So it begins.......

[tucker298]

I'd like to introduce myself, My name is Brent and I've secretly lurked on this site for almost a year. I've owned Camaros most of my life and my last car was a heavily modded C6 so I guess it was only a matter of time before I stumbled across the GTM. I read several build threads and watched fast things videos logs out of curiosity, which grew into a uncontrollable desire to build one myself ,mixed with a healthy fear of the huge task at hand. Ignoring Friends and wife planting seeds of doubt " do you know how to wire a car from the ground up", " have you ever done any body work", " do you know what you're doing"? Well the answer to all these questions are no, but I bought the car anyway haha. I've worked on cars my whole life being a gear head but truth be told most of the work was minor repairs and bolt ons. This forum and its appetite to help each other out is literally what gave me the confidence to build my own super car, but first things first, where do you build a car like this? In the same garage you share a mini van and a toy armada of pink scooters, bikes and trikes from 3 little girls? No, this project calls for a special place, a sanctuary of testosterone and solitude. So my thread begins with this, the build....... Not the car build, not yet...... The build before that, the garage build. Luckily for you guys I've already finished it so you don't really have to see updates of a slow weekend garage build.

[tucker298]

Of course there's a tree in the middle of where the city tells me I need to build it.

http://s12.postimg.org/6g2pbibq1/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/6g2pbibq1/)

http://s12.postimg.org/sdz65aqqh/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/sdz65aqqh/)

[tucker298]

Making progress

http://s12.postimg.org/3pxys24ex/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/3pxys24ex/)

http://s12.postimg.org/umhy0dn89/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/umhy0dn89/)

http://s12.postimg.org/ea7wan8wp/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/ea7wan8wp/)

[tucker298]

My wife calls it my YouTube garage because I've never built something of this scale but I had no issues each step of the way thanks to YouTube videos :cool:

http://s21.postimg.org/yeykfch7n/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/yeykfch7n/)

http://s21.postimg.org/gaqygyu5f/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/gaqygyu5f/)

http://s21.postimg.org/oez2lpgkj/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/oez2lpgkj/)

http://s21.postimg.org/5y4nuw0mb/image.yjpg (http://postimg.org/image/5y4nuw0mb/)

[tucker298]

She's home

http://s10.postimg.org/qxea9b5ad/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/qxea9b5ad/)

http://s10.postimg.org/tq7htc5mt/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/tq7htc5mt/)

[RumRunner]

Tucker,

Welcome to the GTM community! Indeed it is a great group of folks. Always there to help. Congratulations on the garage .... I waited until I was two years into my GTM build before I built a new garage. It was easier to do bodywork and painting in a stand-alone garage since my wife can detect dust and solvent smells from three miles away. Good luck on the build!

-Michael

GTM #327 - Completed November 2013. Lots of cool add-ons from Shane, Crash, Ted, Thomas, and Mike.
Not-up-to-date-build-site: http://rumrunnergtm.weebly.com

[Presto51]

Welcome Tucker,

Yes we are all here to help. With the combined knowledge from the members you will get-er-done. Just don't be a stranger and keep the updates coming with pictures and video.

What's your build plan?

Ron

[fastthings]

Congrats, love your GTM's new home. Good luck with the build. The harder it is, the bigger the pay off.

[68GT500MAN]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new build.
Doug

[tucker298]

So the car came with an LS1 mated to a freshly rebuilt G50.03 which I'm sure is plenty fast for a 2,300 lb car but you only get one chance to build your dream car and I came across a slightly used LS3 and pulled the trigger on before doing much research on here. Now I'm in need of a new wiring harness, PCM and throttle body. There's probably more things that I'm not thinking of right off the bat but in the long term it's what I truly wanted so I'll gladly deal with the swap. Besides the motor accessories I'm tracking a couple of other minor issues through searching the forum, please let me know if I'm missing something.

An LS1 water pump needs to be used
A slight modification on one of the motor mount brackets needs to be done
The valley cover needs modding to turn the intake around
It's my understanding that the stock oil pan can be used and is being done by a current member even though it's close
I'm using stock exhaust manifolds so I'll be using stock motor mounts

What am I missing? Or misunderstanding?

Thanks so much for your help

http://s24.postimg.org/vm0hebzm9/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/vm0hebzm9/)

[tucker298]

Ron,

The build plan is the LS3 power plant with a mild cam, mated withe the G50.03 to complete the power train. The electronics will be run completely by an infinity box hooked to an iPad. The removable iPad will control the windows, Ac and music etc. I know I want to get a cable linkage, some door poppers and a few things from crash as well but the LS3 and iPad controlled car were my two must haves. im very interested in lukin4troubles digital dash system he just released but even though I have a rough over all plan I'm just focused on getting the LS3 fired up. When I think too far down the road I get overwhelmed ha. What I really need is for work to keep me home long enough to get some momentum going on the project! I'm stationed at Ft Bragg NC so the units there tend to deploy fairly often.

[Fraser D]

Brent,
Congratulations on starting your build.
Looks like you are off to a great start with plenty of room to lay out your project.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Welcome! Gotta say, I love the man-cave motif! Molon Labe!

Sounds like you have a plan for a very nice GTM in the end. Good luck!

[tucker298]

And this is how all projects go! So I was happy with just putting in the LS3, my friend shames me into doing at least a cam swap, which is turning into a cam, some head work and a ported intake AND THATS IT! ��

I'll be waiting on my laundry list of parts to come in now,
LS3 custom harness, PCM and MAF from spear tech
Brian Tooley stage 2 cam kit
Brandwood cable shifter
LS1 water pump

And the heads to get done

[seanranger3]

Tucker,
I come to Fayetteville all the time. Next time I could through I would love to see the car. I'll let you know next time I a, in town.

Sean

[tucker298]

Sean,

Absolutely! I live on the southern pines side of Bragg. Next time you come through I'd love to show the project off to you.

[tucker298]

Sorry I haven't updated my post in awhile, I knew as soon as I started this project I would get a call to deploy and that's exactly what happened lol but I'm back now and I can't wait to get this thing fired up! But first I need some parts and I have some questions about my wiring harness and was hoping you guys could shed some light on it for me, how long of a tail do I need for the harness? And when it comes to "emissions equipment removal" what do I need romoved? Thanks for the help! Below is the email from spear tech so you can see exactly what he asked from me

Hi Brent,

Yes, the E38 would be the preferred ECM for your setup. We are running around 2 weeks on lead time at the moment.

On the GTM's we usually build the harness for a reverse mounted intake manifold, so let me know if that's what you are planning too.

We can provide the harness only for $950 or as a package including the ECM, throttle pedal, MAF sensor with tube, and front O2 sensors.

Here's an overview of what we offer:

This package was specifically developed for the LS2/LS3/LS7 crate engines with the 58X crankshaft sensor. The complete LSx/T56 custom stand alone wiring harness and computer package sells for $1495.00.

The package includes the following:

A new stand-alone LSx/T56 wiring harness. The harness includes a check engine light, diagnostic connector, fuel pump relay, fuse block, and labeled wires for easy hookup to the battery, ignition switch, and fuel pump. Wires are also included for tach, speed, electric fan relays, and A/C functions where applicable. These custom stand alone harnesses are built for full function, closed loop control, and designed for non-emissions use (no post-cat O2's, purge canister, or fuel tank evap interface). The standard length of our new harnesses is 3.5'. This length is measured from the back of the engine (where the harness forms a single trunk line), to the location of the ECM, and is typically designed for mounting the ECM inside the cabin area.


The package comes with the GM E38 ECM fully programmed for your application including: VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) removal, emissions equipment removal (whatever you don’t need or are not using on your swap such as: catalytic converters, rear O2 sensors, fuel tank pressure, EVAP), torque management removal, etc.

The reprogramming lets your engine run properly without the “check engine” light being on unless there is a problem with the engine that needs to be addressed.

Since the LSx is an Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) engine, the electronic pedal is also included in the package.

As with all Speartech packages our systems can be serviced with any late model diagnostic equipment designed for GM vehicles.

Options available:

Sensor package (includes correct front O2 sensors and MAF sensor for one-stop shopping): $400.00

Emissions package (wiring for rear O2 sensors and charcoal canister control): $100.00


All wiring harnesses and PCM's are fully tested on a running engine/transmission test stand at our facility before shipping.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck and stay safe wherever you are deployed!

Thanks,



John
Speartech Fuel Injection Systems, Inc.
3574 E. State Road 236
Anderson, Indiana 46017
(765) 378-4908
(765) 378-4981 (FAX)
www.speartech.com

[tucker298]

No input from anyone?

[RumRunner]

Brent,

The guys at Speartech know what they are doing. I believe they have built several harnesses for GTMs.

If you plan on mounting the ECM in the "normal" GTM location (passenger side engine bay) then 3.5' should be plenty long. You definitely want it set up for a reversed intake manifold. I'd also get the sensor package at minimum, since you'll need the front O2 sensors and MAF no matter what.

As for the emissions control equipment, many GTMs (including mine) are registered as exempt from emissions regulations. It really depends on what state you live in and how you register the vehicle. Since I didn't need to pass emissions in Maryland, I don't have typical emissions control parts in my setup (no rear O2 sensors, no purge canister, no evap control). I still run catalytic converters, though I don't have to. I suspect most GTM owners delete the emission equipment as well.

You may want to compare prices for the harness/ECM/sensors with Shaun Carter at SMC Performance. Shaun did the harness for my GTM and provided all the parts and help when I needed it.

http://www.smcperformance.com

Hope that helps. Any questions, PM me.

-Michael

GTM #327, Completed November 2013. Not-up-to-date build site: http://rumrunnergtm.weebly.com/

[tucker298]

Appreciate the info! That's what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure before I pulled the trigger on a several thousand dollar purchase, and I plan on registering it as a kit car here in NC and that means I am emmisions exempt. (According to the dmv website)

[VD2021]

Ron,

The build plan is the LS3 power plant with a mild cam, mated withe the G50.03 to complete the power train. The electronics will be run completely by an infinity box hooked to an iPad. The removable iPad will control the windows, Ac and music etc. I know I want to get a cable linkage, some door poppers and a few things from crash as well but the LS3 and iPad controlled car were my two must haves. im very interested in lukin4troubles digital dash system he just released but even though I have a rough over all plan I'm just focused on getting the LS3 fired up. When I think too far down the road I get overwhelmed ha. What I really need is for work to keep me home long enough to get some momentum going on the project! I'm stationed at Ft Bragg NC so the units there tend to deploy fairly often.

Congrats and I here you.

I've been off active duty since 2010, but my current job has called for many, many TDYs and long days lately.

[tucker298]

Hey Vidal, I'm actually from central Florida, born and raised. Even served in the Florida National Guard before going active. Grew up in Sanford, my wife's family still lives there and we visit about twice a year, will probably come down thanksgiving or Christmas, would love to see your car and pick your brain about the build process!

Speaking of the build process, I ordered up some parts, a Brian Tooley stage II cam, the Speartech wiring harness with computer and MAF and the header tank kit/heater bypass valve. Looking to get this project rollingx

[tucker298]

So I'm taking some time in between putting up Christmas lights to sneak into the garag and pull the heads off so I can drop them off at the machine shop then swap the cams so I can finally get to putting her back together! also need to get that sensor plugged so I can get the manifold turned around and do a little more research to make sure I know what it takes to get this LS3 to work.

http://s23.postimg.org/j3a6yzk13/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/j3a6yzk13/)

http://s23.postimg.org/pfpc8tn3b/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/pfpc8tn3b/)

http://s23.postimg.org/44rs4k4yv/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/44rs4k4yv/)

http://s23.postimg.org/ykxp2oqhz/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/ykxp2oqhz/)

[RumRunner]

Brent,

I noticed you have the gold-blade throttle body on your engine. I found out the hard way that the GMPP crate-engine ECU requires the silver-blade version. Here's the link to my experience:

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/42-factory-five-gtm-forum/397674-silver-not-gold.html


Good Luck!

-Michael

[tucker298]

Thanks ALOT for the heads up!

[tucker298]

The packages keep on rolling in!

http://s15.postimg.org/61udyb8br/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/61udyb8br/)

http://s15.postimg.org/k6vlmdrzb/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/k6vlmdrzb/)

[tucker298]

Got the heads back from the machine, had them put the springs in, a 3 angle valve job and freshen them up. They look great and hopefully with the Brian Tooley cam ill have a very tame 500 hp car or close to it ( ironic statement of the day, tame 500 hp 2350 lb car) just got done pulling everything off and cleaning off the block of the residue, it's ready to go back together tomorrow night! Can't wait to at least get the motor together and back in the car so I can clean and reorganize my garage. The welding of the oil valley cover came out good, first time welding pot metal.

[tucker298]

Motor is back together! ...... Almost, need to put some of the accessories on and get the belt on. BUT for sneaking in and out of the garage in between holiday parties and events I'm just glad to have tangible evidence of progress ha

FYI The MLS head gaskets are sharp! Although I'm sure everyone already knew that lol went to wipe out the cylinder with the gasket on and it cut my knuckle wide open and it stayed open ..... I will now add band aids to the build list lol
http://s17.postimg.org/jhcrsjtm3/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/jhcrsjtm3/)

[crash]

If you're using Band Aids you're doing it wrong! Paper towel and duct tape work much better! :)

[tucker298]

Well she's ready to drop in, I know I'll have to take some of those accessories off to drop it in but I want to fit them to make sure everything went on ok and I'm glad I did! One of the holes for the alternator bracket didn't quite line up so I had to open that up a bit and the the idler pulley was about a 1/4 in too far out and had to cut the spacer down to fix that. Soooo I think I'm finally ready to drop this things in! Will be nice just to free up all the space around the car the engine, engine stand and the engine hoist take up.

http://s8.postimg.org/i4xtyozyp/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/i4xtyozyp/)

http://s8.postimg.org/wa3n0i901/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/wa3n0i901/)

[tucker298]

The motor is finally in! I'm alittle surprised at how hard it was being I was simply dropping a motor into a bare frame .....if I could do it over again, I would do it with the water pump removed. That would've cleared a lot of space and I ended up having to remove it anyway to move the motor forward enough to get the compressor bolts in. When I removed it, in about 1min with the belt on it, I wondered to myself why I left it on to begin with. So I made it more difficult than it had to be. I was excited though at how easy the custom wiring harnes went on. all the connectors were labeled and I was feeling like a pro knowing where everything was and going so fast until.......the alternator sensor was too short! Sooo I'll have to extend that tomorrow, all in all it was a good day and I'm motivated again after seeing the motor in!



http://s13.postimg.org/vslatlbgj/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/vslatlbgj/)

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[Aceflo]

Excellent Pictures ...keep em coming.

