[RLG34750]

with regard to the control arms

a blind squirrel will find a nut ever so often.....

[lilgrneyes]

Originally Posted by rlg34750

with regard to the control arms

a blind squirrel will find a nut ever so often.....

THANKS, REGGIE!!!!!

I thought I was doing pretty well considering the fact that I really didn't know the practical applications of my general knowledge....I fix Radar systems, man. Cut me some slack.....LMAO.

We finally got all the tires back on!!! HURRAY!

I will have to call Strange this week and have them send me the proper nuts for the top of the struts. The ones that were on there are definitely not stock nor will they work with the new struts.

After we loaded the front of the car down with 400lbs of sand bags, the struts still weren't far enough through the strut towers to get the Maximum caster camber plates on there. Randy went back to his house and pick up his 16 yo son, who for the record, is a big boy. He also called one of the guys we work with to see if he could lend some a$$ to the front end of the car.

In the end, it took all three of the guys standing on various portions of the engine compartment and 400lbs worth of sand to finally get the springs compressed enough to get the struts bolted in on top.

I will not be beaten by an inanimate object...LOL!

All the components for the 5 lug conversion were easy enough. Well except for the fact that we didn't have a torque wrench that would handle 230ft/lbs or a 36MM socket to put the hub nuts on with and some how we managed to break the torque wrench Randy did own....thank goodness for the tool rental program at O'Reilly's and Craftsman tools!

The front brake calipers are massive, but they really remind me of Johnny 5 from "Short Circuit". I took pics and the whole time I was laughing my tail off.

I do have a question for everyone about the necessary clearance between the caliper and the inside edge of the rim.

*** What is the acceptable or expected amount of clearance between them? ***

I took a tape measure and found only about 3/8 of an inch clearance. Is that good, bad or indifferent?


Overall, I am very proud of myself for the things I was able to figure out and work through over the last 2 weekends....and thankful that I have such awesome friends that will give up weekends to give me help.

Over the next few weeks, I have to find out what schedule my engine guy is on. I will also probably start running the wiring in the fender wells, mount the battery relocation box, run the rest of the brake lines and put the brake booster in. I have read several different posts on this forum where guys talked about having to beat the brake booster in place with a hammer. That is not going to happen here! LOL

Check out the pics that I shot today. If you can think of anymore you guys would like to see, let me know and I will accommodate.

H

[Stroked95GT]

Great work!!
As for the rim, I would think if it doesnt touch while u spin it freely, then it wont touch with the car on the ground. The wheel cant move once its bolted up. Atleast i wouldnt think it could.

[PETESGT]

Originally Posted by Stroked95GT

As for the rim, I would think if it doesnt touch while u spin it freely, then it wont touch with the car on the ground. The wheel cant move once its bolted up. Atleast i wouldnt think it could.

Thats what my thoughts were to when she told me. However, just in case what is the thinest wheel spacer the make...I would think just for piece of mind bring it out a tad???


GOOD JOB BABY!!

[RLG34750]

Originally Posted by PETESGT

Thats what my thoughts were to when she told me. However, just in case what is the thinest wheel spacer the make...I would think just for piece of mind bring it out a tad???


GOOD JOB BABY!!

1/4" is the thinest

Billet Specialties Wheel Spacers - JEGS

And Heather i was just messin' with ya

you know you are the best.....

[lilgrneyes]

Originally Posted by rlg34750

And Heather i was just messin' with ya

you know you are the best.....

I know you were just playin' Reggie.

I had to make you feel bad for just a second though...hee hee hee.

No hurt feelings here. I remembered to put my thick skin on...LMAO!

I usually remember the thick skin. It comes with the territory.

[lilgrneyes]

And because I am fully retarded and super excited, I have to post pictures of the Auburn ECTED. It came this afternoon and I finally got the time to open the box.

Strangely enough, this is one mod that I am really excited about.

I guess it is the electronics tech in me....ya know the electro-magnet and all the engineering mumbo jumbo.....LOL.

[RLG34750]

Originally Posted by lilgrneyes

And because I am fully retarded and super excited, I have to post pictures of the Auburn ECTED. It came this afternoon and I finally got the time to open the box.

Strangely enough, this is one mod that I am really excited about.

