It has been awhile since the last post. We went like hell to get the chassis done but then life and work happened and the car kind of went on the back burner in March. We also hit a series of set backs with the build that kind of derailed things for a little while. None of them are things we can't fix pretty easily but it was a series of them that kind of took the wind out of our sails so to speak. When Feb rolled around we took a break and still went down to Sick week to watch the start in Orlando and it was really cool. There we a few TRs there but I can't wait to show up with a GN with a V6 that runs well and not one that is an LS swap.
When we got back from Orlando we started tackling some of the stuff on the list. First I had to get the final drivers position and figure out what we needed to do for pedals throttle cable etc. Which meant I needed to put the motor in the chassis. I had finished the motor build in January. It was a big job and have countless hours into getting it together. My machinist helped make the front drive set up and crank trigger. Since Danny Bee belt drive are made out of unobtanium I decided to modify a S2 front cover to work with a belt drive oil pump. I was concerned about using a factory cam sensor so I had Glenn at MadRacing make a MSD one out of a BB Chrysler unit. I also made a 12-1 crank trigger with the Holley hall effect mag pickup. We used a bunch of mix matched parts from Innovators West and modified the shit out of everything to make it work. We also took a set of Champion VC and welded/machined them with custom mounts for the Holley Coils.
I had figured I would need to re-invent everything but it ended up I was able to space the brake pedal bracket and extend the MC pushrod. We then made a custom mount for the factory throttle pedal and modified it to work with the Lokar cable. It all worked out pretty well. We also cut and fit the steering column and welded up the shaft and U-joints which I got from Trick Chassis.
Next we started in on the headers and mounting the turbo. We made a custom mount for the turbo and then completely redid the passenger side from the collector forward. These headers were custom built for the car back in 2009 and fit in the stock location with the crossover under the oil pan. I was pretty happy with how they came out and like everything else it was a lot of work.
After we finished the cage we still had to come up with a window net and the one I bought from ART with buckles for latches was just all wrong. I settled on the one from Tim McAmis which is super simple and fast to operate if you need to make a quick exit. Like all their stuff it was top notch, he also makes some pretty good build videos on youtube.
The first pic is the ART piece with the buckles. There was no way to mount it without the buckles being in the way and whacking you in the head every time you got out of the car.
The one from McAmis has a spring loaded release you just pull and the entire net falls out. Plus it just fit better and I was really happy with how it turned out.
After we got the window net done we decided to put the body back together and all of a sudden it was starting to actually look like a car again. Plus putting that front clip back on freed up an entire spot in the garage which was nice.
Next up the set backs!
