Tanderson1's build thread..

[tanderson1]

Ran to Part Source at lunch and picked up some parts..

4x Brake rotors
1x Front Brake Pads
1x Rear Brake Pads
1x Set of new plug wires.

$750 over the original budget already :-) Let the games begin.

I called the dealership, the rubber grommet only comes with the whole e-brake cable for $170 (cheaper then the $250 for the brake assembly). He did give me a lead on a few other places to call.

Rubber parts that i need replaced are:
1x front brake piston boot (Complete rebuild kit purchased from dealership for $31.16, I bought 4 sets, 2 front, 2 rear)
1x Lower A arm ball joint boot (Will have to find from "Energy Suspension")
1x Tie Rod End boot (rear) (Will have to find from "Energy Suspension")
1x knuckle ball joint boot (Will have to find from "Energy Suspension")
2x Emergency Brake Cable Lever Rubber Cover (cant find anywhere for less then $170/side)

[tanderson1]

Day 2 of suspension cleaning. I would post more pictures but they would just be of me, sitting alone, scrubbing for hours on end. Kids lost interest in cleaning pretty early on.

I think i have found a local source for the "Emergency Brake Cable Lever Rubber Cover". Someone is calling me back tomorrow.

I have 2 complete corners clean, and another one started. With any luck i should be able to finish cleaning the suspension and move on to cleaning the brakes and rebuilding them by Wed. Brake paint on Thursday.

Then I can work on cleaning the engine until the parts i ordered come in for the suspension.

kit comes in 5 weeks or so and i need to have a few things done before it gets here:
1) brakes cleaned, rebuilt and painted (two tone black and red)
2) suspension rebuilt with new boots/grease (hit it with a few coats of clear coat before assembly)
3) Rust removed from wheel bearing assemblies (picked up chemicals for this). Then paint them black.
4) Rust removed from all the bolts, paint the bolts black. (might not stay but worth a shot)

Engine
5) Clean the engine
6) build the wiring harness (extend what needs to be, remove what i don't need)
7) Paint the engine valve covers and intake (like the picture i posted before)

8) remove the rust from the parking brake assembly.

[tanderson1]

i started off this project with a cost sheet.

Large items are coming at or below the mark. Little items continue to add up.

• Tools (pickle fork, brake hone, cleco tool and pins)
• New brake pads and rotors
• 2 tie rod ends
• caliper repair kit
• Spark plugs and wires
• 34MM socket for wheel nuts
• 4 liters of degreaser, 6 spray cans of stonger degreaser, wire brushes, SOS pads,
• valve cover casket
• oil filter and oil
• Coolant
• ball joint boots
• speedo in Kph, required to pass inspection
• yellow lit reflectors to pass inspection
• 5 point seat belts with red "press" button to pass inspection

So far those little items add up to a few grand.

Fingers crossed that this $500 a day spending spree doesn't have to continue :-)

[fastthings]

i started off this project with a cost sheet.

Large items are coming at or below the mark. Little items continue to add up.

• Tools (pickle fork, brake hone, cleco tool and pins)
• New brake pads and rotors
• 2 tie rod ends
• caliper repair kit
• Spark plugs and wires
• 34MM socket for wheel nuts
• 4 liters of degreaser, 6 spray cans of stonger degreaser, wire brushes, SOS pads,
• valve cover casket
• oil filter and oil
• Coolant
• ball joint boots
• speedo in Kph, required to pass inspection
• yellow lit reflectors to pass inspection
• 5 point seat belts with red "press" button to pass inspection

So far those little items add up to a few grand.

Fingers crossed that this $500 a day spending spree doesn't have to continue :-)

It won't, it will turn into $2000 SPEND DAYS.

[tanderson1]

It won't, it will turn into $2000 SPEND DAYS.

Dont tell my wife :-)

[carbon fiber]

COSTSHEET??? what's that???

[tanderson1]

I recieved my quote from Whitby Motorcars for the "Canadian GTM kit"

Parts are $1995 but shipping is $875.

I can ship a car across the country for that.

calling Breeze Auto now to see what they can do for shipping.

[Edgeman]

I recieved my quote from Whitby Motorcars for the "Canadian GTM kit"

Parts are $1995 but shipping is $875.

I can ship a car across the country for that.

calling Breeze Auto now to see what they can do for shipping.

