Waterdriver
Goblin Guru
Black and gold. Reminds me of the John Player Special F1 team colors. I like!
Tony
Well-Known Member
Frame is colored! Major props to Rob Pritchett at Extreme Finishes for nailing the Illusion Purple. Ended up running $800 for the frame plus control arms, tunnel cover, rear tie rod mount thing, and springs.
The Illusion color is nearly impossible to capture, but this is decent. You can see the huge range between blue and violet. It's absolutely amazing.
The Illusion color is nearly impossible to capture, but this is decent. You can see the huge range between blue and violet. It's absolutely amazing.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Last week wasn't terribly productive, as I had a lot going on, but had a friend come by yesterday to lend a second set of hands (a first for the project) and we got the coolant tubes and floor/front bulkhead installed. Also spent a good amount of time continuing the parts painting process (though I seem to have lost the pictures of that). Of the stage 1 parts, all I have left to paint are the steering shaft and fuel filler neck (plus some small brackets/spacers from the kit).
I still need to finish up wiring (including repairing the fire damage), but I hope to get that done and get things close to inspection-ready very quickly. That way I can do all the finishing work while I'm waiting for the title.
I still need to finish up wiring (including repairing the fire damage), but I hope to get that done and get things close to inspection-ready very quickly. That way I can do all the finishing work while I'm waiting for the title.
Briann1177
Goblin Guru
Looks great. I didn't know you could get that effect with powdercoat. I looked up the Prismatic colors and saw the illusion orange which is exactly what I had in mind.
On a side note, you get your seats mounted yet? I'm probably going to go with those seats too so I'll probably be hitting you up again for some install questions.
On a side note, you get your seats mounted yet? I'm probably going to go with those seats too so I'll probably be hitting you up again for some install questions.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Don't have them put back in yet, but the mounting structure is there. Just have to bolt them in. I still have wiring to do, so I'm waiting until that's done to put the seats back in.
Unrelated, I somehow ended up with two driver's side fuel tank straps... how much shorter is the passenger side supposed to be? In other words, can the difference be taken up by the length of the t-bolt thread? I doubt it, but worth asking. What happened was I originally received one driver's side and one unmodified strap (DF shortens them by cutting and spot-welding them back together). I grabbed the longer of the two, realized it didn't fit the driver's side, and didn't think "Hmm, maybe this other one will fit" because, in my mind, the shorter of the two was obviously the passenger side. Spoiler alert - it wasn't.
As for an update, not much to report. I've been bad about taking pictures, but I'm slowly getting things painted/installed. My Rolling Stones-esque paint strategy is ensuring that nothing gets done too quickly
JSATX
Goblin Guru
They no longer provide two different sized straps.Don't have them put back in yet, but the mounting structure is there. Just have to bolt them in. I still have wiring to do, so I'm waiting until that's done to put the seats back in.
Unrelated, I somehow ended up with two driver's side fuel tank straps... how much shorter is the passenger side supposed to be? In other words, can the difference be taken up by the length of the t-bolt thread? I doubt it, but worth asking. What happened was I originally received one driver's side and one unmodified strap (DF shortens them by cutting and spot-welding them back together). I grabbed the longer of the two, realized it didn't fit the driver's side, and didn't think "Hmm, maybe this other one will fit" because, in my mind, the shorter of the two was obviously the passenger side. Spoiler alert - it wasn't.
As for an update, not much to report. I've been bad about taking pictures, but I'm slowly getting things painted/installed. My Rolling Stones-esque paint strategy is ensuring that nothing gets done too quickly
Per Adam, "We used to cut them and spot weld them about 1 inch shorter but later found out that that wasn't necessary. Leaving them the stock length actually makes them much easier to install."
*As with everything I say that applies to base model/MT combo, I don't claim to know all the differences between years and models.*
Tony
Well-Known Member
Alright, I'll try installing them this afternoon, see how it goes. Doesn't make sense that they'd be the same size though, the tank is quite a bit bigger on the driver's side.
JSATX is right about us not modifying the shorter clamp. Here's a shot of the two clamps. I lined them up on the end that is off camera to show the length difference:
The longer clamp is marked TB1313SS. About halfway down the clamp we cut it and overlap it 4.5 inches. Murray doesn't have a clamp between the TB1313 and TB1113 so that's why we had to modify the TB1313. The next time we order clamps, we will likely go with a custom size but buying 300 of a custom clamp (that is the minimum qty for a custom clamp) didn't make sense at the time we bought the TB1313.
Let me know if you need either of these clamps.
The longer clamp is marked TB1313SS. About halfway down the clamp we cut it and overlap it 4.5 inches. Murray doesn't have a clamp between the TB1313 and TB1113 so that's why we had to modify the TB1313. The next time we order clamps, we will likely go with a custom size but buying 300 of a custom clamp (that is the minimum qty for a custom clamp) didn't make sense at the time we bought the TB1313.
