My Daytona Coupe Build... Ten Years in the Making

[Carlos C]

Tom:

No powder coating yet. I just bought a 16-gauge hot-rolled steel sheet to make an extension box for the oven. I hope to have the basic box built by tomorrow, and insulate/finish it next week. I plan to paint as much as possible first, and then worry about powder coating, since painting is more time-consuming.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Sounds like you have a good plan. I just ordered my new mig welder, so hopefully when I get back from Maui next week, it'll be waiting on me.

[Carlos C]

I'm a certified welder, but ironically, I don't have any welding equipment. I'm itching to have a MIG, a TIG, and plasma cutter. Now that I've installed a 240V outlet in the garage, I could get the heavy-duty counter-parts. I really need to build a bigger garage. All I have are electrical and gas soldering equipment. So, I still have to rely on others to get welding jobs done.

Congrats on your purchase. I envy you... Have fun in Maui.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

A throbbing migraine has kept me out of the garage today. I did however, meet Bob (S2D2), who lives only five minutes from me, and built his own Coupe. He also owns a Backdraft Roadster. We spent a couple of hours trading notes, and gave me a heads-up on some of the difficulties he faced during his build. Although his Coupe is drivable, he mentioned that it's not finished. Thanks, Bob!
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During the last few days, I've been able to get some of the prepping done. I've been mentioning this, but have not posted any photos. And you know what they say: it didn't happen if there's no visual proof. I haven't really taken many pictures of the prepping stage, since they are not really interesting to look at, but here are a few of the steering rack.

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Before prepping, during, and after (still disassembled)

I'm also in the process of building a four-sided extension box for my powder coating oven, using 16-gauge hot-rolled steel.

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Marked all lines for cutting and bending

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Using an industrial-size hydraulic shear to cut the pieces

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Used a metal brake to make all the bends. These bends will be used as lips, in which hardware will be used to put the box together, and take it apart for storage.

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The box is coming together nicely, but it's far from done. It will add 6 cubic feet of oven space, so I can use it for powder coating bigger items.

The plan is to insulate the inside of the box with a reflective insulating material, so it'll help reflect heat throughout the box. I will also add a few hooks at the top plate of the box, to hang items to it, and a handle. Depending of how hot the outside of the box gets after the insulation is installed, I'll either paint the outside with high-temp paint, or use insulation there also. I designed the box so I have a choice to remove either, the top or back plate, in order to easily insert and remove the item.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Looking good Carlos! Must be nice to have access to the big shear and brake! Keep up the good work!

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom! Yes, those tools definitely make things easy to fabricate. I only wish I could take one of the welders or plasma cutters home for a few weeks, since I need to do some light custom work on the frame.

Carlos

[John Dol]

If the welder does not come to the frame, maybe the frame can come to the welder!! LOL
Cool idea on the extension of the oven box.

John

[Carlos C]

Thanks, John. Trust me when I tell you that I briefly thought about that, but it's not feasible (although not impossible). If I only needed to weld for a couple of hours, it may not be a problem, but I need a welder for much longer than that. My command would not be very happy if I had my own personal project there for a week or so. Who knows; I could possibly sweet-talk the command...

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I spent all day on the rear end... The donor's differential case, that is. Ground out and sanded to bear metal (and rust); washed, dried, and treated it with rust inhibitor. My air compressor, die grinder, and Dremel tool got a work-out today. Letting the rear end sit overnight for the inhibitor to do its job. Hope to prime and paint it tomorrow, then put it back together later this week. I had no idea how much rust was hidden under the old paint. It should look much better, once I'm done with it. Maybe, I'll also have time to work on the oven box tomorrow.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

RANDOM THOUGHT:
I just realized that my thread is on its third page; yet, I haven't really accomplished much forward progress (yes, I know that was an oxymoron) with my build. It's not like I've had a lot of replies from members compared to others' build threads. So I guess that I must be filling my thread with fluff, like the following:

I had another spine procedure today, so needless to say, I am very sore. The only progress I was able to painfully accomplish, was to paint the rear end. That's it. At least, it looks a lot better than when it came out of the donor. I still have to put it back together.

Once I'm done with that, and the oven box, I'll start taking the engine apart. Just like the rear end, the engine needs grinding, sanding, cleaning, and painting. I also want to replace the oil pump (the current one has dangerously dropped pressure before), change the notoriously leaky rear main seal, and inspect the bottom end.