Find out if Factory Five will send them to the border in your wife's name and pick them up before the kit arrives or After. You won't need them right away you have lots of drilling and riveting.

[narkosys]

If you look at what is in the Whitby completion kit, you can pretty much get everything up here in Canada.

HTH

P

[tanderson1]

Find out if Factory Five will send them to the border in your wife's name and pick them up before the kit arrives or After. You won't need them right away you have lots of drilling and riveting.

Good idea. I did talk to factory five and they did say that they could supply the parts. I tried to see if i could source the parts on my own but it looks like it would take alot of research to figure out exactly what the parts are from, ie steering rack from a mustang, not sure what the shocks are from, etc.

I have been out in the garage for most of the evening, my fingers are numb, i'm sick with a cold and have a pounding headache. Regardless it didn't keep me out of the garage. Fun enough i have so many cuts on my hands from cleaning parts that my iphone wont unlock with my finger print anymore. Aluminum is SHARP!

I am down to the last knuckle and A arm, i am letting them sit in degreaser overnight, they are rough, like someone pored oil on them and drove down a dirt road. 2 hours cleaning them and they now to the point the others started. Once that was done i decided to move over to some engine cleaning, figured a top down approach should work best. I have swapped engines in the past but never cared enough to make them spotless so this is new territory for me. I started by removing the coil packs, and then the metal mounts that the coils mount to, followed by the wiring harness as a whole. I was then able to remove the fuel rail and the air intake. Throttle body came off after that followed by the valve covers. I used gunk degreaser to carefully remove the gunk being careful to keep it out of the engine. I used non scratching SOS pads and a soft bristle brush to get into those hard to reach areas.

Tomorrow i may pull off the accessories and start cleaning the mounts, bolts and accessories themselves.
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[Taz Rules]

Mr. Anderson (spoken like Agent Smith from the Matrix)

Hey...that may stick! Mr. Anderson. Like it!


Anyway. This is going to be one fine looking, very clean example! You're supposed to drive it, not eat pancakes off of it!

That said, when degreasing bikes, including sticky chain lube from swingarms and inner fenders, I found very good luck with a cleaning product called Fantastik. Spray on, wipe off. Repeat maybe one more time. For final cleaning I used Simple Green. Much easier on the hands than degreaser.

Hope this helps.

[LCD Gauges]

COSTSHEET??? what's that???

A cost sheet is something that makes you laugh every time you look at it...hysterical laughter.

Nice work on the engine degrease. What do you charge to fly down to Toronto, and do mine?

[Taz Rules]

What do you charge to fly down to Toronto, and do mine?

Oh please, PLEASE say "Five dollah"!

[tanderson1]

Mr. Anderson (spoken like Agent Smith from the Matrix)
Hey...that may stick! Mr. Anderson. Like it!

I get this about every other week from a random person I meet... never gets old :-}

A cost sheet is something that makes you laugh every time you look at it...hysterical laughter.
Nice work on the engine degrease. What do you charge to fly down to Toronto, and do mine?

I think the only reward for cleaning is knowing how good it will look in your own car..... cleaning for others doesn't really come with that reward :-)

Not a lot of progress made today, I picked up an engine stand at the store and a leveler for the engine hoist. I also broke down and bought new ball joints to replace every joint that has questionable rubber seals, and I bought new tie rod ends. Best news today was that I found those little rubber seals for the parking brake cable for $20 locally in town.

Oh and I heard back from Breeze Automotive, shipping from them was $600 cheaper then Whitby Motorcars. Ordered from Breeze Auto on the spot, the 3 boxes are 5 weeks out. If anyone is looking I recommend Breeze for the pricing. Also the guy on the phone was very friendly. :-)

so in summary, another day where I bought a lot of stuff but made no progress what so ever. :-)

[tanderson1]

Tires just arrived via UPS. The pictures don't do these justice, they are HUGE!!! 14" wide on the rears.

They have a label on them that says the tires will be permanently damaged if they get below -15 degrees. Good thing i have a furnace in my garage I guess.

The tires are Proxy R888's going onto the wheels purchased directly from factory five.

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[tanderson1]

So a few days have passed since the last post.

My family and I have been sick for the last few days so progress has been slow.

