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The excitement is building

Little Update . . . . .

New front wheels and tires that I ordered back in December finally arrived . . . :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I just got them mounted and placed them next to the current front and rear tires for a visual comparison . . . . I think I hit what I was looking for as close to perfect as reasonably possible.

massively bigger than the current fronts, while still suitably dominated by the 33X22 rears.

I'll try to swap them out with the current front wheels tomorrow and get some pics with the new look.

My PTFE Hose also came in, so I'll order a few assorted fittings for each size, 6, 8, & 10 so that I have just enough to mock up each line one by one, so I can order exactly what I'll ultimately need without extras that I don't . . . . these damn things are $30 to $45 each . . good thing they are reusable.


Pics below for a quick visual tire comparison:


Front_1 r.jpg

Front_2 r.jpg

Front_3 r.jpg

Rear_1 r.jpg

Rear_2 r.jpg

Rear_3 r.jpg
 
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I think I need an intervention . . . . . and it's all ORF's fault . . :D


Just ordered a few hose ends and fittings that I mentioned previously, so I have what I need to be able to plan and mock up all my hose lines, and it came out at just over $1K . . . at least twice what I was anticipating!

Crap, and that didn't include any braided rubber hose and fake hose ends for the power brakes vacuum lines! . . . . back to the Summit racing website again . . . .

Jesus Christ, these things are just buckets of spent cash when you try to do it so it looks professional . . . . :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
I think I hit what I was looking for as close to perfect as reasonably possible.

I really like the look. Should integrate well with the massive engine & components. :thumbsup:
 
old round fart said:
Why is that my fault? I’m thinking that is going to one awesome looking ride! Now you will have to build a little trailer so you will have a use for the front tires! I love spending your money. Lol
Click to expand...


And you do such a damn good job of it . . . . :D I depend on you guys and your experience to not let me wuss out and low buck or cut corners.

Anyway, the last on my Christmas $$ and B'Day $$ are spent and I have a roll of -6 AN braided rubber hose, some check valves, a dozen fake hose ends, and a few other little do-dads on the way.

Not quite sure yet exactly how I plan to plum the vacuum system, but I have the electric vacuum pump and a vacuum canister to integrate with manifold vacuum for the power brake booster.
 
OMG, I first thought that was a comparisson of front to rear, but I see now that is from old front to new fronts. ! Wow !!!

I have to chuckle every time I see your thread come up under "New Posts", The Excitement is Building, it's been building
so long that I have already blown my ...... seals !!!
 
The Prodigal Daughter Returns . . . .

Wow . . . Looks like it's been over 3 months since I went AWOL . .

Well anyway, I finally got my act together a little bit and did some work on the little car, not much, but a baby step in the right direction.

One thing that never set well with me since the car got here was that Spirit used 4 of those space-saver donut wheels when they shipped it . . . . What's wrong with that you might wonder, well let me show you . . . .

Rather than get wheels that actually fit the hubs and stud pattern, they just used what was handy and then used a torch to cut out the wheel rims until the studs came thru . . and then they used a mish mash of lug nuts. none of which were the actual size required, so they only went on a couple turns at best.

As a result the wheels wobbled terribly and damaged the studs.

I bought new Weld Racing lug nuts of the right size, 7/16", to match the studs, and the right length to work with my Weld Racing wheels.

As it turned out, the studs were on the short side, and didn't even extend far enough to be seen on the outside of the wheel. If it wasn't for the length of the lug nuts below the hex, I'd not have been able to even mount the wheels.

Long story short, . . . . I just couldn't get comfortable with that scenario, especially with my new wider wheels and tires, so I got my ass in gear a little bit today and pulled the hubs and knocked the studs out so I could get some measurements and order some new, better, longer ones.

As it turns out, what came stock matches up to some cheap Doorman studs . . . . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-610-025 with a 0.564" knurl diameter.

The best alternate I could find from ARP had a 0.565" knurl diameter with a M12 X 1.5 thread and plenty of extra length . . . . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/arp-100-7717#

Weld has open top lug nuts in M12 X 1.5 so the extra length won't be a problem . . . . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wld-601-1422

Anyway . . . Now that I have a little motivation going, I'll try to get the eye-up front spring changed out to the eye-down spring I got months and months ago and work on gaining some ground clearance so when the new wheel studs get here, I can press them in and put on the new wheels and tires and see how I like the new look.

