Joel K
Supporter
Hi Neil,
From their documentation. HEI Floor & Tunnel Shield II withstands up to 1750°F. The adhesive side holds past 450°F.
Hi Neil,
From their documentation. HEI Floor & Tunnel Shield II withstands up to 1750°F. The adhesive side holds past 450°F.
Joel K
Supporter
Neil, they do sell a version of this for other applications like wrapping exhaust without the acrylic adhesive.
Neil
Supporter
The important point is "does it burn?". Lots of materials will withstand high temperatures but at some point become flammable. The more flammable material in a car, the harder it is to extinguish. My Porsche 911 went up in a big cloud of smoke. With a rear/mid-engine car, you are the last to know you are on fire!
Joel K
Supporter
Time to continue the exhaust fabrication from post #418. Decided to heed Albert Einstein’s advice and not repeat the same fiasco with the cooling tubes and leave it to a professional to weld up all critical items. The remaining welding I’ll do on the exhaust will be only tack welding…
Short video on the process…
As delivered by Tabzone.com the stainless exhaust manifold flange surfaces were pretty rough. So had the flanges surface ground to be perfectly smooth to insure a good seal against the gaskets. Also replicated the factory indent for the correct GM gasket(GM Part # 15272179) fitment…
Then made patterns for the sides on the down pipes. Used some blue dye and scribed the shape from the inside on .06” x 6” x 6” 304 stainless sheets…
Cut the sheets out with a jig saw and fine tuned them with a sanding drum on the inside and bench grinder on the outside curves…
Double checked the placement and fitment of the pie cuts then tacked the down pipes together…
Once the down pipes were all tacked up, I sent them and the elbows with the female vBand flanges to the professional welder to weld them up first. After getting them back, it turned out 3 of the four vBand flanges warped. Two very slightly, and the third was obvious. Ugh! So much for Einstein!
I read online and a couple builders confirmed that the vBand clamps tend to flatten out and seal back up when the exhaust heats them up. So decided to replace just the one flange which was warped considerably more than the others. Fingers crossed they seal up and don’t have to be re-made, they look great...
The moral of the story is to buy and extra vBand clamp and clamp an opposite side flange to the piece you are welding and that helps absorb the excess heat and holds the flange flat. Another lesson learned.
Next step was to finalize the fitment. Trimmed a bit more off the near end of each resonator to position them as forward as possible. Also trimmed the top of the driver side cat to help lower the front of the resonator to match the passenger side. All ready for tacking up.
Pic of the driver side showing how the down pipe clears the liquid to oil cooler. I was pleasantly surprised I could fit the v-Band clamp and still clear the cooler and chassis stanchion…
A good view on how the cat clears the transaxle adapter plate and the rear engine mounts. I wish I made those rear engine mounts less intrusive but didn’t want to go through the hassle of modifying them at this point…
Once I was happy with the fitment it was time to tack up the rest of the exhaust. Used the hot glue technique to orient each elbow so I could tack them off the car for a better result than trying to do out of position welding...
Tacked the resonators on the car. They were in easy reach. Pic of the exhaust all tacked up…
Excited to get past this step. After I get the exhaust back from the welder the last step will be to add the hangers and tips.
Short video on the process…
As delivered by Tabzone.com the stainless exhaust manifold flange surfaces were pretty rough. So had the flanges surface ground to be perfectly smooth to insure a good seal against the gaskets. Also replicated the factory indent for the correct GM gasket(GM Part # 15272179) fitment…
Then made patterns for the sides on the down pipes. Used some blue dye and scribed the shape from the inside on .06” x 6” x 6” 304 stainless sheets…
Cut the sheets out with a jig saw and fine tuned them with a sanding drum on the inside and bench grinder on the outside curves…
Double checked the placement and fitment of the pie cuts then tacked the down pipes together…
Once the down pipes were all tacked up, I sent them and the elbows with the female vBand flanges to the professional welder to weld them up first. After getting them back, it turned out 3 of the four vBand flanges warped. Two very slightly, and the third was obvious. Ugh! So much for Einstein!
I read online and a couple builders confirmed that the vBand clamps tend to flatten out and seal back up when the exhaust heats them up. So decided to replace just the one flange which was warped considerably more than the others. Fingers crossed they seal up and don’t have to be re-made, they look great...
The moral of the story is to buy and extra vBand clamp and clamp an opposite side flange to the piece you are welding and that helps absorb the excess heat and holds the flange flat. Another lesson learned.