I picked up some "Metal Rescue" from CanadianTire and filled an ice cream bucket. I then completely submerged the wheel bearing assemblies. After 4 hours these things are spotless, no rust, no oil, look brand new. Now its possible that this isn't good for the wheel bearing itself, time will tell. My theory was that this part has to be water tight because of its location. So far the wheel bearings are spinning a little easier then before, I think this is due to the reduction in surface rust. I plan to paint these black with some high temp paint.

I also picked up a better grease remover from CanadianTire (see photos). Using this new degreaser I was able to clean some of the harder to clean pieces. I also used the new degreaser to clean of the brake calipers. I then followed that up with a wire brush and some brake cleaner. These are now ready for paint, I plan on painting them red/black (caliper red, mounting bracket black)

I used a winch strung off through the attic hatch and over 2 rafters to lift the engine off the pallet that it was on. My buddy and I then mounted the engine down to a stand with wheels. This allows better access to the front and sides and makes the overall size smaller so it will easily fit into the corner of the garage. I then removed the power steering pump, water pump, AC bracket, etc so I can start to clean the rest of the engine. (I do have a friend with an engine hoist, so far I have been to lazy to pick it up)

I ordered new tie rods so I started to remove the old tie rod ends. These nuts were locked on and required some heat to expand the nut and loosen them up. Old Tie Rods are now off waiting for the new parts to come in the mail. I will hit these with a little black paint to make them look better.

Once the new ball joints come in I can start putting the suspension back together. In the meanwhile I have been researching fuel system options including which aluminum tanks to go with (there are two kinds) and which fuel rail/pump/regulator/filter combination to run with.

Does anyone know if the Aeromotive rails fit under the factory engine covers?


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[LCD Gauges]

It's like you're building the nursery before the baby arrives!

Metal Rescue = don't drink that stuff.

[tanderson1]

Its a good day, came home to 4 new rims a box from Jegs and a box from RockAuto.

Just waiting on one more RockAuto order that contains the ball joints.

Tomorrow I will have the tires mounted and balanced, can't wait to see them together.

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[tanderson1]

IMG_0327.JPG

Mounted and balanced.

Another $117 I didn't account for :-)

[tanderson1]

So, no progress on the real car today but I did manage to almost complete a fairly close digital render of the GTM. Truth be told i stole these files out of a popular video game, used a 3rd party game developer tool to convert to a 3ds file. I then separated it into parts and converted it to Sketchup format (free 3D tool)

Hood, body, hatch, wheels, windows, and 30 other parts for the Gen 1 and Gen 2 were all converted. I will combine those Gen 2 files into one sketchup file and then use that to test out different paint combinations.

GTMRender.jpg

[tanderson1]

So, no progress on the real car today but I did manage to almost complete a fairly close digital render of the GTM. Truth be told i stole these files out of a popular video game, used a 3rd party game developer tool to convert to a 3ds file. I then separated it into parts and converted it to Sketchup format (free 3D tool)

Hood, body, hatch, wheels, windows, and 30 other parts for the Gen 1 and Gen 2 were all converted. I will combine those Gen 2 files into one sketchup file and then use that to test out different paint combinations.

I Went to sleep thinking about the possibilities for this.

Once completed i could easily 3D print this model at work. I could easily create a 12" long scale model of the GTM (no molds).
I could use the 3D model to create a really cool interface for the car using centrafuse and a custom plugin. I could have a 3D rendering of the car spin around when tire pressure is low (TPMS) and blink the tire that is low red while showing the current tire temp/pressure as an overlay. The 3D doors could open when the real doors are are left open, the hatch could open and display engine codes. Possibilities are endless.

From a past project I have a car PC with a 3D card in my garage already. This computer has 12 volt switched/constant inputs and monitors battery voltage, times when the PC turns on and off (so when you get gas it stays on). Its small and would mount behind the driver seat easily. The only problem is that all in (wiring etc) it weighs 10 pounds with the touch screen..... not sure if I want to make the car heavier.

I used to use this software on the pc http://www.centrafuse.com/us/. Complete with maps/rear camera/front camera/Hands free phone/TPMS/Movies/Music/Radio/etc. The software leaves a little to be desired but its customizable and skinable.

... The wheels are spinning ...

[fastthings]

Ya baby, that sounds cool.

[tanderson1]

... The wheels are spinning ...