[tucker298]

Soooo par for the course so far..... I was excited about keeping my momentum going into the garage today and installing the transmission! Buuuuut as I started to collect my thoughts I looked around for the first thing to come to mind and that was the pilot bearing, well I bought the car from another forum member who had just started the car but he had put an LS1 in the car which I pulled out and sold...... And probably with the pilot bearing still attached. Not that I would re use it but had I seen it I would've remembered to order one to replace it! So anyway I called KEP today and ordered one (26 dollars) at what I thought was a great price for a custom made piece. So I'll wait till the part gets in.

[tucker298]

So I dropped the motor in before I left for Florida and now now that I'm back ( and have the pilot bearing) I couldn't wait to put the transaxle in. The wife even came out to help me move the transaxle around and help get it in place! I was a little nervous about the clutch fork part of the install but I just taped it up and it stayed in place ......the second time ..... And the install actually went pretty smooth

http://s21.postimg.org/rjlhk7ter/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/rjlhk7ter/)

http://s21.postimg.org/cz4epdyg3/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/cz4epdyg3/)


I ordered a cable system that should get here next week so I'll use this week to do a few of the smaller things like buttoning up the pcv system and the heater bypass valve system. Then I'll start to wrap my head around the fuel system and the Evap part of it. I'm slowly getting closer to firing her up! I can't wait.

[tucker298]

http://s27.postimg.org/x8p6yqzhr/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/x8p6yqzhr/)

http://s27.postimg.org/oceeut8vj/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/oceeut8vj/)

Shane's brackets came in today! So I was able to quickly get my gas pedal and ECU put in the car, will use his shift mounting bracket when my cables come in and use the ISIS (infinity box ) cell mounts when I get around to electrical. Theses fixes are so simple but would be so hard for me to figure out and make on my own lol so thanks for supplying these products Vraptor speedworks!

The other photo is just me showing off my new color coordinated shop items lol

[tucker298]

Still waiting on my shift cables to come in, went ahead and ordered the infinity box set up for the car to include: the 20 circuit kit, in motion, battery reserve, In touch net,in dash max and I wanted to order the in vironment module to control the vintage air and he wanted to know if it was a gen 4 vintage air. I'm not home so I couldn't go into the garage and see if it's labeled right on it so hopefully it is. If it's not easily labeled gen 4 kit, how will I be able to tell what generation ac kit I have?

Also I think I read that people were going with a Toyota Corolla shifter to use with the cable system? If so what years will work so I can get that ordered up, or what shifters are you guys using ?

[Aceflo]

Keep up the posting. I'm really enjoying seeing you make progress on your car.

I bought my GTM right before Christmas, and I still haven't had the opportunity to get to working on it.

[tucker298]

Thanks Aceflo, I'm out of town this weekend but I'm really hoping this month and February are going to be big months for progress for the go kart phase!

[tucker298]

Are you looking for a picture filled update on a pretty easy step that most people can figure out on their own? Lol well look no further!

My CAI came in this week and I really wanted to get it in the car so I could install the MAF sensor and check off that all the connectors are connected from my wiring harness and get the fresh air line hooked up so I can cross off the PCV system on my list.

First thing I did was hook up the first few pieces, thanks to rum runner, I knew I had to make a bracket to hold up the weight of the CAI system and where to mount it but I didn't know exactly I was going to do, all in all pretty simple, I just bought a 3/4 " aluminum strip of metal and used very simple tools to get it done

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_20.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_20.jpeg.html)

After choosing which bolt I was going to use to run the bracket off of I needed to know roughly how long my piece of metal needed to be, so I used this rubber hose to figure that out and added a couple inches because I could always trim it

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image.png.html)

Then I just measured how far away the bolt was from the tubing so I knew where to make my next bend to start going around the tubing, I just used two pliers for that bend

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_25.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_25.jpeg.html)

Then using some clamps I just bent the metal strip around the tubing

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_26.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_26.jpeg.html)

When I completed the bend all the way around the tubing I made one more bend in the strip and drilled a hole through both layers so I could run a bolt through to clamp the bracket down on the tubing

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_28.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_28.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

Now I just needed to remove the MAF sensor from the tube that speartech sent me
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_27.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_27.jpeg.html)

I cut it out in a small square

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_29.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_29.jpeg.html)

After finding the right place on my new CAI to install the MAF sensor I cut out a slightly smaller square

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_32.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_32.jpeg.html)

I then put JB weld under the larger square piece ( MAF sensor) and set it on top of the smaller square I just cut out, ensuring their was a good seal all the way around

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_31.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_31.jpeg.html)

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_35.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_35.jpeg.html)

Then with the "vacuum kit" ( PCV intake) from spectre I just drilled a hole on the under side, put the rubber grommet in and place the plastics piece in it and connected it to the intake on the valve cover for the fresh air portion of the PCV system, all in all it was a fun afternoon with the car, got to check a couple things off the list and better yet it LOOKS like I got something accomplished lol

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_34.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_34.jpeg.html)

Little man approves

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_33.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_33.jpeg.html)

[WIS89]

HAHA, little man says let me try Pop! Love that picture.

I've enjoyed following your work so far, and I have serious garage envy!

Keep up the good work.

Regards,

Steve

[crash]

Just a heads up... I don't seem to be able to see the MAF sensor in the finished pictures? Is that because it is on the bottom side of the intake tube?

If I am not mistaken, the instructions say to put the sensor in the upper half of the tube diameter. Probably just a technical detail for moisture or something, but I do believe it is the called for installation position. You might want to double check the instructions. :)

[tucker298]

So I went into the garage all fired up to make some progress on the car annnnd I left the garage about four hours later with more problems then I came in with! No progress was made and I wasn't really happy about my decision to build my own super car lol why didn't I just hit the easy button and buy a C7!? I'd be driving it right now with the top off and the radio blaring......but I apparently enjoy the pain. So here's what happened

1. I tried to find a good place to mount the header tank, but couldn't find a place that I wanted..... I think the brass connectors are too bulky I'll see what's out there to fix that but I would say that one of my many weaknesses is my knowledge of various automotive connectors.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_38.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_38.jpeg.html)

*update* so when I went out to take a picture today of the connectors a new configuration hit me, if I can get them to both come into the same side on not from the bottom it will help.... We'll see

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_39.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_39.jpeg.html)




2. So i put that to the side and figured I'd get around to routing the rest of my engine harness wiring up the tunnel and connect the sensor on the gas pedal and get the ODB sensor routed up front as well, only to find out that speartech wasn't even close with the length they gave me! Short about two feet! And I already had to extend the alternator sensor, so I called them and they are sending me extenders for those two connectors, not ideal because I'd feel like when you spend that much money on a custom harness that you shouldn't need to piece together extenders to make it work, I know people can move around things on the GTM so it can be hard to know how long to make every single wire BUT the computer has a designated place and the throttle pedal sensor and ODB connector will always be in the driver foot well. Well they are fixing it so I will say I'm satisfied and will move onto all the other issues with my build



3. Then I decided "well I'm going to get something done! What does the manuel say I need to do next?" And that would be the battery tray. Great! That's easy enough! After an hour of sifting through all the sheet metal pieces and all the boxes to ensure its not somewhere it shouldn't be, I had to accept that I don't have it. Called factory five and just told them I couldn't find it and it was probably my fault. I offered to buy the piece, they are sending it to me free of charge! Now I know it's a cheap piece but the kind gesture was what I needed after a frustrating morning with the car

4. Sooo I decided to at least look at relocating my AC accumulator, where I want to put it will require some fabbed up connectors...... Ofcourse. This is where it wants to be but I'd like it over to one side. Where have other people put this?

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_41.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_41.jpeg.html)



5. Finally, I started to look at the fuel tanks, I set them in place and mocked up the fire wall and the top pice that holds the rear window has notches for the top tubes of the body frame ....well my notches aren't spaced right so I'll have to carve that out so it will sit flush against the frame sigh as that point I closed the garage door and walked away

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_40.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_40.jpeg.html)

[Aceflo]

Hang in there Brent! Remember, issues like these are the reason people appreciate seeing custom cars.
If building GTMs was easy, then there would be a lot of them out there. Our cars are pretty damn unique with every build, because the owners are engineering the solutions to each little problem.

Now back to work!!!

I expect to see that firewall fixed by Monday. :p :cool:

[kabacj]

Hey Tucker.

Your build is looking great.

Regarding your question on the AC accumulator.

That's the spot you should mount it. I went a little overboard with my mounting solution but I think that's what makes these builds fun.

I used the corvette accumulator bracket. Next I made a bracket to weld to the frame.

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w389/kabacj/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/842EBD67-CC4D-4802-B065-33F299D4F464_zpseypkgsd1.jpg (http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/kabacj/media/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/842EBD67-CC4D-4802-B065-33F299D4F464_zpseypkgsd1.jpg.html)

Here is the bracket welded to the frame.

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w389/kabacj/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/16720CAF-8298-47C1-BB28-6BFBB3C215AB_zps0lvgofr7.jpg (http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/kabacj/media/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/16720CAF-8298-47C1-BB28-6BFBB3C215AB_zps0lvgofr7.jpg.html)

And here it is installed.

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w389/kabacj/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/E82B538A-D1DF-4EB0-84F6-FFD118D4592F_zpsq91vkfiy.jpg (http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/kabacj/media/Factory%20Five%20GTM%20roll%20cage%20modifications/E82B538A-D1DF-4EB0-84F6-FFD118D4592F_zpsq91vkfiy.jpg.html)


Hopefully that's helpful. Oh and PS all the work to build your own car is well worth it.

John

[mlkwd1]

The last picture is what it is all about! What until he is 6 or 7 and see the look on his face. Having the dad with the coolest car is awesome.

[Fraser D]

5. Finally, I started to look at the fuel tanks, I set them in place and mocked up the fire wall and the top pice that holds the rear window has notches for the top tubes of the body frame ....well my notches aren't spaced right so I'll have to carve that out so it will sit flush against the frame sigh as that point I closed the garage door and walked away

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_40.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_40.jpeg.html)

You probably need to sit your body onto the chassis to see where the cage bars run in relation to the roof line.
A few builders, (myself included) had to move one or both bars to get the correct clearance between the bars and the body.
The installation and welding of those two bars is a manual one without the use of a set welding jig at the factory.
The reason why I am raising this as a possibility is that the window bulkhead is CNC laser cut so there will not be any variation from piece to piece and that item, from the ones that I have seen fits better then in your photo.

[tucker298]

Fraser D,

Thanks for the insight on that! From what you said that makes sense as to how it could happen....... It just shouldn't lol

And update with the speartech harness, they fabbed up the 2 extensions that I needed and shipped it to me FAST, so thank you to speartech

Getting to work on the fuel system now, cutting the tanks for the crossover tube and waiting on my lingenfelter internal pump to arrive, I really wish I had a part store with a full line of AN fittings that I can just grab off the shelf and see if it works BUT I don't see I'll be ordering some parts and hoping they work, for instance I need to connect the fuel filter to the rail, but the angle is too steep for just a fuel line to connect it because the line kinks so I'll try some angled AN fittings
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_44.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_44.jpeg.html)

[MTSCustoms]

Here is what I did. They are both 3/8". The parts are a Russell 3/8" EFI 6AN Hose End, 6AN stainless braided hose, normal 6AN Hose End, and a Male EFI to Male 6AN adapter. You can also run the same Russell EFI fitting on the other side of the filter and into and out of the sending unit. The return is the outer one on the other side, and is 3/8" as well, but the inlet to the filter is 5/16". Both the output and the return are 3/8" on the sending unit.
http://i1307.photobucket.com/albums/s590/MTSCustoms/20160120_1718511_zpsorz3stxi.jpg (http://s1307.photobucket.com/user/MTSCustoms/media/20160120_1718511_zpsorz3stxi.jpg.html)
http://i1307.photobucket.com/albums/s590/MTSCustoms/20160120_1718451_zpsszgapsbd.jpg (http://s1307.photobucket.com/user/MTSCustoms/media/20160120_1718451_zpsszgapsbd.jpg.html)
http://i1307.photobucket.com/albums/s590/MTSCustoms/20160120_1718371_zps9emynotj.jpg (http://s1307.photobucket.com/user/MTSCustoms/media/20160120_1718371_zps9emynotj.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

MTS customs thanks a lot for the photos! Your filter is set back just a little more than mine is and I think that's keeping yours from kinking but I did finally find the AN fitting I needed to make it work.....I think lol hopefully all those parts and my fuel pump will come in this week so I can wrap up the fuel system next weekend.

[crash]

It looks like you may have the "new and improved" fuel adapter fittings, but I can't really tell from the pictures. If the fuel rail fitting does not have a screw in part that makes it impossible for the fitting to pop off the rail...THROW THAT AWAY AND GET THE NEW DESIGN ONE. Trust me, tens of thousands of dollars of potential damages is just not worth it.

[tucker298]

I'll check that out for sure! Thanks for the heads up and PLEASE keep checking on my updates to be a more experienced set of eyes.

