12/1/12 to 12/15/12
I started this month by getting my foot box sheet metal back from powder coating and installing it onto the chassis. I put on the driver side pretty quickly along with the gas pedal from the donor. No problems here other than removing the upper rear suspension arm mount to allow all of the rivets to be installed.
The passenger side took a bit longer due to an issue I ran across in the kit and a couple of changes I wanted to make. The issue I found was the brain box for the vintage air unit was too close to the passenger side sheet metal and had to be relocated so the control knob panel could be plugged into it. The videos below show how I modified the mount provided by vintage air to take care of the problem.
I started this month by getting my foot box sheet metal back from powder coating and installing it onto the chassis. I put on the driver side pretty quickly along with the gas pedal from the donor. No problems here other than removing the upper rear suspension arm mount to allow all of the rivets to be installed.
The passenger side took a bit longer due to an issue I ran across in the kit and a couple of changes I wanted to make. The issue I found was the brain box for the vintage air unit was too close to the passenger side sheet metal and had to be relocated so the control knob panel could be plugged into it. The videos below show how I modified the mount provided by vintage air to take care of the problem.
Here are a couple pictures of the installed Vintage Air system, finished drivers side foot box and partially completed passenger side foot box.
12/15/12
I called FF today because I had not seen my wheels even though they were ordered with my kit in September. It was pretty funny when one day after I called Factory Five they showed up on my door. Man they are good ;-) As I sometimes say... I would rather be lucky than good!!
Anyway....when I opened the first box I about shaaat..... these things are huge!!! I was thinking... maybe I went too big. 18 X 12 rims in the rear are very wide.
I called FF today because I had not seen my wheels even though they were ordered with my kit in September. It was pretty funny when one day after I called Factory Five they showed up on my door. Man they are good ;-) As I sometimes say... I would rather be lucky than good!!
Anyway....when I opened the first box I about shaaat..... these things are huge!!! I was thinking... maybe I went too big. 18 X 12 rims in the rear are very wide.
12/22/12 to 12/24/12
Over the recent holiday weekend my dad and I got together to put the LS1 engine in. I was really glad to have a hand with this as it is not a one person job. We ended up picking the engine up from the front and setting it down on a dolly so we could rotate it 180 degrees before picking it back up and lowering it into the chassis. Installation was a little tight but relatively uneventful. I was excited to get the engine in the chassis as it will help me move forward with the cooling and A/C plumbing.
Over the recent holiday weekend my dad and I got together to put the LS1 engine in. I was really glad to have a hand with this as it is not a one person job. We ended up picking the engine up from the front and setting it down on a dolly so we could rotate it 180 degrees before picking it back up and lowering it into the chassis. Installation was a little tight but relatively uneventful. I was excited to get the engine in the chassis as it will help me move forward with the cooling and A/C plumbing.
Once the engine was in I witnessed the known issue regarding the A/C compressor electrical connector. After some reading on the forum I determined my options were to either buy a new compressor allowing the rotation of the front housing or notch the frame. I ended up deciding to notch the frame but first needed to help the engine find it final resting position so I could notch the frame in the right spot. To do this I put the KEP adapter on the engine and temporarily installed the transmission. As I installed the transmission I noticed my engine mounts leaning backwards.... mmmm... after some investigation I found the slots in the rear frame section were not long enough and were causing the transmission to pull the engine backwards. After some drilling, grinding the slots were longer and the engine mounts were sitting square to the mounts and frame. Wala!!
Here are some pictures of my frame notching process.