So last night i did a little more research on the car PC idea, I can write the whole thing in the unity 3D gaming engine. (Software is free for 30 days, then i could just install it on another PC :-))

Pros

• Gaming engine is easy to use (and can be scripted in 3 programing languages that i know)
• It supports sound (play stop ff rew) so adding MP3 player functionality would be easy
• Supports Video textures, so i could have a DVD player/ movie player app. Can also work with 3D so you could do cool animations like flying into the car and zooming into the 3D representation of the touch screen while loading the movie.
• has an easy API
• Has EQ functionality built right in, so i could have a multiband EQ
• Supports Webcams
• Someone wrote a NAV system already and offers the code for $65. its capable of using maps downloaded from Bing/Google/Garmin etc and support downloading of traffic data from the internet https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/13261
• Could easily connect to the internet via a tethered cell phone or cellular USB stick.

Using the Unity API I could

• Integrate to my ODB2 adapter
• Integrate to my TPMS sensors
• Start the car (using microprocessor)
• Lock or unlock the doors (using microprocessor
• See the status of door locks, doors opening, hood opening, etc
• Using a microprocessor there is nothing that i couldn't monitor (gforce, hood open, door open, battery draw, suspension compression, etc)

Unity is also multi platform which means this code would work on a PC, IOS, Blackberry or and Android tablet/phone (although ODB2/TPMs/remote start/Door Unlock would have to be done via HTTP or TCP if i don't use a PC). So if i want a low voltage, instant on for say the gauge cluster in the dash i could use a hacked up android tablet or IPad.

If I do integrate the ODB2 adapter (i have a few Bluetooth ones lying around) I could have MPG, Average speed, RPM, Engine Temp, etc all available. If I use a PC instead of an IPAD i could run two displays, one touch screen in the center console and the other as the main gauge cluster. Using a 3D engine would allow me to have the gauges fly in when starting the car or drip in like a thick fluid from the top, etc. It would be easy to add virtual tire temp lights that could indicate when the tires were warm enough to take a quick corner, or add a G sensor that could indicate on a dial how close you are to spinning out.

The PC could also easily do data logging taking the information from the ABS sensors, ODB2, and TPMS and streaming them to a database on a USB key for later playback.

I could create a virtual drag racing tree that could measure reaction time (using ODB2 of the brake/gas pedals) and 0-60 as well as quarter mile times based of the odometer or ABS sensor data.

Hell you could even cheat a drag racing by using the webcam on the front of the car. Write some code to have it recognize the tree at the drag strip, when the light yellow it starts to increase the RPM past what the brakes can hold, when the light goes green it could use a solenoid to release the brake for you. Coupled with launch control you could dial in its ability to cross the start line at the precise ms that the light goes green. (I'm sure there are rules against this)

I will think about it some more but I'm sure I will be putting in all these systems while i build the car. I may leave the programing portions until after the car is finished. It will give me a fun project moving forward with the car. Something i can continue to improve upon and add features to.

[tanderson1]

IMG_0332.JPG
Top Gear has started a new season, so its time to get some work done in the garage.

I am using high temperature rim clear coat for the A Arms and suspension components.
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Wheel bearings painted black after all the rust was removed. I painted all 4 with high temp brake paint (black). Green painters tape was used to mask off the bearings/wires.
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Completely took apart the brake assemblies, these will be rebuilt once painting is complete. I used compressed air to get the pistons out, was harder then i expected, first piston comes out but then you have to wedge it back in with a chunk of wood (or in my case a tie rod end) so that you can create enough pressure to pop out the other piston.
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New Tie Rod ends, painted the old Tie Rods black after cleaning them.
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Continuing to paint tonight, heading out every few hours to throw a few more coats of paint/clear on the parts. The Brakes are Dupont brake paint red on the main portion and Dupont black on the carrier.
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The A arms look great after the clear coat. Really makes the aluminum shine, its also noticeably smooth to the touch now which should make cleaning off dirt a much simpler task.

I have a few orders waiting to come in before i can start reassembly. I am still waiting on a few more ball joints, a few rubber dust covers and some tools that i ordered.

[tanderson1]

If you reading this message and you are planning on a GTM build using donor parts you might want to reconsider. I have been looking at the prices on rock auto and cost all in after buying new ball joints, brake pads, rotors, brake rebuild kits, new brake lines, cleaning chemicals, and paint is really close to buying new. (off rock auto website)

I would still clear coat all the parts even if i bought them new.