Next step was to finalize the fitment. Trimmed a bit more off the near end of each resonator to position them as forward as possible. Also trimmed the top of the driver side cat to help lower the front of the resonator to match the passenger side. All ready for tacking up.
Pic of the driver side showing how the down pipe clears the liquid to oil cooler. I was pleasantly surprised I could fit the v-Band clamp and still clear the cooler and chassis stanchion…
A good view on how the cat clears the transaxle adapter plate and the rear engine mounts. I wish I made those rear engine mounts less intrusive but didn’t want to go through the hassle of modifying them at this point…
Once I was happy with the fitment it was time to tack up the rest of the exhaust. Used the hot glue technique to orient each elbow so I could tack them off the car for a better result than trying to do out of position welding...
Tacked the resonators on the car. They were in easy reach. Pic of the exhaust all tacked up…
Excited to get past this step. After I get the exhaust back from the welder the last step will be to add the hangers and tips.
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Nice work.
Have you looked at the high temp tape for holding parts together for tacking? How did the hot glue work, any contamination of the welds?
https://www.amazon.com/Green-Polyester-Tape-Multi-Sized-PET/dp/B07VSR5BRH?th=1
Have you looked at the high temp tape for holding parts together for tacking? How did the hot glue work, any contamination of the welds?
https://www.amazon.com/Green-Polyester-Tape-Multi-Sized-PET/dp/B07VSR5BRH?th=1
Joel K
Supporter
Thanks Dave, I haven’t tried the high temp tape. The hot glue just peels off with some rubbing alcohol. Then I clean the area with acetone. The welder did not have any residue issues when welding up the down pipes.
If you get the metal too hot it will start to run, other than that I thought it worked great.
Joel K
Supporter
Unlike Richard Simmons, I do not want to be sweating to the oldies while cruising in the SLC down the New Jersey Turnpike so it’s time to revisit the evaporator install.
This post covers opening up the air vent holes and modifying how the Vintage Air evaporator is mounted to the chassis.
First up is opening up the air vent holes. As delivered, RCR cuts six 1” diameter holes in the chassis. The blower motor pushes air through these holes and into an anchor shaped fiberglass plenum which distributes air to the front and defroster vents…
A number of other builders have recommended this mod. Just for kicks I calculated the surface area of the 6 holes(4.61 square inches) versus the two 2” round front facing vents(6.28 square inches). So it looks like the six 1” holes likely creates an airflow restriction out of the evaporator. Sine the 3 elongated holes yield 11.35 square inches this mod makes total sense. Pic of the holes elongated with a jig saw…
Also made matching holes in the evaporator…
Next up is modifying how the evaporator is mounted to the chassis. The way Vintage Air recommends to install the evaporator is to use the two supplied brackets which attach to each front side of the evaporator case.
Since there is more weight toward the back of the unit I added two brackets to attach to the rear rivnut holes on each side of the blower motor. This really firms up the mounting of the evaporator to avoid any rattling...
During the initial install back on post #119 it was really difficult to get to the right rear bolt through the heater and AC lines in that area. Here is a pic of the left rear bolt…
Just a bit of poor planning on my part. I knew at some point if I ever had to remove the unit it would be near impossible with a finished interior. So wanted to simplify the install for that rear bracket. Decided to attach the two rear brackets to a .25” piece of aluminum stock, added some threaded holes so it could be accessed and tightened from above.…
Now to reinstall the evaporator. Attach the evaporator to the front brackets without tightening the bolts and leave it at it’s lowest position. Before tightening the front bolts, push the evaporator up and screw in the rear bracket from above. The rear bracket holds the unit in place then tighten up the two front bolts and your done. Pic showing the rear bracket drawn up to the top chassis panel…
So to service and remove the evaporator I’ll first need to remove the dash and remove those top screws but feel it is a good trade off…
Another item checked off the list!
This post covers opening up the air vent holes and modifying how the Vintage Air evaporator is mounted to the chassis.
First up is opening up the air vent holes. As delivered, RCR cuts six 1” diameter holes in the chassis. The blower motor pushes air through these holes and into an anchor shaped fiberglass plenum which distributes air to the front and defroster vents…
A number of other builders have recommended this mod. Just for kicks I calculated the surface area of the 6 holes(4.61 square inches) versus the two 2” round front facing vents(6.28 square inches). So it looks like the six 1” holes likely creates an airflow restriction out of the evaporator. Sine the 3 elongated holes yield 11.35 square inches this mod makes total sense. Pic of the holes elongated with a jig saw…
Also made matching holes in the evaporator…
Next up is modifying how the evaporator is mounted to the chassis. The way Vintage Air recommends to install the evaporator is to use the two supplied brackets which attach to each front side of the evaporator case.
