Project Bad Penny - more changes because done is boring

[CliffS]

I'm not bad on a road course.. just haven't had enough practice. The classes at Spring Mountain sure helped a lot. Now in the autox I'm much better.. not Mary Pozzi good, but certainly more proficiant than the big tracks.

Gaining racecraft skills is a process, just gotta keep plugging away at it.

Gotta watch out for them Vibes.. ;)

The rear end housing has been modified and is almost ready to go to power paint. Thanks to the Bradster for doing the wicked welds on my sway bar pads. In addition to ditching the U-bolt deal we cut off the brake line tabs and will be using some sweet billet pieces made by Cris over at JCG Restorations. Going to swing by Currie and have then check the tollerances on the ends since on one side the bearing feels a bit loose and leaks a touch.


And here's the JCG brake line clamp, I don't think I'll ever weld on tabs again.

Steve are the brake clambs one off or are they available for the public?

[dipren443]

Steve are the brake clambs one off or are they available for the public?

Second that, I will order a set right now...

[Steve1968LS2]

Second that, I will order a set right now...

Call Cris over at JCG Restorations, he is selling them. In fact I'm buying a set for my Track Rat project.

www.jcgrestorationandcustoms.com

[dipren443]

Call Cris over at JCG Restorations, he is selling them. In fact I'm buying a set for my Track Rat project.

www.jcgrestorationandcustoms.com

Thanks Steve!

[Steve1968LS2]

I've been through 4 engines, 3 transmissions, 2 suspensions and 2 interiors, though I've never had my car painted. I often think to myself; "Man I should have just built 3 cars."

Carry on.

Yea.. this is the third engine (4th if you count where I had a bearing failure).. third trans.. second set of gauges, same interior though but three sets of shocks.

It's a process to get everything just how you want it. Besides, it's fun trying out new parts to see how they work/fit.

what rear pumpkin are you going to run in the car now?

Same one as before. Aluminum Strage case, billet pinion support, TruTrak posi and lightened/polished 3.90 gears.

what is the little round silver billet looking piece sitting to the right of the proportioning valve? I dont recongnize what that is.

Ahh.. billet clutch reservoir from Right Brothers.

[dipren443]

Ahh.. billet clutch reservoir from Right Brothers.

Should that be Ring Bros.?

[Steve1968LS2]

Should that be Ring Bros.?

I guess I need a another cup of coffee... yea, RING Brothers...

[dipren443]

I guess I need a another cup of coffee... yea, RING Brothers...

LOL. I think I will be ordering that reservoir for my TKO swap. Nice piece.

[19sixtynine]

Just ordered a set of the JCG brake line clamps! Cris is really nice to deal with, can't wait to get these installed!

sure as heck beats hose clamps

[Cris@JCG]

We are looking @ trying to get one of these installed on Penny but might have clearence issues due to the DSE close out panels.

Steve, If we can't get the complete assembly on we can do the stainless pin with cup & spring

[rwhite_692]

Steve those brake line fitting clamps are trick... make sure to loctite those clamp threads...I could see that thing loosening up pretty easily with thermal cycling, vibration...What are those allen head cap screws, 10/24? Plain Stainless?

I prefer the welded on tabs, but if you are the type to make frequent changes with your brake setup, or if the weld-on tabs are not easily do-able with the rearend still under a car, etc, I guess I can see the value.

[dipren443]

Just ordered a set of the JCG brake line clamps! Cris is really nice to deal with, can't wait to get these installed!

sure as heck beats hose clamps

Hahahaha. I just ordered a set as well. And they will also be replacing a pair of hose clamps....