Here are the items i am waiting on still
1) brake rebuild kits
2) 6 of the ball joints
3) brake line bending tool
4) new flexible brake lines
5) Paperwork from Transport Canada to import the kit with.
6) Canadian GTM Kit
7) FF GTM kit

Items left to work on while waiting
1) Make the engine sparkle (cleaner/ paint)
2) Mount the new clutch i bought
3) Finish painting brakes (this high temp brake paint takes FOREVER to dry)
4) Clean the garage!

Items i still need to order
1) Lug nuts (man these are expensive.... $75 was the cheapest i found so far)
2) Transaxel (mendeola)
3) Toyota short throw shifter http://www.twmperformance.com/shorts...rtshifters.htm
4) Body mods from Vspeed...
5) Exhaust from Vspeed...
6) Move Rivets (I hear the kit doesn't come with enough)
7) Air powered rivet guns (totally worth it)

The only other news is that i found a home for the body while i work on the go-Kart. Its all the way across town but it can sit in someone elses garage so it doesn't get in the way.

[Edgeman]

http://edgemansgtm.weebly.com/body.html
This is what I did with the body, bottom of the page Sept 30 post. - 1 winch from Canadian tire $45, 2- 10' - 2x4, four pulleys mounted to 1" angle and 4 eye bolts. Hung the hood on the wall did not take up very much room (June 7 post has the pic of the hood mounted to the wall).
Body does not weigh very much. Sat up in the roof for two years all good.

[Presto51]

While you’re still in the planning stage, don’t forget to add to your to do list, Clutch Stop

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ed-Help-Please

Ron

[tanderson1]

http://edgemansgtm.weebly.com/body.html
This is what I did with the body, bottom of the page Sept 30 post. - 1 winch from Canadian tire $45, 2- 10' - 2x4, four pulleys mounted to 1" angle and 4 eye bolts. Hung the hood on the wall did not take up very much room (June 7 post has the pic of the hood mounted to the wall).
Body does not weigh very much. Sat up in the roof for two years all good.

I read your blog from start to finish Edgeman, a few pages I read twice :-) I actually already have 2 winches mounted to the roof of my garage, one I use to hoist my quad shovel to the roof in the summer and the other is used to raise Rubbermaid totes to the attic portion of the garage. unfortunately in my garage there is no way to lift something as large as the body up the the roof without blocking a large amount of the florescent light fixtures. I find a bright garage less frustrating :-)

While you’re still in the planning stage, don’t forget to add to your to do list, Clutch Stop
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ed-Help-Please
Ron

I have been following that thread, saw the damage caused, I will remember that for sure.

[tanderson1]

So been a few days without a real status update.

• Put another coat of red/black paint on the brake parts (this stuff takes forever to dry and goes on really thick)
• Last of the ball joints came in the mail, they will be in the A arms and knuckles tomorrow
• finally had a chance to pick up the pieces to reassemble the parking brake.
• Decided i that i may as well replace a few more parts that are not broken... bought new flexible brake lines for all 4 corners, bought new guide pins and guide pin boots. (easy to replace while its all apart harder to replace later so why not)

I will have time to get the parts all assembled this weekend.

[tanderson1]

started painting the last of the suspension components.
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The ABS sensor connector brackets (grey) had to be sanded down completely as the paint would just flake off. Grey engine paint was used to respray, black brake paint was used for the ebrake mounting plates.


Started putting everything together with brake lube
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Hardest part was getting the seals around pistons to seat properly, one how-to i watched showed the seals being pressed in on the piston however they don't seat properly that way. The best approach is to put the seal into place with a little brake lube to keep it stuck in there. Then lube up the piston and slide it into the boot, jam a few pieces of scrap wood in front of the piston to lock the piston into the inner seal. now use some compressed air to inflate the seal from the hydraulic hose inlet. This causes the boot to inflate and seat into both the piston groove and the inner groove. Now just repeat that 5 more times.

I also sanded the red paint of the corvette logo's on the calipers so they stand out. I really like the Corvette logos, decided to keep them.

[tanderson1]

IMG_0345.JPG
Finished 3 calipers this weekend, Just waiting on the last set of new guide pins to complete the last caliper.

I hope to have the whole suspension assembly together tomorrow. Then I will move on modifications on the steering column later this week.

I bought two new Raspberry PI version 2's (mini Computers). I was going to see if they have enough horse power to run a 3D model of a GTM, even if they don't I could pre-render the animations as the PI has 1080p video rendering on chip. I plan to have one run an LCD gauge cluster, the other will run an LCD in the center console (hope to fit a 10" touch screen). I plan for this to run everything from AC/Heat controls, engine start stop, doors, etc.