Since there is more weight toward the back of the unit I added two brackets to attach to the rear rivnut holes on each side of the blower motor. This really firms up the mounting of the evaporator to avoid any rattling...
During the initial install back on post #119 it was really difficult to get to the right rear bolt through the heater and AC lines in that area. Here is a pic of the left rear bolt…
Just a bit of poor planning on my part. I knew at some point if I ever had to remove the unit it would be near impossible with a finished interior. So wanted to simplify the install for that rear bracket. Decided to attach the two rear brackets to a .25” piece of aluminum stock, added some threaded holes so it could be accessed and tightened from above.…
Now to reinstall the evaporator. Attach the evaporator to the front brackets without tightening the bolts and leave it at it’s lowest position. Before tightening the front bolts, push the evaporator up and screw in the rear bracket from above. The rear bracket holds the unit in place then tighten up the two front bolts and your done. Pic showing the rear bracket drawn up to the top chassis panel…
So to service and remove the evaporator I’ll first need to remove the dash and remove those top screws but feel it is a good trade off…
Another item checked off the list!
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Neil
Supporter
You are right; it is misleading, however, to compare total area of small hole patterns, though. Air doesn't like to be funneled through small holes and the resulting restriction can be surprisingly high. A wire screen should have low restriction if one looks at its open area % but no....
Joel K
Supporter
I put off installing the axles to have some extra room to mock up, fit, and fabricate the exhaust. Now that the exhaust is done it’s time for the axle install.
Here is a video on the process…
Superlite SLC Build Video 100 - Axle Install
The axles are part of the SLC kit and sourced via the Drive Shaft Shop. The axle set for my kit were marked 16” and 19.5” since the Grazizano transaxle flanges are offset and not centered to the engine. The shorter axle goes on the passenger side…
In the back of my mind I realized I might need to revisit the axle lengths due to a few specifics of my build. These being as follows:
1)Moved the engine back 1.5” from the stock location - to provide room for the intake reversing elbow and allow servicing of supercharger, accessory belts, and water pump outlet.
2)Raised the engine up .25” from the stock location - to pass NJ state inspection where nothing can hang below the frame rails.
3)My lower rear frame rails seem to be 10mm wider than others
I figure I’d document this since I’ve seen a few build threads where the engine was moved back from a stock location and this subject was never addressed in detail.
Bolted up the axles and took some measurements. You can see below the axle length play changes minimally through it’s range:
According to the driveshaft shop, each CV has 1” of total play. So if the axle slides back and forth 1” at ride height, then the CV is sitting dead center in its range and is at the optimal position. They also provided the general guidance that you should look for .75” to 1” total play on the axles at ride height. I’m guessing that the SLC may get away with less play since it uses solid rod ends so there is virtually no suspension deformation under load.
So to get the CVs centered in the range, decided to have a couple spacers fabricated by sendcutsend.com. Here are the dimensions…
1)Outer Diameter - 108mm
2)Inner Diameter - 75mm
3)Hole size - 10mm
4)Pitch Circle Diameter - 94mm
5)Passenger side thickness - .25”
6)Driver side thickness - .4375”
5)Steel - AR500
The spacers are made of hot rolled steel so not entirely true or smooth so had them surface grinded at a local machine shop. Pic of the spacers after surface grinding and plating…
Used the following supplies to install the axles:
1)M10 60MM 12.9 Cap screws to attach the CV joints to the stub axles - McMster Carr PN #91502A231
2)M10 65MM 12.9 cap screws to attach the CV joints with .25” spacer to the transaxle flanges - McMaster Carr PN #91502A232
3)M10 70MM 12.9 cap screws to attach the CV joints with .4375” spacer to the transaxle flanges - McMster Carr PN #91502A233
4)Blue thread lock
5)Nord lock washers - M10 Nord-Lock Carbon Steel Washer, 0.42 ID x 0.65 OD McMaster Carr PN #91074A180
6)ABS Rings - Drive Shaft Shop Part #ABS-GM-10-X9: GTO ABS RING MACHINED FOR 108mm CVs
7)Molykote 321 - R Dry lubricant Spray - Apply to the outside of the boots so the billows don’t wear on themselves
8)Silicone sealer - Apply to both sides of spacers to seal up CV and prevent grease from being expelled out of the CV
9)Axle Heat Shields - Audi Part Number 8E0 501 721 - bought used off eBay
First step was to install the ABS/Tone rings. I decided to mount them on the inside CV joints next to the transaxle flanges. Heated them up in the oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes then placed it on the CV and attempted to tap them on. Well, as luck would have it, the tone rings were machined to the incorrect size. Too small. Ugh!
