the rear wheels and getting a feel for how sweet this is going to look.
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Tomorrow i plan on getting foot box aluminum completed, steering in and peddles mounted.

[tanderson1]

I have found the steering rack bolts, they were in a different bag, the manual doesn't give the bag number but the box contents list labeled them as rack bolts, rack washers and rack nuts. I had to drill out the inside of the metal collar that fits inside the rubber spacers. The bolt wouldn't even go though with the assistance of the BFH.

Did anyone else have to cut off an inch or so from each side of the steering rack? I cant thread the ends far enough....now that i think of it I did buy the bump steer kit, maybe i should retest the fitment with those. Then i could use these longer ends on the rear... that may work.

I managed to get foot well aluminum installed and the peddle assembly installed so far today, just sitting down with the family for dinner now. After dinner I will focus on the steering assembly.

[Edgeman]

I the manual it does have you cut the steering rack ends. With the Factory Five rims you don't need the wheel spacers, as the rims have the correct off set. Call me with the question on the rear tie rods. The bolts that hold the control arms on can be adjusted to get them straight.

[tanderson1]

I the manual it does have you cut the steering rack ends. With the Factory Five rims you don't need the wheel spacers, as the rims have the correct off set. Call me with the question on the rear tie rods. The bolts that hold the control arms on can be adjusted to get them straight.

When i read the manual i saw that the master cylinders needed to be cut but i must have missed the part where the rack needed to be cut. I will call you later today about the Tie Rod adjustment, i considered using some washers on the body side but wasn't sure how safe that would be.

[Edgeman]

http://gtmbuild.weebly.com/steering.html
Vidal's built site explains the steering tie rod ends and how much to cut.

[RumRunner]

I saw you have your shocks mounted. A word of caution ... the black Koni's can not be mounted inverted. They are designed to be mounted body-up only. FFR came out with a fix about two years ago to allow the shock body to be mounted correctly. In the pics yours still look inverted.

See this thread:

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/42-fact...side-down.html

Hopefully I missed something and you didn't!

And nice work all around.

-Michael

[tanderson1]

I saw you have your shocks mounted. A word of caution ... the black Koni's can not be mounted inverted. They are designed to be mounted body-up only. FFR came out with a fix about two years ago to allow the shock body to be mounted correctly. In the pics yours still look inverted.

See this thread:

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/42-fact...side-down.html

Hopefully I missed something and you didn't!

And nice work all around.

-Michael

i do remember reading those threads on the forum now that you mention it. The manual i have is "REVISION 2D, APRIL 2014" and it very clearly says "Insert the coil-over assembly through the upper control arm (the body of the shock down).".... I find it weird that they haven't fixed the instructions in the last 4 years....

I read the thread again and it sounds like body down is correct for the black Koni's. If you look at this photo it shows the "top" marking on the shock written with spring side up.
iphone 499.jpg

but to your point i'm still not sure that i have it correct. Can anyone else chime in who has mounted these?

[RumRunner]

Just checking. I looked at my old pictures and it seems you're correct. Sorry for the scare!

Guess I opened my mouth without thinking .... nothing new there.

-Michael

[tanderson1]

Took my kids to the calgary aerospace museum, kids loved it.
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I was close to the hardware store so i used that as an excuse to buy a new stool, brake line bending tools, brake line cutter, punch set, flare nut wrenches, etc.
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Started on the steering assembly, I started by counting out all the parts, everything was there. Started measuring and drilling, got to the step with the shear pin and it must have rolled away. Can't find the damn thing anywhere. Now i have to figure out where to buy one.
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Got frustrated that the part was lost and decided to box up the ECU for shipment back to FactoryFive, was ready to send it out when i noticed the shipping tag is only good for shipping in the USA. I will need to call FactoryFive about that tomorrow.

Continued....

[tanderson1]

So attention shifted again... this time to the garage door. In took 4 of us 4 hours to finish the high lift door conversion. Now i can lift my truck to the limits of the lift.
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I also had time to mount a retractable trouble lite from the roof that i bought a few years back
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Followed all that up by resorting some boxes and cleaning up the whole garage again.

all in all not a ton of car progress today but some great garage progress.

[tanderson1]

Its been a long time with no update, I have to make some time to post some photos.

Here is what I have completed since the last post.

1) Rack, column and all joints are in, I shortened the rack on the passenger side by 3/4 of an inch and the driver side by 1 3/4" (thanks Edgeman for the pointers)
2) Foot well aluminum is done (both sides)
3) Air conditioner is installed.
4) Rear engine aluminum is completed.
5) peddle box and master cylinders are in.
6) Battery mounting (bought a yellow top)
7) Had an old car battery that I was using to test the telescoping column leak all over the car, my tools and the floor, battery acid makes a hell of a mess, I had to repaint some of the metal after as the paint just dissolved. (powder coat was fine but the painted steel was no match)

I had to improvise in a few places
1) the steering column needed bigger washers and a lot more of them, I had to drop it by an inch just to get the motor to stop binding.
2) the master cylinders didn't come with nut to lock them onto the peddle assemboly, I had to go out and buy some, it would really suck to have them back off and leave me without brakes.


