Awesome to see this getting driven. +1 congrats on new job.
Yo Ron, i remember earlier in your thread you had some parts CNCd in China. I seem to remember you said you had a prior relationship with that vendor. Do you have any experience on doing that vs using a service like Xometry? I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to get my adapter plate made after the local guy i was going to use closed up his shop. I have a CAD model and can easily supply dwgs too if req'd
budget_bandit said:Yo Ron, i remember earlier in your thread you had some parts CNCd in China. I seem to remember you said you had a prior relationship with that vendor. Do you have any experience on doing that vs using a service like Xometry? I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to get my adapter plate made after the local guy i was going to use closed up his shop. I have a CAD model and can easily supply dwgs too if req'd
Shoot me a PM or text at 6 oh ate fo fo nine 5 tree seben 8
You really need a throw away email account that sounds like a small business account, an alibaba account, a half decent drawing in PDF form and a step file.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Thanks Ron, i'll text you tonight after work
I just had a very long and detailed post typed up and lost it because number lock wasn't turned on when I tried to do a keyboard alt code. Berk.
Basically I recently learned through frustrated searching that C5 and C6 Clutch pedals have different return springs. The C6 which is what my pedal assembly is from has a much stronger spring than the C5. I managed to find an affordable C5 spring even though they are NLA and swapped it in. It made the pedal rebound much more controllable and lightened the pedal push a bit too. My DIY clutch pedal rod made from McMaster hardware and a used LS pushrod bent and was replaced/repaired with 1/2" solid steel rod. Now the clutch in the truck is better than ever, very predictable and doesn't stick at all. I've been doing all of the downshifts and no lurching in first or reverse anymore.
C6 on the left. C5 on the right.
Man, I first discovered your build a couple years ago and read every page.
I was recently daydreaming about swapping some C4 subframes into one of my projects and searched up your thread. I just read it all over again and it was just as good as a rerun. Plus you have some new updates. I think last time I read you had just moved back to Wisconsin. Which made me sad because I'm in east TN and would have liked the chance to see the truck in person some day.
Any chance you know the dimension across the "outside" of the upper control arm mounting plates (approx where you welded them into your frame)?
In reply to daytonatrbo :
Looking back through my notes my frame was roughly 29.5" wide at that point, the Corvette subframe was just a touch narrower. It's hard to get an accurate measurement with the engine in the truck right now.
That's about what I was anticipating and unfortunately the space between my "frame rails" is closer to 24". I think I'd have to weld box tube in the wheel well and then cut out a section of the unibody to make that work.
And then the tires would stick out 4" on each side anyhow. The front track width of the C4 is about equal to my body width :(
I do appreciate the reply though!
I have been beating the absolute piss out of this truck lately to and from work. Apparently my 3rd gear grind was related to the wobbly clutch rod I just beefed up or I was over traveling the slave before because it takes 6200rpm 2-3 shifts like a champ now. It'll break the back tires just a little loose at 55mph when I let the clutch out fast but the IRS is pretty forgiving. I have this short shifter most of the way figured out, I still get lost in fourth on the way to 6th sometimes but I'm not accidentally money shifting 1-2-1 or 2-3-2 or anything destructive like that.
I need to spend more time dialing this tune in. I have too much air temp enrichment when it's warm out but barely enough when it's cold in the morning. I'm thinking I need to zero out a couple enrichment tables to make sure my base fuel isn't off and is throwing my whole tune off.
Unreasonably happy to read you're getting miles on this and crossing problems off the list. Been such a good motivator.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
I love it. I love that you are driving the E36 M3 out of it.
You built that berkeleyer!
Enjoy 
I got to play with a very, very fancy toy tonight. Like 40 challenge cars sorta fancy. I'm flying out tomorrow to visit a customer and meet up with some of my Australian colleagues. I was tasked with renting or borrowing a 3D scanner for this trip by the Aussies. I managed to get my hands on the latest Creaform handheld scanner and the area sales guy came right through my town on his way back from IMTS tonight. He said "try it out tonight". Say less salesman, say less.
The markers are a little annoying and it took me a minute to kinda figure it out. I'll play with it more Tuesday night or Wednesday when I get back but I think this scan was good enough. I want to design a new intake pipe this winter and either print it or make it out of carbon fiber. The aluminum intake tube heat soaks horribly to the point where my IAT reading is +25° of ambient at idle sometimes.
