My god, what have I done?

In reply to Dirtydog (Forum Supporter) :

You know, I've mostly suppressed the memories(nightmares?) of the Vette, but you have a valid point about the condition. Thankfully the DSM wasn't nearly as filthy & neglected as the Vette.

I finally fixed that fire hazard of a wiring harness debacle. 
 

It's mounted securely now & there's no longer any exposed battery cables. I also sorted out most of the other wiring & plumbing routing. 

You're on a roll!  Keep up the momentum, it's looking good!

Hey, what happened to my pile of parts?

Oh yeah, I moved them...

At this point I should be ready to wheel it outside & try to start it next weekend. I still need to add coolant, finish the power steering pump mod & reinstall it, and get the driver's side motor mount located better & bolted into place. Then I can power it up, check for fuel leaks, and try to get my laptop to connect to the car.

I also need to get the cowl cleaned up & reattached, and I'm going to install the front Konis & camber plates while it's still in the air this week. Oh and I need to check the trans & xfer case fluid levels while I can too. 

That looks fantastic. Hopefully it runs as good as it looks!

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

That looks fantastic. Hopefully it runs as good as it looks!

Thanks! At least there's hope for a decent concours finish if it breaks down. 

Make sure you do an allllll the psi tune  for drag use

759NRNG (Forum Partidario) said:

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to mkZero :

Thanks! I'm pretty much the same way, I'm just hoping I can get it together - and keep it together - until after the Challenge. 

sell??? continue mods unencumbered by 'challenge' contraits($$$$$)...Trade Stampie for the uh uh "frankenvair" thingy from Patrick ....none of the above???

No I plan on keeping Darth Nader for a long time thank you very much.

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I'm sure it's going to kick all the asses when you start it up.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

That looks fantastic. Hopefully it runs as good as it looks!

Thanks! At least there's hope for a decent concours finish when it breaks down. 

Because DSM.

I think a concours theme of "the amazing Disposable Speed Machine!" complete with a recycling bin full of the parts it shed on its' final drag pass and planned reuasibility (this rod shrapnel will be melted down and turned into a new rod!) would go over extremely well.

Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:

Make sure you do an allllll the psi tune  for drag use

You mean like directly connecting the manifold to the vacuum line to the wastegate? If it still wants to try to flop open I'll bring a small vice grip we can use to keep that puppy shut. 

Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:

Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:

Make sure you do an allllll the psi tune  for drag use

You mean like directly connecting the manifold to the vacuum line to the wastegate? If it still wants to try to flop open I'll bring a small vice grip we can use to keep that puppy shut. 

I can thread a bolt into the end of it, im guessing if I thread it in far enough that would prevent the waste gate from opening. It's on the stock clutch though, so if I'm lucky it'll act like a fuse before any of the more expensive drivetrain bits shatter. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

That looks fantastic. Hopefully it runs as good as it looks!

Thanks! At least there's hope for a decent concours finish when it breaks down. 

Because DSM.

I think a concours theme of "the amazing Disposable Speed Machine!" complete with a recycling bin full of the parts it shed on its' final drag pass and planned reuasibility (this rod shrapnel will be melted down and turned into a new rod!) would go over extremely well.

Love it! Wanna join the team?

Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:

Make sure you do an allllll the psi tune  for drag use

Actually that brings up a question I had. Since I can't comprehend the NHRA rules at all, how quick would I have to go to require a cage(and whatever else they require)?

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

If I'm not fielding something else, absolutely!

Oh yeah, when I installed the timing belt I discovered the exhaust cam had been retarded by 1-tooth(which is really really easy to do on this engine), so I'm thinking that's nother contributing factor to why the builder dumped the car. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

11.49

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

Good, I have zero chance of getting anywhere close to that. 
 

I'd planned a short night in the shop tonight, just finish up getting the driver's side motor mount wrestled into place & get to bed at a decent time for once. Instead, here I am at almost midnight telling you how I berkeleyed up.

I got the motor mount finished in about 1/2 hour and started cleaning all the tools, rags, manual, etc. off the driver's fender when I found a cam seal. I stood there & thought about it a couple minutes...I definitely remembered installing the intake cam seal, and I didn't remember not installing the exhaust cam seal, but I was also 99.9% sure I only had 2 cam seals...

So I pulled the upper timing cover, valve cover, and #1 exhaust cam cap:

berkeley. berkeleyberkeley. berkeleyberkeleyberkeleyberkeleymotherberkeleyer...

So I pulled off the motor mount I'd just finished installing, the alternator belt, both pulleys - the crank one requires a puller, plus it doesn't clear the chassis, lower timing cover, timing tensioner, timing belt, exhaust cam sprocket...then install the goddamotherberkeleying cam seal I forgot, then reinstall all the above.

In other news, I can apparently change a 4G63 timing belt in about 4-hours now. 

At least you found it before starting it up!

Wow, that is a really good catch!  Look at it this way, now you have plenty of practice for changing the belt in an emergency situation.  I've been there, fully replaced a timing belt and then noticed a bolt fell into the lower cover was stuck eating the belt up, had to pull it all and start over just for one bolt!  It is good practice to learn how to work on the front end of the engine since the water pump and oil pump reside there as well (common failure points on DSMs)

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

You da man. 

Pete.. look at you timingbelteffenthrashmaster.....sure don't miss that carb on the vette eh? 

In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :

Not one tiny bit. I may grow to hate this car just as much, but definitely not yet. Everything is just leagues easier to work on with this car vs. the Vette.