Chronological Build

One thing we really wanted to do was change the fastening means for the gear shift handle and the gear shift cable retaining clamp....So the right side body had to come off.  No big deal, but you have to remove the front suspension.  One note: you'll find that the a-arms have a bit of "pre-load" on them when they're installed.  Do not adjust this out by screwing in/out the rod ends.  The arms are jigged and will be closer to the right caster settings if you leave them alone.  I found that an alignment pin really helped in getting the a-arms on and off.

This picture is of the right side of the car with the body and front suspension removed.

And here's what we did when we had the side removed...we welded the jet nut that is behind the shifter pivot bolt to the chassis.  This makes it much easier to deal with when the body is on.  We also put 2, 10-32 nut plates behind the bolts holding the shifter cable clamp...eliminating the need to hold nuts.

I've been working a lot on the plumbing...and here's a shot of the plumber's nightmare.  Really not too bad, just a tight space.  Two things to note:

1) In the upper right corner you can see the pickup (the rubber hose) going to our fuel pressure sensor

2) At the inlet to the pressure stage of the oil pump, you can see a "T" fitting.  One end of that "T" goes to the oil tank.  The other end goes to a "Jiffy-Tite" dry break.  This is how we're planning to drain the oil.

Speaking of plumbing, here's what we did to accommodate the engine breather connection.  First we bought a steel, -6 AN barbed swivel fitting.  We cut a short (1") piece of 5/8" O.D. steel tube

Then we cut the barbed nipple off the fitting.

And welded the two parts together...making the adapter shown here.  Now, I do know better and the tube should have been beaded.  We'll see how long before it falls off.

More to come in the next day or so!
 

Barry Mumm