Asphalt_Gundam - G body that turns

Putting the 3 link brackets on the 9". Worked out pretty well using the old lowers as locators and quite a bit of level cube checking to get the uppers on square but I'm happy with how it came out.

I worked on getting the fenders to clear over the last few days. Only in this predicament because I had measured and planned for 1-1/2 degrees of camber but was told there had been problems with those snouts and I ended up with 1 degree instead. Which is just shy of 1/4" at the top of the tire difference. It would have been a near perfect fit, but here I am cutting things up and pretending I can body work.

I had to cut the outer to inner fender lip and then slice the inner so I could crush it upwards. This got the inner out of the way vertically and also pushed the outer fender, outward. Then I welded the two back together to give it all strength. Unsurprisingly it messed up the paint, which is ok considering it's not great to start with and the more I looked during this job the more rust I could see....

If I really wanted to go about making it nice I'd need 4 patch panels, the passenger side inner and outer rocker, as well as a complete trunk kit. Trunk kit due to torn open seams and cuts for access to body bolts (and previous repairs).

I didn't take a pic but I made an inner panel to be able to seal up the wheel well again. I'll later seam sealer that to keep water and dirt out of the trunk.

But now the tires clear! 

I swapped out the ring and pinion the other day. Things got a bit...toasty....

I'm pretty sure this was due to loss of lubrication in long, high G corners. The gear oil would have all moved one side of the housing and likely most of it run down the axle tube to the wheel bearing. By chance this should be a non issue this year due to going to a floater type rear axle and the addition of inner seals to keep all the oil at the center.

Full video

Sorting out the lower coil over mounts and bumpstop engagement. Moved the lower mounts inboard to make sure the coil cleared the frame at max travel. I don't need the rear to be hitting arter just fixing that problem in the front.

These circle track mounts didn't quite work out the way I thought they might. I needed to keep the shock body close to the axle for Watts Link arm clearance. It just so happened that a hole lined up with the control arm but this is no good either if the control arm is in the hole above or below where the shock ends up. I'll get around this by just cutting the mount in half and welding the rest in to the bracket. At least it was handy for setting the location and angle to match the coilover.

Bumpstop engagement looks good. Hard to tell what things will actually come to a stop but it should be close. If that proves incorrect then I can always add a shim to bring the bumpstop into play sooner.

The weekend push was to have the full 3 link suspension working. The Watts Link parts came in from send cut send and had everything to get it done .... except a 5/8-11 tap.....

Considering all my parts drawings were based off cardboard cutouts and notes scribbled on them I was surprised how close of a fit everything was. The frame side 3rd link mounts nearly hold themselves in place and the Watts Link frame side mounts only needed minor grinding to fit really well.

I tried out a laser level for lining everything up which was a big help in getting the brackets all straight with each other....then realized the pinion angle I'd been running was way off where it should be and I had to correct for that after.

After cutting that triangle out to correct for the pinion angle I made some boxing plates to strengthen up the mount. Bottom needed to remain partially open for fill plugs access, however I could also use the vent hole for filling with fluid.

At this point the Watts Link is fully functional and I'm hoping to be test cycling the 3link suspension tonight after finishing up the 3rd link mount.

Oh, a Watt's Link is a lot more work on a Ford 9 than it is on rearends with rear covers that come off.

In reply to GCrites80s :

Definitely not a bolt on solution.

I now have a functional 3 Link/Watt's Link G body Cutlass!!!

Still a few minor problems to sort out though. The pinion angle and drive line still miss match by 5 degrees and the axle side upper mount is now hitting the cross brace. Getting that angle might cause the coilovers to contact the lower brackets but there's plenty of trimming that can be done with that.

Then I while pulling the gas tank out I realized that the whole trunk floor (that holds the tank) it trying to tear free! Came up with a plan to cut out old cross brace and put in a new one that will also support the tank. Then patch/repair the trunk sheet metal. While I'm at it I can modify it for a full size wheel and tire spare.

And were up to date with videos....for now...plenty more modifications to come before race season.

love to come in here every once in a while and check on the progress.  this things is so rad and your fab skills are amazing.  keep it up man!

I bow down before your metal fab wizardry...

Thanks guys. 

After a short break from working on the car, it was time to get back at it, starting with the trunk floor.

I had a plan of using trailer fenders to make my spare tire well and "the plan" quickly descended into improvisement as I "luckily" measured twice a and realized that it was a flawed plan where my oversize wheel well would be occupying some gas tank space.....

Then it was hitting the frame in front and back....more improvising....and here's the results.

