Joel’s SL-C Build Thread

Joel K

Supporter
Time for the next update. Although the next series of updates will be relatively minor, for the sake of completeness I’m including them in the build thread.

So, at this point in the build the placement has been confirmed for all of the SLC’s major components. The current plan now is to move from front to back mounting and connecting all the components. So first up is completing the front compartment.

This is where the washer bottle and clutch reservoirs are mounted...
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I fabricated a standoff to mount the Ramlifpro reservoir inboard so the cap is accessible and clears the #6 AC hose up top and the feed hose can clear the 90 degree #8 AC specialty fitting below the reservoir. Decided to mill it out of nylon block so it looks like a single bracket. It’s fun to machine nylon since it mills very easily...
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Came out pretty good...
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Here it is temporarily mounted on the side panel. I’ll permanently mount it once the Ramlifpro pump is installed...
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So far this is the general layout. I’ll leave the power brake reservoir where it is. The only drawback is if I wanted to put a heat extractor in the body, the power brake reservoir would limit it’s depth. Eventually it may be repositioned with a remote master cylinder reservoir setup. Otherwise you can see the reservoirs are mounted on both sides and the Ramlifpro and brake vacuum pumps will be mounted vertically...
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Next up is mounting and connecting the Ramlifpro pump.
 
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Joel K

Supporter
This post covers mounting the Ramlifpro pump and routing the hydraulic lines.

After staring at the front compartment over the past few months and ruminating about where everything will be placed, I finally decided to mount the Ramliftpro pump vertically on top of the lower control arm frame rail.

Here is a video featuring a walk around of the Ramliftpro system, assembling the stainless lines, plus the placement of the pump and reservoir...

Had some 1/4”x2”x3” tube left over from the power brake pedal assembly so decided to mill two L pieces and use one of them for the hydraulic pump mount bracket.

Here is a pic of the aluminum tube, hydraulic pump base and some silicone grommets which will be used to isolated the pump from the frame and reduce vibration when operating the pump...
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The L-bracket is 1/4” thick and the silicone grommets are for 3/16” thick metal, so used the mill to trim behind each locknut down to 3/16”. Using the mill is so much fun...
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Here is the front of the bracket with the grommets installed...
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Here is the pump base attached to the bracket...
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Here is the rear of the bracket with the pump attached. You can see the larger washers and locknuts with a shoulder large enough so it cannot be pulled through the 7/16” hole drilled for the grommets...
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I like the way the pump mounts vertically next to the power brake electric vacuum pump. The 90 degree AN/barb fitting works well to route the 3/8” hose to the reservoir. Nice and neat...
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Now to route the stainless lines out to the Ramlifpro hydraulic pucks. Most route the stainless lines out the bottom of the side panels and over the cooling tubes. That would certainly work, but could interfere with the hoses I have running along the side of the front compartment. So to keep the stainless lines well organized I am going to connect them to 90 degree 4AN bulkhead fittings on each side of the front compartment. I think they will look good and keep the lines well organized. First installed the bulkheads...
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I’ve heard not so pleasant things about assembling stainless hoses with the hose ends together. After watching a video from Carbuilders.com it showed exactly how to do it and I made up the two hoses without any drama. It was sort of fun.

Here is a link to the video...

Cut and assembled the hoses and connected them from the hydraulic pump to the 4AN bulkhead fittings. It all lays out pretty well and am very happy with the way all the components are organized...
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Pic of the passenger side...
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Pic of the Driver side...
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Next up is connecting the electric power brake vacuum pump to the booster.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Have a few more photos and steps to share regarding securing the electric vacuum pump and Ramliftpro hydraulic pump brackets in the front compartment. I always get hyper focused when it comes time to drill holes in the chassis. After the steering rack debacle(post #125) I pay extra close attention to where and how the holes are drilled.

I like using the blue layout fluid to make holes that are straight and properly centered by scribing off of the edge with a micrometer like I did for the top of the vacuum pump bracket and the bottom of the Ramliftpro hydraulic pump bracket.