Turned out the part The Driveshaft Shop first sent was machined to press on the stub axle which is about 106mm diameter. The incorrect part number was ABS-GM-10-X9: GTO ABS RING MACHINED FOR RA5200X9 (GTO DSS 9” Conversion Level 5 Axles).
Anyway, they sent me new ones at no charge. I really appreciate that they took care of the issue so quickly. Had the new ones delivered within a week and they installed with no problem. After heating them in the oven, tapped them on with an aluminum dowel and hammer…
Then prepped the axles for install. Cleaned the face of the CVs and spacers with brake cleaner to insure a good seal with the silicone. Also cleaned all the bolts with brake cleaner so the blue thread lock works well…
Next step is to install and torque the axle shafts. Here are the torque instructions from the Drive Shaft Shop…
Used the pry bar to provide resistance while torquing down the bolts…
All done and looking good. Drew some lines on the frame about 3 years ago to estimate where the axles would wind up by mounting the engine further back. Turned out it was pretty accurate. Pic of the passenger side axle…
Driver side, you can see the dull coat of the dry lubricant on the CV boot covers. It seems to stick pretty good. The dune buggy guys recommended using graphite on the boots to extend their life…
Lastly, cleaned up the used axle Audi R8 heat shields with a Dremel wire brush. They will shield the CVs from the resonator heat…
When I get to the electrical, I’ll fabricate some brackets for the tone ring Hall effect sensors for the Engine Vehicle Speed Sensor, Electric Power Steering, and speedometer.
Here is a video on the process…
Superlite SLC Build Video 100 - Axle Install
The axles are part of the SLC kit and sourced via the Drive Shaft Shop. The axle set for my kit were marked 16” and 19.5” since the Grazizano transaxle flanges are offset and not centered to the engine. The shorter axle goes on the passenger side…
In the back of my mind I realized I might need to revisit the axle lengths due to a few specifics of my build. These being as follows:
1)Moved the engine back 1.5” from the stock location - to provide room for the intake reversing elbow and allow servicing of supercharger, accessory belts, and water pump outlet.
2)Raised the engine up .25” from the stock location - to pass NJ state inspection where nothing can hang below the frame rails.
3)My lower rear frame rails seem to be 10mm wider than others
I figure I’d document this since I’ve seen a few build threads where the engine was moved back from a stock location and this subject was never addressed in detail.
Bolted up the axles and took some measurements. You can see below the axle length play changes minimally through it’s range:
| Suspension position | Ride height | Passenger Side Axle Movement, total in-out range | Driver Side Axle Movement, total in-out range |
| At Ride Height | 4.65” | .75” | .56” |
| At 2” Compression | 2.65” | .875” | .625” |
| At 1.5” of Droop | 6.15” | .625” | .5” |
So to get the CVs centered in the range, decided to have a couple spacers fabricated by sendcutsend.com. Here are the dimensions…
1)Outer Diameter - 108mm
2)Inner Diameter - 75mm
3)Hole size - 10mm
4)Pitch Circle Diameter - 94mm
5)Passenger side thickness - .25”
6)Driver side thickness - .4375”
5)Steel - AR500
The spacers are made of hot rolled steel so not entirely true or smooth so had them surface grinded at a local machine shop. Pic of the spacers after surface grinding and plating…
Used the following supplies to install the axles:
1)M10 60MM 12.9 Cap screws to attach the CV joints to the stub axles - McMster Carr PN #91502A231
2)M10 65MM 12.9 cap screws to attach the CV joints with .25” spacer to the transaxle flanges - McMaster Carr PN #91502A232
3)M10 70MM 12.9 cap screws to attach the CV joints with .4375” spacer to the transaxle flanges - McMster Carr PN #91502A233
4)Blue thread lock
5)Nord lock washers - M10 Nord-Lock Carbon Steel Washer, 0.42 ID x 0.65 OD McMaster Carr PN #91074A180
6)ABS Rings - Drive Shaft Shop Part #ABS-GM-10-X9: GTO ABS RING MACHINED FOR 108mm CVs
7)Molykote 321 - R Dry lubricant Spray - Apply to the outside of the boots so the billows don’t wear on themselves
8)Silicone sealer - Apply to both sides of spacers to seal up CV and prevent grease from being expelled out of the CV
9)Axle Heat Shields - Audi Part Number 8E0 501 721 - bought used off eBay
First step was to install the ABS/Tone rings. I decided to mount them on the inside CV joints next to the transaxle flanges. Heated them up in the oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes then placed it on the CV and attempted to tap them on. Well, as luck would have it, the tone rings were machined to the incorrect size. Too small. Ugh!
