Transcona, the Dirty Old XR7

[egoman]

When I started this thread I wanted to have enough material so that I would finish the car with the people who follow along. I have also indicated that I have a lot of material for you to peruse.
Well seeing as I have become a school teacher and am now taking spring break it is nice to be getting some more work done. Honestly this is the first progress on the car for several very cold months.
But the storage vault can keep us going for a few years at least. I did state that we would have progress to show even when I am not busy.
And again I am welcome to field comments and suggestions from the people that follow us.
Of course as always have a nice day!

[egoman]

So the last progress post mentioned pride going before the fall. Good work doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be usable.
So we need to mount the pan-hard rocker mount on the rear housing. Naturally everything will go well and there will be no problems right?
SOOOO the drain plug is of course in the way and we will get that moved. ANNND the studs that welded into the brake retaining plate snapped of. Guess we are going to switch to a milder steel for those going forward. They were not cooled quickly or anything like that. Just a little brittle when welded with the mig.
We also got the brake plates mounted to the rear end. This was a simple matter of just holding the calipers in place and centering the plates for hub clearance.

[jaybee]

Good looking stuff!

[egoman]

Good looking stuff!

Thanks for the praise. It helps to keep a guy moving LOL!

[egoman]

Here you can start to see that the spacers and the spindle and the steel bracket are coming together to make a complete braking system. At this point I have made a huge miscalculation, but I don’t know it yet?
I also bolted the aluminum spacer to the original spindle to bore it out and then turned it again to face it smooth and parallel.
Certain things require small clearancing, like the E-brake adjuster and some other stuff.
I have also placed the suspension brackets on the rear end so I don’t forget them later. I actually don’t forget them later too. That’s kind of nice isn’t it?

[egoman]

33 This time the rear end is mostly complete except for the trailing link brackets.
We have fixed the emergency brake cables and the mounts for those cables. They only required a small amount of heat and a creative bend to make them OK! We also fixed the clamping plates by going to a lower grade of steel all thread rod and TIG welding them into place. It is kind of funny that you will need both metric and standard tools to work on much of this stuff.


- - - Updated - - -

33 And as usual more pics.

[egoman]

34 So with the rear finished for now what are we going to do next? I would guess the geniuses in the crowd would think the front end is next. They would of course be right, you know, because they are geniuses!
Good old GM for some reason couldn’t make the bolt holes the same distance apart. I measured that crap so often before I realized that the stock mounts varied by fractions of an inch on purpose. I WASN’T MEASURING IT WRONG!
A member on another forum lent me some very good C5 C6 suspension details that I have also shared with others. His only requirement was to never post it online. He was alright with me privately sharing that info though. Very James Bond right there eh?
So I got to practice some old school drafting again based on those measurements and that is included here.

[egoman]

35 I am a huge fan of captured nuts so assembly is easier and faster. I use this technique frequently on this car.
Once again with GMs jerk face designers designing all this with 2 different centerlines, it makes you question everything you are working on. Oh well tape measures levels and strings can fix all that right?
This one has a lot more pictures that words.

[egoman]

The drawing here is the one that I take over to my friend Doug so he can plasma it all out. Even with a drawing we still talk each bracket out to make sure we don’t screw it up. That of course still happens though.
And yes that crappy old drafting table is all that I need to make me happy. I love welding and cutting steel but drawing is a close second favorite for me.
I have done something different here. I have added text boxes as I felt there were too many pics without an explanation. Tell me what you think in the comments?

[egoman]

A few posts ago I mentioned the pieces with the holes in them for supports and stiffeners. Here you start to see what I was getting at. I used that for boxing in those brackets.
I am also at this time locking the rear end in the car at ride height and proper centerline.
DAMN that looks good with those big tires there doesn’t it?
I also added the watts linkage frame brackets at this time. I have found over the years that a stack of washers and other junk will be very accurate to space everything just right.

[Kuhlhaus]

Great idea!

[Kuhlhaus]

It finally arrived
I contacted a Corvette dismantler in Welland Ontario just after Christmas. Honest to god, the dealing nearly drove me nuts. It took me 3-1/2 months to get my stuff delivered. That’s right my 97 Cougar is getting a large amount of C-6 ZO6 parts. A lot of people will just say, why didn’t you just start with a Corvette then? Well, I don’t fit in a Corvette. I am a big man, like NFL defensive line big. This was $6600 dollars worth of goodies and this post will show you the wheels. I will list prices as I go but will let you add them up if you so choose. Remember the prices are in Canadian funds.
SOOOOO Stock C6 ZO6 wheels in an 18-19 combo. I made a decision years ago when this idea began to germinate about wheels and tires. My way of thinking was that these are very expensive items that have a good chance of getting destroyed. There are rich boys all over the place that want the latest and greatest wheels and tires. Ferrari fan boys, Porsche people, Corvette kooks, they all have one thing in common. They will sell the stock stuff off fairly inexpensively. Seeing as I was purchasing corvette suspension, may as well have the same wheels. It also allows me to update by buying for a corvette and just bolting them on my car. Luckily I got them all from the same place.
Attachment 182988Attachment 182989Attachment 182990Attachment 182991Attachment 182992Attachment 182993

- - - Updated - - -

By the way the 6600$ was not just for the wheels. There is a lot more to come in the Cougar Tales/Tails. See what I did there?

