The Pigeon Forge Project

[trapin]

As some of you now know, Pigeon Forge was a sort of religous experience for me. While there I vowed to have my car done by the next event. To show how serious I am I thought it would be fun to do a little progress thread as I chase after my goal. As it stands now I feel I'm about 60% finished with the car. I'm not sure what the dates are for next years event so I'll just use September 1st until I get the real ones. In going over my budget, I had to make some hard decisions. There are things I REALLY want for my car but I figure they could always come later as getting the car done and running is more important. Instead of sending out my tank to Rock Valley, I am going to opt for an external Walpro pump instead. Another big ticket item I really want for this car is a Twist Machine paddle shifter and Pro-Torq convertor. It appears that those will have to be shelved for the time being too. And speaking of the convertor, since I want to ultimately run a Pro-Torq convertor, it makes no sense to buy another pricey one like a TCI or Yank or a cheapo off of eBay. So I'm thinking of running the stock convertor for now hoping that I'm not going to hate life too much with it. I'll probably go with the Summit seats in my car (my cousin has them and they're not bad) and other amenities like a battery in the trunk, Marquez lights, DS&E selectaspeed wiper motor, etc. will have to come at a later date.

Hey man...it's all in the name of getting the car done, and that can't be a bad thing. Priorities man....priorities.

And it looks like the fun has already begun. Today I recieved my AutoKraft LS1 conversion oil pan and my Classic Update Wiring Kit from the good folks at American Autowire. Let the games begin.



341 days till RTH4

[CarlC]

Tony, git 'er done!

Dealing with the TOUGH stuff first is the way to go. You can always add on later. Don't ask my wife how I know.

[Rubes]

Way to go Tony. I think you'll have a little "extra" time to shake it out if ya shoot for 9/1...'cause I think it's the 3rd weekend in September that we have our little bash. I guess I should make an effort to have my '61 road ready for then too. Should be easy if I get off my butt. But I wont say I'll race ya to get cars "done"...LOL

[parsonsj]

Tony,

Sounds awesome. Do you have interim milestones (roller, start engine, glass in, etc.)?

Good luck!

jp

[6'9"Witha69]

Good idea JP! As a project Manager (IT Application Development) there is a lot to be said for breaking the progress into iterations and mapping them. Creating a timeline with deliverables makes matching procress to the goal easier to track as well as helping it appear more attainable (nevermind the last minute rush it helps prevent). Time and money management are what project management is all about and it sounds like that is exactly what everyone wanting it done by a certain date needs. I have a lifetime parts list broken into iterations with associated dates based on funds and time availability. I won't get into capacity planning.

I look forward to following along with the progress.

[trapin]

Here's a tentative one. This is a good idea. I should probably do a spreadsheet and crunch some numbers for more realistic numbers.

- Exterior trim and trunk finished by January 1st.

- Engine and trans in the car by March

- Interior Trim done by June

- All electrical and plumbing done by August

- Exhaust is the one thing that is scaring me the most.

I figure I gotta get everything done with a couple weeks to spare for a front end alignment, brakes inspection, fire it up, bugs, etc. It's going to be close.....REAL close.

[Vinz68]

Tony, glad to see you got the project going. I guess I'll be going for a ride in your car next year. I'm making a list of things I want for next year too.

[trapin]

Sweet. That car's already bad ass as it is, I can't wait to see what you've got planned. Now if we can just get more people to go down there, we'll spread around the good vibes and more people will want to get their cars done. LOL!!!

[Vinz68]

That's the plan the more the merrier! The pic of the wiring reminded me, my new kit is still in the box. Let me know how you mke out with it. It looks like a very good kit.

[Bow Tie 67]

Tony,

Glad to hear the event did the same for you that it did for me last year. Next year I will be there, and only missed this year due to personal issues. I have just gone into a slower mode. ( no more deadlines this year for events ) instead I'm driving the car as much as possible and then will take the winter and next summer to slowly work toward a more finished and comfortable ride.

Remember to look at the car as a whole as I did run into issues with interference between items. Even when things were mocked up several times, just try and get the overall picture as your working on each part of the car.

Matt

P.S. If it works out, hopefully we can cruise down to Pigeon Forge together.

[oestek]

That's great Tony... nothing helps a project like a deadline. In our case, we made calendars and spreadsheets outlining time frames, but always ended up throwing them out the window thanks to outside factors like parts availability, shipping time, etc. However, they are extremely helpful from the stanpoint of making you articulate or write out the steps needed... sometimes, the project involves more than you think, and the lists help you forumlate your plan by keeping everything in the forefront.

It's going to be a killer car - we look foreward to shooting it next year!

- KO

[69rs]

That's awesome, Tony! Good luck and I'll see you there!

[andrewb70]

- Exhaust is the one thing that is scaring me the most.

Whats so scary about the exhaust?

Andrew

[MrQuick]

A man on a mission, gotta love it!


Go tony go!!

[trapin]

Whats so scary about the exhaust?

Andrew

$$$$$$$$$$$$

I don't have it figured in my budget yet because I don't know how much it will cost. I'm hoping the money just falls out of the sky. LOL!!!

[Yelcamino]

$$$$$$$$$$$$

I don't have it figured in my budget yet because I don't know how much it will cost. I'm hoping the money just falls out of the sky. LOL!!!

First, good luck with your project! I'm working on having my Chevelle ready to roll for next year too. The real trick will be convincing my wife to drive the Elky so I can have both cars there just in case I need a spare!

As for exhaust, I got a complete stainless 3" w/ mufflers from Pypes for $400 at a show last June. Unless of course you intend to get something more elaborate, the exhaust system shouldn't be anything to worry about.

[Steve Chryssos]

Awesome. Don't worry about exhaust. Save it for last. Pu it at the very end of your build plan (afer driveshaft and brake lines, right Vin?) Try to make your deadline August 1st so that you have time for overruns, test drives and do-overs.

[trapin]

First, good luck with your project! I'm working on having my Chevelle ready to roll for next year too. The real trick will be convincing my wife to drive the Elky so I can have both cars there just in case I need a spare!

As for exhaust, I got a complete stainless 3" w/ mufflers from Pypes for $400 at a show last June. Unless of course you intend to get something more elaborate, the exhaust system shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Herb, was that a kit that you bought or did they custom make it for you? I don't want anything too elaborate. Just and exhaust coming off my LS1 Stainless Works headers that goes to crossover, into some Flowmasters and then dumps just after the tires. I think that's pretty much basic. $400 I can swing, maybe I should give them a call.

[Yelcamino]

Herb, was that a kit that you bought or did they custom make it for you? I don't want anything too elaborate. Just and exhaust coming off my LS1 Stainless Works headers that goes to crossover, into some Flowmasters and then dumps just after the tires. I think that's pretty much basic. $400 I can swing, maybe I should give them a call.

It was a complete kit. One thing they did do for me was ship me a pair of their 18" Race Flow mufflers (at no extra charge) because they only had the smaller ones (14" or 16" I think) on the truck. My goal was to have high flowing mufflers that didn't wake up the neighborhood and they recomended the 18 inchers. For an extra $60 I also got a nice pair of stainless oval tips. From my one experience with Pypes, I'd say they're a decent company to work with - good people and good service. I guess you can't ask for much more than that now-a-days.

And like Steve mentioned, I'd save the exhaust for last or close to last.

[parsonsj]

Tony,

One word of advice: buy parts as you go. Don't buy them months in advance because your plan will evolve and you will end up with parts you don't need or want.

For your exhaust, do the research, but don't buy the kit until a week or so before you mean to install it.

jp