[carbon fiber]

x2 on checking the rollcage making contact with the body. Many people have had to cut the rollcage halo off and redo because of the contact with the body. On my kit the firewall didn't fit the tubing just like yours. My body, when sitting on the frame in the door jamb made contact with halo on top. Any stress on the body after paint can cause spider cracks in the gelcoat over time. (And NO, it shouldn't come like this for 25k)

[tucker298]

Finally got the lingenfelter in tank fuel pump done and got the crossover fitting drilled in, I have 01 fuel tanks, glad I didn't have 03-04 they seemed like a lot more work according to the manual. I get that with the driver side (GTM driver side) tank it only has two lines coming out of the bottom and they just get looped to each other, essentially cancelling them out, but the manual doesn't address what to do with all of the lines on top of the fuel tank.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_50.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_50.jpeg.html)

Also, the fuel filter has two outlets, an 8mm and a 10 mm. The 8mm connects to the only 8mm on the passenger tank, that's easy enough, but there are two open 10mm lines left at the bottom of the tank, which 10mm line does the fuel filter line connect to AND what do I do with the other 10mm line that's left?

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_45.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_45.jpeg.html)

[MTSCustoms]

Looks like you have already drilled the drivers tank, but do yourself a favor and call Shane and get a kit to block off where the sending unit goes, and he will also set you up with the proper gaskets to seal the bulkhead.

Cap off every single port on the tops of the tanks except for the one exiting directly above where you will be attaching the filler necks. Use that on with a short piece of rubber hose as a vent, 1 on each side.

[alaaelsheikh]

Wow I'm so jealous of how awesome your garage came out! Congrats your build looks great!

[tucker298]

thanks alaaelsheikh!

and mtscustoms, I did order the crossover kit from Shane but I'm not a smart man and I drilled the wrong side gas tank so I couldn't use the block off plate he sent me, but I did use all the washers that came with the kit. Did I put them on in the wrong order? From the inside of the tank out I have the threaded black nut pushing on the all metal washer which is pushing on the rubber washer that is against the fuel tank and then on the outside of the tank I have that hybrid washer that is metal on the outside and rubber on the inside circle that is against the outside of the fuel tank being secured by the threaded black nut.

[tucker298]

Finally had a great day in the garage! Got a lot of stuff done, the fuel system is buttoned up with all the unused ports blocked off, got the fuel tanks installed and the shifter installed.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_62.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_62.jpeg.html)

Had a hard time finding any good pics of this bracket installed for the cable shifter and the instructions are the worst!!!

I had no idea what I was doing lol but luckily it really wasn't that complicated, so for everyone coming behind me here are some pics, it really only goes together one way so if you see a good pic that's all you really need and hopefully this saves you some frustration.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_60.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_60.jpeg.html)

The instructions don't even mention this piece so a call to rum runner was needed to clear it up, the pic isn't the best but you can see that it's a stabilizer and you just drill two holes into the transaxle fin where it wants to rest and it really shores it up on the left and right movements
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_61.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_61.jpeg.html)

I used the back bracket of Shane's kit to hold the shifter and instead of welding up the front bracket I saw someone else post a pic of using a one inch bar and just riveting it on and that seemed too easy to pass
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_58.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_58.jpeg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_63.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_63.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

Also got the plates that hold the fuel tanks riv nut in. I wasnt sure of the tanks just resting in there without a bracket but they are surprisingly firm. Still might make a bracket though.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_54.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_54.jpeg.html)

Also finally got around to installing the battery tray and battery and wow is that a tight fit......like everything else.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_53.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_53.jpeg.html)

Need to rethink how I have the heater core lines coming through the tunnel, they are really close to the battery, the metal tubes connecting the rubber lines to the vintage air could be shorter to give some relief in that area, I'll put that on the long list of small things to figure out

BUT I'm getting very close to needing my infinity box system to come in! I don't want to be waiting on it to come in and have it hold up progress.

[tucker298]

Sooooo I finally turned my attention to the exhaust and I found out I have one last LS3 issue....the ls3 exhaust manifold is different in several ways and doesn't mate up to the factory five cat pipe, the factory five cat pipe has a three bolt flange and the ls3 manifold is a two bolt flange.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_66.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_66.jpeg.html)
Easy enough fix right? Just order up an ls3 2 bolt collar and weld it up ..... Well not so fast, the ls3 exhaust manifolds "collector " is much farther back than the ls1 manifold, and it empties al it's straight down and the ls1 empties more at a 45 degree angle

Here's the ls3 exhaust manifold
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_65.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_65.jpeg.html)

I don't really want to drop 2k on the kooks exhaust, I really thought I could just fab a 180 degree 2.5 pipe to come back up from that ls3 manifold and come back over the axle to mate up with cats..... But ofcourse everything is so tight, the suspension bolt holding the lower a arm is only 4 inches away from the manifold and it's not enough space to fit a U pipe, sooo I did find these ctsv manifold which have a much shorter neck and a 45 degree exit so I think I can work with them, and only 60$ on ls1 tech classifieds.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_67.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_67.jpeg.html)

Hopefully this works with a minimal amount of fabricating

[tucker298]

Also the H pipe mounting hardware uses the same bolt off the transmission that the cable shifter bracket uses, and there's not enough room on that bolt for both the bracket and the exhaust mount, any ideas?

[RumRunner]

Also the H pipe mounting hardware uses the same bolt off the transmission that the cable shifter bracket uses, and there's not enough room on that bolt for both the bracket and the exhaust mount, any ideas?

Longer bolt :p

[crash]

You should look around some more. Those "LS3" manifolds that you show are much different from the LS3 crate engine manifolds that we have been using. The difference is that the ones we have are center dump, which means it gives you a lot more room to work with because the manifold exit is much further forward. I would check ebay for LS3 manifolds. The last time I got a pair for $50 shipped.

EDIT: It looks like you have the Camaro style, and these are the Corvette and crate engine style...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-2013-Chevrolet-Chevy-Corvette-C6-Exhaust-Manifolds-PAIR-12576823-OEM-LS3-/141905762225?hash=item210a3e17b1:g:Q6gAAOSwPc9Ww5E B&vxp=mtr

[tucker298]

Crash, thanks ALOT!

[The Stig]

The last picture is what it is all about! What until he is 6 or 7 and see the look on his face. Having the dad with the coolest car is awesome.

LOL.

My Grandson was over a while back, when I had Pandora in MY garage. We started her up so he could hear her run. His eyes opened up a little. Then I blipped the throttle a couple of times and got the RPMs up, and got the Kooks exhaust singing. That seemed to light him the rest of the way up, and out came that car-guy smile.

When I shut her down, he said to me, "If you would pick me up from school in this car, I'd be the most popular guy there!"

So, if she's ever finished, I plan to pick him up and take him for a ride around Charlotte before he has to go to Baseball practice.

It should be fun.

Mike

[tucker298]

I remember back in the 80's my dad picked me up from school in his convertible Porsche, I was the coolest kid in school for days! If you drop him off at school or practice it will be something he'll never forget. Memories like those that have muscle car ties might even be the reason he wants to wrench n his own car one day!

[tucker298]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the wiring in preparation for the infinity box getting here. I pulled out the fuel tank harness and couldn't figure out what exactly I needed from it, I'm not using the evap part and I believe the drivers side fuel level sender is not needed, so that only leaves one plug from the harness to be used, the plug for the passenger side which powers the fuel pump and gives the input for the fuel level.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_72.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_72.jpeg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_70.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_70.jpeg.html)

The harness I got from speartech has a relay and a grey wire labeled "fuel pump" to power it so I'll splice that right into that plug
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_71.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_71.jpeg.html)
but what does fuel level (blue wire) get spliced into? Directly to the fuel gauge? If I'm way off on this someone please chime in.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_69.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_69.jpeg.html)


And as far as the speed sensor goes, since I'm not using ABS can I just plug that sensor right into the ABS sensor on the rear break?

[tucker298]

I know theres been a lack of updates from me but there's been a lack in progress! I did swap out the "Camaro" exhaust manifolds that came with the crate motor and put on the corvette ls3 manifolds, the Camaro ones were NOT going to work
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_75.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_75.jpeg.html)

Looking at the exhaust, will still need to fab up the section between the manifolds and the H pipe but it won't take too much, will swap out the cats for mini bullet race mufflers to cut down on the heat a little, cats do get ridiculously hot, this will just get me through the first couple of starts with the engine, I'll then put a second but longer borla bullet muffler at the end of the h pipe, that will hopefully quiet the exhaust down a little without too much restriction, we'll see how that experiment goes.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_74.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_74.jpeg.html)


I did figure out where to mount the H pipe exhaust bracket, most people seem to have the kooks with the cable shifter BUT if you don't want to drop another couple of grand on the exhaust like me then you'll find out that the same bolt that the exhaust bracket uses is being used by the shifter cable bracket on that side, so I drilled a hole in the cable bracket, easy fix!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_73.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_73.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

I've been waiting two months on my infinity box smart wiring system. They told me it would take two weeks when I ordered it. So I finally emailed them since I hadn't heard anything from them. I'm not a rude person but my email was up front, Jay from infinity box promptly replied and gave me a very detailed reason for the delay and an over all sense of how their business is going. It was a long email and the time he took to explain was appreciated. My kit was going to be shipped this week so I told him to add to the order the environment control and the alarm key fob, he gave me a great discount on those two items to further apologize for the delay. I must say they made up for it and I'm a happy customer. Even got the tracking number today so I know he was correct about it shipping this week. Thanks infinity box.

[tucker298]

Still waiting on some exhaust parts and a few pieces from infinity box so I took some time this weekend to bed liner up my front fender wells, the previous owner installed them bare unfortunately, thought I would have to take the front suspension off but was able to tape around it.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_77.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_77.jpeg.html)

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_76.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_76.jpeg.html)

Also sprayed the coolant over flow delete panel that I got from Shane, was easy to bend correctly, I would put this as a must have if you do away with the turtle

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_78.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_78.jpeg.html)

Next weekend I should be wiring up the car!

[tucker298]

So I'm getting ready for the wiring still, waiting on the rest of my electrical components from infinity box, should be here any day now, so I ripped out the the painless wiring that was about 80% wired up from the original owner, you might ask yourself why I didn't just finish the painless wiring and save all that time and money? Well I really had two things on my "have to have super car list" which was an LS3 powered car controlled wirelessly by an iPad, or smart phone. So out with the old

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_79.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_79.jpeg.html)

It's just as well really, the wiring wasn't really done to my standards and I probably would've redone it anyway


http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_80.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_80.jpeg.html)

Im excited about getting started with the infinity box system as opposed to feeling less than motivated to tackle the traditional wiring setup

[tucker298]

So i finally figured out a way to and where to mount my coolant can from crash, until now I just had it zip tied to my frame. Heres a few pics to show the process just using an angled aluminum piece and a flat sheet of aluminum
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_84.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_84.jpeg.html)

Trace the can and cut that piece
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_83.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_83.jpeg.html)

Find out the angle the angled pieces need to be riveted on the keep the can level
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_85.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_85.jpeg.html)

Cut and attach angled pieces
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_86.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_86.jpeg.html)

Coat with bed liner to match rest of engine bay just in case
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_81.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_81.jpeg.html)

And done

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_87.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_87.jpeg.html)

[RumRunner]

Just tried calling ....

I think you'll find with the tank mounted in that location that once the body is on it will not be possible to see into the tank to check coolant level, and nearly impossible to fill. :( I could be wrong, but worth checking. I know in my car I wouldn't be able to access that area easily, and I check my coolant level all the time.

-Michael

[Edgeman]

I was going over your pictures of the MAF sensor, Question: why did you have to cut it in when one is made for your set up?
51497

[RumRunner]

Just tried calling ....

I think you'll find with the tank mounted in that location that once the body is on it will not be possible to see into the tank to check coolant level, and nearly impossible to fill. :( I could be wrong, but worth checking. I know in my car I wouldn't be able to access that area easily, and I check my coolant level all the time.

-Michael

So I took another look and maybe you'll be ok. When you open the hatch wide the leading edge of the hatch moves toward the rear of the car, leaving a gap between the body and the hatch. You might get lucky and be able to see the fluid level and fill the tank through there.

-Michael

[tucker298]

Hey Edgeman! I go to your build sight often for ideas so thanks for that gift to the community.

I cut out the MAF sensor connector from the tube that speartech sent me with the harness, it was an unpolished tube, and I ordered those exact part numbers that I got from another thread, I didn't even look to see if they made a tube like that. That's news to me lol. So I just made due with the parts I had copied from that thread.

[Edgeman]

http://www.spectreperformance.com/search/product.aspx?prod=9705
4" MAF sensor adapter kit from spectre.
For anyone that maybe doing the same set up. No cutting.

[Edgeman]

JEGS has all the Spectre parts. MAF is $ 31.99
http://www.jegs.com/i/Spectre/865/9705/10002/-1?parentProductId=2380512

They have a kit if you want to tie the valve covers and other vents in to the intake tubes.
Remember that the MAF is calibrated to have these routed in to the intake. All for the emission's and if your state requires this.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Spectre/865/8711/10002/-1?parentProductId=3596320

I did not do this but when I talked to Shaun with SMC he did recommend having these tied in to the intake. Run through a catch can first then up to the intake.

[tucker298]

So I've been super busy lately and the car has been on the back burner

As far as the car goes infinity box finally sent me all the parts to my system, took almost 3 months! And just in time for me to get the yard ready for spring and have surgery on my arm Friday, finally getting a plate removed that's bothered me since they put it in! So I'm excited about that. I still really want to hit my goal of firing up the beast next month! One of my mechanic friends is coming up to help me with the car post surgery, thankfully the heavy lifting is done for now so I should be able to make some progress during my two weeks of leave post surgery.

This update was mostly for rum runner, he probably thinks something is wrong if I'm not calling him every weekend with my latest road block on the build lol

[RumRunner]

This update was mostly for rum runner, he probably thinks something is wrong if I'm not calling him every weekend with my latest road block on the build lol

Haha! I was indeed wondering what's been happening. Good luck with the surgery!