The Tremec tranny has light oxidation throughout the casing. With all the nooks and crannies it has, it'll be fun (sarcasm) to use a variety of wire and sanding wheel sizes to clean it up. I still need to figure out what method to use to keep it from oxidizing again. Clear paint would be the fastest and easiest, but even the high temp kind tends to yellow and flake with time. Powder coating would require me to completely dismantle the tranny. With only about 3K miles on it, there's absolutely no need to go through that arduous and lengthy process.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here... I first need to re-assemble the rear end.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Today, I woke up feeling somewhat better in regards to my back. Went to the garage and re-assembled the rear end. It's almost ready for installation.

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Painted some odds and ends, and completely disassembled the pedal box for prepping and painting. I've been doing some measuring, and it seems that if I use a brake booster, the master cylinder may interfere with the supercharger, which means that I may have to go with manual brakes. I'll forego painting the brake pedal until I make my final decision, since I may have to cut it and re-weld it. If that's the case, I'll save the booster for my next build.

On another note, I am looking for a plastic or polyurethane 351W mock-up block. If anyone out there has one that they don't need, and would not mind lending / selling, please let me know. Not looking forward spending $400 - $500 for a new mock block that I'd use for only one build, and then shell out more money for a mock 302 block to be used for my next build.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I'm amazed at how this WD-40 de-rusting wash is still working after all the parts that it has done. After 24 hours, it easy to see the huge difference between the section that was submerged, and the untreated section. Can't complain about the lack of elbow grease I need to use.
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Besides that, I wasn't able to get much done today, since I got home late from work today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a more productive day.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Keep moving forward Carlos. You can't get it put together until a all the prep work is done. I still can't make any progress, I'm still in Hawaii, but I'm drinking beers for everyone! Aloha!

[Carlos C]

Keep moving forward Carlos. You can't get it put together until a all the prep work is done. I still can't make any progress, I'm still in Hawaii, but I'm drinking beers for everyone! Aloha!

I'm on it! It's tedious work, but I want all my donor parts to look like new. Not planning to cut corners; I want a quality build. I just wish that I was done prepping donor and FFR parts. I'm looking for that light at the end of the tunnel...

Enjoy Hawaii while you're still there.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Some more progress with prepping parts. Made the required mods to the donor's gas pedal and pedal box. I also cut 1.5" off the brake pedal (now that I made the decision to go with manual brakes), and beveled both remaining sections of the pedal in order to make a strong MIG weld. A superficial weld is not good enough. Imagine the weld breaking while you're driving, and losing your brake pedal. No, thank you...

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Unfortunately, I wasn't able to weld the pieces together, as the shop at work ran out of the proper welding wire. There is a race track close to home, and a race car fabricator has his shop on the premises. Since I'm supposed to take my bike to him on Sunday to have an oil tank bracket re-welded in place, I'll take the pedal and have him weld it for a few more $. The gas pedal is currently taking a de-rusting bath. The clutch pedal and pedal box are in the process of being painted. Once the brake pedal is welded, I'll also re-paint it.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Progress:
Got half of the pedal box re-assembled, more parts painted, more parts de-rusted, while other parts are in the process of being prepped.

Slight deviation:
All I have left to do on the rear end, besides filling it up with fluid, is to run the hard brake lines on it. I'll mock up the rear calipers for this; cut, bend, and flare the lines. The flaring kit I have is fairly cheap. Last time I tried to double-flare steel tubing, the die snapped. So, I've decided to buy the one from Eastwood, since everyone is raving about it, and it does stainless and regular steel. I'll have to wait until I get this tool to finish the rear end. Peace of mind and safety are my main concern here.

Regress:
I have an old-school cast iron (but nice-looking) master cylinder, which came with the SSBC's Mustang conversion kit. Well, I just realized that it's damaged, when I tried to take it apart and get it ready for powder coating. By the looks of the brake fluid when I took the system off the donor, it seemed that moisture got in during the time the car sat unused. It took lots of WD-40, patience, and persuasion, to get the primary plunger out, as it was ceased in the bore. The secondary plunger is in worse shape; I couldn't get it to budge. So, I decided to drown it in WD-40, and let it sit overnight. Hopefully, it'll break free, and I can get a rebuild kit. I don't want to use a plastic reservoir, but the beautiful polished billet aluminum unit from SSBC is in the $600(!!!) range. I wouldn't care about the cheap-looking Mustang unit, if it was going in the Roadster, since it sits under the body. Not the case with the Coupe.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I've been busy lately. Spent a week at Smoky Mountains in NC, riding the Tail of the Dragon, and visiting the Cherokee town, among others. As soon as I came back home, I got the left side of my spine's nerve endings burned, which rendered me useless for the next week or so. The pain was almost unbearable. As soon as I started to feel better, I went in to get the right side done. Thankfully, I didn't have such a bad reaction the second time around, so it only took me two days to recover.

