modracer

I've said this before but the BAT car actually has pretty good history on it as well but just not what was claimed in the auction and subsequent showings of the car using the placard. That car is the only one of the Morrison Cook cars to have raced under all 3 numbers, 97,98 and 99 and the only one that Tommy himself actually raced. Imo it really should be put back to the #99 based on the picture I have posted of the car at a pre-season test in early 1990 before it was retired in lieu of them going back to Corvettes. When Tommy was inducted into the Hall of Fame and the magazine article written he is pictured in front of that car and it was still had the same decals as the 1990 picture.

modracer

Finished stripping the bumper cover today so now have 2 spots that I have to do the urethane welding on to repair before epoxy. Also did some more sanding on the sides in preparation for putting high build on it but still need to finish the front of both fenders.


.

Have to repair a spot where the bumper cover is split above the exhaust.


.

Finished stripping the bumper cover.


.

More sanding on the quarter to knock down some high spots. I had just roughed it in prior.


.

Another sanding pass on most of the driver side.


.

Same for the passenger.

881SA

I'm not sure if you've seen this tribute to Tommy for being inducted to the hall of fame in 2017 but there are two shots of both Camaros he had. Pretty interesting considering he did so much for Corvette that what he did for Camaro is not mentioned. When Escort SCCA would no longer let him race the Corvette he follows up the very next year with a Camaro that dominated as well is pretty amazing.
Can you tell me based on your knowledge of the two which one is which in the picture of him in front of his shop with all his toys?

modracer

I got to meet Tommy one year at Road Atlanta in 1988 and he was just as down to earth as they were saying in the video. We were racing Firestone Firehawk and I thought I had the car set up good for that track but it still seemed to lack just a touch. Morrison Cook was there with their semi full of parts supporting some of the Firehawk guys and one of our drivers took me into the trailer and Tommys guys asked how I had the car set up. They ended up loaning us a set of rear springs and a rear sway bar to run that race and told me what part numbers I needed to order to get the same items.

The car in the video is the #99 car before it got renumbered to 98 and sold on BAT. It was the only car to get the Pro1 decal on the b pillar plus it has the red spoiler lettering that denotes it started out as the #97. There are other indicating factors as well. You can also see it still see it had the rectangular red Saginaw sponsor decal on the front fender before someone doctored it to look like the 98 and put the Midwest Designs decal on it. I've seen a still of that picture as well and while you cant see the second number you can tell by its location that is was still a 9 and not an 8.

VIZ28

When I bought my '89 1LE R7U it came with 4 binders of documentation and articles, including this November 2002 Chevy Rumble article.

881SA

Interesting article, some errors and no mention of the race car numbers but sure looks like how yours started Mod. No mention that neither of the four cars in 88 that actually got the 1LE RPO were not Tommy's cars. Tommy's cars were the first 1LE's, but he got the Pontiac rims for weight which was the secret to success not to mention being sponsored by Chevy & Mobil1.
He had them make a lot of changes to the design from late 87 thru 88.
I did notice his third one he had ordered had the fixed steering no tilt wheel while most of all the 1LE's I've seen have a tilt wheel, not sure what you would specify to change that when ordering. Nothing I've seen on any of the build sheets.

BTW that's another way to tell which one had which number or how they finished Mod.

modracer

Thanks. That is pretty cool as I have never seen it before but that is my car no doubt. Matt was at SLP and then started GMMG which did the supercars for GM and my car was titled prior to GMMG.

modracer

Interesting for sure, now I have to find a copy of that, lol.

One way to tell my car from the others so far has been the cage design difference but I dont have any good pics of Hawks car however its cage appears the same as the one in the BAT car. Mine has the rear diagonal bar running from just past center of the hoop back to the drivers side joining the back bar where the other that bar runs back to join the back bar on the passenger side. Good pictures of mine from the front it appears to make an x where front pics of the other cars it blends in.