I also purchased a double din Android deck that plays DVD's, supports navigation, hands free audio, digital radio, digital TV Tuner, Cellular internet, etc..... don't think I will end up using it in the car, might end up putting it into my GMC Sierra if the Raspberry PI setup ends up working for the GTM.

Wife gave me the go to buy a lift for the garage. Currently looking at this one,
http://www.costco.ca/Dannmar-MaxJax%...=10302&refine=
Its big enough to lift my truck or my van and tall enough to not hit the roof.

Tomorrow will mark exactly 2 weeks since filing my paperwork with transport Canada, still no reply from them and nothing in the mail. Hope to get something soon so the GTM can be shipped.

[tanderson1]

924-243-007.jpg

these little dust covers will be the end of me. I found a local corvette dealer that told me he had a few that i could have, one was good, the other was worse then the ones i was trying to replace. Seemingly no one would sell them without selling the full $270 set of parking brake shoes. So i started to investigate, turns out all Chevy's use the same boot.... using this information i finally found them, annoyingly they are at the same parts place i have been using all along, for less then $4.

Now that i know what the part number is i can find them everywhere. If anyone else is looking for these look here:

http://rockauto.com Under Dorman 924-243 (this is where i bought them)
http://www.amazon.ca/Dorman-924-243-.../dp/B00FPL1D00
http://www.rmsautoparts.com/proddeta...0FH-Brake-Boot
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...4309&ppt=C0326
https://www.partsmonkey.com/en-US/Pa...Make=CHEVROLET
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/d...243/10463277-P

[tanderson1]

Another day of spending but not a lot of progress.

I bought the lift,
liftphoto.jpg

I bought the PG-055 transmission plug, fender covers, and a battery tender that i can wire into the car when its in storage.

and these lug nuts
http://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/GOR21133HT.htm

I have no less then 12 orders waiting to come in, unfortunately the parts i need first are the ones due to arrive last.... good news, every day i come home from work to a mini Christmas morning, bad news is no progress can be made on the suspension until guide pins and rubber boots arrive.

[tanderson1]

I sent another letter to transport canada, this letter was responded to, they mentioned that the previous letter must have been lost.

Back to waiting an additional 2 weeks for customs paperwork. Arrrggg.

On the bright side the lift was shipped today and should be here in a few days. I guess its time for a dump run to clean out the garage.

[tanderson1]

So i had great plans for getting alot done on Thursday, on the way home from work my wife texts me "neighbor kid broke the toilet".... when i got home my wife had chest pains and had to go to the ER (turned out to be a viral infection on her Rib, she will be fine). When i got back home from the ER i saw that the toilet had backed up an inch of water in to the bathroom that my wife had cleaned up. What she failed to consider is that my office was below the bathroom and 20 liters or so of toilet water landed on my new TV, Computer, 4K monitors, $270 keyboard, etc.... all ruined. On top of that i have a touch sensitive coffee table that had a 1/4" of pee water lingering on top of it.

after everything was cleaned up (still broken, but clean) i turned my attention to the toilet. Annoying neighbor kid flushed a bloody car down my toilet.
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After I get all that done, i get upstairs and my wife tells me that the upstairs bathroom is doing the same thing, out come the tools again, at least i managed to get the obstruction out of that one before the toilet had to be unbolted.

I think the neighbor is 9 years old... old enough to know that cars dont go in toilets!!!!

2 post lift was supposed to arrive today as well, its midnight and the tracking number still says "out for delivery". Unfortunately its a long weekend here in Alberta Canada so it wont be here until Tuesday now..... cant wait to get it setup. The remaining brake parts should be delivered on Tuesday as well.

Scrubbed the engine with degreaser for another few hours today, its now spotless, starting putting it all back together again. Forgot to get photos of that, i will post some tomorrow. I also have to get some photos of some of the wiring connectors, By flipping the intake i blocked one of the sensors, wondering if its important and has to be relocated.

I think i will start on the steering column tomorrow, I have the motorized column so it will take a little more work to get it prepped.

[tanderson1]

IMG_0357.JPG
This was the connector that i was worried about blocking off. I took the time today to read the manual and found it mentioned well after the engine section under "gauges". Turns out there is a new sensor that comes with the kit that will thread in here.

