Random stuff I'm working on

Also I noticed those high dollar Big Cube engines Pontiac V8 perform no better than what was done 20-30 years ago with 400-455 Pontiac Big Block Cubes 1/4 mile with cast iron heads.
 
I think most of the drop in 1/4 mile times of NA Pontiacs over the past 20 years or so has more to do with chassis, suspension, and tire technology. There's only so much you can improve the 50 year old engine design by changing internal components to modern roller cams and other new technology so power advancements are limited without going to Nitrous, turbos, etc.

This weekend I've been working on prototypes of upper cowl reinforcements to be used with PTFB G-braces. These are "bolt on" items so guys without welders can install them as long as they've got a good drill & bits. Will finish prepping them for paint today and paint them along with a batch of the adjustable lower braces during the week. Hopefully I'll get some time this afternoon and evening to get some work done on MY car! I've been spending so much time on the products I haven't been getting anything done on my car.

 
Pretty Kool Gig You have Going .

Ed and me right now are into 1 off Fab projects.
No 2 cars are the same.

Guys like options Birdman.
Something to keep in mind.
Some of your parts made in Ti Titanium metal would be very neat.
Metal suppliers online to price and order from.

Ed my bud has an itch to Fab all from aluminium .
He lets me do the MIG Welding on mild steel.
 
The Pontiac V8 has a Power curve unlike any other.
Makes the most of off idle to Redline.

Only a Big Block Chevie can match and beat it.
 
I got approved by the Mod Birdman.
Tech is slow there.
Seen your posts.

I chose a user name I never used in the Corvette world , on Max or here on Grumpys.
The Vanity License plate on my 1970-1/2 Trans Am I have had since 1994.
 
Working on a 70 Trans Am RA III 4 speed this week. Replacing almost everything below the sub frame and floor pans. List of goodies includes solid body mounts, frame connectors, springs, sway bars, Del A Lums, Bilsteins, and offset upper control arm shafts. Here it is as it arrived when I took it out for a test drive per the owners request. I've worked on it several times in the past 25 years but this is the biggest project since reassembling after paint back in the early 90's.




 
I'd buy one of those. Mecums has several this season.

I watched a really nice 70 cross at Barrett Jackson Palm Beach earlier this year and it went cheap, not even 45,000.00.

So, out with the old and in with new/used. Here's the goody list. I've been pretty much done with it for several days but have been waiting on some replacement bushings that went missing during shipping two weeks ago. Once I get the bushings and install it's off for alignment.

Hotchkis springs front & rear
Hotchkis Sway bars front & rear
Bilstein shocks tuned for Hotchkis setup
Global West Del-A-Lum bushing equipped upper & lower control arms
Global West offset upper control arm shafts
Moog and Afco steering centerlink, tie rods, idler arm, etc. and ball joints with tall upper ball joint
800 steering box with 12:1 ratio 2-1/2 turns lock to lock.
PTFB GEN II sub frame connectors (bolt in for now, will be welded when underside is stripped & repainted at a later date)
PTFB solid body mount bushings

Had to do some frame repair to fix this wallowed out lower control arm mount.



All of the rear spring pocket hardware was either wrong or stripped, cracked. Hardware was replaced with correct J nuts and grade 5 locking bolts torqued to factory specs.





The rear Hotchkis sway bar being used requires special brackets that are mounted to the floor pan.



Aftermarket rear spring shackles are burley compared to stamped sheet metal stockers.





When installing solid body mounts I grease everything. Seems counter intuitive but reduces creaking while still clamping everything solid.





I do a lot of this type of work using cribs. To install body mounts and frame connectors I want the weight of the car on the wheels as the car would be naturally.





 
I love the detailed posted pictures as they make it so much easier to see and understand what your working with!
 
Well the past couple months I've been building up Lab-14 inventory preparing to open an online store. I'm currently working on the part of business I dislike the most because I'm working on a computer for days writing instructions, setting up website with online store, accounting, etc. Today I'm writing instructions. I hate getting products without instructions or crappy ones that at best only give a general clue how something is installed. Can't tell you how many times I've called tech lines with simple questions that should have been answered in the instructions like "whats the torque recommendation for this or that particular fastener?"

So if you guys wouldn't mind, please read the instructions below that are for front sway bar mounting plates that get welded to 2nd gen F body sub frames. I'm trying to make the parts, installation hardware kits, and installation instructions simple and straightforward so that the average DIY guy can feel confident to buy the parts just go ahead and do the job. Any criticism appreciated! If these seem good I'll write the instructions for all the other parts in a similar fashion. I know there's no pic at the end showing the part welded in. I'm going to make installation videos also and will take a pic of a plate after welding during the video and then a pic after paint and sway bar install showing finish hardware etc..

Sway bar bracket install: Figure an evening to do this with minimal equipment, take your time and don't rush. Although I have fancier tools I only used basic cheap tools to do the job in the pics shown below. Other than a welder, the tools are what most DIY guys probably have or should. The step bit, wire wheel, and C clamp are all just Harbor freight stuff and can be purchased cheap.