Mine also has a single drivers door bar where the BAT car has a double. I have not been able to find that out in regards to Hawks car so can only assume so far. In the Mosport 24 hour video from 89 you can see during the driver change that car only has the single door bar. In that race best we can tell it was ran under #97 with John driving and winning that race. John did tell me that once they had more than 2 cars that numbers got swapped between cars as needed depending on which car was the freshest so late 88 into the entire 89 season this makes which car did what even more confusing.

modracer

Learning curve with this new urethane welder today on the rear bumper cover. I learned that I needed to open the cut area up more than just beveling the edges and also rather than running parallel to the tear that I had to go side to side with it while moving along the groove.

Still not sold on it but we'll see.


.

Starting tear. This is on the passenger side of the bumper cover by the quarter.


.

This was after beveling it with a dremel but I found I had to open it up even more for the urethane to hold.


.

Second pass with the welder after opening the groove back more.


.

You feed the urethane rod through the hole in the foot.


.

After rough grinding.


.

After sanding with 80 grit.


.

This is the damage on the back. I'm not going to replace the missing chunk but rather fix just the tears.


.

After the first pass with urethane.


.

I'm not sure on this exhaust as it is date coded 1988 and Dynomax was a sponsor but I think it was added later or that Matt may have added it as it favors the SLP and GMMG stuff.


.

After grinding.


.

Taping the rear up ahead of spraying epoxy.

modracer

Also had more brake line parts for the rear end show up today as well as the master cylinder for the clutch.


.

Clutch master cylinder came in and I already had the bracket for the reservoir and the new reservoir.


.

3 sets of brake line, the factory lines off the spare 89 rear that had PBR's, the set I got last year that turned out to be wrong and the set that just came in.


.

Close but still not the same, I will add the bends as needed.


.

Somewhat close.


.

New hose for the one side and already had a new center hose and the other caliper hose new.


.

Mocking up the new lines and hoses against the old.


.

Not real close.


.

Center is fairly close.


.

Somewhat close.

modracer

Worked on the front bumper cover and lower spoiler using the urethane welder to fix the cracks and splits in it. After that sanded the epoxy on it and then turned it upside down so I can spray the areas that didnt get epoxy before.


.

Start of the biggest tear in the lower spoiler top of the picture and a smaller one below.


.

Both welded up.


.

I used a coat hanger to keep it in form while the urethane hardened.


.

After grinding the upper repair.


.

Grinding the smaller one.


.

This area had been rubbed through so I put metal tape behind it before building it back up.


.

After grinding.


.

After sanding with 80 grit.


.

Small tear on the other side.


.

After welding.


.

After grinding and sanding with 80 grit.

modracer

More pictures on the front bumper cover repairs. This is my first time ever trying this.


.

Tear on the other side.


.

After welding.


.

Ground and sanded with 80.


.

This was a tear on the lower center where one of the lower deflector mounting hardware had been ripped out.


.

Using metal tape as a backer due to the hole and size of the tear.


.

After grinding and sanding in 80.


.

Another split but its hidden by the grill surround.


.

Welded up so it doesnt expand.


.

Set up to spray epoxy on the undersides.

modracer

Went ahead and sprayed the first 2 coats of epoxy on the rear bumper cover and the bottom areas of the front as well as spotting in some bare metal places on the sheet metal as it may be weeks before I get another temperature window for the epoxy.

I would have liked to have spent a little more time on the bumper cover repairs but will finish them out before the next epoxy coats. I'm on a new gallon of epoxy and its much thinner than the last gallon that I've been spraying from the last couple of months so ended up running it in a few places before I figured out I needed to adjust how I was spraying. Oh well, it will sand out.


.

Spotting in epoxy on some of the spots that had been sanded through on the door and quarter.


.

Considering how this panel started out I'm more than happy with it as it just needs a little putty now. I think its the worst panel I've ever repaired plus first time repairing a bumper cover.


.

Rear bumper cover with its first 2 coats of epoxy.


.

I've got some sanding dips from previous work but they will come out in further sanding and epoxy layers.


.

Spotting in bare spots on the driver side.


.

Driver rear bumper cover.


.

You can see one of the big runs on the lower quarter, this was where I started spraying first.


.

Another light coat on the bumper cover.


.

