Day 12

We had a visitor yesterday, just outside the garage:

Since it's Spring and so warm all the reptiles are out and about now, such as this Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). They are easy to sneak up on, but venomous, so I kept my distance. Anyway, Dad worked on the dash wiring:

I finished up the trunk aluminum:

I'll clean up the adhesive and fix the block off plates tomorrow. Here is the trunk from a different angle:

And a good view of the "cubby" space behind the seats, which was another aftermarket part that Dad got:

A good view of the battery box and cubby space:

The trunk carpet kit will make it look clean once we are done. Here is a shot from a different angle:

We sorted out some of the engine components and called it a day. See ya next time! :)

Engine is here

Our engine arrived today:

It's a 302 bored out to 306 and should produce around 340 horsepower before the wheels.
Here it is out of the crate (which was really sturdy...had to unscrew and crowbar it apart):

I bagged the engine back up, to keep it safe from debris and then started on the trunk aluminum:

Dad worked on the dash and installed the glove box and most of the lights (pictures tomorrow).
Here is a nice side shot of the trunk corners. Dad covered the triangle pieces in Naugahyde, then we glued and riveted it to the chassis, which looks real sharp:

Still some riveting to finish up and 7 more pieces to install before trunk aluminum is done. Dad ordered the trunk carpet kit and a windshield wiper kit (funny side note: AZ laws require working wipers on ALL cars, which I thought was funny for a state that gets so little rain...but it is AZ, lol) and our lower steering shaft will be here next week.

Wheels are here

Dad had the tires put on the rims today, so I just had to put them on the car:

They are 10.5in. in the rear and 9in in the front. Sumitomo HTR 35Z tires in the back, HTR 40Z up front.
They come with some snazzy lug covers too, but I temporally placed the tires to check clearances on brake lines and suspension, so you will see them later:

Nice shot over the rear:

We have a leak on the driver side front brake line, right at the banjo bolt, but otherwise the brakes look good.
The engine comes in tomorrow and the transmission should be here soon as well. Looks like we will be working on the engine this weekend! We have all the gaskets, wires, covers and more ready to go. Till next time...

Day 11

Plenty of stuff done today! We got the diff in place, but got some of the bolts mixed up, so we had to backtrack a few times. Additionally we had to sand the spacers down to fit them though the bolts and onto the frame which slowed us down a bit. The blue/red thing on top of the cover is a one-way breather for when the oil inside gets hot.
Here is a nice shot of the diff cover, panhard bar (across the bottom) and upper link:

We mark all our bolts in red to indicate that it is torqued to spec.
The rear-end is a 3.31 gear ratio in an 8.8in size. That should put the horses down on the ground effectively!
Then we installed the brake rotors and calipers, then we filled the system and bled all four corners:

We also riveted the battery box to the chassis:

Here is a shot form the driver's side wheel well:

And the whole rear-end, ready to go:

We fixed a small leak from the brake lines at the master cylinder, cleaned up and called it a day. It was nearly 100F today, so we quit around 1pm.
Dad pulled the trigger on a long block 302 engine, so we should see that soon. The transmission will be here next week and some more engine components are on the way.

Day 10

It sure feels like Summer already...the garage gets really hot in the afternoon. Dad got a portable cooler which helped, but it's still damn hot.
Anyway, we finished up the cockpit aluminum and Dad put down some more Zillamat:

Then the diff was delivered:

We installed the brake brackets, which required the axles to be removed and then re-installed. Then we put the traction loc brackets on. The stock cover bolts weren't long enough for our fancy new racing diff cover, so Dad picked some up the next day:

We cleaned up and called it a day.