Tools:
Something to make right angle location marks, square, triangle, piece of paper, whatever
Marker of some type you can see on whatever color your frame is, grease pencil, black marker, chalk, crayon, whatever
3/8" variable speed drill
Step drill bit that can drill hole 1-1/8" or bigger
Wire wheel
Cutting oil, WD-40, or whatever to make drill bit last longer and cut better but you could do this using a dry bit
Metal 6" clamp of almost any type, C clamp, bar clamp or whatever, just no plastic or rubber that welder would melt
Welder, MIG,TIG, Stick, your choice

Before starting, if the frame is out of the car get it up off the floor and weighted down to hold it stable to make the job go smoother and easier. In keeping with the DIY concept I just put the frame used for the demo pics up on crates and 4 X 4's with a couple bags of mulch on it to dampen drilling vibration and keep it from moving around while drilling, welding, etc. Be creative! If you're doing this on a sub frame still in the car, I'm glad I'm not you. I hate welding overhead!

1. Mark the locations of the rivnuts or original threaded holes in the frame in two directions before removing the old rivnuts. Be sure the marks are far enough out of the way so they won't get scuffed off when cleaning the frame for welding. You can use any type of right angle 90 degrees from the inside straight edge of the frame rail to mark the locations. If you don't have a tool for a square, even a piece of paper will work. See pics

2. Drill out the original holes/rivnuts with a step bit. They work well and you won't need to grind, just run the drill slow, use a cutting oil or some type of lube, and don't let the bit get too hot. Drill out the forward hole large enough so it's almost flush with the edge of the frame. Be careful not to hurt your wrist as the drill bit catches a bit each time it get to the end of a "step".

3. Clean (wire wheel, right angle tool with sanding disc, or whatever) areas to be welded to shiny bare metal, including the edge of the plate.

4. Install the threaded studs (included in the plate kit) into the threaded holes of one plate to act as a heat sink and keep weld splatter from getting in the threaded holes while welding. They only need to be threaded in far enough to just go through the nut and will leave over an inch sticking out. Thread a nut on each stud about half way on. see pic with C clamp

5. Clamp the plate in place on frame with C clamp using the marks you made in the beginning as a guide. HINT: If you move the plates (both sides) so the new forward holes are slightly forward of where the original ones (going by the marks you already made) were you'll get a little extra clearance for the gap between the sway bar and Idler arm. That gap gets very tight when using the fatter modern Afco idler arms with fat sway bars. Moving the plates so that the forward holes are 1/8" - 3/16" forward of where the original holes were won't affect performance of the sway bar.

Because the Lab-14 plates have the holes slightly farther apart than the originals were to make modern fat sway bar installation easier the rear hole may be even or slightly rearward of the original rear hole even with the plates pushed forward to move the front hole forward. This is fine, the sway bar bushing brackets all use slotted holes and when the sway bar is installed during final assembly push it forward so you have the most sway bar to idler arm clearance.

Plate should be set up with studs & nuts as shown in the pic below before welding.

6. Weld plate to frame, remove clamp, plug weld the middle hole if you have later 2nd gen F body frame. No plug weld hole on the early style 2nd gen frame sway bar plates.

7. When cool remove threaded studs. You may need to use the two nuts provided to lock together for stud removal if a little too much heat warped the nuts welded to the back of the plate slightly. Proceed to other frame horn and repeat.

8. TEST FIT & MOCK UP: Thread in Allen socket head cap screws for peace of mind and If you want to you can mock up the clamps for the sway bar bushings and use the clipped washers to check fit. Once you're happy with the mock up put the Allen head bolts and clipped washers in the zip lock bag and tape them to one of your sway bar brackets so you don't loose them before final assembly.

9. When the sway bar is installed during final assembly push the sway bar forward before snugging up the bolts then torque the Allen head bolts to 30 lb. ft.













 
Very impressed with your "Anti Roll Bar" brackets!!

Controlling "body roll" to achieve neutral balance is one of my favorite modifications.

Thanks
Randy
 
John, I envy your discipline and self motivation to keep pushing forward, making these custom parts after suffering significant losses in your recent past. Thanks for these amazing photos, I'm taking notes!
 
Thanks guys! I went ahead and started sending the version of instructions for the sway bar mounts posted above.

This was included in instructions

Tools:
Something to make right angle location marks, square, triangle, piece of paper, whatever
Marker of some type you can see on whatever color your frame is, grease pencil, black marker, chalk, crayon, whatever
Cutting oil, WD-40, or whatever to make drill bit last longer and cut better but you could do this using a dry bit


The next day I got an email from a guy who used crayons and he got carried away with spraying WD-40 that started to wash the crayon away.
 
John, I envy your discipline and self motivation to keep pushing forward, making these custom parts after suffering significant losses in your recent past. Thanks for these amazing photos, I'm taking notes!

Dodged a bullet this week with the storm passing by out at sea. Really thought I'd loose my roof if the storm came through as predicted. I've got too many other things to get done without dealing with a roof.
 
I have a building lot on the east coast I stopped paying insurance on, even that was costing me stupid money for nothing.
 
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