Here are the brackets mounted in place on the lower control arm chassis member...
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The 75mm long M6 bolts go through the chassis member and are secured underneath with washers and locknuts. Anti-seize is applied between the chassis and the washers. Everything lined up nice and straight...
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Here is a pic from the front. Nice and compact mounting both pumps vertically...
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This pic shows the Ramliftpro reservoir mounted and I moved the hydraulic lines up to the B outlet on the pump so the passenger side line clears the side cooling tube easier...
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You can also see the rear cross member bar and radiator bleed line installed.

Because of the extended foot box, the holes for the rear cross member bar need to be relocated. I moved them up 1.5” and forward .25”.

For the radiator bleed line, used a 1/4 NPT to 4AN adapter and then a 4AN barbed 90 degree hose end. I tried a less expensive 90 degree 1/4 NPT to 1/4” hose barb fitting but the hose ran too close to the radiator and radiator mounting nuts so went with this approach.

Next item to complete in the font compartment is routing and attaching the vacuum lines and check valves...
 
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Good job Joel, I like the vertical setup of the lift pump, Unfortunately my horn fits at that spot so I hade to mount it horizontally on the floor I had a heck of a time cutting the stainless steel braded lines, just using the wrong tools.
Beautiful clean installation, looking at your garage makes me feel like a total slob. Good job .
 

Joel K

Supporter
Good job Joel, I like the vertical setup of the lift pump, Unfortunately my horn fits at that spot so I hade to mount it horizontally on the floor I had a heck of a time cutting the stainless steel braded lines, just using the wrong tools.
Beautiful clean installation, looking at your garage makes me feel like a total slob. Good job .

Thanks Hector, I think my horns will go inside the body in the headlight area and the sound projecting out the brake ducts. Mounting them either on the splitter or the vertical body surface of the nose. My garage is clean since all the fabrication work is done in the basement and that place is a complete pig sty. I even make fun of how much a mess the workbench is in some of my videos. How is the electric/wiring coming along?
 
Thanks Hector, I think my horns will go inside the body in the headlight area and the sound projecting out the brake ducts. Mounting them either on the splitter or the vertical body surface of the nose. My garage is clean since all the fabrication work is done in the basement and that place is a complete pig sty. I even make fun of how much a mess the workbench is in some of my videos. How is the electric/wiring coming along?
Very slow, I always get sidetracked, first I needed to finish all the firewall panels then insulate them, then decided to fit clam and spider , so that I can fit the dashboard , so I can figure out the instrument panels where all the switches are going to go , but I need to align the suspension first, so I am making the alignment fixture , plan to do alignment , then fabricate switch panel then I can figure out where all the switches go cut all the wires to size and so on. one step forward, three steps back .
 
Great progress Joel, I like your ram lift mount setup. Could you do me a quick favor and measure the height of the anchor air duct part? I do not have that piece and I need to fabricate some dashboard mounts that are the correct height.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Great progress Joel, I like your ram lift mount setup. Could you do me a quick favor and measure the height of the anchor air duct part? I do not have that piece and I need to fabricate some dashboard mounts that are the correct height.

Thanks Mason, looks like about 3.86” but I would say it is not an exact measurement. +- about 1/8”.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Spent some time thinking about how to feed the brake booster with sufficient vacuum.

The LT4 Engine manual states that an LT4 engine will not produce adequate vacuum to support power brakes under all operating conditions and an auxiliary vacuum pump will need to be purchased if power brakes are desired.

I considered a number of standalone electric vacuum systems which are complete and have all the electronics in a single unit. Some use top shelf components like Hella Vacuum pumps while others use their own sourced components. The other alternative is to source each part and build a custom electric vacuum system which includes the pump, relays, check valves, and vacuum sensor.

Ultimately I decided to assemble the components which mimic the C7 Z06 vacuum system. On the Z06, the primary vacuum source comes from the LT4 Supercharger manifold and the secondary source is from an electric vacuum pump.

Here is a video on the install...

The Z06 pump looks to be a derivative of a Hella UP30 and can generate enough vacuum independently of other sources, so in conjunction with the engine vacuum the system should replenish the vacuum level in the booster quickly. I figure going with an OEM type approach that is matched to the LT4 engine should do the job and be very reliable.