[Frankenstine]

nice looking race car, how much $$clams you got in her, or do you cal guys even keep up with that? what you guys do? sell your souls to buy some of those unobtainium parts.( just tricking) nice to know those who can do, getting ready to go pick up my first 69, I have plans making it look kinda like Vance Wheelers(Enduring Dreams and Endura Bumpers Febuary 2009) Any idea on how or where to get more info on his car as the article was short n sweet,such as wheel size,tire size was it tubed, subframe, what kind of rear suspension, ect,

[Steve1968LS2]

Steve those brake line fitting clamps are trick... make sure to loctite those clamp threads...I could see that thing loosening up pretty easily with thermal cycling, vibration...What are those allen head cap screws, 10/24? Plain Stainless?

I prefer the welded on tabs, but if you are the type to make frequent changes with your brake setup, or if the weld-on tabs are not easily do-able with the rearend still under a car, etc, I guess I can see the value.

The allens look stainless.. and they are not super tiny. I plan on dabbing some blue loctite on there.

The problem with the welded tabs is that they sometimes end up being right in the way. This happened to us and we had to move them which made the rear end look like crap. I like how flexable these are and with some loctite I don't see them comming apart.

[Steve1968LS2]

nice looking race car, how much $$clams you got in her, or do you cal guys even keep up with that? what you guys do? sell your souls to buy some of those unobtainium parts.( just tricking) nice to know those who can do, getting ready to go pick up my first 69, I have plans making it look kinda like Vance Wheelers(Enduring Dreams and Endura Bumpers Febuary 2009) Any idea on how or where to get more info on his car as the article was short n sweet,such as wheel size,tire size was it tubed, subframe, what kind of rear suspension, ect,

I shutter to think how much of my own $$ I have in the car.. and I had a job where I get smoking deals on parts for builds. Together I end up with a car that's nicer than I deserve.

email me at [email protected] and I will see if I have more info on that car.

[BuzzKillian]

Yep, but this year she is getting an SS hood and I might try to make the "ice cube trays" functional.

BOS had a real GM SS hood out back so I thought "what the heck".

Have you had any ideas on making the " ice cube trays " functioonal? I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure what to do in case of a down pour...

[steelerguy]

We really like it... there were a couple of issues that found. The nice part is that I spoke with the owner and he's making changes to future kits base on my suggestions. It's nice to see responses like this from companies.

Problem on was that the core support mount sat 3/4 or and inch too high. This means we needed a thicker spacer or a "stepped" mount. Future kits will have a way to step the mount. Not a big deal, but a PITA to fab on the spot.

Problem two was that on the LS style radiator the fill cap should be on the driver's side. In this configuration you would have a hard time running the car with the cap off (to fill, etc) since it would splash from the water pump inlet.

Like I said future ones will be changed. Other than that I love the kit. If you look at the earlier pics I posted you can really see how much bigger the opening is. When I mount my huge Setrab 925 cooler it's only going to shroud a small percent of the radiator and the increased cooling capacity should be really nice to have.

In my case we're going to move the cap ourselves. Here it is with thier optional core support closeout. I think it's pretty sweet looking, but I've gotten use to the DSE version, so we're going to fab it to work.

Also, the Autorad deal gives more clearance between the radiator fans and the water pump, so people would have an easier time with packaging an air induction system.

Here's a shot with their closeout...

Thanks for the info! Placed my order last week for the support/radiator with fan, A/C condenser, trans cooler, and closeouts. They had already put the fixes in place.

[Steve1968LS2]

Have you had any ideas on making the " ice cube trays " functioonal? I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure what to do in case of a down pour...

Well, water on the engine wouldn't be a HUGE problem with EFI.. You could fab some block offs to use in bad weather.

Maybe they could even be magnetic

[Steve1968LS2]

Thanks for the info! Placed my order last week for the support/radiator with fan, A/C condenser, trans cooler, and closeouts. They had already put the fixes in place.

Good deal.. that's the real benefit of doing these stories and it's great when companies listen to feedback from us editors.

When you do the install let me know if you have any questions on alignment.

[Frankenstine]

hey stve it's frankenstine know you guys are busy, were you able to find anymore info on Vance Wheelers camaro, sent you an email. thanks