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May 25, 2006
Air Compressor
I just picked up an American IMC 338V 2 stage air compressor, with an 80 gallon tank. It's huge, and I shouldn't outgrow it for quite a while. Unfortunately, it's got a 5 hp 3 phase Baldor Standard-E Motor and I have single phase power. The motor's frame is a NEMA size 184T, with a 1.125" diameter shaft, and a .230 keyway and spins at 1740 rpm. Part number is 36B101X866H3. It also came with a Square D magnetic starter. The part number is 8911DPSO13V09 ($215 from Newark) inside a NEMA enclosure, which is a 20A starter. A single phase 5hp motor draws 20.6-23A, depending on where you see the data. ABAC-American's phone number is 800-528-5192.
Grizzly lists a 3-7hp solid state phase converter for $199 at http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2006/Main/213
Northern Tool lists a single phase Leeson motor for $339 at
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_558_558
Posted by Z28tt at 12:47 PM
May 15, 2006
Indy '06 Prep - Final Day
Still need to get:
Two Deltagate wastegate gaskets
2.5 to 2" reducer
Replace bent steering center link (and might as well do tie rods too...)
Exhaust gaskets - 2 hole 2.5" dia (appx. 4" between bolts) and 3.5" dia. 3 hole, with 3.75" between bolt centers
Still need to do:
Replace center link, idler arm and tie rod ends, and align car
Fab throttle linkage and cable end
Add oil, rear end, and tranny fluid (and check power steering fluid once started)
Flush brake fluid
Wire oil pressure warning light and replace positive connector to ECM panel
Weld beaded 3" duct ends onto brake ducts
Connect intake piping
Bolt on wastegates
Modify exhaust for side exit and bolt on y-pipe
Set 3 link angle and tighten bolts
Cornerweight (if time)
remove wiper idler arms
Protect -12 lines from chafing by radiator
Install pass seat and harness
Tie spark plug wires away from downpipes
Pack Durango
Replace trailer connector
Connect trailer e-brake battery
Check wheels, axles, and fenders
Change durango oil & check coolant/ATF
Set up video camera
Prep laptop with data acquisition software and wiring diagrams
Wash car?!!
Posted by Z28tt at 9:58 AM
May 14, 2006
Indy '06 Prep
Completed today (10am - 6:40 am) with the help of JP from 5-11pm and Mike Cheney from 12am-6am:
Cleaned old stamped valve covers, rtv'd lower half of gasket, and installed
Cleaned exhaust surfaces (at all junctions) and orange rtv'd
Installed:
turbo manifolds, turbos, downpipes, spark plug wires
axles and rear brakes, driveshaft, dash, Accusump in center console
primed oiling system, relocated -12 oil feed line, filled power steering res, and found bent centerlink
Need to get:
Two Deltagate wastegate gaskets
2.5 to 2" reducer
Replace bent steering center link (and might as well do tie rods too...)
Two Exhaust gaskets - 2 hole 2.5" dia.
To do:
Add oil, coolant, rear end, and tranny fluid (and check power steering fluid once started)
Flush brake fluid
Wire oil pressure warning light and replace positive connector to ECM panel
Weld beaded 3" duct ends onto brake ducts
Connect intake piping
Drop in distributor and set timing
Modify exhaust for side exit and bolt on y-pipe
Engine wiring harness
Run mechanical coolant and temp senders through firewall, and connect to engine
Fab throttle linkage and cable end
Set 3 link angle and tighten bolts
Replace center link and tie rod ends, and align car
Cornerweight (if time)
remove wiper idler arms
Protect -12 lines from chafing by radiator
Install coolant reservoir
Pack Durango
Replace trailer connector
Connect trailer e-brake battery
Check wheels, axles, and fenders
Change durango oil & check coolant/ATF
Set up video camera
Prep laptop with data acquisition software and wiring diagrams
Wash car?!!
That's all. No sweat! :) And we're planning on leaving early Tuesday morning...
Posted by Z28tt at 5:03 AM
May 11, 2006
3rd Link, Day Five
Justin Bertolotti (from the local Connecticut F-body Association club) stopped by to lend a hand, and get the rear end back in the car quickly. We welded the 3rd link bracket on, did a quick coat of black rustoleum, and popped everything back in the car by 2pm.
Tonight I cut and welded the 3rd link and tube ends, and set the pinion angle to match the tailshaft angle. All thats left to do is pop the axles back in, bolt on the brake calipers, and tighten the LCA/PHR/shock bolts, and the new 3 link rear suspension is complete.
Some Weights:
Moser Torque Arm Bracket, and 3 bolts - 14.5 lbs
Center section, Nodular Iron, with gears and a spool - 73 lbs
Axle housing, with 3rd link bracket - 63 lbs
3rd link bracket, undrilled - 3.5 lbs
35 spline Moser axle with bearing, ARP studs, and brake bracket - 27.5 lbs each
QA1 XM 10-12 rod ends - .57 each
3rd link, 8" of 1.25x.095 4130 Cromoly tubing, with TIG welded 3/4" thread tube ends - about 2 lbs
Front bracket, about 1/2 lbs
23" of 1.75x.095 4130 Cromo tubing, welded to the floor and cage
5x5x.125 plate welded to the floor
--
Total weight of the rear end - 194.5 lbs
QA1 XMR Rod End Specs:
Right Left B W A D C Thread Misalign. Ult. Radial Approx.