So I found myself in the garage today for a few hours. The heavy meds I'm on, do not allow me to stay active for long periods of time. I was able to finish off the pedal box, dead pedal, gas pedal, and e-brake handle. The brake and gas pedals have been shortened, as per the manual. Everything received a fresh coat of paint, and was re-assembled. There was a longer gap between the lower brake pedal holes than on the top, but that was easily fixed with a couple of plastic washers.
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I received the flaring tool from Eastwood, and it really works as advertised; worth every penny. Mocked up the rear calipers, and by using the old and corroded brake lines as templates, I fabricated new ones, using one of the 60" lines provided with the kit.
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Hopefully, I'll be able to spend a few hours in the garage tomorrow, and get some work done.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Unrelated to my build, but figured I'd share one of the reasons I haven't been working in my garage. These two shots were taken while I was riding the Tail of the Dragon at the Smoky Mountains in NC. This section of US129 is considered one of the most treacherous roads in the U.S. Using the apex on these curves is a necessity.
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I bet drivers could see me on the road now if I were riding this...
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Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Looks like fun! Now get back to work! ;-)

[Carlos C]

Looks like fun! Now get back to work! ;-)

I am working... Read the next post.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Got the spindles cleaned and painted, and are ready for assembly.
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The one thing that kept bugging me was that FFR gave me a fill plate for the brake booster/master cylinder that does not work for the master cylinder. The two bolt holes do not match the ones on the master cylinder or the spacer plate they provide, and the plunger hole is offset. I'd imagine that this fill plate may work for the brake booster, although the center hole is not round. But even if it does, this fill plate leaves a significant gap that would need to be sealed. I had called FFR to get the one for the master cylinder without a booster, but I received the same one I already had. This was months ago, and for whatever reason, it kept bothering me, so I decided today to take care of this issue.

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I had purchased this tool that cuts metals and other materials like butter, when I was at the Carlisle Replica show in 2011; today was the first time I actually used it. It may not look like much, but it's amazing how well and easily it cuts. Much better and faster than shears, and since it's mounted to a drill, one can cut any shape imaginable. It's called the Biter by Bad Dog (sorry David Hodgkins).

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Here, I used the steel spacer, the original fill plate, and the steel foot box plate, to make a template out of thin cardboard, with the plunger and mounting bolt holes in the right locations. I transferred the design to a sheet of T6 6061 .040" aluminum (the same type as what FFR uses). Then, I used my special tool to cut the outer shape, a hole saw for the center hole, a drill bit for the bolt holes, and dressed up the edges with a bench grinder and a file.

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Left: the FFR-supplied master cylinder steel spacer; Center: my newly-fabricated fill plate; Right: the FFR-supplied fill plate.

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Left: my designed fill plate. It fits perfectly within the front foot box panel, does not leave a gap, and all the holes are in the right locations for the master cylinder.
Right: FFR's fill plate.

I may not have a laser cutter or CNC machine, but with the Biter tool, a bench grinder, a hole saw, a drill, files, and some patience, I can fabricate a part that almost rivals the finished quality of FFR's laser-cut parts.

Unfortunately, that's all the fabrication for now. Tomorrow I'll be back to the tedious process of cleaning, de-rusting, prepping, and painting... Ugh!

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Great job on the filler panel and spindles. That biter tool is great! I bought one at the SEMA Show a couple of years ago. I don't remember I have it til I've already used the shears. Well I have to get back to work. Take care.

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom. And yes, get back to work. Stop browsing through the forum, and do something constructive with your car!

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Not much to report today. I ground down the rear sway bar to bare metal, primed and painted it.

I also took care of the FFR front LCAs. I received them finally about a month ago, and the powder coat was chipping at the same spot on both arms. There were also some gouges around the ball joints. This leads me to believe that the powder coat was damaged while the ball joints were being pressed on. FFR offered to replace them, but I figured that I could end up with another damaged set, so I declined their offer. So, today I used my rotary tool with a flap wheel, and sanded down the chipped powder coat at its edges. That way, it wont keep chipping. Then, I primed and painted the damaged areas, and feathered it for a smooth transition from paint to powder coat.

