The red on red 1970 Cuda project

[YellowThumper]

Had to put the car on the ground and double check the length for the drive shaft and took a couple pictures of the GV installed

Perfect pics. I didn't realize it was on the very back end.

[Wayne]

Going to put on the water pump housing and pump soon.  Curious, do any of the bolts that hold them on go into water jackets.  Not sure if the bolts require any sealant.  Couldn't find anything in the FSM.

Thanks, hoping for a productive weekend!

[Wayne]

The bad news is we got blasted by a snowstorm a couple weeks ago ...a good 10".  Good news is it warmed up last week and it's all gone now.

  Got the clutch fork in and adjusted. Z bar is in.  Pinned the shifter in neutral and got the shift rods installed. Put MT 90 in the trans.  1-4 feels great.  Reverse seems a little tricky to find but I'm still new to the 833.  Clutch pedal effort feels pretty good.  Not as heavy as aggressive 3 finger clutches   I think I'm going to be pretty happy with the pedal effort
  Started putting the front of the motor on.   Water pump housing, pump, t stat, crank pulley and power steering pump. 

  Going to find some time this week between turkey dinners and get the fuel lines routed.  Just got the driveshaft and need to check my driveline angles.   


  Happy thanksgiving to all!   

[usraptor]

Fantastic progress! 

[Wayne]

Fantastic progress! 

Thank you!

Since the GV is powered by a switch I wanted to hide the wire the best I could.   Decided to mill a .125 x .125 channel in the front of the shifter for the wire to sit in.  Then some clear silicone to hold it in place.  Came out pretty slick


Hoping this weekend I can finish routing my fuel lines.  I'm about half done but needed a few different fittings so I have been waiting on the delivery man.

[anlauto]

That is pretty slick ! I like it 

[Wayne]

I was able to finish up the fuel feed and return.  Added a post pump filter and s fuel shutoff valve.   I stopped the lines on the rail under the alternator.  I just have to route from there up to the regulator which I needed an adapter for.

Once I started looking at the slip yoke for the GV unit, which has 1350 i joints, I just decided to have a driveshaft made with a 1350 in the back.  Dr diff had one so now I have the same joint front and back that I should never have to worry about.  Picked up the driveshaft from dynocomp as they are down the road from me.  Great people and beautiful work.  Went with the aluminum shaft.  Was able to get that in with the new yoke.

Thank God my old 1/2" electric impact got the pinion nut off....it took about a minute before it finally budged!

[anlauto]

A lot of nice stuff hiding under there, looks great !

[Wayne]

A lot of nice stuff hiding under there, looks great !

Thanks Alan I appreciate it. I know it's not a stock build so it's probably not everyone's cup of tee.

I recently finished up the lines to the carb.  Think I will make a support bracket for the FPR though. Headers are on now.  Went with TTI 1 7/8. They fit nice. Followed the instructions and no issues.  Picked up the summit drop base air cleaner.  Had to dimple it in two spots to clear the carb and now it fits nicely. 

Just trying to keep moving consistently...day by day.

[YellowThumper]

Nice work and enjoy following updates.

[Wayne]

Well I must admit things are taking longer than I expected  .  A couple months ago I was really hoping to fire her up around Christmas and before winter really gets kicking here in MI.  It hasn't happened yet...honestly it doesn't bother me as I don't have any pressure to get it done by a certain time and I don't wan't to rush.  On the other hand...our weather here has been very mild    Running my little 30,000 btu propane heater just a few minutes makes it comfortable to me to work.  When things start dipping below freezing outside....thats another story.

  So the latest.  All the mechanical projects are pretty much done for now.  A few days ago I made some adapters for my fan shroud as it wasn't matching up with my Griffin radiator.  Used some press / flush fit studs in the brackets that worked perfect. The radiator fit the car fine at least.

Switching gears now (no not literally yet) and focussing on electrical.  Finished the wiring for the pump at the back of the car.  Had to take some of the interior out to route the pump power wire  along the factory harness and drivers side rocker.  Mounted the fuel pump relay along with the gear vendors control box at the drivers side kick panel.  Made a simple bracket for both.  Keeping them out of site and out of the engine bay as I want the engine bay as clean as I can make it.

  Next I need to route the GearVendors wiring, install the factory harnesses in the engine bay, wire up the new ignition components....

  Now a couple questions regarding the last 2 pictures.     There is a green wire with bullet connector behind the drivers kick panel.  Looking at the wiring diagram this morning I am thinking it goes to the foot dimmer switch? 
Next question is there is a hole in the firewall that I have not been able to figure out what it's intended for?  If it's not used I'm thinking of finding a grommet that fits and use that to pass my new wires to the engine bay.

[Wayne]

I've made a lot of progress with the electrical. Not much to show there picture wise though. I need to hook up the coil and then I will install the battery and check for 12v sources under the dash to finish the electrical.  Plan to do that this weekend. 

This past weekend I took a brake from wiring to finish installing the TTI exhaust. The exhaust was closer to the tank and shock support on the driver side than I expected.  Was surprised it was that high over the axle...,I didn't expect that.   Needless to say I had to reroute my lines a little. Needed a 90 fitting instead of a 45 out of the tank.  Going to install that tonight and hope that takes care of it.  I ended up getting all the pipes on and the tips aligned. I'm pretty happy with it.  Hopefully it doesn't look different once it's on the ground.   Had plenty of clearance with the gear vendors. 

When I was done with it on Sunday my back was feeling it!  Doing this on my back wasn't the most memorable time I've had turning a wrench!

[YellowThumper]

Yea tedious work on your back for sure.
Especially when a soon as you get under. Ya find out you forgot something...


Mike.

[JS29]

Yea tedious work on your back for sure.
Especially when a soon as you get under. Ya find out you forgot something...


Mike.

SO true 

[Wayne]

Had a good week and found some time out in the garage!  I was able to finish wiring my ignition, fuel pump and overdrive.   Also installed the horns.  Ran a tap through the bracket and fender to make sure I had a good ground. Also installed some Firecore wires.  The 45 degree boots were perfect for the headers and angle plug heads

   Put the battery in the car for the first time since last summer... man was I excited yet a little nervous! Was awesome to see the green dash light up again!  First thing I tried was the horn, it worked 😁. Next checked the msd box, yep it had its red light 😁. Next tested the pump to to see it would come on.  Yep 😁. no gas in the tank yet so I just wanted to make sure it came on. 

After that went well figured I would test the clutch switch.  Car in neutral and tried to start the car without pressing the clutch...nope wouldn't turn over 😁 good.  Pressed the clutch in and she turned right over!  😁

ok 👌 knew the car had some light/ electrical issues.  Tried the turn signals...nope 🙁. Headlights...nope🙁. Parking lights yep 😁. Brake lights ... only the driver side. 

Today went to the auto parts store Ed bought new bulbs, flashers for the turn signals and hazards.    Will have a new floor headlight dimmer switch today from Roseville and will try those tonight Hopefully it's that simple.  Haven't done any diagnostics yet.

So my game plan is to pick up some coolant and premium gas and put those in this weekend and check for leaks. 

So the real question is when do I try and start it.. well the the car has a scheduled production build date of February 16.  So why not 50 years later🤘 I have a few things to sort out and double check till then!   Yes there will be a video