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I almost finished the steering column modifications today. I only had about an hour today to sneak out to the garage. The hardest part i found was the lack of proper tools, I don't own the torx sockets that were required or the steering wheel puller to get the pins out. I had to drive around town to even find someone that had a kit to sell. All the usual tool loan/rental places didn't carry them. I ended up getting a kit from partsource.ca who use to loan them out. I called ahead, he said they may have some to buy and when i got there he had found one of the old loaner sets on a back shelf. So now i have my very own steering wheel puller set.

The column disassemble went quick after that, following the manual instructions for the adjustable column. The instructions imply that once the collar is cut it should just slide off, mine took 10+ hits with a BFH and a metal chisel to pop off. I was very careful to only hit the portions that would be thrown away.

Only a few items left, I have to cut the outer rod ends, drill a few holes, then put it all back together.

[tanderson1]

The Rubber covers for the ebrake came, turns out they are not 100% the same as the corvette units but they are very close. The only change that needs to be made is the thickness of the rubber that fits inside the metal plate. 5 seconds on a belt sander and they are thin enough to mount perfectly. These units seem much thicker and more robust then the OEM pieces.
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The lift came today, took about an hour to put everything together, I have to rent a hammer drill to complete the mounting process. I also need to pick up some hydraulic fluid and lithium grease to finish the Assembly. I measured out the garage today and i think i will put it right in the middle of the 2 car garage, i have never parked two cars in there anyway and that gives me the most room to work on the car.
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I also received the transmition backup light connector from Summit, a battery charger for storing the car and a couple of fender blankets. Tomorrow the brake caliper guide pins and brake lines should be here. That will enable me to wrap up the complete suspension rebuild....

Then boredom will set in, I will have completed all steps that i can with the parts that i have...... With any luck i should receive the customs clearance this week, that's all that standing in my way of receiving my kit.

[tanderson1]

So today was a crappy day in the garage...


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These are the fasteners that attach the lift to the floor. They came with the lift. The lift manual requires a 4" thick concrete base, this is where the problem started.



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I measured out a lift location to allow room to walk around and have the car in the center of the garage. I drilled the first 5/8" holes 2 inches deep as the manual states, still no problem. I grabbed the 7/8" bit and started to drill down to 4" and sure enough the slab is only 2.5" to 3" thick, that's not the worst part, under the slab is nothing but air for a solid 10". Its still not clear to me if the entire garage slab is floating 10" in the air but I did drill the other post in 10 feet away and ran into the exact same situation.

All signs point to the fact that my whole garage slab or at least a large % of it is not in contact with the ground.



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you can kind of see the void under the slab in these photos. I have a truck that tops out at 6000Lbs, no way i trust this lift to lift the truck, or even my minivan....Hell knowing what i know now i think it may be only a short while before the slab cracks under the weight of vehicles parked on it.

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Anyway, here is what it looks like mounted. To bad I cant use it to lift anything I care about. (That's my friend Robb in the picture, he was there to try the tears...)

My plan of attack now is to cut a 2'x2' hole where each post will be, stick my head down there to see how big the problem is. If the problem is fixable i can put a footing down and pour new concrete a few feet into the ground and then put the lift back with new anchors...

Now I have to rent a concrete saw :-)

[crash]

Unless you have a prestress slab it really is not that big of a deal as far as the lift is concerned. Saw cut some squares out for the base of the lift. Dig some footings. Attach the footings to the slab via epoxied rebar. Pour footings. Should be simple enough.

On the other hand, unless your slab was poured off site and installed there may be some other serious problem going on at you building site. There is NO WAY that someone did something to pour that slab 10" off the dirt on purpose when they poured it. You may have a significant issue with settling under your building.

[tanderson1]

On the other hand, unless your slab was poured off site and installed there may be some other serious problem going on at you building site. There is NO WAY that someone did something to pour that slab 10" off the dirt on purpose when they poured it. You may have a significant issue with settling under your building.

Yes, this has me a little worried... I plan to cut some holes into the floor to make a footing as you described, i hope to start on that this weekend. Once i have the floor opened up a little i will take a look through the hole to see the extent of the problem. My house has a basement and by code the support walls have to be poured below the frost line, my only worry is the floor which would have been originally poured in place.

On the bright side this may give me an easy way to install some conduit under the slab to hide the hydraulic lines.