As of now, I have no idea as to what I'll be working on tomorrow. All I know is that I'll be in the garage doing something productive.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Although I have not posted any updates for the last few days, I have been busy in the garage, mainly stripping and re-painting small parts. Today I finished with two small projects: re-vamping the water pump, and re-building the starter.

The starter worked just fine, but it has many years of faithful service. I decided to go ahead and re-build it while it's off the car, and not wait until it failed. The middle picture was taken after cleaning, stripping, and de-rusting parts, but before paint.
Starter Rebuild.jpg

The water pump looked in bad shape, and older than it actually is. De-rusted, stripped, cleaned, and re-painted it.
Water Pump.jpg

Another project I'm working on is the alternator re-build. It's an 130-amp unit that was standard on the 1997 and up Mustangs. I'm baffled as to how this thing was still working. The aluminum casing had a lot of scaling, as it was exposed to the environment, so I decided to take it apart to clean and powder coat. What I didn't expect was all the corroded internals. The brushes, contacts, armature, and coils were very rusty and grimy. About the only two items that were in good shape were the shaft and the sealed bearings. Even the regulator had a broken contact on its brushes. Interestingly enough, if I buy the core of the regulator (the brushes and contacts) by itself, it only costs about $9. If I buy it already installed on the plastic connector (the part exposed on the back of the alternator), I have to pay $80. Hmmmm... Needless to say, I purchased the core alone, since there is nothing wrong with my connector.

It took me a couple of days to clean, de-rust, wire brush, de-rust and clean again all the internals. I also media-blasted the casing. Although the alternator is ready to be put back together, it'll have to wait until I powder coat the casing. The bottom shot was taken before I found out how bad this alternator was, although it didn't look very promising after seeing what it looked like with the front casing off.
Alternator.jpg

I'm currently working on overhauling the power steering pump. Once I get that done, I can hopefully start on the engine and transmission.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Medical issues have kept me out of the garage for a few days. I was also feeling burned out, since I've been going non-stop for weeks in my garage and work, and not getting the much-needed rest. I ended up crashing this week, with nausea, headaches, and lack of energy. I took a couple of days off from the world, and just vegetated in my house, mostly sleeping. This afternoon, I felt rested enough to go back out in the garage to get more work done on the donor parts.

The big ticket item I worked on was the fuel tank. If I would've known ahead of time how many hours I would have to put into this item, just to get it ready for paint, I probably would've just purchased a new tank. Spent hours media-blasting, scraping, wire-brushing, washing inside and out, drying, and dis-assembling this thing. I actually started this sub-project right before my "crash". It's finally ready for paint. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "before" photo of it, to show how badly abused by the environment it was, but I have previously posted a photo showing the tank, along with other items, on post #18. The remnants of that darn impregnated foam glued to the top of the tank, proved to be a tall order, even for the media-blaster.

Fuel tank.jpg
This is how the tank looks like now, after killing myself to get it to this stage. Thankfully, not only is the tank still in good condition, considering that it's almost 30 years old, but the pick-up tube and lever sending unit I installed years ago, were in almost perfect condition. Even the rubber seals look great.

Fuel tank cover.jpg
The fuel tank cover had suffered damage in the form of melting, from the massive 3" exhaust pipes which obviously were too close (very tight fit) to it. By the time this photo was taken, I had already ground all the jagged and melted material down to a smooth, but still concave finish. I'll be filling it up with plastic epoxy, along with the visible round holes that I won't be using anymore, and sanding it down, before it gets painted.

Driveshaft parts.jpg
After taking apart the aluminum driveshaft (which was no fun due to the oversize U-joints), I ended up having to replace both U-joints, since some of the plastic seals were dry-rotted, and came apart as I was pressing the caps off. Unlike days of old, these seals are not readably available. The driveshaft came from the company who originally sold me the Dodge Viper T-56 conversion kit for the Mustang, and had the oversized yoke U-joint already attached to it. When I went to match it up at the local auto parts store, I was lucky to get the correct one on the first try. I figured that it must have come from a heavy-duty Ford truck, and I was right; straight from a F-350.
LESSON LEARNED: Be careful using a de-rusting wash, such as WD-40's product, on machined surfaces. I found out the hard way that this chemical will take the polished material down to a cast-looking form. Unfortunately, I also forgot to take a photo of it right out of the wash, but trust me when I tell you that it was not pretty. I ended up having to use a wire wheel, an abrasive disc, and a polisher, to bring the yoke shaft, and the yoke and flange cap orifices, back to their original finish. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see that while the yoke is finished, I had not "re-machined" the cap holes on the flange.