Hand Hand +.0015 ±.005 ±.015 ±.010 +.062 UNF-3A Angle Static Brg. Wgt.
-.0005 -.031 aº Load Lbs. Lbs.
XMR10-12 XML10-12 0.6250 0.750 2.875 1.750 1.750 3/4-16 13 40,572 0.57
Posted by Z28tt at 9:40 AM
May 10, 2006
3rd Link, Night Four
Today the 1.25x.095 4130 Cromoly tube finally arrived from Arundel/Autofab Race Cars (the first one had been sawed in half by their shipping department to fit in the box!), so progress resumed. The 3/4-16" left and right tube ends were from F.K. Bearings, part no. 2708 and 2798L.
11pm - Complete rear end was removed from the Camaro (about 1 hour of work), with the brakes hanging from zipties and still connected.
11:30 - Axles removed from the rear end housing, so the inside of the axle tube can get wiped clean before welding. By having the oily metal burn on the inside, the carbon can diffuse into the heat affected zone, causing the steel to become much more brittle. Drivers axle has a "1" stamped on the inside end, and the passenger side has "2". They are 35 spline Moser axles, by the way. Also noticed the wheel studs are 2.5" long ARP with an M12x1.5 thread.
11:45 - Setting up the hydraulic press to press out the leaking drivers side axle bearing. The passenger side was replaced about 100 miles ago (or 2 years).
1am - The old bearing is pressed out, and the new one is pressed back on, using a ring JeffD & I made while I was still at Mallory Industries. The new bearing's seals on both sides didn't look quite right, so I took a few pictures. The rubber outer section isn't completely flush with the outer edge of the bearing, and looks like it's on crooked. Hopefully it'll still seal OK, as I don't have time to get a replacement before the f-body event at Indy in less than a week.
1:45 - The center section of the 9" rear is removed, and still looks brand new. I wiped down the inside of the housing, so the oil won't contaminate the welds for the 3rd link bracket. Tomorrow I'll get the bracket welded on, score a center section seal from Acme Autoparts, and get it back together and in the car.
Posted by Z28tt at 11:22 PM
May 3, 2006
3rd Link, Night Three
Today I fabbed the brackets that attach the third link to the rear axle. The horizontal offset is 10.5" towards the passenger side. This packaging places it just beyond the edge of the gas tank. Checking the anti-squat numbers on the spreadsheet, I needed as short a link as possible, so I angled the mount 20 degrees forward. This actually places the mount through the rear firewall, so a larger access hole has to be cut. The nice part is that it leaves plenty of clearance for the fuel tank.
The A1 Racing mount needs some clearance in the rear, so the vertical tube needs to be about 3.5" in front of the main roll bar hoop, centerline to centerline.
Time to take a dinner break, and resume after some pasta...
For the rest of the evening, I fabbed the vertical bar for the front link. Usually, this would be easy, but not when half of your tools are in the new garage, and the other half, are at the old house. In this case, the base to my JD Squared mandrel bender was not here. I've got the manual version, that does not have hydraulics, so it requires a good anchor point, and a long breaker bar (about 4' works well). Since the 10' base used to anchor it to the trailer hitch was MIA, I decided to grab some 8' long 2x3x3/16" angle iron, and clamp the contraption to the trailer. I got about 10 degrees into the bend, and the clamps kept loosening up. Tighten them, and go again. Loose. Damn. The clamps are breaking. One of the clamps had a crack running through the webbing, and the other was just very bent. That's not working, but the fix, as always, is to weld something. I wasn't about to ruin the powdercoat on the trailer by welding directly, but I did make a bracket to bolt the bender to the angle iron, and TIG'd this outside, on the trailer (thank goodness it finally stopped raining!). This time everything went smoothly, I put the 40 degree bend in there, and packed everything back inside the garage (3 hours for one bend!). Afterwards, I notched the tube in the drill press with a hole saw to mate with the roll cage's cross bar, and then cut a 30 degree mitre on the bottom of the vertical bar to match the floorpan. This was definitely trial and error, as I didn't want to take a chance of cutting too much off, and needing to start over with another length of tube.
Posted by Z28tt at 7:13 PM
3rd Link, Night Two
The A1 Racing Panhard Bar Adjuster arrived today, for the front of the third link. The QA1 XMR 10-12 rod ends should arrive tomorrow, which leaves just the tube and tube ends. Tonight I cut the access hole for the third-link through the rear firewall. The Cummins nibbler wasn't even up to the task of cutting through thin sheetmetal, so that's going back. After messing with the anti-squat numbers in the spreadsheet, it looks like the 20" link I planned will need to be as short as possible - 12" would be ideal, but 15-17" will be necessary. This is due to the very short 19.25" lower control arms that are on the 82-up Camaro/Firebirds. The 20" long arms varied the antisquat % by nearly 100% over 4" of suspension travel, while a 12" link varied only 30%. Some long lower control arms may be in my future...
Posted by Z28tt at 1:07 AM