Here's some pics of the way they torched the wheels it shipped with to fit the hubs and the damaged studs that resulted:

Donut Wheel 1.jpg Studs.jpg
 
That's a shame. I bet BC would not condone that. He might even spring for a new set of studs for you. BTW, glad to see you posting again. :D:thumbsup:
 
What a mess. I never in a million years would I have ever thought of doing anything like that. Holy crap.
 
Neshkoro said:
What a mess. I never in a million years would I have ever thought of doing anything like that. Holy crap.
Click to expand...

Spanky said:
That's a shame. I bet BC would not condone that. He might even spring for a new set of studs for you. BTW, glad to see you posting again. :D:thumbsup:
Click to expand...


Well,
Given the cost of the stock studs was about 1/5 of what the ARP studs cost, I doubt BC would spring for that, and the stock studs are virtually useless, and by my analysis, unsafe by virtue of being to short, even if he gave me a replacement set of Doormans, I wouldn't use them for anything.

I think they were up against a time limit where they had a truck coming to take it to Miami and they were behind schedule getting it properly ready to go . . .

The hubs and spindles are probably sourced from Speedway like most of the stuff they don't make in-house, so I've learned not to have unrealistic expectations for their "budget" offerings.

It's just water under the bridge at this point . . . . it was a detail that bugged me from the get-go, and now I got ahead of it and did the right thing to make it safer and more reliable . . . . especially with the added stresses that wider wheels and tires will create.

I've learned a lot from being here around you guys and worked on having the patience and to spend the money where needed and to take all the time I need to make it a little less likely that I have to learn a painful lesson the hard way.

Here it is the day I brought it home from the freight warehouse.on a roll deck, wobbly little wheels and all . . . . .

Left Side shot 1r.jpg
 
Island Girl said:
Long story short, . . . . I just couldn't get comfortable with that scenario
Click to expand...
Yikees !!! That sure doesn't look professional at all !!! And like you say dangerous !
 
Indycars said:
Yikees !!! That sure doesn't look professional at all !!! And like you say dangerous !
Click to expand...


For the average small block with skinny front wheels build, it may not be all that big of a deal, but I have enough power to seriously challenge the car's construction, so I figure anything I can do to help the car stand up to that challenge is worth the time and effort.

Of course now that I'm back to paying attention to the car, the way the chrome, especially the front end, is getting all rusty spotted and nasty looking is bugging the crap out of me. (I'll add some pics when I get a chance)

My little Nissan truck has chrome that's over 10 times older, 24 years versus 2 for the car, that's in equal or better shape.

Along that train of thought, was looking at replacing the chrome front end with a stainless steel one:

Spring-Behind 4 In Drop Tube Axle Front End for Ford Spindles

I don't need another spring, but it's almost free against the cost of the items separately.

Would be really nice if Spirit had a comprehensive list of upgrades that you could just check off so you don't have to go back and buy a bunch of stuff over to have a car that lasts, and looks nice, longer than it takes to roll it out the shop door. . . . . but like most things, the first time around, is the big learning experience.

On another note, my LED tail lights from E-Trailer came in and look really nice . . . will get a pic soon
 
Let's go somewhere happier; what color will it be? Same as frame? Got a plan for the interior yet?
Need help wiring it? I could be had for the price of a plane ticket :rolleyes:
 
Given your climate I would think that stainless is a good option, but it looks like the spring is chromed. That may be the only choice however.
 
Island Girl said:
the way the chrome, especially the front end, is getting all rusty spotted and nasty looking is bugging the crap out of me.
Click to expand...

Used to deal with chrome spoke wheels showing slight rust by brushing with naval jelly, rinsing it off, and follow immediately with a spray of WD 40. The shine would last for weeks, until the brake dust build-up required another washing.
 
Spanky said:
Used to deal with chrome spoke wheels showing slight rust by brushing with naval jelly, rinsing it off, and follow immediately with a spray of WD 40. The shine would last for weeks, until the brake dust build-up required another washing.
Click to expand...

This is the car they were on. (*sigh* One that got away . . . :cool:)

Jag.jpg
 
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