I'm still trying to decide if I'll powder coat or just paint these two items. The next step, however, is to prime, paint, and re-assemble the fuel tank.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Got some minor updates, and want to keep this post somewhat short. So, here it is:

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Driveshaft yoke and flange: DONE.

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Fuel tank: DONE.

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My next sub-project: This massive Aeromotive A1 fuel pump and filter. Basically, I need to clean the pump's housing, as well as the varnish deposits inside. The filter's housing also has varnish deposits, and need to replace the 10 micron element. The pre-filter I had, is not washable, so I threw it away. I'll be purchasing Aeromotive's 100 micron washable pre-filter, which will screw directly into the pump, just like the post-pump filter. These items will be getting a bath on the parts washer, and then I'll finish up cleaning the internals with acetone.

I'll also be cleaning and painting the fuel vapor canister and vacuum cylinder.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I've gotten fairly acquainted with my grinder and sander during the last few days. I may have not posted anything for the last week, but I've been exercising major elbow grease. First off, I finished cleaning the fuel pump, filter housing, and fuel regulator. Made a diagram of how the new fuel system will run, as opposed to how it did on the Mustang; and made a list of hose sizes, ORB/AN fittings, and other hardware needed to plumb the whole thing. Since it is an external pump, I'll have to fabricate a bracket that will attach to the frame, but will hang the pump low enough to prevent fuel starvation.

Then, I moved to the fuel tank cover. As previously reported, the exhaust pipe had melted one of the corners of the plastic unit. Not to worry; it's nothing that some urethane epoxy and some filler can't fix.
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Meanwhile, I gave my die grinder, Dremel, flap wheels, grinding stones, abrasive discs, etc, a good work out.

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LEFT: Getting the upper intake manifold ready for some TLC; SECOND: Difference between the freshly ground throttle body and the untouched EGR spacer; THIRD: The EGR before treatment; RIGHT: The EGR after treatment. Now, they are ready for ceramic paint.

This morning I received my newly-acquired urethane 351W mocking block/heads from Chotis Bill (thanks, Bill!).
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I'll be able to mock up the Viper-spec T-56, to find out what modifications are needed, and the driveshaft length; where exactly to cut the exhaust reliefs on the body (if I have to move the engine forward), check clearances, mock up the blower to figure out where to build the air filter box and the air tubing for the intercooler, and create brackets for the A/C compressor. I'll be able to quickly install and remove this block, without having to deal with the real 550-lb pig.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Looks like you've been busy! Great job on the tank cover! That plastic engine will make life easy. I wish they made a plastic Coyote engine. Keep up the good work.

[CHOTIS BILL]

Speedway Motors has a 4.6L plastic block but not the heads. With the that block made I would think a whole Coyote engine may not be too far behind.

Bill Lomenick

[Tom Mauldin]

I'm hoping. I may call today to the manufacturer and see if they have an eta

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom. Bodywork is one of my least favorite things to do. So the grinding, filling, and sanding is a necessary evil for me.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

It was a pretty lazy evening for me. Let the paint dry overnight, so I just re-assembled the throttle body and EGR spacer (not sure why the spacer looks like it was painted a different color in the photo, but it's actually as shiny as the throttle body). I haven't decided if I'll even use the spacer, but at least it's ready to go. If I choose not to use it, I'll fabricate a plate out of stainless steel to replace it, so I can still bolt the gas pedal cable bracket to it. Speaking of which, I may also modify the bracket, since most of it is not needed any longer.

I also media-blasted and cleaned the upper intake manifold. Next step is to grind it down smooth, possibly do the same on all the ports (not that I need to extract more power out of this engine), and then ceramic-paint or powder coat it.

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Carlos

[CHOTIS BILL]

Carlos, I am not sure what type of media blasting you did but here is a quote from the Ford Racing instructions.

“Bead blasting an EFI intake. You will NEVER get all the blasting media out. When the engine is started, it draws the
blasting media into the cylinders, destroying the engine.”

I will e-mail you a copy of the instruction sheet for the 427W engine but I would think they have a similar document for your engine on the Ford Racing web page.