I still need to figure out how to adjust the rear tie rods..... the rear wheels look horribly toed outward. Edgeman I tried to call you a few times but there was no answer, what is the fix that you spoke of before, should I place washers where the tie rod meets the frame?

I was thinking about completing the brake lines and e-brake before installing the engine, does anyone know if this will cause me some problems in the future. I need to figure out what route to take after I come out from the tunnel.

Some of the transmission parts will soon be on there way so I can start putting together axels/mounts in preparation of the transmission install.

[tanderson1]

Trans arrived from The Race Line. (Actually it came close to a month ago but its been a busy summer). I have a team of 3 friends heading to my house on Sept 12th to get this sucker installed.

Came in this heavy plastic box.
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The Flywheel and adapter plates that came with the kit
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Shipping can be hard on something this heavy. Would have been better if a piece of plywood or a 2x4 was under the trans, it bashed right through the bottom.
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This is what came in the first shipment.
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And of course the trans.
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And again.
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This is the shifter and cables that came with the kit.
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Another shipment came a little later (Month after) that included the clutch, axle pieces, bearings, etc.


I now have everything i need, I am just having a little trouble figuring out which hardware to use as I am heading into uncharted territory.

Details
G96.01 New factory reman unit, inverted with cooler in and out ports installed.
New Adapter kit to LS with flywheel
Stage II clutch kit complete
New Cable shift assy
Starter
Slave cylinder
clutch release components
inner cv joint assy complete
bolt kit
LSD

[tanderson1]

Clutch had a bit of damage... do you think this matters?
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Does anyone know what this clip is for?
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and this seal?
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and for the throw out bearing, does it go flat side toward the bearing on the engine or flat side toward the trans?
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and i still haven't solved this problem. This tie bar that holds the back tire straight seems to short. Its possible that that weight of engine/trans/body on the tires forces the suspension up which brings the tire up.... or do i need to shim this somewhat?
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[Presto51]

Welcome back I was beginning to wonder about you

Keep the updates coming and no don't try to blame lack of progress on the up coming winter

Ron

[Edgeman]

and i still haven't solved this problem. This tie bar that holds the back tire straight seems to short. Its possible that that weight of engine/trans/body on the tires forces the suspension up which brings the tire up.... or do i need to shim this somewhat?
IMG_0680.JPG[/QUOTE]

I would almost say that this one is the wrong one. Is the other one the same size? You should not have to shim it. Yes try with weight on the suspension.

[mikespms]

Trans arrived from The Race Line. (Actually it came close to a month ago but its been a busy summer). I have a team of 3 friends heading to my house on Sept 12th to get this sucker installed.

Came in this heavy plastic box.
IMG_1141.JPG

The Flywheel and adapter plates that came with the kit
IMG_1142.JPG

Shipping can be hard on something this heavy. Would have been better if a piece of plywood or a 2x4 was under the trans, it bashed right through the bottom.
IMG_1144.JPG

This is what came in the first shipment.
IMG_1145.JPG

And of course the trans.
IMG_1146.JPG

And again.
IMG_1147.JPG

This is the shifter and cables that came with the kit.
IMG_1148.JPG

Another shipment came a little later (Month after) that included the clutch, axle pieces, bearings, etc.


I now have everything i need, I am just having a little trouble figuring out which hardware to use as I am heading into uncharted territory.

Details
G96.01 New factory reman unit, inverted with cooler in and out ports installed.
New Adapter kit to LS with flywheel
Stage II clutch kit complete
New Cable shift assy
Starter
Slave cylinder
clutch release components
inner cv joint assy complete
bolt kit
LSD

I see that you are using a g96-01 and you posted a picture of the adaptor. I started a new build(project) a gen 1 gtm and I am using a g86-20 six speed that's used on the boxster s and cayman, it is basically a g96-01 thats is already set up for a mid engine configuration it uses the same adaptor that you are using for the ls conversion. But I am using a gm 2 liter turbo ecotec out of a 2010 cobalt ss also used on the new cadillac cts and buick regal capable of 350 rwhp with just a tune and minor mods. The thing is that there is no adaptor available and I need to make one,I am currently working with kennedy engineering they will make me an engine adaptor plate and a flywheel but they don't want to develop the kit. I need to supply them with measurements and set backs and the stock ecotec flywheel since I want to use the ecotec stock starter.

I was wondering if you could post detail pictures of your adapter and mark the holes for the trans with tape so that I can see how they are connecting the trans to the adaptor plate and how many bolts they are using also if you know who made your adaptor. Kennedy makes an adapter for the ecotec for the g50 and vw trans and they make an adaptor for the ecotec for the ls which is like the one you have. I need to supply them with the location for the starter pocket so that I can use the stock ecotec starter.

Thanks Mike