A couple of coats on the underside areas that are visible that didnt get epoxy the first time.

modracer

Its been a few days since I worked on the car so today went down and took some flat metal stock and fabbed up a set of brackets to move the Hella lights out more toward the bumper cover and then loosely set the bumper cover on.


.

Cut and drilled a set of brackets to mount te Hella lights.


.

First location with the old mock up brackets.


.

Location with the new fabbed brackets, moved the lights out 1 inch.


.

Ready to set the bare bumper cover back on to check light location.


.

Bumper cover loosely back on the car.


.

Considering I only had 1 black and white photo to duplicate this from I think it came out pretty good.


.

I have lots of adjustment that I can make but right now just checking fit and location. Once the bumper cover is back together and goes on the last time then I'll finalize the location.


.

Bumper cover just has a couple of wire ties holding it on at the moment.

modracer

Got back under the car for a little today and hooked all the fuel lines back up between the tank and metal lines. I used a viton oring on the pressure connection and then the return and both vent hoses are efi hose and then I used the efi style clamps. I still have to replace the white vent at the rear but its ok for now. Also started installing the new brake lines on the rear end and got the rubber hose from the rear ran to the metal line that goes forward. The red springs will eventually get swapped out but they are just there to simulate ride height as they are 1 inch shorter than stock. Also as mentioned prior I am really not trying to restore the bottom side of the car but leave it as much like it was as possible since the car will get used a fair amount once done.


.

Hooking the fuel lines back up.


.

Bracket and steel brake line going to the front. It is new as well.


.

Still have to replace this vent.


.

Starting to put the brake lines back on the rear housing.

modracer

Have spent more time the last couple of days trying to find lost rear sway bar hardware, cleaning the shop, going through the basement and the parts rooms but did manage to get a few more small things done on it.

Sanded and painted the brake booster, bolted up the hood latch support, bolted the front sway bar and wonder bar back on and soaked the rear sway bar hardware in de-rusting solution. Mocked up the booster and clutch master cylinder and swapped out the hood shocks.


.

Sway bar hardware in a de-rusting solution.


.

I just cleaned these, in staying with trying to keep the bottom side as it was will not be repainting them.


.

I never had the front sway bar bolts and couldnt find the rear ones so bought new stainless ones.


.

Spraying them black so they dont stand out.


.

Rear hardware after coming out of the derust solution.


.

Hood latch bracket back on.


.

Front sway bar and wonder bar back in place.


.

Repaint on the booster came out nice.
]

.

Hood back up on its own now.


.

Booster and clutch master cylinder just setting in the holes to check fitment.


.

modracer

The new motor showed up today for my compressor so worked on getting it ready to change over this afternoon.

My stainless line and fittings also came in today for the clutch hydraulics so got it installed onto the master cylinder and back on the firewall with the nuts started.


.

Hydraulic clutch line and fittings.


.

Correct push in ends.


.

Starting to put the roll pin in to retain the fitting.


.

Fitting locked in place.


.

Hose back on.


.

Sprayed a little paint on the u-bolt.


.

Ready for the firewall.


.

Set back on the firewall and the nuts started.


.

Started the reservoir and hose on it but needed to look at some pics to see if I have it in the right area. I know once back on it goes under one of the master cyl nuts.


.

Pedal bottom after soaking all night in de-ruster.

modracer

Took some pictures of the back sides of the front brakes. Once its down on the shop floor then I'll pull the front down.


.



.



.



.



.



.



.



.



.



.

modracer

The rear axle was just loosely put back in after installing the new tank and pump so got everything except the shock nuts tightened up on it today as well as the rear caliper pins. Mocking up the rear axle brake lines and got the passenger side and rubber hose ran but had to stop off there to see how the driver side was supposed to be routed. Also had a new tank vent come in today for it.


.

I've got to pressure wash the bottom side of the car but figured I'd wait until all the body work was done.


.

Passenger side line and hose mocked up.


.

New tank vent.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

You're making good progress.

modracer

Thanks. Short block and the parts for it are at the machine shop but like everyone else they are backed up as is my engine guy so guessing March or April before I get the engine back. I've got a mock up one in the basement so once in the car I can just transfer the bolt on stuff over and not be chasing stuff.

