Chuck and Ryan's RCR Build

Chuck

Nice video. I was waiting to see what you would do for the bom-bom-bom-bom part, but you didn't go that far. You'll have to do a longer video.

Eric
 

Chuck

Supporter
Seat Backs

The seats do not rest flush due to the water pump pulley hump. Originally we used a three quarter inch spacer to lift the seat back away from the firewall but we decided to more closely follow the original. In the original GTs the seats often had a section hacked out, usually in a rather crude manner. We decided to do the same, but in a bit more professional manner.

First the leather cover was carefully removed from the seats, which is easy since it is held in place with Velcro. A pattern was made the same shape as the hump so the location of the notch on the seat frame could be accurately approximated. Next the aluminum seat frame was notched to fit so that the seat back would fit flush There is enough ‘stretch’ in the seat cover to fit around the hump with out further modification. Now the seat back fits flush against the firewall.

One could fabricate a foam filler to set between the seats, covered with matching vinyl or leather. Such an arrangement can be seen in photos of original GTs. That is a project for another day.
 

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Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
Hidden in all that dry prose is an equally dry sense of humor....good for you, Chuck. Nice bit of fabrication, too. If you decide to leave law you can open an assembly shop of your own and REALLY drive yourself crazy. Hope to see the car in person one of these days.

So what's your soundtrack for the first drive with the ZF box?
 

Chuck

Supporter
Chuck


What are you going to do for protecting your head from banging the rollbar ?

TOM

Three options:

1. Wear a crash helmet. But that could get a bit old pretty quick driving around town.

2. Add a section of padding, like we have on other portions of the roll bar. This works, but is not the most attractive solution.

3. Place a section of foam insulation, about an inch thick, on the back of the seat. When sitting in the seat it will compress about a half inch, which is enough to give back of head the necessary clearance. And it is a simple, cheap, easily reversed option.

I suspect we will opt for #3.

Will let you know once we get the seats back in.
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
Well, this will be from left field, but here goes: "Melancholy Serenade", from the Danny Gatton album called "Unfinished Business". It's not fast music, but boy is it epic.

Or, "Walk This Way", which is also epic as well. Since you won't be walking :)
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
No kidding. These are not cheap toys, even when you spend your money "wisely". One of my friends asked me what I had in my car. I told him I didn't want to know and wasn't going to add it up, not if I could help it. Ka-ching indeed.
 

Ian Anderson

Lifetime Supporter
How about the top notes of 8 wide mouthed Webers
The mid range of 302 well balanced inches
and the bellow of cross ever (tranvestite?) base line

that get's my vote every time

Ian
 
ZZ zzz zzz zzz zzz vrooooom

You want to race?
If you insist.
At that price, I can't resist.
That's right, that's right, that's right.

Tonight it ain't right,
I got to have me a week.
But I'll be back for you, Jack,
and I'll let the machine speak.
That's right, that's right, that's right.

Showdown? You bet.
And I haven't saddled my pony yet.
Have mercy, Miss Percy.
I done put the coon tune on this bet.
That's right, that's right, that's right


Vroooooooooooooom

TOM
 

Chuck

Supporter
Engine Install

A couple of modifications were made before the engine was finally bolted in place.

First, the engine mounts were moved forward about an inch. This brought the transmission support bar to about 2” of the cross member. This seemed about right; leaving enough clearance in front for the thermostat, hose and pulley and room in back to clear the rear support angle bracket.

There were four bolts holding the engine brackets in place. We added another in the center portion of the bracket – a little extra insurance.

Second, the engine needs to be lowered. With the Audi transmission there were 1 ¼ inch spacers raising the engine on the mounts. Those were simply discarded.

Third, a hole needs to be cut to accommodate the starter and bell housing. We started out small and enlarged the hole until we had a good quarter inch of clearance on all sides. We did not use the RCR backing plate, since it would have required a much lager hole. The opening can not be seen given all the hardware concealing it. A bit of black paint concealed the edge of the cut. The holed ended up about five inches square. Be careful not to cut the brake line!!

Fourth, the openings in the rear panel had to be enlarged a bit to clear the rear of the transmission and the cable linkage. That was an easy job with a good jig saw.

We lifted the engine in and out five times before we got it right. By the last time Ryan and I could slide it in and out as fast as OJ Simpson trying to put on a glove in front of a Los Angeles jury. Except ours fit.
 

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Chuck

Supporter
Hardware changes

The upper shock supports work fine, but had a shape designed to accommodate the Audi cross support. We obtained the proper shock support from RCR so that they would look correct. The ones provided just happened to be nickel plated. Cool.

The coolant tubes needed minor modifications to compensate for the lowering and forward moving of the engine. The lower hose was cut an inch shorter and the two brackets that support the hoses were modified. Actually the stainless pipes and radiator hoses ended up more symmetrically aligned than before. The thermostat and top hose extended a bit forward of the fire wall opening, but since the insulation around the firewall set the fire wall forward about a quarter inch this was not a problem.

The bolts that hold the adjustable rear clip supports were flipped so the bolt head was down and the nut up. This assured that there would be not clearance problems with the half shafts.

With the engine lowered a bit fitting the AC compressor was a challenge. Fran suggested a different bottom hose for the water pump, NAPA part no. 8809, which helped with inward adjustment of the compressor. (It is a goofy looking hose. Just cut off the end that fits the water pump). But the compressor was still kissing the chassis. So we tried a smaller belt, NAPA part no 7390, 39 5/8”. It is a tight fit, but it did work.

The belt on the alternator was also replaced with a shorter one. NAPA part no. 7365, which is 37 1/8” long. It is amazing how just a half inch of belt length can make the different between not fitting and fitting. It is a cozy fit between the chassis and the alternator.

The remote oil filter bracket support fabricated for the Audi 016 would not work on the ZF, so a new one was fabricated from quarter inch thick aluminum. It is a simple piece, 7 ¼ inches long and 3 ½ inches wide, that holds the filter directly above the three mounting bolts on the transmission. There is plenty of clearance to remove the filter.

We opted for black -10 nylon covered hose (Summit SUM-240010) rather than the stainless covered hose. It was expensive stuff, ($7.00 per foot) but is more flexible than the stainless and flexes a bit easier. Right angle AN fittings were used on the filter to direct the lines down and under the half shafts.
 

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