Here is the pump and the part number, you can see the Hella logo and model UP30 on the label. It’s also about $90 less than a UP30 from summit racing...
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Below is the GM vacuum tube assembly(Part #84492718). I ordered this to scavenge the components needed to put the system together. It’s impressive how light the OEM vacuum hose is, unfortunately there was no way to release the components from the tubing. So I carefully cut away the tubing and pulled it off each component without gouging the plastic which could compromise the ability to retain vacuum...
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Here are the components that were scavenged to be used....
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1)Electric vacuum pump quick connect fitting
2)Check valve coming from electric vacuum pump
3)Supercharger manifold vacuum quick connect fitting
4)Check valve coming from the supercharger manifold
5)Tee fitting
6)Brake booster vacuum pressure sensor/check valve combo

The general approach is to tie all the components together with 11/32” reinforced power brake vacuum hose. There are many options and sources for vacuum hoses, but far fewer options for reinforced hose which is specifically designed for power brakes. If you are going down this path make sure the PB hose is reinforced and designed for power brake vacuum levels.

This is the Dayco PB vacuum hose purchased for the job, also an AC bulkhead fitting I’ll use for the vacuum line going through the front compartment and routed back to the engine...
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The one area that will require some further investigation is using the GM vacuum pressure sensor as a stand-alone sensor. It is made by Bosch and integrates with the Corvette electronic brake control module which I won’t be using.

If I can’t figure it out I’ll use a universal vacuum sensor from Summit and just plumb it in between the three check valves. Johan found a nice integrated pressure sensor and check valve combo piece from a Volvo that would also work well.

From what I can tell, the GM sensor is a variable vacuum sensor and will generate a voltage level to signal the amount of vacuum inside the brake booster. Then based on the voltage I can control the electric vacuum pump. Not the simplest approach, but may give me a level of control when to trigger the electric pump. It also seems like a fun project to figure out. Also, I’d like to be able to sense a low vacuum level and light up a warning light on the dash. That would be a really nice feature to implement. I’ll further document this when I get to the wiring.

A little difficult to get 11/32” hose on the 3/8” fittings. To get the hose on the fittings I used some GM silicone grease and soak the end of the hose in hot water to soften it up...
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Here is a pic of the new vacuum hoses assembly to be installed in the front compartment...
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Next step was to drill a bulkhead hole for the vacuum line. I mounted the washer bottle on the outside to make sure the new bulkhead fitting did not interfere with it...
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Here is a pic of the vacuum line connected to the bulkhead fitting and mounted along the side of the chassis...
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This line will be attached to the supercharger manifold. I also need to get some different size hose clamps and revise the standoffs to mount the hose along the outside of the chassis passenger compartment.

Pic of the hose connecting the electric vacuum pump with the brake booster...
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Pic of the hose connecting the brake booster with the bulkhead fitting which routs the vacuum hose to the back of the car...
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These smaller little projects are fun to knock down. There is still quite a bit of room left in the front compartment. Some of that real estate will be taken up with fuses, wiring and relays. I also plan to install the factory air box deflector. It will need some modification but should work out.

Next up is installing the collapsible steering shaft on the EPAS column.
 
Joel,

The cross brace in your photo below, did that come with your kit or is it something you added? I did not receive one with my kit but I do have holes in my side plates where it would mount. I have always wondered what those holes were for.

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Joel K

Supporter
Hi Joe;, are you concerned about getting all the fluid reservoirs too hot behind the radiators?

Hi Dallas, I don’t think it’s an issue. Most front engine cars have the MC above the exhaust manifold which I would think would be even warmer.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Now that the front compartment is done sans brake lines and wiring, time to move my attention to the passenger compartment.

This post will cover installing the collapsible steering shaft on the EPAS steering column. Back in post #76 I covered the install of the column. This system is very compact and the install was straight forward.

Here is a video covering the detail on installing the collapsible shaft...

Here is a pic of the EPAS column with a mock-up steering shaft made from PVC. This was done to see if it would interfere with the pedals, but clearance is adequate...
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At the time of purchase I had no idea if the steering column was collapsible or not. Turns out no. So to provide some protection in the case of a hard frontal impact it makes sense to install a collapsible steering shaft. I found a unit sold by summit racing made by Bergeson. This product had many positive reviews, is made in the US, and their technical support line is very good.