Hoping to have it sitting back down on the ground in the next 3 or 4 weeks and then back on the body work. At this point I'm thinking will wait to paint it until the engine is back in it and running but will just have to see how the timing on that works out. I also need to get back on my 74 as well. Too many irons in the fire, lol.

modracer

I took the pedals apart today and installed new bushings in them and then a quick repaint of the part that was originally black before putting them back together.


.

Taking the pedals apart to put new bushings in them.


.

Taking the roller pin out to remove the bushings.


.

The new bushings are taller than the old but they fit just fine.


.

New bushings in one of the pedals.


.

The old bushings were starting to come apart.


.

Center pin back in.


.

Taping off the original factory break in the paint.


.

Light respray.


.

Getting ready to spray the clutch pedal.


.

Light respray.


.

Bolted back together.

modracer

Now for the fun part, putting them back in by myself. Got under the dash and finished bolting the master cylinder for the clutch to the firewall first since its easier to get to with the pedals out and then installed the booster on the firewall and then back under the dash to start the pedal hanger on the 4 studs sticking through all while snaking it around the clutch and brake cylinder rods.
Nope, wasnt going. Pulled it all back off and out and had to bend the booster mounting brackets on one side so it lined up better with the holes in the pedal mount. I have 1 nut on each side tightened down, a third on started and need a light to even see the 4th one.
Set the master cylinder back on the booster, ran the main wiring harness back over top and called it a day.


.

Getting creative to keep pressure on the booster. Blanket under it, coat hanger to the cowl and a hammer between it and the strut tower.


.

Pedals back under the dash.


.

Clutch master cylinder rod hooked up.


.

Master cylinder set back on the booster.


.

Starting to come back together.

.

Its all dusty but will clean back up.


.

modracer

In looking at pictures I just realized the 2 support bars from the pedal bolt back to the clutch cylinder bolts are missing so looks like I get to take it part way back apart.

modracer

Getting more of the bottom side buttoned up for now. Ended up putting the larger rear sway bar back under it for now even though we used to run the small ones. Left the link brackets loose as at some point I'm going to put the NNN rear springs back in it.

Have the rear brake lines and hoses figured out duplicating how the GM engineers would have done the PBR conversion prior to production parts being available. I was able to use the pics from the BAT car for a reference.


.

Small bar vs larger bar.


.

Starting to install.


.

One side bolted to the axle housing.


.

Rear brake line routing. It looks sloppy but the one on the other car was done the same way.


.

Driver side bolted up.


.

Duplicating the line mounting on the mule cars prior to production brackets.


.

Installed new copper washers at the hose to caliper.


.

Steering column bracket after soaking in the derusting mix.

modracer

Think I'm mostly done under the rear of the car for now. Today I installed the new tank valve and then seated and tightened down all the rear brake lines and hoses. I left the rear shocks and sway bar end links finger tight as I'm going to swap the rear springs out when I take it down off the jack stands. Going to pressure wash the bottom side also.

A lot of work under the back from when I first bought it to now as somebody had robbed the 9 Bolt out of it. Now has the 9 Bolt back under it with new axle seals and bearings, reproduction early PBR caliper brackets, all new steel rear brake lines from the master cylinder to the rear end housing, new rear pads and hoses, new fuel tank, sender, pump, hoses and filter, new tank vent, new rear rotors and the correct PBR calipers and all of the fuel lines have been off, cleaned and flushed.


.

New rear tank vent valve.


.

Metal lines seated and tightened.



.


.

New line from master cylinder to rear hose tightened.


.

modracer

A little warmer here today so got a good bit done underneath it. Started putting the ground effects back on and ran into several issues. This is why you fit everything before going to the high build and final blocking stages.

When I bought the car the passenger side ground effect was missing and the passenger rear quarter lower one was busted. Neither fender was drilled for the long screws behind the emblems and passenger one not drilled for anything. Drilled those holes and started on the driver side and it went fairly smooth. Passenger side no dice. Apparently when they put the door skin on in 88 or 89 they have the door twisted so the door part of the ground effect sticks out further than the rocker part so I'm going to try and take the twist out of the door. The rear quarter one is nowhere close to fitting so modified it but need to adjust the bumper cover now and maybe even take a heat gun to it.