-Michael

[tucker298]

Well I took this week to heal up from a surgery, next week will begin the electrical! Couldn't help but sneaking out the garage out back and start tinkering,trying to figure out cell placement, the master cell is an easy choice by the steering and I'll probably put a plate to cover the hole in the rear where I believe the factory fuse box went but up front is still a toss up

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_90.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_90.jpeg.html)

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[Fraser D]

Just keep in mind that the problem that I have with anything under the dash in my GTM, fuse panel, relays, etc is that I can't get my head up in there to see what is going on without removing the drivers seat or using a mirror. If possible mount your components that need to be viewed on a hinge panel.
Other than that just take your time with recovery. I never could and have had to deal with the consequences.

[tucker298]

Hinge panel! So simple and brilliant, thanks Fraser D

[tucker298]

It doesn't look like it but I know what's going on here! Lol this part of the build intimidated me but thanks to infinity box and phone calls to some friends I've pretty much got it figured out.

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[tucker298]

Could someone let me know if all the power cables from the cabin fit through this hole?

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_92.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_92.jpeg.html)

[kabacj]

Could someone let me know if all the power cables from the cabin fit through this hole?

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_92.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_92.jpeg.html)

Hey Tucker. Yes you can use that hole as a pass through especially if you plan to mount your relays on the aluminum that would be known as the firewall in a front engine car.

I personally re arranged the wiring since I used the infinity box (Isis) power distribution box. Regardless of how you wire the car just keep in mind that easy access to fuses and relays once the car is assembled is important. Seems obvious, but after the body and windshield go on your access to the dash area and under dash gets a lot harder. Instead of standing next to the car you are on your back in the foot well.

Actually I just read your earlier posts. I fed the power to the Isis down the center tunnel. The wires that go between the master cell and power cells easily route across the car through available holes. This keeps the drivers foot well less cluttered with wires.

[tucker298]

Kabacj, thanks for the reply! I guess to be more specific with the wires I intend to run through that hole is the plug for the throttle, the obd2, all the thick wires coming from the back of the gauge panel and the infinity box can cable, seems like a lot but I think it will fit, and is there some wiring that I'm not planning for that will also go through there?

[tucker298]

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been busy with work and family but a milestone has been reached!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xi63Ft248rw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://youtu.be/xi63Ft248rw

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid822.photobucket.com%2Falbums% 2Fzz150%2Ftucker0298%2FIMG_0002.mp4&title=">

[tucker298]

https://youtu.be/xi63Ft248rw

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xi63Ft248rw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Why can't I embed the video?!

[tucker298]

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_96.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_96.jpeg.html)

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_95.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_95.jpeg.html)



So I'm trying to quiet down this beast, I did leave the stock LS3 manifolds on and put a race muffler on each side before the H pipe, now I've got these in and I'll weld them up after the H pipe, I'll also send it off to get coated once it's all said and done. I should have about 300 dollars wrapped up in the exhaust before coating. I do like the kooks exhaust, more on the wide open side than idle, but I've blown the go cart budget already and am trying to save some money here on the exhaust. There is a chance I hate this set up when it's all done and if so I can just replace it down the road but these will suffice for now either way.

I should be done with it all this week and I'll post pics of the whole system.

[tucker298]

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_97.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_97.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

More progress! My cheap exhaust system is finally done....... Kinda, I didn't remount the factory five adjustable exhaust attachments that go from the H pipe to the transaxle, I'm going to see if there's something else I can use with a rubber bushing, I don't like the fact that the exhaust has nothing to allow flex from the motors movement. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_98.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_98.jpeg.html)




Now that I know she starts and the wiring is good I'm starting to put wire loom on and do a better job of routing the wires, if you can't really see the wires in the pic that's a good thing! Lol the wires really do blend into the black panels.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_100.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_100.jpeg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_99.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_99.jpeg.html)

Notice the before pic, I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to clean up the wires to look good enough but I'm pretty sure I've got this under control now.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_93.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_93.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

So the exhaust is on, I'm still having troubles getting the motor to idle. I thought it was a vacuum issue but I fixed that and still having problems. I have a friend coming over this week to check the tune and codes to see what the issue is. I did send the computer off to get it tuned with the cam info and that should've been close enough so not sure what the issue is but I was able to turn the motor over and rev it a few times, I liked what I heard from the exhaust.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_103.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_103.jpeg.html)

I finally turned my attention to figuring out the AC canister, I was going to mount it in a unique spot in front of the metal divider on the fan/radiator side but after looking at it again I figured out a way to do it that only requires me to heavily modify one line instead of two. First I had to cut and re-weld the head of this line at a different angle to line up the bolt hole

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_106.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_106.jpeg.html)

Then I just made a really simple bracket to hold the canister to the frame
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_104.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_104.jpeg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_102.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_102.jpeg.html)

And it fits nicely

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_105.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_105.jpeg.html)

Now I still need to figure out a shop to fabricate me a special line to connect these two

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_107.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_107.jpeg.html)

[beeman]

Hard to tell where your MAF is, do I see it there by the filter?
Here is what the GM crate engine control system instructions have to say about it:

"Ensure the MAF sensor is oriented correctly in the induction (it will
only read correctly in the proper direction). An arrow is located on the
sensor indicating correct flow direction. Verify this before welding the
mounting boss, as the sensor will mount only one way in the boss.

Ensure the MAF Sensor is mounted in the middle of a minimum 6 inch
length of 4 inch diameter tube, and is a minimum of 10 inches from
the throttle body."

Those curves in your intake, while sexy, may be sending turbulent air through the MAF...

[tucker298]

Thanks for the heads up! I did realize the MAF needed that much space for a correct reading but I'm not sure I knew the sensor was directional lol I'll double check to see if I have it right

[tucker298]

Beeman! I owe you one! So the MAF was backwards lol I'm embarrassed, It didn't completely fix the problem but it greatly improved it. The motor revs smoothly now and it wants to idle but just can't do it, will have a friend come over with the right tools to scan the ECU and see what's going on. He's pretty certain the base air flow needs to be bumped up.

Now second issue/concern of mine, the oil pressure shoots to 40 when I rev it but doesn't even register at idle. I've been running down a few small leaks and there was a small oil leak right at the oil pressure sensor so I assumed that was the culprit. I tightened it a little more and the oil leak stopped but the oil pressure at idle didn't improve.

[crash]

This is pretty normal. IIRC oil pressure barely reads on the gage at idle and the book value expected at greater than 4000 rpm is around 25 psi. 40 is pretty high. I don't think I have ever seen that high on a stock LS engine. You might be running some thick oil.

[mlkwd1]

Now second issue/concern of mine, the oil pressure shoots to 40 when I rev it but doesn't even register at idle. I've been running down a few small leaks and there was a small oil leak right at the oil pressure sensor so I assumed that was the culprit. I tightened it a little more and the oil leak stopped but the oil pressure at idle didn't improve.[/QUOTE]

I have a LS3 in mine and when it is warm it runs 22-24 lbs and higher RPM it gets to 36-42 lbs hot running 10W30. You may want to plug into your computer are read what the computer is seeing. Mine shows about 3 lbs lower than my digital dash gauge. If it were zero you would hear it.

Michael

[tucker298]

So the verdict with the rough idling engine is....... The fuel is WAY too lean at idle. So I packaged up the ECU and sent it back to get re-tuned with the adjustments needed.

I pulled the valve covers and there's oil pumping up through the push rods at idle so I'm not too worried about that anymore, I'll get another gauge on the oil pressure but I know it has some.

And my exhaust was a little off center when I installed it, turns out that one of the sections welded up was a 1/2 inch longer than the other so I'll trim that back and get it back on next week around the time my ECU gets back hopefully!

I had coolant leaks in several places,the brass fittings on my over flow can and where the water pump hoses meet the coupler to the metal tunnel tubes. Rookie mistake on the brass fittings I guess, my mechanic friend said you can't use the tape on those threads you have to use the TFE paste, and I shouldn't be surprised the water pump hoses leak at the coupler, the clamp tighten down on the soft hoses and there's nothing solid to bite on, I need to slip a short metal pipe inside the water pump hoses so when I tighten the clamps it has something rigid to bite on to.....in hind site I probably would've just kept the corrugated stainless steal bendable coolant hoses factory five gave me.

And while I wait for my exhaust and ECU to get back I'm doing some small stuff that I've put off for some time now, like painting up some panels and installing a few more

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_110.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_110.jpeg.html)

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[tucker298]

And I did get the drier canister all hooked up, just needed to adjust the metal head on one fitting by cutting and rewelding it and the other hose I mocked up with a brake line and found a shop that makes hydraulic lines and for 40 bucks they had me a longer line that could make the downward turn and connect the canister to the AC unit.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_111.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_111.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

So i just went to order the roof scoop from factory five and its $100 for shipping?! That's half the cost of the scoop itself

[The Stig]

So i just went to order the roof scoop from factory five and its $100 for shipping?! That's half the cost of the scoop itself

You've gotta love freight company rates for fiberglass or carbon fiber. If it's a large box that weighs 2 pounds, you're going to pay through the nose. When I bought my roll bar cover kit, I think I paid 399 or something like that. Freight to get it from Califonia to Charlotte was around 400 or more. But I wanted it for the car...

Shane always made sure that we didn't get ripped off too much on his parts.

Enjoy the build.

Mike

[tucker298]

You know I was thinking, if it's was 300 bucks and said free shipping then I probably would not have said anything lol

[tucker298]

Ordered some goodies today!

Adjustable seat bracket from factory
Shane's brackets seat brackets
Shane's E brake bracket
Roof scoop from factory five
DEI heat wrap for my battery and infinity box power wires going through the tunnel

I keep thinking I'm almost ready to put the body on but I keep finding more things I need/want to do. I'm anxious to move on to the body but trying not to rush it only to cause problems down the road.

[Aceflo]

Hey Tucker...Keep at it man. I was gone for while, but came back to really enjoy seeing your progress. :)

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

You've gotta love freight company rates for fiberglass or carbon fiber. If it's a large box that weighs 2 pounds, you're going to pay through the nose. When I bought my roll bar cover kit, I think I paid 399 or something like that. Freight to get it from Califonia to Charlotte was around 400 or more. But I wanted it for the car...

Shane always made sure that we didn't get ripped off too much on his parts.

Enjoy the build.

Mike

Thanks, Mike! Yes....that is why the majority of my louver parts ship flat and require assembly. They simply get to large and too expensive to ship once formed to shape. Shipping charges have really gone up a bunch in the past year thru UPS and USPS.

[tucker298]

Hey Aceflo! Yeah it's getting exciting again. There was a little bit that the progress was real slow and I wasn't sure if I'd ever figure out a couple issues I was having without spending a ton of money, but with help from here and local friends we eventually figured it out. Now it's just a matter of getting out in the garage and finishing up my punch list. Which never seems to get smaller lol everytime I go out there and scratch three things off I think of three more things to add.

[tucker298]

Car is retuned and starting up and idling MUCH better, my friend will come over and scan it to see how close it is for a drive able go kart tune. No more leaks! And the wifi finally works so I could start my car with my phone. Like I said before, the build is really fun again ...... Don't bring me down by bringing up body work lol.

I do have a couple issues though, my starter doesn't always seam to engage..... It just makes a spinning sound, other times it engages just fine and starts right up. Thoughts?

Any ideas for where to put the inMotion module? It was on back order and just came in and I didn't really have a good plan for placement...... I kinda forgot about it.....my power cell is up front by the AC canister and my rear cell is by the fuel filter. Is there an ideal spot to put for easier wiring to the window motors?

Thanks for any help guys!

[mlkwd1]

"I do have a couple issues though, my starter doesn't always seam to engage..... It just makes a spinning sound, other times it engages just fine and starts right up. Thoughts? "

Tucker, I chased low voltage issues at the solenoid terminal for a few months along with some parasitic battery draining issues. I was getting the solenoid pulling in but not consistently engaging the starter motor, especially when hot. The battery draining turned out to be a failed vintage A/C control box that was intermittently engaging my A/C clutch with the car running or not running. Found that one by accident when replacing the battery/adding a second ground strap. I heard a click that sounded just like the A/C clutch when I landed the last cable. Replaced the starter was next because the current draw seemed excessive but hard to tell what is normal when the small Porsche starter is trying to turn a V8. That helped but still not consistently starting when hot. After a lot of hours trying to work with wires that are buried through the interior of the car, I never found the cause of the lower than expected voltage at the starter solenoid. What I did to correct the issue until this winter when I can pull the interior apart is install a relay near the starter that is power directly from the battery cable and jumps 12 volts direct to the starter solenoid. I used the original wire from that went to the solenoid to pull in the relay. Works perfectly.

Once I get to the harnesses and can do some invasive troubleshooting this winter, I think I will find the solenoid wire size is too small or there is a bad connection somewhere on one of the slices.

Your issue sounds like you are partially pulling in the solenoid, enough to pick up the starter motor but not enough to push the Bendix of the starter out into the flywheel or you have a defective sprag clutch in the bendix of the starter. Either one would be a starter replacement as a solution. You may also want to put in a temporary second ground off the starter to the frame and see of anything changes. I looked for a few month for a high torque replacement and never found one so I ended up with the Auto Zone rebuild for $200 and it works perfectly.

[tucker298]

Thanks for the input Michael!

[tucker298]

JUST VENTING

So I wanted to be able to adjust my driver seat, I saw the thread on the other site that talked about the different options. I went with the factory five roadster seat tracks and bought the brackets to mount them. The seats in the "how to" thread were gen 1 seats and the brackets from factory five have changed slightly from when the thread was written but I didn't think it was enough of a change to matter. Ofcourse with everything on this car, you find out 1.) after a lot of hard work how something might not work out the way you thought and 2.) there's never enough room to comfortably do anything!