I guess it is the electronics tech in me....ya know the electro-magnet and all the engineering mumbo jumbo.....LOL.

That is sweettttttttttttttt........

hurry and get that in and up and running i have been thinking about buying one....

[302Feen]

Originally Posted by lilgrneyes

The rear end definitely needs some TLC! I found RTV all over the place, and definitely in some places where seals should have just been replaced. We pretty much knew that it all needed to be reworked, so.....

I guess the not so "endless" budget is thanks to Pete's deployment to Iraq. I would have rather had a smaller budget and my husband home to be perfectly honest.

We are on a "Run to the Parts store" break currently. We finally got enough weight in the front to get the struts threaded into the caster camber plates, but the design of these struts isn't well thought out I guess. The lock nut doesn't thread down far enough for me to get a wrench on the only flat spot they provided. So the strut shaft is spinning....LOL. <SIGH> It can't ever be easy....except for the installation of the lower control arms. When that went easily, we wondered what we were doing wrong.....

H

That is the motto me and my dad go by!
When we're working on a car together and it seems easy, we start getting nervous, wondering what we did wrong!

Sounds like everything is coming together just fine though. What did it take to get the struts to poke through the strut towers??

I know what it's like completely re-doing a car like you and Pete are doing. Me and my dad spent 5 years on our '34 and we still have little odds and ends we are always doing. It will be worth it when you take that car out for the first time though.

That "locker" looks really cool BTW...

[lilgrneyes]

Originally Posted by 302Feen

What did it take to get the struts to poke through the strut towers??

After we loaded the front of the car down with 400lbs of sand bags, the struts still weren't far enough through the strut towers to get the Maximum caster camber plates on there. Randy went back to his house and pick up his 16 yo son, who for the record, is a big boy. He also called one of the guys we work with to see if he could lend some a$$ to the front end of the car.

In the end, it took all three of the guys standing on various portions of the engine compartment and 400lbs worth of sand to finally get the springs compressed enough to get the struts bolted in on top.

I copied and pasted that for you from an earlier post, Feen.

I actually really wanted to get a pic of all those guys in the engine bay, but I figured I would lose my help if I tried that.

H

[RLG34750]

I was trying to remember why i didn't have those problems

oh yeah ... aftermarket k-member & coil overs.....

[lilgrneyes]

Originally Posted by rlg34750

I was trying to remember why i didn't have those problems

oh yeah ... aftermarket k-member & coil overs.....

Did you happen to have the benefit of having the engine and tranny in the car still? Along with...well...everything else?

We thought about the K-member and coil-overs. Had to pass for now. Sacrifice does happen from time to time on this build....

H

[RLG34750]

Originally Posted by lilgrneyes

Did you happen to have the benefit of having the engine and tranny in the car still? Along with...well...everything else?

We thought about the K-member and coil-overs. Had to pass for now. Sacrifice does happen from time to time on this build....

H

no the engine was out .....

just put a jack under the a-arm

jacked it up until the strut came though the C/C plate put on the nut...

repeat other side

DONE.....

[302Feen]

Originally Posted by lilgrneyes

After we loaded the front of the car down with 400lbs of sand bags, the struts still weren't far enough through the strut towers to get the Maximum caster camber plates on there. Randy went back to his house and pick up his 16 yo son, who for the record, is a big boy. He also called one of the guys we work with to see if he could lend some a$$ to the front end of the car.

In the end, it took all three of the guys standing on various portions of the engine compartment and 400lbs worth of sand to finally get the springs compressed enough to get the struts bolted in on top.

I copied and pasted that for you from an earlier post, Feen.

I actually really wanted to get a pic of all those guys in the engine bay, but I figured I would lose my help if I tried that.

H

LoL. Thanks for reminding me to pay attention...

The important thing is that you got them in though.

[lilgrneyes]

Originally Posted by 302Feen

LoL. Thanks for reminding me to pay attention...

The important thing is that you got them in though.

I tell my students all the time to follow the acronyms R.I.M. and R.I.F.

Reading Is Mandatory

Reading Is Fun...damental

Just playin'! I do agree with the important part being that we finally got them in. That was a very frustrating week! I hate it when pieces of metal outsmart me!

H