Great idea!

[Kuhlhaus]

So this is where we start to take a change of direction/ I believe this will draw you in where before it may not have.
I am a journeyman steam-fitter and have built approximately 30 cars for competition on dirt tracks and drag strips around this area. I have prepared cars for the local road racing circuit as well as the ice racers. I have no intention of building a boring car where we just bolt stuff on. Unfortunately my best work was done in the time of film cameras and not much evidence of it exists. I do have a few dirt mods that I built that I can post here but some of my real cool stuff only exists in BS sessions amongst old friends and racing buddies.
We are done with the initial collecting of parts and are actually getting started on construction.
Little bit of a heads up. This is not a mild build! It may never compete at optima but it is being built in that vein. We are talking a complete frame replacement, full roll cage that is built to the rules of several series including SCCA, NASA, optima and CASC for the Canadian watchers.
As a racer it’s weird to build with a nod to creature comforts. Air, cruise, tilt, power windows, and door locks. Won’t have a ridiculous stereo cause that doesn’t interest me at all but would look to have a navigation system with a big screen.
Ultimately I would love to do Drag Week, Bonneville, Optima and cruise nights with the same car. I would also like to make the car available to any sponsors that would like to do displays with it.
While I am farther along than the stuff posted today I want your input and to dialogue with as many people as possible.

Thanks for sharing... Look forward to watching your creativity unfold!

[Kuhlhaus]

Floater Parts
Remember that floater that I showed you before? Yeah, I am not using that anymore. Remember that I said I would describe many things as sex? This box of machined parts was described without prompting by the ego-nephew as a box of sex. Great minds think alike. These were about 450$US dollars shipped to Pembina ND. Arrived in 2 days, so I guess some people know how to run their business better than Corvette suppliers. http://www.9inchfloater.com/
Attachment 183535Attachment 183536Attachment 183537Attachment 183538Attachment 183539

Great link... I've been doing some initial research as I plan out my rear axle assembly 12 bolt vs 9". Full floater or not. Build or buy... Etc. Not going to waste your time now... Just planting the seed so once I put the leg work I'll probably reach out.

[egoman]

Great link... I've been doing some initial research as I plan out my rear axle assembly 12 bolt vs 9". Full floater or not. Build or buy... Etc. Not going to waste your time now... Just planting the seed so once I put the leg work I'll probably reach out.

I can truly be full of ideas! Are they good ideas? Time will tell.

[egoman]

38 It’s time for this assembly to head home. I teach at my union hall for the 7Oaks SD., and when I am off the clock I will use the shop occasionally. A big thank you to Local 254 Plumbers and Pipefitters hall. Remember Unions built our middle class and that’s why they try to destroy them. Buy union and support those workers.
I described this piece as a big clumsy wheelbarrow.
The sharp eyed amongst you will notice the dirt bikes at the front of the trailer. Another passion of mine. I call it the methadone that tempers my desire to race sprint cars.
You can also see that I have tacked the front lower link brackets to the rear cross member. That cross member of course is at random length to be cut down later. The future holds more mods to this assembly for stuff that I never anticipated. Let’s see if you catch that in the future, LOL.

[egoman]

40 While there is not a lot to see here it is quite important. The car was inspected and safetied. I also got it licensed so it is officially mine now. This car was actually a good candidate for an old man to drive it into retirement. Well seeing as I am also nearing 60 that seems appropriate doesn’t it?

[Kuhlhaus]

40 While there is not a lot to see here it is quite important. The car was inspected and safetied. I also got it licensed so it is officially mine now. This car was actually a good candidate for an old man to drive it into retirement. Well seeing as I am also nearing 60 that seems appropriate doesn’t it?

Keep it coming!

[egoman]

Sometimes I just need a break.
The World of Outlaw sprint cars make their way up to North Dakota and it gives me a thrill to see them. While I have raced with them in the past I never made any sort of mark with them. Heck I didn’t make any sort of mark locally either!

[egoman]

This is a series of cars that I have raced in the past few decades. I raced sprints in the 80s and dirt mods in the 90s. I have built cars for myself and others for almost all classes of racing. I also race dirt bikes to cover some urges. At 300 plus (That’s being very generous) I don’t fit the mold of a standard MXer. Even when I raced sprinters in my early 20s I was still 6-4 and 225lbs. I tend to be quite self-deprecating about my racing results. With the internet there is no sense lying about how great I may have been anyways.
I wish that all the photos that I had 20-30-40 years ago were still around but that stuff isn’t forever like the digital stuff from now days.