So what am I frustrated about? When I put the seat in, unbolted down, to see where they should be mounted.....I hopped in the seat with a little bit of excitement being my first time really being behind the wheel of my dream car, and the excitement slowly faded away is it seemed like everything was wrong. My last car was a lowered C6, I'm use to falling into a car to get in, but the gtm's seats with high sides and the roofs low height is exceptionally more difficult to fall into. The next thing I noticed was the Halo bar about an inch away from my head, that with padding on would more than likely be touching my head, I'm only 5'11, and yes the seat is practically sitting on the floor pan. Then the steering wheel seems to be closer than it should be....... Not sure if I can adjust that yet. I was not really happy about all of this and went to get out of the car and the struggle to get out began. I just walked way and closed the garage door. Before you start flaming me about what did you expect from a race car built for the street ill explain a few things. First of all, I'm just venting AND hopefully I can adjust some of these things to more exceptable ranges. Second I am a little mad at myself for making such a large investment without ever going to see one! So many members would gladly offer up their car for a walk around and sit in it. The cost of that trip would've been pennies compared to the cost of the build. So I'll take any advice on seating/steering wheel/ pedal setup. I'm heading back in to the garage to look at this with an open mind.

[fastthings]

I think you'll be happy. Tilt wheel is nice, telescoping is not necessary, mine stays all the way in. I had to move the location of the wheel just a bit, to make me happy.
Scrap the adjustable seat, just like the wheel, you won't need to move it.
Weld some L brackets to the floor and get it as low as you can, get it the angle you want and go with it.
At your height, it should feel nice and cozy.

Thant's my opinion

[beeman]

Trust me, the disease isn't as bad as the cure...
I sat in FFR's GTM at London years ago (maroon I think?). Same deal, I'm 6'3". Very difficult in/out but the seats had huge bolsters. For me that was doable, but I was worried about headroom /banging a roof bar - especially with a helmet. But I loved it - and so did my wife which is essential- so I bought one. Now I'm dealing with my self imposed purgatory of making it more personalized, basically giving it a new cockpit.

[Aceflo]

I was surprised how difficult it was going to be to get into this car AFTER I drove to Texas and bought it. Umm.... yeah .....I cant see over the hood hardly. The seats that are going into this car are made of carbon fiber and they have pretty high bolsters. The seats are not mounted on slides. They are dropped to the floor and mounted with custom brackets. My first attempt to sit in this car was pretty laughable.....actually ...... getting in was not as bad as getting out. LOL
Anyhows, after discovering that the steering column was a tilt column, I find getting into and out of the car was much easier with the wheel tilted up.

With the current arrangement, the inside of the car feels pretty roomy "so far". :)

58139

They are pretty comfortable in the current position, but I think I'm going to change the angle a bit. I'm 5'6", and I want to see over the hood a bit more.

[mlkwd1]

Tucker, I had issues with the seat location/design as well. I am 5'9" and the seat sat so low that I could hardly see over the dash and with the 5 point harness on, I could not see out the side of the car at a crossroad that was any less than 90 degrees. Tried several seat arrangements including raising it 1 inch and moving it forward an inch. This helped dramatically but still not right and the seats felt too far inclined (unless you like feeling like you are doing a luge). I had a more significant issue I wanted to fix. The 5 point belts had no pass-through slots on the seats and the one on the inside of the car would just about fall off my shoulder so I had to wear the sternum belt as well. I spent the money to buy the Kirkey seats from FF and installed them with the Kirkey brackets. What a major improvement. I mounted the passenger seat all the way to the rear but my seat is about 2 inches forward and sits a little more upright made easy with the slotted brackets. The Kirkeys seats have a much more upright design than the FF seats and put me where I can see out the side and over the steering wheel. They are super comfortable and you can ride in them all day. Here is the drawback. With the seat set in the optimal position to drive. I have to have a quick release wheel to get in an out. These seats are higher on the sides and are harder for me to get in an out over the high sides. Out is not too bad but getting in seems torturous.

Michael

[Fraser D]

I cut down the sides of my Kirkey drivers seat to allow access without issues with the steering wheel.
The seat still supports my thighs and does not allow my legs to move around on track days.

[mlkwd1]

Fraser, This looks like a good winter time project while the rest of the interior get some attention. Though 5'9" I am about 220 and my lower back is not great so it is fairly difficult to get in over that spot you cut down. Track days were my issue for really needing to change the seats. These are a 100% improvement in keeping me where I am suppose to sit and the seatbelts are much safer with the pass-through slots.

Was the seat cover pretty easy to modify to fit properly or did you just leave it alone?

Michael

[Fraser D]

I have not cut down the cover yet but it is something that is on my to do list.
From looking at it I don't see it being an issue for someone with decent upholstery sewing machine.
I have included a photo that better shows the process of how I cut the seat.
Once the seat was mounted I just drew a line parallel to the door line.
Oh and disregard the rail adjuster as I eventually discarded this and just bolted straight to a sub frame that I welded in. I did not like just bolting to the floor pan.

[Roger Reid]

I also used the Kirky buckets. The key as Dave pioneered, is to remove the edging, shape the seat and re attach the edging. Shaping the outside of the seat to be flush with the frame member allows entry and exit much nicer without loosing side support. His pictures show this.

If I had to do this again, I would cut and re weld the inside seat belt bracket to inside the tunnel. Then re do the tunnel sheet metal to seal off the tunnel. This would give more room to move the seat closer to the tunnel as to align the seat center to the steering wheel center.

[tucker298]

So I've run into a streak of bad luck it seems, the car ran rough at first but not overly concerned, the tune was off. Sent the computer off to fix identified issues and the car ran better but not great. The car started slowly running worse, ended up being fouled plugs. Replaced them and it ran better again, so I started looking into the low oil pressure issue that I brought up earlier. Put a mechanical gauge right at the source and sure enough, only 5 pounds of pressure at idle! Pulled the intake out of curiosity and the valley cover. The lifter valley was covered in oil. Seemed like the welded smooth oil pressure boss was not sealing at the gasket. The oil spray pattern seemed like that's where all the oil was coming from. After further inspection the bottom of the valley plate wasn't as smooth as it could be wear the oil pressure boss was welded shut and smoothed down. So it made me hope maybe that was the source of the lost oil pressure. I took it to the fab shop at my work and they smoothed it out quite nicely, I also put a ring of silicone on the top on bottom of the gasket to get a better seal. I let it dry over night and started the motor today. No change ,sigh, still 5 pounds of pressure at idle. Oh and a new fuel leak haha why not. Soooo I'll be pulling the motor and have a friend go over the motor with me. I'm guessing at this point the oil pump has an issue or the o ring came off somehow when I put it back on after the cam swap. Not happy about this. Was just finishing up wiring the AC and tidying up,the wiring to get ready to move onto the body ......instead I'll be pulling the car apart. Of course I have a deployment coming up and was hoping to leave with the car on the up and up. Now I'm afraid I'll be struggling to get her back together before I leave.

[crash]

I took a quick look around on the net and I do see that most are reporting around 30 PSI at idle. I can tell you that hot we do not see that on our engines, but it may be a gage issue? We run our engines long and hard and have not had any oil related failures...knock on wood. We run the specified Mobil 1 oil. We run a partial dry sump system that still uses the stock pump for block pressurization, so it should be the same as any other wet sump crate engine as far as oil pressure is concerned.

All that said, I think I would check your gage and then also check the blue o ring at the pump that is commonly pinched or cut on installation before getting too crazy with tearing your engine apart. Next thing I would check is the thrust bearing tolerances, which, IIRC, can be done with a feeler gage after removing the oil pan.

[tucker298]

Thanks crash! I was hoping you'd chime in. I have a hunch it's the o ring at the pump too. I know that is a common issue and thought I was cautious of it but maybe not. We'll see. Unfortunately I have to pull the motor to Check that.

[tucker298]

So I got off my "woe is me" arse and picked up a wrench! It comes apart a lot faster than it goes together lol
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_115.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_115.jpeg.html)

And it'll go back together just fine...... Eventually. I'll get a new starter now which I needed and I'll rotate the plug on the compressor

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_116.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_116.jpeg.html)

I'll let you know what was wrong with the oil pressure situation

[Aceflo]

Good to see you still at it.

[tucker298]

Thanks aceflo, hope your build is going smoother lol

[Aceflo]

My build is going super smooth ..... I walk out into my garage. I see the car sitting there. I say to the car .... "Wow. You are going to be awesome someday". Then I return inside the house and work on my long honey-to-do list of things not GTM related. :)

[The Stig]

My build is going super smooth ..... I walk out into my garage. I see the car sitting there. I say to the car .... "Wow. You are going to be awesome someday". Then I return inside the house and work on my long honey-to-do list of things not GTM related. :)

LOL! Sounds like you're on the smart path! It might take a little longer, but there's a chance that your wife will stay happier about it for a longer period of time.

And yes, it will be awesome when it's done.

Mike

[tucker298]

Ok! So let my mistakes help out future builders lol so the oil pressure situation was completely my fault. When I put the pick up tube on the oil pump it was not completely seated. For the life of me I don't know why GM only uses one bolt to keep that tube on when there are two bolt holes. Luckily my friend Tyler who is a real performance mechanic helped me out and found the problem in about two seconds and then showed me this product
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_2.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_2.png.html)

[tucker298]

The other thing he pointed out was my flywheel seems to be warped slightly, which may be part of my starter issue. Hopefully the pic does it justice and you're able to see the slight warp, it's warped in a couple areas, any suggestions on this? Buy a new fly wheel?

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_118.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_118.jpeg.html)

You can see how tight the fly wheel is against the metal on the top of the pic and how it has slight seperartion starting halfway down.

[crash]

I would be surprised if the flywheel is warped/bent. More likely the issue is with the ring gear that is mounted to the flywheel. I would put a dial indicator on the flywheel with it mounted on the engine and see if there is any runout. If not, then the ring gear not being perfectly flat really should not make for any significant problems.

[tucker298]

Random question, I wonder if those bolts holding the ring gear are all equally torqued too, do you know the torque specs for those bolts? Couldn't find anything on the googles.

[crash]

I believe the adapters/flywheels sold with the kits come from Kennedy Engineered Products. You might want to give them a call?

[tucker298]

UPDATE. She's back together! Starts up and idles with 50lbs of oil pressure. What a relief! Taking this step back allowed me to find out I had a loose rocker, a seized up AC compressor (bought a new one) and a bad starter (bought a new one). The new starter works great. I have a few things to button up tomorrow but I'm back on track and in a better position for taking a step back. Not that I really had a choice lol with 5 pounds of oil pressure you kinda have to but glad I did now.

[tucker298]

https://youtu.be/FknUv0_me6g

Quick video of the progress!

[LCD Gauges]

Nice that you have mufflers installed. Are they baffled? The exhaust note lends itself to a straight shot pipe. :cool:

[kabacj]

Well done Brent.

We all go through our little trials. I know I did.

Hey since this is your first super car build a few minor mistakes are part of the process.

The pay off when you drive it for the first time even as a go kart is so much fun hard to explain.

Looking forward to seeing that video!

John

[Aceflo]

Love it Brent!

Keep it up man...

-Rick

[tucker298]

Unfortunately I'll have to leave her like this for a little bit, I was hoping to have the body on before I deployed but pulling the motor put me behind schedule. So I'll have to wait until I get back stateside for that. I'll still have internet so I'll be lurking around the forum. This will give the Stig some time to get Pandora just right for my visit when I get back lol and for Aceflo to finish his honey-do list!

[tucker298]

so random question but who knows maybe it'll work, awhile ago Factory Five had a blow out sale on carbon fiber rockers and splitters. They sold out quick! I'm hoping some ordered some up as extra's or have changed their mind about them since then are tired of seeing them in there garage. If so, i would love to buy them from you! PM me if you want to sell them, thanks!

car update.... as i'm getting closer to coming home, I'm trying to stock the garage for my return. I'm in the middle of ordering the LCD gauges from Tino, very excited about that upgrade.

Hopefully i can find a friend to grab my wheels and power coat them black for me.

I really like those taillights from MTS customs, hopefully we'll get some updates on those before i get back

this is a LONG ways away but i have the iPad running the car via infinity box and will get a iPad dash kit from soundmanca. i wanted to run the audio from the iPad as well obviously, i was looking at the different wiring solutions to go from iPad to amp when i ran across a new amp from JBL that has bluetooth built into the amp! perfect, I'm thinking that a pretty niche market but hopefully its a good one and more options come out by the time i get to that point

[The Stig]

so random question but who knows maybe it'll work, awhile ago Factory Five had a blow out sale on carbon fiber rockers and splitters. They sold out quick! I'm hoping some ordered some up as extra's or have changed their mind about them since then are tired of seeing them in there garage. If so, i would love to buy them from you! PM me if you want to sell them, thanks!

Good morning Sir. I happen to have an extra set of rocker extensions and a splitter. But the splitter is for a Gen 1 nose. If these will work, you can have them for the price of shipping. I got them pretty cheap from the Factory Five Open House clearance sale 3 or 4 years back. I have no idea what it would cost to ship since they're big and weigh nothing. (Bad combo for shipping costs).

Let me know.

Stay Safe!

Mike


****
Correction: I asked my wife to double check in my garage, to make sure that I have the rockers. She sent a picture, but I can't tell 100% that what I am seeing is the rocker extensions. I will be home tonight, and will check again, and let you know. But I do have the Gen 1 splitter.

I also noticed that Factory Five has a set of rockers listed in their "Attic Sale" section for $100.00. I can't remember what they charged for shipping.

Mike

[tucker298]

Mike I think I just found a reason to beeline it to charlotte when I get back! And I'll pay you whatever you paid for them. I'm saving money either way so that's a win win. You gotta love this forum!

[tucker298]

Ok let me check their website real quick, if I remember right I ordered them awhile back and they were out of them and just didn't remove them from the website

EDIT yeah I just checked and when you try to order them it says out of stock

[The Stig]

Mike I think I just found a reason to beeline it to charlotte when I get back! And I'll pay you whatever you paid for them. I'm saving money either way so that's a win win. You gotta love this forum!

Hi Buddy. I just got in, and double checked the storage shelf in my garage, and I do have the rockers, and they're yours. However, the splitter that I have is for a Gen-1 GTM nose. I'm not sure if that will work for your car or not. The lower lip of the Gen-2 is shaped a little differently. I'll leave it up to you though. If you want it as well, it's yours. If not, there is another forum member here that would like have it.