Let me know if you need either of these clamps.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Ah, I see. I misinterpreted JSATX to mean that the driver and pass were the same length. So the driver is a shortened 1313, and the pass is an unmodified 1113. It looks like the pass is about 2 inches shorter than the driver side. What I have currently is 2 shortened 1313s, and one unmodified 1313, so I'll check to see if I can make one of the modified ones work on the pass side, but if not, I'll need an 1113.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Awesome, thanks Adam. I'll send back the two extras that I have.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Spent some time over the last couple days working on wiring. Got most of the fire damage repaired except the OBD connector and the two 12V DC plug connectors. Spent entirely too long yesterday trying to figure out why I didn't have a horn connector in my body harness... because it's in the headlight harness. It's too **** hot in my garage for my brain to work properly haha
Tony
Well-Known Member
I keep forgetting to take pictures, but making some slow progress. I got the car up on sawhorses so I don't have to break my back installing stuff anymore. I also got the fuel tank put in with the driver side clamp, and went to install the filler neck, but the hose I got with the kit is way too big to fit on the filler neck. The hose is 1-3/4", and there's a huge gap around biggest part of the filler neck tube. It fits fairly loose on the tank neck, but without a gap. Any thought? Should I just pick up a short piece of smaller hose?
When filling the first prototype tanks, we had a problem where the fuel spraying from the nozzle would fill the tube and not let enough air out. This caused the fuel to back up into the filler neck and shut off the gas station pump. You had to fill really slowly to remedy this. We swapped to a larger tube and can now fill at full speed. Unfortunately, this means the aluminum tube coming out of the tank is larger than the stock Cobalt filler neck.
However, even though the rubber hose is larger than the Cobalt filler neck, we have been able to close it up on the neck with a hose clamp without any trouble. In the Radiator and Fuel Tank video at about the 6:30 minute mark you can see us close the clamp up. We should have shortened the hose just a bit so it wouldn't rest against the vent tube but it won't cause a problem as it is.
However, even though the rubber hose is larger than the Cobalt filler neck, we have been able to close it up on the neck with a hose clamp without any trouble. In the Radiator and Fuel Tank video at about the 6:30 minute mark you can see us close the clamp up. We should have shortened the hose just a bit so it wouldn't rest against the vent tube but it won't cause a problem as it is.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Been a while since I updated, I've been busy with other stuff. Trans Am **** the bed, so I spent some time working on that. Here's where I'm at currently... doing things a little out of order, but hey, progress is progress. Need to run a couple more wires - namely the big ones (battery, fan, etc), plus all the headlight wiring. Fuel tank is in (supported by one strap currently) with pump and filler neck, rear lights are on and wired.
Got the turbo parts and manifold powder/ceramic coated (because why not). Keen observers will notice the parts on the left that are clearly not where they belong...
That's because I'm not observant enough and didn't even notice this little piston ring-style oil seal on the turbine shaft, leading to its breakage, and my subsequent ordering of a $25 rebuild kit to replace it.
Also found this lovely crack in the turbine housing which I didn't see before coating (probably due to the soot obscuring it). Since it isn't an external crack, is it something I can just not worry about, or should I try to weld it up and grind it back smooth?
Got the turbo parts and manifold powder/ceramic coated (because why not). Keen observers will notice the parts on the left that are clearly not where they belong...
That's because I'm not observant enough and didn't even notice this little piston ring-style oil seal on the turbine shaft, leading to its breakage, and my subsequent ordering of a $25 rebuild kit to replace it.
Also found this lovely crack in the turbine housing which I didn't see before coating (probably due to the soot obscuring it). Since it isn't an external crack, is it something I can just not worry about, or should I try to weld it up and grind it back smooth?
JSATX
Goblin Guru
Couple things: turbos must be balanced anytime the shaft is removed from the CRHA. Even carefully scribing a mark and trying to put it back together exactly as it came out just isn't going to cut it at 100,000 rpm. Look at the nose on your compressor wheel and you'll generally see small grind marks. Those are from factory balancing them and it's a pretty big deal. It's not terribly expensive to get rebalanced professionally.
Welding cast manifolds is a total *****. I'm sure someone can patch it but don't do it with a mig. It's not something you want to ignore because look where the parts go if something chips off...right into the exhaust turbine wheel...
Powder coating sure looks good though!
Welding cast manifolds is a total *****. I'm sure someone can patch it but don't do it with a mig. It's not something you want to ignore because look where the parts go if something chips off...right into the exhaust turbine wheel...
Powder coating sure looks good though!