Under the hood got the new brake line from the prop valve to the rear seated and tightened so all the brake lines are sealed now. Also swapped out the relay for the starter and installed the relay bracket and relays .Bolted the master cylinder down and mounted the reservoir for the clutch and then started laying out some of the passenger side harness.

Sorting through the bagged and tagged hardware for the ground effect mounting hardware.


.

Driver side went pretty smooth other than having to use a couple of self tapping bolts underneath.


.

Passenger side fought all the way.


.

Back of the door ground effect sticks out further than the rocker one because of the door twist.


.

Rear quarter after making some modifications. Still more to do.


.

Bumper cover has to come out some.


.



Relays plugged up and mounted.


.

Still have to redo the heater box but roughly hanging the harness.


.

Getting "busy" with more and more parts being bolted on.

modracer

Pulled the pedals back out today and took them back apart to add the support rods for the clutch master cylinder. Got it all back together and all the nuts finger tight before getting tired leaning over the roll cage and being all twisted up.


.

Pedals back out and support bars added.


.

Right side view.


.

Left side view.


.

Back in the car.

Gibby10

iTrader: (3)

that's pretty cool! Glad you're saving it. what a rich history

modracer

Thanks, hopefully over time we can fill in more of the history on it after Morrison Cook sold it in 89.

modracer

Back in the shop for a little today on light duty but installed the new front sway bar end links so have the front hollow bar and the wonder bar back on the car now for the first time in many years. I have a few more afternoons of work bottom side and then going to pressure wash it underneath and spray it down with a de-rusting solution just to stop the surface rust.


.

New front sway bar end links. They were missing when I got the car and the sway bar and wonder bar were laying in the hatch.


.

Passenger side bolted back in. I'm going to go through the front brakes but not at this time.


.

Passenger top view.


.

Driver side bolted in.


.

Driver side top view.

modracer

Started working on the passenger door today to get the twist out of it from when they put a door skin on it in 88 or 89 and made some progress but still needs just a little more.

Started by using my welding clamps along the bottom to start rolling the door bottom in some, then a 2x6 between the top of the door and the jamb while pushing the door bottom in but finally had to take a large crow bar and put it inside the door shell and bent the door shell. While I had the door part of the ground effect off I also slotted the holes so I could slide it reward just a little so its in the correct place.

You have to keep in mind that back in the day any body repairs were done quickly and often not to the same standards as todays repairs as they had to be done quickly and just look close to original.


.

Front of door with the door ground effect off you can see what the normal gap looks like.


.

Center of door you can see the gap narrowing.


.

Back of door no gap and wavy. With the ground effects on you wouldnt see this but it kicked the door piece out further than the rocker surface.


.

Starting to roll the bottom.


.

Opening the gap back up.


.

Slotting the mounting holes.


.

I just have 1 rear nut on the door ground affect but you can see I was able to move it in a good bit getting rid of the overhang.


.

Need to roll the center of the door just a little more but much closer.

modracer

Small victory today but got the brake booster rod onto the pedal pin and then the retainer clip in place. Now I can go back and tighten all the hardware holding the pedals in place.

Also found a vintage SCCA Pro Racing Escort series hat from the late 80's that had never been used so it came in today and I'll display it with the car when finished.


.

With the car up in the air like it is its kinda hard to see where the rod and clip go so did it all by feel.


.

Rod and clip in place. Working pedals again.


.

Vintage Escort Series hat.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Nice score on the hat! Pretty cool

modracer

Thanks. I'm always on the look out for any original period related items. I'm not going to show the car but may take it to some local cruise in plus track days so will display some of it with the car.

modracer

Still fighting a torn rib muscle but like a dummy got out there yesterday to pull the power steering pump off the parts car to go on my mock up engine and things escalated and I ended up stripping most of the front of the engine off. Sure felt it later that night but think I have nearly everything to complete the external bolt on parts for the engine being built plus most of a second set for spares and/or a second engine.