All this time, they've been collecting dust: and now look... :) LOL.

Take care!

Mike

[tucker298]

Mike,

That's great! So the splitter won't work of course but I'm halfway there with the rockers, thanks! I'll pick them up in March!

[The Stig]

Sounds good. Looking forward to meeting you. I should have Pandora back at home when you get here.

Mike

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBO_YndW2cU

So maybe I just have too much time on my hands but I think the basis of this idea is really cool. Especially with our cars and the engine being visible. With the car sitting there, it would look like a normal intake but when you start it up the design will show through on the intake once it starts to warm up. I'm thinking a subtle black and gray American flag waving. Anyway take a look and get some creative juices flowing. He also has some really good tips about painting using spray cans of all things. Watch a couple of his related videos and you'll see how professional of a job a spray can is able to do with the right technique and knowing the right type of spray paint to get.

[tucker298]

So with a little down time I've been trying to learn as much as I can about body work via youtube. Also been buying a few parts as I said earlier. I came across these valve covers and they get rid of the coil pack bracket and really cleans up the engine bay. Was thinking about doing a hydro dipped intake and valve covers so I didn't want those coil pack covers covering them up.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/valv%20co.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/valv%20co.jpg.html)

[T4Twins]

You always gotta get that approval from the little guys.

[tucker298]

Tino has the tablet I sent him and is working on it now! going through the process of him putting the features that i want for my particular set up. I went with this gauge setup although I really like the simplicity of the Aventador gauge layout he has although I don't think that skin is as detailed as this "Audi" skin. Feel free to chime in Tino if I'm wrong. I can only imagine all the work that goes into making the gauges look real. He might not even be done putting all the details into the Aventador skin, if not then I hope its easy to change the default skin because I'll be switching back and forth often lol. I have to say he couldn't be any easier to work with which is what I need when I'm half a world away. Can't wait for this to be in my garage waiting on me when I get home. This will be the first thing I do when I get home to my car. I already ordered a new gauge plate from Factory Five. Just need to button up a few things when I get home so I can move onto the easy part..... the body! lol

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/dash2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/dash2.jpg.html)

This is the start up screen http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/dash.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/dash.jpg.html)

[The Stig]

If this is the layout that he's putting together for you, it's going to look awesome.
It fits the look that the GTM calls for.

Nice choice!

Mike

[beeman]

Wow, that is amazing. Looks OEM if not better.

[LCD Gauges]

Brent, thank you for the kind comments. I'm looking forward to packaging this kit for you and working together to merge it work with your
existing setup.

To address your questions:


I really like the simplicity of the Aventador gauge layout he has although I don't think that skin is as detailed as this "Audi" skin. Feel free to chime in Tino if I'm wrong.

It's difficult to explain the differences between these skins and how it all comes together. The Audi skin is a high resolution image set as a "background" (like a desktop photo on your computer screen). The gauge needles are floating on top of the image and that's why it appears more detailed.

The Aventador gauge was literally programmed step by step, so it's basically lines of code as opposed to a photo. Coincidentally, I'll be updating that layout as it's a very
popular choice.

Both of the skins do the same thing; they display all the same data so you can flip between either setup and receive similar information.

I tried to use a high-resolution photo of an Aventador gauge, but the editing that was required make it look "Jagged" around the edges.
There is still a bit of work to be done with the Aventador setup, but it takes days of steady editing to get a finished product. The trouble
is, I'm getting about 2 hours a day (if I'm lucky) toward evolving this monster project.

I'm always looking for more images to replicate like the La Ferrari, Ford GT, and other high end super cars. There will be more skins
coming that's for sure!

It's very easy to change screens - just as easy as closing one program and opening another.

[LCD Gauges]

Out of interest, your gauge skin started out as a photo like this:
63393

[tucker298]

its so crazy to me how all of this gets done, we are lucky to have you on our side! lol

[LCD Gauges]

Brent,

I know you wanted the Aventador gauge, so here's a little surprise. There is still a bit of work to be done, but I wanted to get this out there
for you! This knocks the competitor's version out of the park!

https://scontent.fyzd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16711493_1446510438706351_9005109327659329917_n.jp g?oh=f3bb583dca97dde7bbcc6068b2aec6da&oe=5934EACE

[The Stig]

Wow!!! That looks amazing!

Mike

[tucker298]

Great job Tino, I now must retract my prior statement about that gauge, now I'm torn! Lol I like them both! I love he idea of switching gauges to change things up inside. How difficult is it to switch skins? As in the process once the tablet is installed? And I'm assuming the yellow car in the corner can be omitted?

[beeman]

Yeah, it would be cool to have a "Street Mode" and "Track Mode". For me, "Track Mode" would have a huge central rev counter, plus a big number in the middle of the tach that is the highest gear you can downshift to at your current speed to help with downshifts. Say you're coming into a turn and braking hard from 4th gear, but are unsure if you can only go down to 3rd, or can safely drop to 2nd. I'd make it a little conservative, ie if your redline is 6500, make the algorithm for 5800 or so.

Of course he can change or delete the car icon! Probably has it set up to show which doors are ajar.

This product is really getting good, if I don't blow my budget I will certainly be looking to purchase!

[LCD Gauges]

Great job Tino, I now must retract my prior statement about that gauge, now I'm torn! Lol I like them both! I love he idea of switching gauges to change things up inside.


How difficult is it to switch skins? As in the process once the tablet is installed?
With your setup, you will need to use the touch screen to move the Aventador.exe into the "STARTUP" folder, and move the AUDI-H.exe file to the DESKTOP (or other folder).

With the Advanced version, you get a wireless keyboard which makes navigation a bit easier. Both are relatively the same process however.


And I'm assuming the yellow car in the corner can be omitted?

Yes, that is a placeholder for the DOOR/HOOD/HATCH Open indicator. Since you don't have the door sensors, that image will not show up.

If there's something from the AUDI gauge that you like, I can try to integrate it with another skin.

[LCD Gauges]

Yeah, it would be cool to have a "Street Mode" and "Track Mode". For me, "Track Mode" would have a huge central rev counter, plus a big number in the middle of the tach that is the highest gear you can downshift to at your current speed to help with downshifts. Say you're coming into a turn and braking hard from 4th gear, but are unsure if you can only go down to 3rd, or can safely drop to 2nd. I'd make it a little conservative, ie if your redline is 6500, make the algorithm for 5800 or so.

I'll have to do a better job with my documentation and video. There is a track mode which can be selected via a sub menu. It brings up the Accelerometer and Numeric representations of the Speedometer. The internal SHIFT indicator can also be turned on/off.

Your idea about the gear range indicators is also something I'm working on. I was toying with the idea of having limit switches on the shift actuators to indicate the selected gear, but that eats up more inputs and processing power.
The gear can be mathematically figure based on speed and RPM (as long as I know the gear ratios). It would simply display the calculated gear on the screen.

As for the downshift "limiter", that's a cool feature. It would have to be tailored to each setup and reaction time. It would be fairly easy to add a field in the configuration file to adjust the shift points and reaction time (or pad RPM) for each vehicle and driver.
If you don't blow your budget, I'll write that in for you! :cool:





Of course he can change or delete the car icon! Probably has it set up to show which doors are ajar.

That's correct. Anything on the screen can be turned on/off if you need a custom setup for your vehicle.

[WIS89]

Tucker-

Tino's a magician! I really admire the work he is doing, and your gauges are going to look awesome!!

I don't know if I could choose between the awesome choices he has put together...

Thanks for the updates on your build; it's looking great.

Regards,

Steve

[tucker298]

Finally! Home! Came home to a nice present with a message from the wife..... Finish you're car.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_119.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_119.jpeg.html)

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image_120.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image_120.jpeg.html)

Spent the first day with the family, the second day I was able to get out to the garage under the guise of "cleaning" it and wanting to hang my picture, which I did but I really just wanted to start my list for finishing the go cart. Need to finish up some wiring and fix a leak in the coolant lines. Can't wait to hear her start up again!

Looks like I have room for a few more motivational posters on the wall...... If only there was a local GTM around NC that I could grab a picture of mmmmmm

[The Stig]

Excellent!!! Welcome home Brent!!!

We're happy to know that you back home safely, and with your family.

And Thank You!

Mike

[beeman]

Welcome back and thank you very much for your service!
Your garage looks like a great place to build a car, and just hang out in general, now I think I need a TV out in the shop!

[RumRunner]

Welcome home Brent. I've missed those phone calls!

Now get to work! :D

-Michael

[SteveE]

Welcome back home, no its time to get back to work and keep the updates and pics flowing.

Thanks for your service

Steve

[LCD Gauges]

You need the / in the last tag

[LCD Gauges]

Removed for test

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX0iuGK6haY&feature=youtu.be

[tucker298]

So coolant leaks are all fixed! She fired right up after 5 months and most of that winter. That red top battery did its job.
Got a few things to tighten up wiring wise. Plus I want to get the LCD gauges up and running and then I believe it's go cart time! I'll be going on a cruise soon and then I already have to go out of town for work but the beginning of April I have a full week off to get this thing really going! The updates will be flowing soon!

[tucker298]

I did row through the first three gears in the transmission, seems really .... Gummed up, and I tend to think its the cable shifter not the transmission. Any fixes for that? I don't believe I have any hard turns in the lines to kink it up.

[LCD Gauges]

I did row through the first three gears in the transmission, seems really .... Gummed up, and I tend to think its the cable shifter not the transmission. Any fixes for that? I don't believe I have any hard turns in the lines to kink it up.

I notice that mine is a bit sluggish during the Winter season. I'm not sure if the fluid is impeding the internals, and/or the shift cables themselves are prone to extra drag due to the cold weather.

[The Stig]

My car sat for quite a long time from when I drove it (slowly) around my neighborhood, until a week ago when I drove it a little harder. I noticed that getting into 2nd gear was really tough. It almost would not go in. After I drove up and down the access street a couple of times, and the temps came up to normal operating temps, it loosened up nicely and shifted fine.

One thing that I would suggest, (and you may have already done this), is to put some sort of heat barrier around your shift cables, and keep them as far from the headers as possible. The Plastic sheathing will melt, and when it cools can add a lot of friction/resistance to the cables. This has been noted in the past, (I believe by Spytech) but it has been at least 2 or 3 years since I've seen anyone else mention any problems with it.

Mike

[WIS89]

Welcome home brother! I like the video; little man seems happy! Although I think the noise surprised him a bit...

I look forward to the upcoming updates. Keep at it. The weather is going to turn and stay warm here in NC very soon. Just watch the pollen, as it will get on and into everything.

Glad you are home safely, and good luck on the car's progress!

Regards,

Steve

[tucker298]

So I'm trying to finish up all the wiring before I go kart it and ultimately put the body on. I've made it no secret that the electrical part of the build is my weakness. So I'll reach out here and just see what you guys have to say about some of the AC wiring. I do have a friend that can come over and help but I'd like to have most of the simple answers taken care of so I make the most of his time.

the two plugs that come out of the "brain" of the vintage air are a 5 wire multicolor plug that plugs right into the Environment module from infinity box but the other is a simple two wire plug, its just a black and red wire which i assume I just have to splice the two wires: black to chassis ground and red to some sort of 12v power, anyone please chime in if you think differently? maybe i can splice them directly in the red and black wires of the can bus wires?
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/AC2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/AC2.jpg.html)

luckily i labeled two of these wires before i left, back when i thought i had the AC wiring figured out lol but i have since forgotten it. These wires come right off the vintage air wiring harness. The violet I'm near certain is properly labelled "ignition" so i'll splice that into the ignition wire from the ECU harness i got from spear tech, the green one is labeled " heater control" with should go the two wire module i got from crash in his heater bypass kit, correct me if I'm wrong crash but those two wires are power and ground and it doesn't matter which one is connected to which? the third wire is light blue and its not labeled and i think it goes to the AC switch that controls the temp? but since i'm controlling the temp from the tablet via wifi i'm not sure where this goes.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/AC4.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/AC4.jpg.html)

this one i haven't figured out yet, its just a loose grey wire, any thoughts?
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/AC3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/AC3.jpg.html)

and finally this green wire is from the spear tech ECU harness, its clearly labeled AC compressor but not sure which wire that is on the AC wiring harness?
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/AC1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/AC1.jpg.html)

yes i realize i'm kinda hitting the easy button by putting this out here on the forum I could make phone calls to both vintage air and infinity box but I also wanted future builders to be able to have access to this info incase they are wanting to know the same thing. THANKS!

[TomV]

Fun read, thanks for posting

[tucker298]

well i'll update those posts about the AC wiring when i get them figured out!

[tucker298]

look what came in the mail!

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd1.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd2.jpg.html)

pretty excited to get rid of this wiring mess
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd3.jpg.html)

just rigged up a tablet holder to hold it in place while I'm getting her go kart ready
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd4.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd4.jpg.html)

and just used some sticky velcro to hold these two black brackets down on the frame and used another strip of sticky sided velcro to hold the box onto those metal pieces. Just a quick set up that seems to work while i get the system up and running
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd5.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd5.jpg.html)

and couldn't help but to fire it up real quick just to see it

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/lcd6.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/lcd6.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

already called Tino with some really simple questions about the system to make sure i had a grasp on the product. I'm not the most tech savvy person but i'm also not completely tech illiterate and this is a pretty straight forward system to install i believe. I'm sure it'll still require a few phone calls to get it fully installed and working but the good news is the person that designed the whole system is only a phone call away and is more than willing to answer all your questions........ Tino, thanks for the time you've already given me to start this install off right.

[beeman]

I'm really looking forward to how the gauges look when you're done

[LCD Gauges]

Thanks Brent,

I need you as much as you need me right now - maybe more. You're helping me iron out the bugs in my process and improve my User Manual quality.

It's a surreal feeling to see these photos online from hundreds of miles away. I was tracking the parcel since dropping it off last week
and hoping everything arrived in good order. I'm probably more excited than you, if you can imagine that!

Thank you for being the first to dive into the madness and try out this system!