Turned out the part The Driveshaft Shop first sent was machined to press on the stub axle which is about 106mm diameter. The incorrect part number was ABS-GM-10-X9: GTO ABS RING MACHINED FOR RA5200X9 (GTO DSS 9” Conversion Level 5 Axles).
Anyway, they sent me new ones at no charge. I really appreciate that they took care of the issue so quickly. Had the new ones delivered within a week and they installed with no problem. After heating them in the oven, tapped them on with an aluminum dowel and hammer…
Then prepped the axles for install. Cleaned the face of the CVs and spacers with brake cleaner to insure a good seal with the silicone. Also cleaned all the bolts with brake cleaner so the blue thread lock works well…
Next step is to install and torque the axle shafts. Here are the torque instructions from the Drive Shaft Shop…
Used the pry bar to provide resistance while torquing down the bolts…
All done and looking good. Drew some lines on the frame about 3 years ago to estimate where the axles would wind up by mounting the engine further back. Turned out it was pretty accurate. Pic of the passenger side axle…
Driver side, you can see the dull coat of the dry lubricant on the CV boot covers. It seems to stick pretty good. The dune buggy guys recommended using graphite on the boots to extend their life…
Lastly, cleaned up the used axle Audi R8 heat shields with a Dremel wire brush. They will shield the CVs from the resonator heat…
When I get to the electrical, I’ll fabricate some brackets for the tone ring Hall effect sensors for the Engine Vehicle Speed Sensor, Electric Power Steering, and speedometer.
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Ken Roberts
Supporter
Joel you may have been supplied with the wrong boots. The correct boot for our cars is the BT-36. Steve Lobel went thru the same issue. His original boots were BT-367. They were destroyed within a couple of days. DSS admitted they were incorrect and sent him replacements like the one in the attached picture. (My BT-36 boot).
Ken Roberts
Supporter
post #178
Steve's GT-R Build Thread
Steve, Regarding your CV boot problem- It is common practice to place zip-ties over the rubber bellows of those CV joints to keep centrifugal force from over-expanding them at high speed. You might try that trick.
www.gt40s.com
post #287
There has been other builders with the same issue. I just can’t recall who. Perhaps they will chime in.
This issue should be made into a sticky on the first page of both RCR forums.
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Joel K
Supporter
Thanks Ken, appreciate the heads up. Tad at DSS said the same thing when he saw pics of my axles but wasn’t volunteering to exchange them for free.
So I figure let me just install them as-is and get the car on the road. At some point I’ll probably upgrade to the C6-C7 bearings and I’ll have to swap out the axles anyway. The other thing is, I’m not planning on tracking the car and from what I see, there are a number of street driven SLCs with the smaller boots and have lasted a couple thousand miles without self destructing.
Steven Lobel
Supporter
DSS provided amazing support. New boots and grease. Glad it is an easy task getting at the bolts and swapping things out on the GT-R. Hope SLC is as easy or easier. With boots replaced, have had no issues on track or street since that post.
Joel K
Supporter
Getting close to starting the electrical so one thing on the list was to mount the ECU on the chassis. When I bought the LT4, 4 years ago there wasn’t much choice for E92 ECU mounting brackets. Unlike the LS ECU there are no mounting holes on the ECU case so decided to buy the GM Corvette bracket.
ITC Billet now makes a nice E92 ECU mount, but decided to stick with the plastic GM mount since it has a convenient clip mechanism which allows for easy removal of the ECU. Pic of the GM ECU mounting bracket(GM Part Numer #23130710)…
The challenge with using this bracket is it is made to clip and screw on various fender chassis panels on the Corvette. I did not want to drill more holes in the chassis so decided to make a transition bracket(bracket to attach the bracket) out of .25” aluminum plate.
