Project: Modify everything, even the aftermarket parts to fit...

Went to the local pick-a-part today because I F-ed my injector pod. Got a whole TBI unit, injectors and sensors and all, rear calipers and disks off an LT1 camaro and some mounting brackets for my rear swaybar, for $56! WOOOHOOO! I love pick-a-part. I just need to find the right caliper mounting brackets, and I'll have a rear disk conversion!

Went to the local pick-a-part today because I F-ed my injector pod. Got a whole TBI unit, injectors and sensors and all, rear calipers and disks off an LT1 camaro and some mounting brackets for my rear swaybar, for $56! WOOOHOOO! I love pick-a-part. I just need to find the right caliper mounting brackets, and I'll have a rear disk conversion!

you didnt get the LT1 caliper mounts with it? from what i saw thats what i thought worked

I didn't just because I was out of time. I really only went there for the TBI unit, the brakes were a lucky find, and to pull the brackets you have to pop the diff cover, pull C-clips, pull axles, and then remove the brackets. If I can't find any reasonbly priced ones on the aftermarket or e-bay, I can go back for them. I doubt anyone is going to want just the brackets.

On another note, I hadn't actually bothered to notice till tonight, but I was test-fitting the rear swaybar so I could determine link-length, and I happened to glance over at the axle flange. Low and behold, the PO put a rear axle out of an 82-85 with the three bolt ends on the truck. The search for a GU4 G80 begins.

The LT1 brackets are SUPER heavy though.
solid cast. i would recommend making some lighter ones.

three bolt ends? what are we talking about here?

http://www.thirdgen.org/tech/images/Stock%20Drum%20Axle%20Flange.jpg

But, apparently there is enough flange there for the later style four bolt to be drilled and the rest hacked off, woohoo!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q222/MJRWOOD_bucket/ends.jpg

ahh i see. cool,

Picked up a Jeep steering shaft and a new cluster. My speedo went out the other morning on the way home. Still trying to find a ZQ8 steering box.

theres a few on e-gay, and some on car-part.com

ill keep my ears open for a local one here, too.

Michael

you can get reman ones from parts stores. 

I'm thinking about that actually. $140 with a limited lifetime warranty is really starting to seem worthwhile.

Endlinks will finally get ordered this weekend. I was trying to work out the swaybar end mount for some time now. The issue has been that the ID of the opening in the end of the swaybar is .760, and I am using links that are 3/8". I found a steel busing at McMaster that will fit the bill, and a pair of large, heavy washers will sandwich the bar and hold the bushing in place. Will be a true solid mount. I'll be ordering the parts for the front and the rear all at once, and it's all looking to come out to right at $100 plus shipping. Not too shabby when you consider that it's complete hardware for two bars for the price of about one endlink with ART.

Ok, much more maintenance schtuff to add to the list. I decided last week that it was getting way too damn cold to not have a heater anymore. My heater core had been bypassed and capped off since I got the truck. I had assumed this was due to a leaking heater core, which is quite common. Luckily, I decided to test it before pulling the entire dash off. I had plenty of line in the truck to hook everything up, so I hooked lines back up to the heater core, and VIOLA, no leaks at all. Ran the truck up to temperature so I knew I had pressure in the system and flow and no leaks. Upon further investigation though, I found that the cable to actuate between heat and cool had been disconected from the panel. I hooked it back up and found that it would not budge. The cable had been bent. So I went to the pick a part and got a new cable, new AC pannel with about a foot of wiring because it had been hacked together pretty badly. And now my heat works like a charm and the temperature regulation works perfectly.

While I was at the yard, I also picked up the correct electric window switch pannels because the PO had put some old style chome ones on there that didn't look right, as well as a light switch pannel because mine decided to crack, and a new hinge for the rear hatch because one of mine had broken. Got it all installed and got everything tucked away.

Also, while the forum was down someone asked about end-links on PT forum and we finally got some answers on the ART booted ball joints. They are custom made for ART and pass a 5000lb pull-out test as well as articulation tests and are goot for over 40 degrees of articulation. Definitely a much better piece than what I found at McMaster a long time ago. They also confirmed that all muscle bars they sell come with full sets of end-links made with their inline booted ball joints.

man, that's awesome that all you needed for the heat to work was a cable.   I can get by driving something w/o a/c in the summer...but I can't stand to get in a car in the winter w/o heat.

Not so lucky, the heater core started leaking on the way home this morning, and badly. Guess the dash is coming off.

Ive never had to remove the dash in a first gen to change a heater core. I always just removed the radio and little door inside the glove box. With a 1/4" drive swivel socket and extensions I can get to all of the bolts. But I am a very small guy so I can twist my body up pretty well under the dash.

I used to be an alarm tech, so I'm pretty used to finding my way up into dashs, so that's awesome to hear, I guess we'll have to see how it goes. I'm going to tackle it when I get home in the morning, wish me luck!

luck!!

quick heater core Q.

if i were to want to run a minimal heater in the truck for winter, all i need is a heater core (basically a small radiator) and a fan to blow it in the cab correct?

Heater core replacement took a little under two hours, not too bad. I'll do a write-up in the interiors section on it. I didn't take any pictures, but I have a pretty good step-by-step. You definitely have to loosen the dash on the passenger side or there won't be enough room to get the cover or core out.

luck!!

quick heater core Q.

if i were to want to run a minimal heater in the truck for winter, all i need is a heater core (basically a small radiator) and a fan to blow it in the cab correct?

I've been stewing on this all day for you. There really isn't a much better design than the stock heater core, though the fan is certainly lacking IMHO. In your dash design there is a ton of room on the passenger side that would allow you to mount in in relatively the stock location and just unse a large 12V fan to move air through the cabin. If you wanted to really get fancy you could grab some aluminum heater ducting from HD and make a duct to dump the heat near your feet so you get better circulation. If you need help with a fan let me know, I can point you to some real monsters.

I still say I would at least want some kind of defrost setup in case you ever race in the rain.