I'll be sending you some updates over the next few days in preparation for our talk on Saturday.

[tucker298]

so is my camber off? lol

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image1.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

was a GOOD day in the garage and out of the garage! The car was having issues starting up, it would start eventually and would sputter a little and then it would smooth out and idle and rev just fine. So I called my trusty mechanic friend Tyler to come over and hook it up to his computer. The RPM's wasn't reading in his software and it has never read right in my gauges, and some thing was a miss so he at some point asked if my crank sensor was hooked up, to which i told him of course it was! He then said yeah it must be or else it wouldn't start up at all. after a few more minutes of problem shooting he said you know what I can't shake it and I have to check your crank sensor, it was connected ........ to the wrong plug on the oil pan!!! he switched it to the right plug and immediately the engine started right up!!! fire up really quick! just jumped to life when I hit the start button, that made me so happy because nothing says amateur like an engine that struggles to start!

with that fixed and ensuring all wires and cooling was sufficient it was time..... i put wheels on her and pulled her out of the garage! big milestone achieved! i didn't go far though because i soon realized that first gear was NOT first gear but third gear and I couldn't move the shifter far enough over to reach first..... it would bottom out on metal shifter body first. So i found a document online on how to calibrate the shifter and hopefully that will solve that!

i wasn't able to finish up the LCD gauge system from procision auto due to time constraints but I'm getting there, maybe next weekend I can get the gauges and the trans figured out! i'm getting sooooooooo close!

[Presto51]

Congratulations. Nothing beats reaching certain mile stones like this when building your dream.

Very happy for you.

Ron

[tucker298]

just trudging along on the build, not getting a lot of time in the garage but getting important things done when i do get back there, so i finally got the shifter calibrated. Not real happy with the length or placement of the brackets because my adjustments are maxed at each end to get my shifter properly aligned for the left and right.

this is the back adjustment by the transaxle, notice the amount of threads on one side of the bracket
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image1-1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image1-1.jpg.html)

and this is the adjustment point by the shifter, also adjusted all the way out
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image2.jpg.html)

but the good news is i finally found reverse and backed it out of the driveway and was able to put it in first gear with it properly adjusted

[tucker298]

and what are people doing with this bracket thats loose and hanging on the steering wheel shaft?
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image3.jpg.html)

[hwoods864]

and what are people doing with this bracket thats loose and hanging on the steering wheel shaft?
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image3.jpg.html)

You need to secure it to the frame or the steering shaft will want to pivot around the steering joints.

[beeman]

Are you using the telescoping steering shaft?

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/42-factory-five-gtm-forum/250510-where-do-you-mount-second-pillow-block-bearing-steering-column.html

[tucker298]

no, its not a telescoping steering shaft...... that I know of lol

thanks for that link!

[tucker298]

inching ever so closer to finishing up the go kart stage, starting to finally accept that the wiring is almost done and all the wires in the tunnel and the rear of the car are set and can be cleaned up. The only loose ends to the wiring s in the dash and the AC and all those wires are run, they just need to be hooked up accordingly. Also i did a little heat management in the tunnel with some insulation on the pipes and then some header wrap over that. I had a roll of header wrap that I bought and ended up not needing it sooooo I used it!

heres the pic of earlier today..... just a mess

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/upl1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/upl1.jpg.html)

and here it is cleaned up and insulated and wires stuffed into a wire loom.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/upl3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/upl3.jpg.html)

[RoadRacer]

Much tidier!

[tucker298]

a lot of little things that i've wanted to fix for so long ,like zip ties holding all my wiring to the frame, has finally come to an end! I'm glad i waited until the very end like this or I can't even imagine how many times I would've have to re-do the wiring but alas the time has come. No more zip ties holding wires and coolant lines onto the frame!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up1.jpg
[/URL[URL=http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up3.jpg.html]http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up1.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up2.jpg.html)

[LCD Gauges]

That looks great; that is also on my 'tidy up' list once my million other distractions allow me some time!

What I want more are those sexy red arrows. What program are you using to generate those graphics?

[tucker298]

besides finally cleaning up and making the wiring permanent, I finally found a better way to run all the different accessories that require power from the ignition wire and it was sitting at auto zone, a six cell fuse block and it mounts perfectly under the dash! Just run one wire from the ignition into the box and now i have six options for power and all fused.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up4.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up4.jpg.html)

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up5.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up5.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

now i can easily power some of the lower amperage things like the rearview camera, the USB charger and the rearview mirror display. http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up7.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up7.jpg.html)

the pic doesn't do the rear view mirror justice, its very clear! and it has driver and passenger positioned interior lights under it as an added bonus

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/up6.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/up6.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

tomorrow is going to be a GTM-errific day! going to see some car at a car show ...... its been being built for so long it even has its own nickname..... Pandora. Very excited to see my first GTM that isn't in my garage in pieces and I'm dragging the whole family with me on the 2 hour drive, the wife and four kids.

Then I'm coming back home to set the cars alignment and camber, and attempt to finish the wiring for the AC. With all of this within reach I'm starting to think I might get the body on this month!

[beeman]

Great updates... Keep building! Looks great!
Take some pics at the show, I'd be there if I was closer

[tucker298]

Tino,

It's just an app on my iPhone, it's called Captions pm. I just take the pic with my phone, open the pic in the app put the sticker ( arrow in this case) on it then save the new pic, then email it to myself, open the email on my laptop, save it, upload it to photo bucket, then post it on the forum...... wow its a lot of work updating a thread lol

[LCD Gauges]

Oh man, I love you! This may be the answer to my steering shaft interference! I saw the bearing laying
around and didn't know where it went. Maybe it's shown in the FFR manual, but I'll admit...my attention
span for that manual has been short.

Hopefully I haven't thrown out the part that you're showing in the photo below (on the steering shaft).

66138

[tucker298]

Yesterday was a great day! Finally met Mike after many interactions online and he couldn't have been any nicer! He politely answered my 300 questions and let me look at the most random places on his car to see where things were placed on his build. If you didn't know any better a on looker would have thought i was inspecting his car for the show lol. I really liked the subtle changes that were made to the body i.e. extending the corners of the hood a few inches back for better flow and to cover the merging body pieces and of course his window seals are OEM looking as it gets. The rear hatch from Jason really does stand out in person and looks great as the car flows back to his body painted rear wing. Just a classy combination of parts and color choices put together exceptionally well.

This is me and Mike hanging out on the windiest day of the year! lol notice how dark the car can be without direct sunlight
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/stig%20and%20me.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/stig%20and%20me.jpg.html)

and when the sun comes out look how blue it can get, I really love the paint choice for his car! please excuse the selfie style pic lol and thats Mike in the background doing what he did all day and will do all weekend... answer ALOT of questions about his car and to be blunt about it, most of the questions were the same as the last guys and must wear him out at some point ....... like "hey whats this car?", "what chases is it built on....... no, like is it a corvette frame?", "whats a factory five?" over and over. Not sure I could answer the same questions 500 times a day, Mike you're a saint!

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/pandora%20blue.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/pandora%20blue.jpg.html)

and just another pic to show how onlookers admired the car all day.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/pandora%20black.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/pandora%20black.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

a nice surprise was to see an SLC at the car show. The owner Jim was also very polite and showed me all the things he did to make his build unique and boy is it! I left with and admiration of the SLC and saw what type of car it could be!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/slc1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/slc1.jpg.html)

He even moved the components from the nose to allow for storage space!!! so jealous!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/slc3.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/slc3.jpg.html)

he moved the radiator to the back, which can only be done with a lot of thought, ingenuity and not being a GTM haha
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/slc6.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/slc6.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/slc4.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/slc4.jpg.html)

and his interior is very nice! and dare i say roomy!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/slc2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/slc2.jpg.html)

[The Stig]

Yesterday was a great day! Finally met Mike after many interactions online and he couldn't have been any nicer! He politely answered my 300 questions and let me look at the most random places on his car to see where things were placed on his build. If you didn't know any better a on looker would have thought i was inspecting his car for the show lol. I really liked the subtle changes that were made to the body i.e. extending the corners of the hood a few inches back for better flow and to cover the merging body pieces and of course his window seals are OEM looking as it gets. The rear hatch from Jason really does stand out in person and looks great as the car flows back to his body painted rear wing. Just a classy combination of parts and color choices put together exceptionally well.

This is me and Mike hanging out on the windiest day of the year! lol notice how dark the car can be without direct sunlight
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/stig%20and%20me.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/stig%20and%20me.jpg.html)

and when the sun comes out look how blue it can get, I really love the paint choice for his car! please excuse the selfie style pic lol and thats Mike in the background doing what he did all day and will do all weekend... answer ALOT of questions about his car and to be blunt about it, most of the questions were the same as the last guys and must wear him out at some point ....... like "hey whats this car?", "what chases is it built on....... no, like is it a corvette frame?", "whats a factory five?" over and over. Not sure I could answer the same questions 500 times a day, Mike you're a saint!


Brent,

Thank you for the kind words. I enjoyed spending time with you and your family, talking about the GTM and showing you around it. If there is anything at all that I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to let me know. The repetitive questions are actually a good thing in that it shows that a huge number of people wanted to know more about it. Answering their questions with the same enthusiasm that they asked them, may actually make them the next GTM builders. :)

Enjoy your project, and stick to your guns in regard to your build plan. You have a really nice build going.

Hopefully we'll cross paths again.

Mike

[tucker298]

the alignment and camber isn't perfect but its pretty close! its go kart good enough thats for sure!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9BOpHK0Doc

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6u4r7ZV77g

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWPhepqovaI

[tucker298]

My first riv nut tool was horrible but I didn't pay much for it and some can be really expensive, I bought one more and its small enough to fit in tight spaces and works GREAT and doesn't cost a lot. I know there are tool snobs out there that buy all top of the line tools and thats awesome if you can do that. There definitely are some tools that warrant that but if you buy all top of the line tools for everything you need to build this car you will add thousands on to this build over the entire build time.I didn't end up putting as many rid nuts in as I thought i would. Also I ended up buying the Harbor freight pneumatic riveter and its been great so far too. Although its bulky and doesn't fit everywhere you need it to so I still had to buy a hand tool for those tight spots. Just my two cents for future builders
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-09%20at%2010.27.03%20PM.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-09%20at%2010.27.03%20PM.png.html)

[tucker298]

for some reason I've hard a hard time finding the right push button start switch, I've even ordered some "momentary" switches on eBay that were NOT momentary. I've ordered a few that looked cheap and flimsy when they arrived so I thought I'd show what I ended up with. Its a 19mm size button which might be on the small side, I found a 22mm red LED style that will be bigger. The one in the video is the 19mm.

There are no wiring diagrams for this switch to the Infinity wiring for obvious reasons but incase any future builder is looking for a push button red LED start set up..... let me save you some time, I bought the optional plug that has 6" tails, the wires are labeled on the base of the case

NO=Normal Open -to the master cell wire for PUSH BUTTON START (green\orange)
NC=Normal Closed, not used for my case
C= Grounded to chassis
+ =positive wire for the LED 12V
- = Ground wire for the LED

this might be really simple stuff for those of you familiar with wiring up cars.... I am not!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.32.55%20PM.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.32.55%20PM.png.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.31.39%20PM.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.31.39%20PM.png.html)

you don't need to buy the tail but it did make it easier to wire up, I've used these butt connectors on the whole build so far and I'd suggest them to anyone, after crimping them hit them with a heat gun and not only does the clear sheath shrink tight to hold the connection place but there it is lined with glue to keep them from pulling out!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.32.21%20PM.png (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-04-11%20at%206.32.21%20PM.png.html)

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71GDbfm358k

[tucker298]

My seat is as far back as it should be for a 6' man and the steering wheel still feels way too close. The steering wheel was installed by the original owner so I wasn't familiar with the install. I could see that there are two bolts that hold the bracket on and they are slotted. The bolts were all the way forward so I loosened them and tried to push the steering wheel back it wouldn't go very far (even after I loosened the set screws on the shaft). I realized the the shaft was bottoming out and I'll need to trim this shaft about an inch or two to allow the steering wheel to move all the way back to end of those slots.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/steering%20shaft.jpg[/URL[URL=http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/steering%20bolt.jpg.html]http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/steering%20bolt.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/steering%20shaft.jpg.html)

[Roger Reid]

This is what I did to my non telescopic steering column to mount it as far forward as I could. I gained about an inch. The additional strap steel I welded to the column really stiffened up the column and kept it from flexing like the stock mounting will do.

http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo206/mjollnirgtm/118.jpg (http://s376.photobucket.com/user/mjollnirgtm/media/118.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

[beeman]

Not sure if this helps, but I have a non-telescoping unit laying around if you want it for free Brent.

[tucker298]

Thanks a lot! I should be good with this one BUT that helps out knowing if I screw this one up I have a back up lol

[tucker298]

still getting the AC buttoned up, found a sensor for the high side. Threads right on and if I have the wiring figured out right I should be good to go by this weekend for finishing up the AC. I'm a little leery of the infinity box module that lets me control the AC via the tablet because the module isn't being recognized by the Master Cell, I'll call them sometime this week and hopefully thats an easy fix.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/ac%20sensor2.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/ac%20sensor2.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/ac%20sensor.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/ac%20sensor.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

I got a few more small goodies in the mail, a tool to adjust my coil overs, for $25 its nice to be able to adjust them easily at some of those hard spots. I also got the seat brackets for the passenger side seat. I'm gonna need a seat for my friend while he monitors the motor on our next go karting adventure. This set is different than the first set I received from Shane, the front two brackets have a "tab" to them...... Shane do I have them oriented correctly and can you tell me the reason for the improvement or what the metal "tabs" for the front do? sorry for the dumb question.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/seatbrack.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/seatbrack.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

My friend has a Hunter alignment machine at his work, are there any specs out there to load in or a vehicle thats close to use?

[beeman]

For the front, get as much caster as you can, then try to get the camber you want. .75-1.5 degrees depending on your plans for the car. Small amount of toe-in up front, typically about 1/16".