The spare snuggly fits a full size (18x10 w/ 275/35/18). Making patches wasn't too bad and I wasn't too concerned about how they looked/fit. I just wanted structure added back and some seam sealer means the trunk should stop filling with dust/dirt.

Put the tank back in after swapping a new sending unit in so the fuel guage works. Had to bend the seam ledge of the tank a little to clear the tire well but it all went in ok. Worked out a new bracket for the fuel pump and filters then plumbed it all. Should be a easily accessible area for maintenance/repairs with or without the tire off.

The nuts on the bracket are welded to make it much easier to service the fuel pump if needed.

Quality body work right?

Pulled this huge chunk of Bondo out of the rocker panel....

Had to strip the double paint job off the lower areas of the car because it was textured and vinyl won't stick to it. Need to repair the rusted out areas too.
I have no experience in doing major body work but here goes. Started out with some sheet metal the same thickness as the body and worked it to shape as best I could. Then scribed the outline and trimmed to be a flush fit, leaving a few clecos there to locate it. The tabs they're in will get trimmed as I go when tack welding in place.

I doubt it'll come out perfect. Had already snowballed into needing to replace the sheet metal underneath too. All I want is for it to be not rust holes and smooth enough not to show obvious problems through vinyl. Why you ask? In 2 weeks the car will go to get wrapped for proper livery. It won't be Blue anymore, and @mnmotorheadmadness March 18/19th will be the unveiling.

I may be fooling myself into knowing what I'm doing but I was able to get some sheet metal bent up to be a new section of inner rocker panel. I put some paint on it and added seam sealer to the corners where it overlaps the old one before pushing it into place and spot welding. This will support the patch panel from the back side.

With that in place I started tacking the patch panel. Slow going, and difficult to get a tool behind it to stretch the welds when needed but it's been minimal filing to adjust the fit as I go. I'm being extra careful to have the metal level across the joint before doing the tack. For the most part it's been a fusion weld without filler. But when I need filler .035 mig wire is easier to use than the 1/16 Tig rod I have.

I need a longer reach clamp to flush up the remaining distance but so far the fit looks pretty good.

The body work came out pretty decent IMO. There are a few spots that I'm not totally satisfied with but the options to improve are limited without getting into custom built tools. However I now have smeared on some Bondo Glass and WOW, the panels look 10x better now with the minor low spots filled in. Haven't done any sanding yet but it looks promising to be minimal work. 

Picked up the rear end housing from powdercoating yesterday. Something wasn't jiving with the blue. Apparently the base coat went on great but the top coat was nothing but problems. Could have been a couple different things but I'm not complaining. May not be perfect but it won't rust and the guy was so disappointed with it he didn't change me anything... even for the small parts that did come out great. 

I need the car rolling by the end of the week so I started final assembly of the rear.

Not enjoying this part one bit....

The better I get it, the more I see that's not....

Amazing progress and hopefully the wrap will have enough going on to hide your sins.  
perfection is the enemy of good enough....

In reply to jfryjfry :

It should. Wrap guy says that all it needs to be is smooth for the wrap to stick properly. Long as it looks good from a few feet away it'll be great.

My worst sin so far has to be welding on the last patch (drivers rear) and unknowingly lighting the wiring harness on fire....so that needs to be rewired now....

Well, I dropped off the car at Statt Wraps yesterday. They tell me it should be ready to pick up on Friday.

Main project last week was getting the new engine put back together. While doing so I added the vacuum regulator, replaced the one rod to be safe, checked the clearances, added a 1/4npt port to the intake base for crankcase pressure measurement, and removed the exhaust seals after checking the guides and seeing that a few exh valves were a bit dry at the bottom of the stem. 

They ended up needing the car an extra day so I'm glad I pulled the front calipers off before hand. Cleaned up and new seals in those.

Then since I still had time I went about fabricating a crank sensor mount. The goal here is eventually switch over to coil near plug for individual cylinder control and better spark at high rpm. 

Saturday evening I picked the car up from Statt Wraps in Grand Rapids, MN and...... It's awesome! I can't wait to finish up putting it all back together and finalize some exterior stuff. While the poor quality of the some paint/metal underneath is noticable (and I knew it would be) I'm proud to say the quarter panel patches and beat up arches I did are almost unnoticeable. 

Sorry....so pics yet. The big reveal will be at Motorhead Madness in Duluth,MN March 18 and 19th.

Moving on I reinstalled the ECU, and wiring harness. Began swapping the clutch and flywheel when I found that the pilot bearing had spun in the crank. No serious damage just ugly looking.

I had a spare on the shelf and it needed to be modified for the diesel crank anyway. Pretty sure the difference there is auto vs manual when original. Cut it to fit on the lathe and was able to get the engine set in place yesterday before calling it a day.