I spent the day in the garage, getting a lot of things done. I decided to tackle the rear motor plate mounts. I used some of the scrap 2X3 .120 wall heavy tubing, the same as the new frame rails I put in the car. These mounts will hang off the side of the new frame rails so I made them with a loop over the top of the frame rail for more strength. This is the first cut.



Then I bent the extension over other scrap pieces of 2X3 so it went over and down the other side.



Then I cut them out so the motor plater will set inside of the 2X3 tubing and rest on the bottom flange.



These are the finished (short of grinding to clean them up) mounts laying on the scrap 2X3'* to emulate how they set in the frame rails. The rear motor plate will set between them on the flanges. Then I'll drill the locating bolts, add a little paint and it'll all be done.



I also clearenced the cowl piece to set around the back of the scoop.



A little clean up and it'll be ready to get painted and bolted in.

Mark

I also got the radiator crossmembver clearenced (BFH) for the steering shaft and knuckle and a fresh coat of paint on as much of the front end that I could.





I also did a little cutting on the dash center piece. I wanted to find a three gauge Grand Prix dash insert, but they are too expensive. So I took th eone that came with the car, an original air vent center piece.



I cut out the center of the oval and I will make a new sheet center filler with 5 holes for 2 1/16 gauges.



MArk L

I got a lot more done today. Finished the rear motor plate mounts. Welded in, bolted to the frame and the motor plate, and painted.










More good pics coming. MArk L

I also got started on mounting the turbos. Made a mount and welded the turbo flange to it. Still have to finish the drivers side. But. It enable me to do a mochup of almost everything in the engine compartment except the piping of course.





It'* starting to all come together. A place for everything and everything in its place.

Mark L

Yesterday I finally pulled the rear end out so I could see where it was leaking the gear oil from. The good news was, the passenger side was the axle bearing seal leaking around the o-ring. I pulled the axle and coated the inside of the bearing cavity with a fine layer of silicone sealer. Slid the axle back in and it'* tight as a drum. The drivers side did have a pin hole leak in the weld. Very fine and minimul. So I cleaned the area of all paint as well as I could to get rid of the oil. The welding was good so I did not worry about the strength of the origial weld. I took my little 60 amp welder and put down a series of little spot welds all over the pin hole area. Refilled the gear oil and left the rear end over night to see if there were any leaks. Nice and dry this morning.
Ever since I looked at the pic of my car from the side on the trailer, I have disliked the look of the rear tire being too far to the rear of th ewheel well. I've already welded the ladder bar front crossmember in so I cannot move that. I had all the joints turned all the way in to shorten the bars but it was not enough. Good thing I made them 50 inches long. I cut off 2 1/2 inches from the front of the bars which took away the front weld bungs for the joints. The place I get my steel from sells hiem end and weld bungs. So I got a pair of them and the bars are at the welders getting put back together. I cut enough off so I can install the bars with tires all the way up against the front of the wheel wells. And still have some adjustablilty of the joints. I just stuck the tire back in the wheel well with the rearend out, but all the way forward and I really like that much better. This the tire/wheel just setting in the wheel well.



I took the original speedometer plastic face. Painted it black and reinserted it into the dash. Since I'm not using the old speedometer, the newly painted plastic just fills the hole back up. I'll do the same on the other side with a piece of sheet metal.



Getting the bars back tomorrow. Throw the whole shebang back in and place the rearend/wheel/tire assembly where I want it. If it needs to be up tight on the front of the wheel well, the I'll do some surgery on the lower front of the opening for clearence.

Mark

I've not been doing anything big for a while. I've been playing with the front brakes and I'm getting all of the lines run, the line loc in place along with the adjustable proportioning valve. Bought one of those pretty chrome master cylinders and I'm waiting for more fittings to come from Speedway to finish off the front brakes.
I went to a swap meet Saturday and found a pair of wheelie bars/wheels.



I've been playing with making my own but these popped up for $10 so I grabbed them.
I bought a pair of Honda chrome spring/shock assemblies with intentions of using them like this. In the next pic you can see how the shock/spring bottom mount fit the wheelie bar mounts as if they were meant to be together.



So I threw a bolt onto the wheelie bar mount that'* already on the rearend and propped the Honda spring up against the rear frame crossbar. This makes it lean backwards and it'* not what I really had in mind.



I would rather extend/lengthen the bars farther rearward and then lean the spring forward.



Then I would run a cross bar between the two to keep them straight. I may not keep this but I thought I'd play with it.

Mark L

I've been chasing pin hole leaks in the rearend housing. So I decided I would try a gas tank sealer to coat the inside of the axle tubes and stop the leaks. Yesterday I took the housing to the car wash and thoroughly cleaned the housing inside and out. Took it home and sprayed brake cleaner all around inside the axle tube and let it puddle at the leak points. This way it would work itself down into the pin hole and clear out anything but brake cleaner. Then I let it set and dry. Took it to the car wash again and did another clean out. Letting it dry out all night.
This morning I did the slosh and cover with the tank sealer. Just layed the housing across my saw horses and poured enough into the tube to puddle a little where the leak is and then rolled the housing to cover the whole tube inside. Actually went pretty easily. The instructions said not to get so much in so it puddles. It would skim over harden and the inside of the bubble will never harden. Nice thing about having the open axle tubes is, I could go in after it set up a little, using a long metal rod, I could insert it into the tubes to bust open any puddles and around the liquid so it will dry. I think it'* going to work well. It'* all up to the intgerity of the product now. I used Northern gas tank sealer I got at CarQuest. About $34 a QT.
My son is playing around with a paint called Plastic Dip coating. So far he has painted the front facia on his car and the rims. It is pretty durable, adhears well, and if you don't like it, you can just peel it off. It creates a semi gloss finish. He did a photoshop of my Catalina in green and flat black. Not that I would do this but it is interesting to see your car in a painted condition.



Kinda funky. AND YES, the Dog is next to get painted. LOL!

MArk L

Finally got the whole master cylinder, line loc, and proportioning valve all in and hooked up. The front brakes are all lined too.





I don't like how tight the two lines are from the master to the proportioning valve so I'm going to replace them with a little bit longer lines.

I did the sealer in the rearend, and I welded on spring perches to bolt the original springs on. Then I completely reassembled the rearend. I'm going to reinstall it all back into the car tomorrow, and locate the cross member above the rearend to attach the upper spring perches to. Hopefully I can incorporate the upper spring crossmember into the upper mounts for the rear shocks too. Kill two birds with one stone. Plus I have to keep watching those pinhole leaks to see if all that work was worth it. If not I'll be P O'd. Mark L

I forgot to mention that I picked up a pair of 50MM Blow Off Valves yesterday off of Craigslist. So all I need now is twin wastegates.





Mark L

Well, the Cat hit a major milestone today. Front suspension DONE. Rear suspension DONE. Waiting for the rear shocks to arrive, they will bolt in. I have to weld in shock brackets for the front but I have the shocks. But today the car sat completely on its own for the first time, on its own suspension, and ready to roll. Man that is a great feeling.



This is the rear crossmember I built to span the frame rails, hold the springs, and the shock tops.







So I am steadily getting to a point that I can actually think about starting the motor. I have the full wiring kit to install. But next I have to concentrate on the final location for the turbos and get them installed. Plus I have to get a driveshaft. I found the old shaft from my '63 Catalina back in 1973-75. I had it modified for my Trans am but used a differnet shaft. This shaft is too long but it is narrow at the ends and flairs out down the middle. I think there is enough of the smaller diameter section on one end to allow it to be shortend and reused for this. I have to find a drive shaft place to check it out.
So it'* been a very good (long) day in the garage. Mark L