[tucker298]

with headlights and taillights always being a topic of discussion or at least thoughts of changing out on most peoples build I thought I would share this. Great read and gives you ideas of what you can do to enhance and modernize them.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/3247139-diy-headlight-and-tail-light-led-halos.html

[tucker298]

still have to charge the AC and get the car tuned before i go full retard on the body but I'm starting to turn my attention to it......... with some help :)

[tucker298]

always wanted to do something different with the taillights, especially by upgrading my electronics and dash I wanted to upgrade the lackluster taillights to keep everything on the same page.

i had been looking at various measurements of tail lights, the stock GTM circular tail lights are 4.75 in (if I remember right) i was looking for one for one swaps hoping for a miracle and finally started looking for other diameters. I liked the circular tail light look but wanted an LED or "halo" ring to really give it a modern look.
I had a few ideas but nothing was jumping out at me...... then a forum member ran an idea past me and the "ah ha" moment occurred. The 70-73 camaro has a slightly bigger diameter of 5.5" and has several good looking LED options. First we had to see exactly how the bigger tail light would look.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1108.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1108.jpg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1110.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1110.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

then this form member showed me the holy grail of 70-73 camaro tail lights lol and they are sleek!
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/taillights70a.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/taillights70a.jpeg.html)

the inner two lights will have the back up lights in them. http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/withRev.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/withRev.jpeg.html)

[tucker298]

with a solid plan in place with the tail lights the next thing I wanted to address was the other part of the rear of the car....... it needs a tail of some sort, if not, in my opinion the tail end just falls off. The large APR wing is too much for my liking on a street car ( although fast things car looks great with one) the other standard option is the color matched fiberglass wing that Shane sells which I do like on a street car (the one on Stigs car is a perfect fit for Pandora) but I'm hoping to pull off a unique and smaller "wing" it will be covered in carbon fiber to match the front splitter, rocker panels and diffuser.

we first mocked it up in card board for the shape
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1111.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1111.jpg.html)

then leaned it back to get the right angle to match the cars lines
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1113.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1113.jpg.html)

[LCD Gauges]

I think I know that mystery helper quite well. :cool:

Let me know when you're ready to finish off the LCD system.

[tucker298]

who is this unnamed forum member with all the good ideas and not only will give you the idea but drive 5 hours to come help you make them a reality?! None other than Ron! (Presto 51)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1112.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1112.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

well hopefully the end product ends up close to my intent.
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1122.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1122.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1125.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1125.jpg.html)http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1126.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1126.jpg.html)

i still have a lot of shaping to do and it will lean back at a much steeper angle.

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ole-JL9JU88

Another mile stone is officially naming the car! haha........ May I present to you, Miss Adventure.... comes complete with its own theme song!

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_1123.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_1123.jpg.html)

[tucker298]

Tino,

I'm still out of town, I'll should be back mid next week. I can't wait to get that dash working! You'll know as soon as I get home lol

[beeman]

I love the idea of a spoiler, considering one myself. A simple spoiler will change rear lift to rear downforce with very little drag. How do I know? Just received this book from Amazon yesterday. I like the way your mockup looks!

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170506/tohjkh2j.jpg

[beeman]

Recall that the VBM 4000 GTC had a spoiler as well

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls3l0hn5Kq1r2dcdfo1_1280.jpg

[tucker298]

well thanks for that beeman! I didn't know about the VBM, i just read the thread you started years ago in the other forum. It was very informative and always cool to learn something new!

[SteveE]

those tail lights look great I may have to tag into that as well. I have also liked the Camaro lights that Fastthings did with his GTM not sure I have the talent for doing the changes. Looking good keep up the good work.

Steve

[crash]

So did the original FFR design...

67607

[tucker298]

Sorry for the lack of updates but to be honest not much progress has been done. I'm having issues with my tach and it's been robbing me of the little time I have spent on the car. I've learned ALOT about the LS3 tach wire lol or I think I have anyway. It's already a 12v signal so no need to bring it up to 12v. So it really should be plug and play with almost all aftermarket tachs. However my needle is jumping around which makes me believe it's not a "clean" signal. I called Speartech and they suggested I ensure it's away from any battery/starter/alternator wires in the tunnel. I did that and seemed to help but not fix it. I'll try and recheck all my grounds to ensure that's not an option. This shouldn't be a source of such time and frustration ........ but it is.

[beeman]

For my roadster build, I used Autometer gauges with my fuel injected Ford 4.6L. I had to use a tach adapter that tied into one of the (+) feeds to the coil pack. Not sure if that is applicable to your setup, but the installation instructions have a section on LS engines...
http://www.autometer.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/320x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/9/1/9117_16.jpg

http://www.autometer.com/tach-adapter.html

[tucker298]

As I understand it that adapter brings the tach signal up to 12v which most after market tachs need, which is why the speed hut gauges that came with the car have instructions to tie in a 12v wire and put in a resistor. The LS1 and LS2 motors also have a 3 or 5 volt tach wire that would need to be pulled up to 12v to read but the LS3 went ahead and made the tach wire 12v so you it would be more plug and play. So i shouldn't have a problem if everything was wired right and no interference BUT thats not the case, I need to check my grounds and ensure the the wire is isolated from other higher output wires that could cause interference..... or at least thats what I've concluded after a lot of trouble shooting and a few phone calls. I'll be sure the tell you guys what the problem was for future builders.

[LCD Gauges]

I'd like to clarify these last few posts from Brent and help others understand the ambuguity of 12 Volt versus 5 Volt signal.
Before doing so, let me preface my response by disclosing that I've asked Brent's persmission to jump on this thread.

There is quite a bit of confusion surrounding the tachometer signal and whether we should expect to measure 12 volts or
5 volts at the tachometer input and whether we need a pull-up resistor, and/or a tach module adapter.

For those that are not sure, erase everything you've read on internet forums and start over. Let me explain what's happening
so that we can help Brent determine the problem with his setup.

First and foremost, the PCM is producing a 5 volt, "square wave". It looks very much like this:

68607

The only method of properly measuring this signal is to use an oscilloscope, or a fancy hand-held meter that has the ability to
read waveforms. In other words, a voltmeter or "multi-meter" cannot faithfully indicate the voltage level of a "waveform".


68608 < OR >68609


If you were to use a voltmeter (or multi-meter) to measure this signal, you might measure an average voltage of about
2.5 Volts DC because the signal is alternating between a 5 volt voltage level and ground (or zero volts). The wave is 50%
on and 50% off, and therefore you will see 2.5 Volts on your meter and NOT 5 volts.




If you were to measure the bare wire coming out of the PCM with nothing connected to it, you should expect the following values:

With the IGN ON, but engine not running - zero volts on your meter


68610


With the IGN ON, and engine running at idle - about 2.5 Volts DC on your meter.

68611

If you do not receive these values under these conditions you have one of several issues:
* poor grounding
* poor power supplied to the computer
* a faulty PCM
* a faulty meter, etc.






Where does the 12 volts come from that everyone is talking about?


The 12 volts is supplied from a 12 volt wire somewhere in the harness via a RESISTOR. This resistor is used to "PULL UP"
the voltage to battery level so that certain aftermarket tachometers will be able to sense the tachometer signal.

The confusion begins here.



When you turn on the IGNITION, but the engine is NOT running, you will measure 12 volts on your voltmeter. This however is NOT a tachometer
signal because the crank sensor is not reading anything.

You are simply measuring the battery voltage which is picked from either the Ignition Coil supply wire, Injector supply wire, or any other 12 volt wire
that is LIVE when you turn the key to IGNITION ON.

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How does the aftermarket tachometer read the 12 volt pulses then? The PCM still produces the same 5 volt signal, however this signal is "riding"
on a DC VOLTAGE OFFSET. The computer will "GROUND" out the signal using internal electronics to produce a simulated 12 volt wavefrom.
Now, when you measure the tach wire with a resistor installed you should expect the following values:

IGNITION ON, engine NOT running - 12 Volts DC on your voltmeter
IGNITION ON, engine running - anywhere from 6 to 10 volts DC on your voltmeter.

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This higher voltage is because the meter is reading the average of the 12 Volt Battery voltage + 5 Volt PCM Signal.

Notice from the diagram that the waveform is "inverted" because the resistor starts the voltage at 12 Volts and then grounds out the signal.
The PCM is opposite - it starts at zero (ground) and goes up to 5 volts.





In Brent's case, he may be dealing with a faulty PCM as he's not reading any votlage on his meter with the engine running, directly from Pin 48
of the PCM (nothing connected). It would be ideal to have an oscilloscope or Advanced Hand-held meter to read the waveform coming out of the
PCM at this point.

I suspect his PCM is spitting out a "dirty or weak signal" based on our troubleshooting over the phone.

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Hopefully this clears up the misconceptions and helps others troubleshoot the tach signal.

[tucker298]

I'm still alive! lol just been busy with life and work and also getting a few things done on the car when I can. Its definitely time for an update.
So I had a flat bed come get my car and tow it the shop at the local community college where on of my best friends teaches at. We had a list of things to get done to get the car ready buttoned up mechanically and electronically so me and Ron can get the body on and finally start that chapter. The list was: fix the leak coming out of the transaxle, was a simple fix just pulled the end cap off and applied a good bead of silicone around it and put it back on, so far so good! no more leak next was get the AC working! this should have been fairly easy but ofcourse it wasn't, I was missing the orifice that goes in the AC tube, didn't even realize what that part was until he told me about it, LONG story but I couldn't get it unless I bought a "kit" that a lot of other parts i didn't want or need, but my buddy was able to figure out that it is actually a ford orifice that we were able to get from a part store and put that part in and the AC finally cooled down! not it holds a charge just fine and blows COLD air and I'm impressed by how much air that vintage air unit pushes, next on the list was a getting the tires aligned took awhile but my buddy got them dialed in just right, the only oddity is that right at 2 1/4 turns both left and right the wheel bottoms out on the suspension! anyone else have this problem?! I don't remember reading anyone else having this issue. last thing we had to tackle to be a completely successful day was FIXING THE TACH SIGNAL sigh well.......... its still a problem, my friend found that the PCM has a slightly wrong setting in it. The tach output fields should be 14\15 and they are actually 15/15. My mechanic friend who is also a tuner for LS motors seems to think this is the problem, he also called speartech and they also said that was a mistake and should clean up the signal. Just waiting on his friend to get his cable back to him so he can change those settings. We'll see, I'm skeptical. after all this time and headache its given me it cant be that simple of a fix. Well theres te update! its getting there! just a few more hurdles and its off the the races with body work!


http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image2_1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image2_1.jpg.html)
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/IMG_2453.JPG.jpeg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/IMG_2453.JPG.jpeg.html)

even in its go kart stage it got alot of attention at the shop, all the guys had questions and loved how good it sounded!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rtV8I3bvHk

[tucker298]

Finally got the second seat in! Fourth of July rides for the kids!..... and the wife, she loved it! she turned to me after a second gear rip and said " baby, finish your car!" :cool:

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz150/tucker0298/image1_1.jpg (http://s822.photobucket.com/user/tucker0298/media/image1_1.jpg.html)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWpuKEbV2qA

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYYw3fDOBc

[tucker298]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61XjKziaTMA

[beeman]

Great update, keep plowing on!
Not sure about the wheels hitting the A-arms, do your wheels have the right offset?

[tucker298]

they are the optional wheels from Factory Five? is it possible they got a set with the wrong offset?

[Soulstice]

What a great update and awesome way to celebrate the 4th. Keep up the good work.

[LCD Gauges]

You're getting closer! Your scope plot shows an odd looking signal. It's a very low amplitude (differential of 1 volt) and the bottom of the wave
is spiked/pointed.

The bottom of the wave should look like the top of the wave - flat.

By setting the tach parameters in the PCM to 14/15, you should be able to achieve more "time" to get flat bottom portion of the signal.
This changes the 'pulse width' (PWM) . Hopefully you will get your tachometer to stop jumping around.

Moving forward however, my module will not work unless the voltage differential is at least 3.5 volts with reference to
ground.

The wave needs to swing from 13 volts to 0 volts, or 0 volts to 5 volts as shown in my diagram (bottom of the image)
or the scope plot.

Good luck!
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69876

[tucker298]

I'd like to start out with by voicing my disdain for photobucket! thanks alot photbucket, $400 for third party hosting!? anyway, its their business and thats how the free market works BUT I can't help but feel like I got the bait and switch....... anyway, the vent ducting for my vintage air has some pin holes in them so i want to order some replacements but I already threw them away and figured I could just order a new set from factory five but they tell me to buy them from vintage air and VA sends me back to factory five, I see that summit sells them, could someone measure the diameter for me and the length so i can just order them from summit, thanks!!!! I see summit sells a 2'' 2.5'' and 3'' hose and i think there were two different sizes?

[tucker298]

AC hoses? Anyone? (From my last post)

[RumRunner]

I think the main hoses are 2.5", and the defroster duct hoses are 2".

Then again - I put it together 4 years ago so I may be wrong :cool:!

-Michael

[tucker298]

thanks Mike! I ordered them up, if its wrong they aren't that expensive

[tucker298]

Soooooo I built a body buck for the car, got what appeared to be very specific and detailed directions from a quick Google search, I'm sure some of you guys have seen it before. I built it to the exact dimensions, which was easy to do because the directions were very detailed. So just to let future builders know, its a great set of instructions and a great starting point but the dimensions are a little off. The weight is distributed on three vertical boards. For me, the middle board was a few inches high and caused a teeter totter effect so the body wasn't sitting evenly on all three boards I'll post pics later but I just wanted to put it out there so it doesn't surprise the next guy. I'm not saying don't use it! It's a lot better than starting from scratch, you're just not done until you put the body on and massage the buck a little.

[tucker298]

fixed the buck, easy fix! just trimmed the middle board to fit inside the windows and the rest of the dimensions pretty much lined up........ took a pool noodle and cut a slit in the middle and slide it on top of the middle board to give me the 1\2" I need to make contact with the roof.