.

Nothing like having a complete parts car to pull whatever is needed. Stripped nearly everything off the front of the engine. Parts car is an 89 so I have all the correct factory hardware to put the mock up engine together.


.

Bench full of parts. I already had most of this but doesnt hurt to have spares.


.

88 had that long rubber smog hose from manifold to manifold and I needed it as all I was finding was the earlier metal version.


.

Will get all these cleaned up.


.

Looks like the ps hose on an ac car is different from a non air so I need to look into that.


.

Alternator looks to have been recently replaced but I have a new one as well.


.

TBI was single fan where I need a dual but it was easier to pull the stuff off the engine with this stuff out of the way.


.

Pulled this out in 1 piece. Wont be using it on this car but will put it up incase I need it for another.

modracer

Started to heat the passenger bumper cover up on the side where it meets the lower quarter ground effect and noticed the whole line across the bottom of both was concave. Digging further apparently the crash that bent the quarter also bent the back of the quarter and its inner structure inwards.

Took a large hammer and moved all that out a good bit until I got that body line fairly parallel. Have very minimal bondo work needed right above the molding and a little clean up work but much better now.


.

Starting point upper part.


.

Starting point lower part. You can see how bad concave it is and how nothing lines up.


.

After heating the bumper cover and bringing it out some.


.

After moving the back of the quarter and inner structure out.


.

I need to adjust the top of the bumper cover in a little now.


.

Bottom body line is fairly parallel now.


.

modracer

Last piece of the fiberglass ground effects to repair. Lower rear driver side had numerous issues including a stud broken off. I fiberglassed it but not 100% sure that it will work but have a spare if it does not.


.

Stud had been broken at some point.


.

Missing part of 1 lower mount bracket.


.

Other one was cracked.


.

Glassing the stud back on.


.

Rebuilding the missing part of the lower mount tab.


.

Repairing the cracked one.

modracer

Also started sanding the heater box.


.

Front side before taking it apart.


.

Back side.


.

Front side sanded.


.

Removed the rear gasket and sanded.


.

Front side in primer.

modracer

Primed the back side of the heater box today and started cleaning up the power steering pump and bracket with an acid strip. I have a nos bracket on the mock up engine but will prob match the finish on this one to the bracket on the other side of the engine.


.

Primer on the back side of the heater box.


.

Starting to acid strip the power steering bracket.


.

modracer

Its been awhile since I last worked on it between end of year business stuff and no heat in the shop but it warmed up some today so I got out there today and finished most of what I needed to underneath so I can set it back down on the ground for now. I will swap the rear springs out on its way off the stands.

I got the fuel and brake line clamps all bolted down today and then washed all of the months of body work dust and cobwebs out from the bottom side.For now I am leaving the bottom side of the car as found other than the replaced mechanical items so its not as nice as top side but as mentioned in the beginning I am not really restoring the car but rather rebuilding it and getting it back to looking like as last raced.


.

I've still got to tidy the lines just a little but got them bolted back into place.


.

Fuel lines and brake lines are all new but I sprayed them with an acid to start them so they dont look so new.


.

Washing out the bottom side of the car. The body work is mostly roughed in until I go to high build but just trying to get months of sanding dust out from under it.


.

Rinsed the dust back off from under the hood as well.


.

skinny z

I see the OEM straps. Did you find a reproduction source for them or reused the originals?
I've got to readdress my fuel supply system this year and while I'm using all of the original hardware now, the new system will have larger diameter tubing. Actually I've already added a length of -6 braided hose and that's kind of zip tied into position. That'll be replaced with aluminum tubing and finding a clamp similar to the OEM design would be my preference. Or, failing that, I can just rejig the whole works with Adel clamps.

Your project is coming along. When do you anticipate the 1st test drive?

modracer

Sitting here jogging my memory I actually ended up having to reuse the factory fuel line trio and only the brake line was new. I reused the factory clamps but the issue for what you are going to do is that they wont work with the larger feed line. The factory clamps form almost a triangle shape so they hold the feed,return and vapor line in a triangle of sorts. The brake line stays separate from that trio and towards the front of the car has its own clamps but as it gets further down the tunnel the fuel line clamps have a 1/2 loop tab sticking off them that the brake line snaps into.