Bill Lomenick

[Carlos C]

Bill:

Thanks for the heads-up. I use glass beads on the blaster at work. I only media-blasted the exterior of the manifold, after I had taped off every orifice. Just in case any media got inside, I used a heavy-duty shop vac to get any residue that may have gotten in. After that, I circulated the cleaning chemical from my parts washer through the intake for over an hour. Hopefully, there is no media inside the manifold.

I was also thinking about grinding down the intake ports, but I'll probably won't do it. The minimal gain (if any) won't be worth the time and effort, but mainly because of the issue of getting all the material out of the intake.

Carlos

[wallace18]

Every thing is looking great. Your hard work will pay big dividends for your build. Great job!

[MPTech]

Carlos, progress looks great and you are doing an incredible job restoring your Mustang parts.
Your donor looked like a REALLY nicely built and seriously modded Mustang. It will make excellent components for your Coupe. That engine, tranny, and rear-end combo look killer. (btw, what is an electro-magnetic differential??)
My only suggestion is carefully evaluate which donor parts you refurbish and which ones you should replace.
I went with a Base Kit roadster, but installed a new FFR radiator and gas tank, Painless wiring harness, and Speedhut gauges. Just didn't trust some of the 20+ year old components. I also turned in some donor parts are cores and bought new / re-man'd parts (power steering rack, brake calipers, and brake booster). One big lesson learned for me was using the donor Master-cylinder, I ended up replacing it after the body was mounted, NO FUN!

Good luck on the build and the motorcycle looks great too! (didn't you just finish the rebuild recently?)

[Carlos C]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

MPTech:

The electro-magnetic diff uses a coil, which rides on a ball bearing, installed on the differential case. When electrical power is applied to the coil, it magnetizes itself to the diff, transforming it into a spool. It is expensive, but have yet to find a better product after 10 years. It is as tough as nails, and the best for street/strip use, IMO.

As I was disassembling the donor, I carefully inspected the parts, and decided what could be re-used and what needed to be recycled (master cylinder being a good example). The items that I knew I'd replace without a question, were the chassis and EFI harnesses. Most of the other donor parts only had about 3K miles on them and are still in good condition. Some other parts, such as the fuel tank, are very old, but still in good condition.

I finished re-building the bike in January. It took about three months. The frame was broken in two places. I did most of the work, besides powder coating the frame, and the fabrication of the vinyl stickers (although I had to re-design them from scratch on my computer, and then email them to the vinyl wrapping shop). That project is the reason why I'm still prepping donor and FFR parts, instead of assembling the car.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I can't believe how much time I've spent on the upper intake manifold. I don't know what kind of coating Trick Flow used on it, but I've tried to mechanically and chemically strip it numerous times, and I still haven't gotten it all. I'll try the media blaster one more time, before I tap out. Hopefully, I'll be able to start grinding it down shortly.

In the meantime, I've been pre-occupying myself with other items, mainly the transmission. But, I also modified the throttle cable bracket by cutting off the section not needed for this build, and re-painted it.
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The transmission, ready for some TLC.
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Unfortunately, a not-so-pleasant surprise made itself known: the transmission speed sensor's plastic driven gear was chewed up. It seems that at some point, road debris hit the sensor and slightly bent it, creating a drag on the gear shaft. This now means that I have to take the tail section off the transmission, so I can get all the plastic remnants out, and take a look at the drive gear. I'll bet anything that since the drive gear is also plastic, it looks like this driven gear. Definitely, not what I wanted to get into. I was hoping that since the tranny only has about 3K, I wouldn't have to tear into it. This new, unexpected side project will set me back a few days. On the photo, it shows the slight bend on the sensor. I was able to re-assemble it, and the shaft now moves freely, but I will be acquiring a new sensor, along with a driven gear.
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I also cleaned up and ground down the aluminum conversion spacer between the bell housing and the tranny, and is ready for paint.

Carlos

[MPTech]

Unfortunately, a not-so-pleasant surprise made itself known: the transmission speed sensor's plastic driven gear was chewed up.

Don't know if you've purchased your gauges yet, but you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble with a Speedhut GPS Speedo.
I love my custom Speedhut gauges. All electronic, dim-able LED lit, easy install/hookup/programable.
I also ordered and installed the Tach with the built-in shift lights.
4" Tachometer Gauge 8K RPM Shift-light

Here's my original post with questions, options, and pictures of what I selected.
What Speedhut Gauges did you order?