They make a 27” collapsible column that can be trimmed down to about 16” and provide 3“ of collapsibility. One end of the Bergeson shaft is 3/4” DD and the other is 1”DD. After speaking with Bergeson, it doesn’t matter which end faces toward the the rack.

Considering the SLC comes from the factory with two steering universal joints I wanted to use at least one of them. Turns out the stock u-joint for the steering rack has a 3/4” DD end so that takes care of one end.

Moving over to the other end, the output shaft of the EPAS steering column is 16.5 mm with 36 splines. The only company I found who makes a 16.5mm-36 u-joint is Flaming River. Unfortunately, what is listed on their web site is either 16.5mm-36 to 3/4 DD or 3/4 smooth u-joints but not a 16.5mm-36 to 1” DD. I could make the 16.5mm-36 3/4 DD work, but then would need another u-joint for the steering rack since that end would now be the 1”DD.

Anyway, figure it was worth a call to Flaming River to see if they could make a custom u-joint for me. Sure enough, they could and even better there was no extra charge. That was great news. Took them a week and I received this custom 16.5mm-36 to 1”DD u-joint.

Here is a pic of all the components...
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First step was to extend the steering column
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Next step was to install the flaming river u-joint on the steering column. First off, it was extremely tight and I could only get the fitting over the first round of splines with hand force...
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Scott Swartz and DCE Motorsports both confirmed the fitting should go all the way on by hand. DCE recommended I use a small file and clean the indents between the splines on the steering column since that is a refurbished unit. Not sure what was off, the shaft or the fitting, but after spending a few hours doing this I got the fitting on by hand about 75% then used a wood block and hammer and tapped it in the rest of the way. What should have been 5 minutes turned into a few hours of fitting and test fitting...
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Good news is it is fully on and very tight. If I have to remove it, I’ll need to use a puller to get it off, but hopefully that won’t be necessary.

To determine the proper steering shaft length I test fit and trimmed the PVC rod into the installed u-joints...
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It turns out the length needed is 16.5“ and the actual extended length of the shaft is 27.25”. The recommended way to trim the shaft is to remove up to 10 inches from the 1” DD end. If you need to trim more, trim equal amounts from both ends. In this case, I trimmed 10.375 from the 1”DD end, and .375 from the 3/4” DD end. Also used the blue layout fluid to mark the trim points...
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Each end of the shaft should be inserted 7/8” deep into the u-joint. Now that the column was perfectly trimmed and fitted, time to tighten the u-joint screws which marks the surface of the steering shaft.

Since the 3/4” DD end is a pinch style u-joint, you have to notch the shaft to allow the bolt to travel through to the opposite side which is threaded. And since the 1” DD end is a set screw style u-joint you just tighten the set screws down on the shafts which mark where the dimples need to be located. The dimples help lock the shaft in place when the set screws are tightened.

The pinch style u-joint is torqued to 45 ft.lbs. The set screw style is torqued to 25 lb-ft and they recommend to use red thread lock which I’ll apply at a later time for final assembly.

Here is a pic of the trimmed shaft after the dimples were drilled into the 1” end and notched at the 3/4” end.
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Here is a pic of the collapsible shaft installed...
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Here is a pic of the collapsible shaft installed with the pedal assembly placed in the foot-box...
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Turns out the shaft is pretty well positioned between the clutch and the brake pedal and this setup should work out well. I spoke to Borgeson and now that the shaft is cut to size they recommend painting it. Also, I may replace the rubber bellow with heat shrink tubing so it does not interfere with my feet.

Looking forward to get the steering wheel on and connect the EPAS electronics to test it out.
 
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Joel K

Supporter
Good job Joel, one more bucket list project for me, safety should always be a priority .

Thanks Hector, looks like you are using the stock RCR provided steering column which is collapsible. So there would be no need for this enhancement. The only reason I did this is that the Electric Power Steering Column I purchased is solid steel and does not collapse.

I am also going to use a deformable steering boss and shallow quick release to get a couple more inches of protection. More on that in a future post.
 
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