I put some hours in on the scanner earlier this week and really have the scanning figured out so I had to re-scan the engine bay of the truck before I have to give the scanner back. The detail and accuracy of this scanner is nuts. This is just weapons grade idea fuel now.
That's sick.
What kind of computer/specs do you have it hooked to?
In reply to iansane :
Lenovo P53 - 48gb ram, i9 CPU, Quadro RTX 4000 8gb video card. I used about 50% of my video card ram finalizing that last engine bay scan.
I haven't taken any pictures of the truck lately but the truck has been on daily duty lately with the Saab and Yukon in the garage for oil leak repairs. We've had the warmest fall I can every remember in the 30 years I've lived in Southern Wisconsin, today we hit a high of 83*. So I've been taking full advantage of the great weather.
It does appear I have a very, very slight coolant leak from somewhere. I suspect there might be a pin hole in the radiator because I can't find a leak in any of the hoses or fittings. I might have to get a pressure tester on the cap to see if I can find the leak. If the radiator need replaced Speedway still sells the one I bought for $190 so not a big deal. They even sell an actual fan shroud for it for another $60. Which is one of the things I want to add to the truck for next year anyways. The thermal management on the truck needs some work. Under hood temps drive the IATs up into crazy land for a NA engine. Hood vents, chin spoiler, undertray... who knows? I have some ideas though and the spicy aluminum 5.3 is definitely going back in because while the little 4.8 is nice and tame, I want the chop chop and 6200 RPM redline comes up real fast on a close ratio 6 speed with 3.54 gears.
I thought we were done with truck weather for the year but the weather in Southern Wisconsin is drunk this year. For reference we got 8" of snow on Halloween in 2019. We did actually get a frost Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week so it actually has been feeling like October in Southern Wisconsin a little bit.
6AM V8 noises sure make the drive to work enjoyable.
It was sunny and unseasonably warm so the wife and kidswere outside playing most of the day yesterday. RTR kid #1 wanted to play with his power wheels Jeep that was blocked in by the truck so the noisy shelf had to move. I forgot to turn the battery shutoff off this winter but the truck still fired up with the battery at 11 volts. It's a good truck, now I'm just waiting for the salt to get washed off the road and for spring to actually stick around before I put insurance back on it.
The truck is once again becoming a receptacle for spare engines and sheet metal. At least this time it can get onto a car trailer under its own power.
Just doing truck things!
She's squatting a bit even with the preload turned up on the rear leaf spring. RTR family is relocating to the Savannah area, I start a new job in two weeks. The truck is going to sit in storage for a few weeks until we can close on a house. This is the last time I swear.
So it begins! The Saab is going down on this trip but this is more of my main thread. I'm hoping the orange truck treats me better this time but it feels a little bit like going back to an abusive ex.
RTR Kid #1 marveling at the biggest truck he's ever seen in the driveway.
This hecker has Bluetooth and that new-fangled Godzilla engine, hopefully that gets better than 6mpg that the hateful 3v V10 Tritons got 3 summers ago. As long as all of the tires hold air I'll be a happy man honestly. I did break down and got the new Milwaukee M18 tire inflator, I even paid retail for it which felt dirty since I used to get a pretty hefty employee discount.
I got all of the house stuff out of my Wisconsin storage unit last night and stuck the truck in there for the time being.
Obligatory car trailer photo of the Escalade being a hoss.
Night night little truck.
East bound and down! Late start to the drive I wanted to leave around 3pm so I could get to Paducah, KY around 9-9:30pm. I left at 6:30 because packing took longer than expected and I thought I lost the Saab key for a solid half hour. Turns out muscle memory put in the now empty house where I've put my keys every time I come in the house for the last 3 years. And then when I got back over to the in-laws house it was pretty much dinner time so I just delayed my departure even more. I got to my hotel room at 2am today.
I'm driving to Savannah solo with a box truck and the Saab. My FIL is driving up from St Augustine on Monday to help me unload everything into a storage unit. The plan is that gets done on Monday and then I can look at a couple houses with my realtor Tuesday before I fly back to Wisconsin. Then Wednesday the family is loading up in the Escalade and splitting the drive up over 3 days because we have 2 under 2 and more than 7 hours a day in the car is literal hell. I start my new job on the 28th. I owe my wife an actual vacation next year because we are never moving again once this is done.
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