I think for the larger diameter feed line that the adel clamps would be the way to go. You might even be able to work the brake line into the fuel trio clamps where the feed line originally was and then use the adel clamps off the same bolt for the fuel clamps dropping it below the trio run.

On mine the engine has been at the machine shop gouing on a couple of months but my engine guy has been out of state working all this month and I'd really be surprised if I have then engine back before May or June. I'm going to play it by ear but if he is nowhere close to having it finished by the time I have it ready to paint then I might just go ahead and spray it even though I'd prefer to have it running first.

skinny z

Regarding the factory clamps, I've used them where I can but as you said, they're size and quantity specific.
​​​​​​I just fine it kind of satisfying to reuse the OEM bits where I can. But it looks like Adel to the rescue.

As for your engine, yep, machine shop prison.
Don't make the mistake I made once and tell your machinist you're not in a rush. That turned into a 6 month ordeal for me and barely got my engine back before the driving season was over.
Good luck.

modracer

My engine guy should be back in the state the first of next month and I'll get an update but the big problem here is that we have had several of the higher end machine shops here shut down due to owners retiring and a couple more shut down as well so its overloaded the one quality one close by.

Because of the bottom end combination I went with its going to require a fair amount of balancing so thats probably the most time consuming.

modracer

Well for the first time since probably the early 90's it has brakes again. It had no pedals when I got it and a host of other brake related issues that I've corrected so vacuum bled it today to leak check and see if I could get a pedal. You can see the 2 different color fluids as 1 was the old fluid in the fronts and the other the new in the rears. At some point I'll have all 4 wheels off and will drain and flush all the brake fluids and then hand bleed the system but just glad to have functioning brakes for now.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Old machinists retiring, and no new ones to replace them. Not an unfamiliar story. Seems a shame some of these kids with mechanical skills don't get training in machining, get some experience and take over some of these businesses. There doesn't seem to be a lack of work to be done. Would beat burying yourself in 6 figures of university debt.

modracer

Yesterday I started the process of wrapping up stuff underneath for now so jacked the rear up, moved the stands forward and then took everything loose that I needed to in order to drop the rear low enough to get the rear springs out.

The car as raced would have had a set of "short" NNN rear springs that would have been picked from batches as having the shortest heights. When I got it though it had a set of 4th Gen rear springs which are even taller so I put a new set of BMR 1 inch drop springs in it. After it was back together picked up a set of NNN springs so yesterday with the BMR's out I compared them. I decided for now to put the new BMR's back under it but didnt want the bright red to stand out so sanded them and sprayed them in a low gloss black.


.

New BMR 1 inch drop springs in the center, stock NNN on the outers.


.

First coat of black on the BMR's, it will dull once dried.

modracer

It is sitting back on the ground now.

Put the rear springs back in, made an adjustment on the panhard bar to get the rear end centered enough in the car until it eventually goes for alignment and jacked the rear back up into the car. Bolted up the shocks, rear sway bar end brackets and put the wheels back on.


.

Passenger side back together.


.

Driver side back together.



.

Had to use a ratchet strap to pull the torque arm back up into the tunnel before jacking the rear end back up.

.

Passenger wheel back on for now.


.

Driver side. I ended up moving the rear end about 3/4 inch back towards the driver side.


.

Back of car back on the ground.


.

Getting ready to pull the front cribbings.


.

Cribbing out but the high lift jack it too tall once compressed it still wont come out from under the car so I have to put something under the wheels and then swap jacks.


.

Back on the ground so I can go back to working top side on it.

modracer

The BMR's seem on the stiff side to me but not real concerned with them or the ride height until the engine is back in and I can see how the whole car sits. I also know they should settle some as well so we'll see if they stay or not.


.



.

Driver side rear ride height foe now. Guessing it will prob settle an inch from here.


.




.

Passenger rear ride height.