First step was to mount the aluminum plate on the chassis piggybacking on 4 existing holes for the interior tub close out panel. Then sketched out the shape of the bracket. In a rare moment decided to throw caution to the wind and not do a full mock up in plywood like I normally do. I’m now in that get it done phase of the build, LOL. Here she is…
Cut it out with a jig saw and trimmed up on the mill and sanding drum…
Also made a slot for the part of the GM bracket that clips on and supports the bottom of the ECU…
Now attach the GM plastic bracket…
E92 ECU clips right in. It’s substantially larger than the LS ECU…
I’ll admit the approach is a bit convoluted and would have been a more straightforward install with the ICT mounting bracket, but I like the fact the ECM just unclips and is easily removable.
ITC Billet now makes a nice E92 ECU mount, but decided to stick with the plastic GM mount since it has a convenient clip mechanism which allows for easy removal of the ECU. Pic of the GM ECU mounting bracket(GM Part Numer #23130710)…
The challenge with using this bracket is it is made to clip and screw on various fender chassis panels on the Corvette. I did not want to drill more holes in the chassis so decided to make a transition bracket(bracket to attach the bracket) out of .25” aluminum plate.
First step was to mount the aluminum plate on the chassis piggybacking on 4 existing holes for the interior tub close out panel. Then sketched out the shape of the bracket. In a rare moment decided to throw caution to the wind and not do a full mock up in plywood like I normally do. I’m now in that get it done phase of the build, LOL. Here she is…
Cut it out with a jig saw and trimmed up on the mill and sanding drum…
Also made a slot for the part of the GM bracket that clips on and supports the bottom of the ECU…
Now attach the GM plastic bracket…
E92 ECU clips right in. It’s substantially larger than the LS ECU…
I’ll admit the approach is a bit convoluted and would have been a more straightforward install with the ICT mounting bracket, but I like the fact the ECM just unclips and is easily removable.
Joel K
Supporter
Time to put the finishing touches on the exhaust system. It’s been quite a bit of work to get to this point and very happy with how it is coming together.
Here is a video on the process…
Got the exhaust sans tips back from the welder. Added primary and secondary O2 sensor bungs. The primary sensors were placed where the down tube collectors form to get a good exhaust reading from all cylinders. The secondary sensors were placed behind the cats…
I always admired the way Bob DeNyse’s exhaust tips are positioned on his LT5 SLC with the race tail so wanted to do something similar for my build. Pic of Bob’s menacing exhaust…
Found some nice 304 Stainless Exhaust tips on Amazon for about $20 each. They are 4” round and 5” long.
It was a little tricky lining up the exhaust tips to sit between the top of the diffuser and the body. The resonators are lower than the diffuser and sit at slightly different heights so needed a way to raise the tips up and make them even. To position them over the top of the diffuser, used a combination of 45 degree elbows with 2” tangents to raise the tips up and also bring them in a little…
I like the look of having the tips be more inboard so this combination of elbows works out well. Here is the gist of what it looks like from behind. You see how they tuck in toward the wing stanchions…
Now with the body on, was able to set the exhaust tip spacing. Have a .375” gap from the top of the diffuser, .5” gap from the edge of the body, and 1” gap from the wing stanchions. Seems about right…
Decided to align the tips to the upper edge of the body with zero stick out…
Now that I have the spacing correct, made a jig to hold the tip parallel to the diffuser and wing stanchion…
Tacked up the exhaust and added an insulated mounting tab which screws into a coped steel bung tacked on the k-brace…
Exhaust all tacked up and ready to go back to the welder for the final time. Totally bad-ass…
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Joel K
Supporter
Holy cow Batman!
Like some other SLC builders, I planned to modify the front roll hoop to be less intrusive. As delivered, the front roll hoop is fine if you are not planning on using the A-Pillar covers. If you are, they simply don’t clear the roll hoop and need to be widened creating a very bulky a-pillar.
Here is a link to a video on the process...
Pic of the hoop gap to a-pillars on the spider…
Pic of a-pillar cover gap when trying to fit up…
There are many approaches to widening the hoop. Decided to cut the hoop off and then in half, widen it with a spacer, reattach it to the center section, and replace the flanges with wider ones. I chose to make the cuts where there are straight tube sections. That way the machined spacers could be inserted into the existing tube a full 2-3” deep providing a strong repair. Here is the gist…
First step was to make a cardboard pattern of the roll hoop and see how it will look if shifted outward by 1”…
Then got to work and cut the front hoop off, no going back now…
Next I shifted the hoop over 1.25” and clamped in place to get a sense how well this works. The a-pillar covers now fully clear the roll hoop. Feeling good about this approach so fabricated these parts to reassemble the hoop…
Pic of the widened roll hoop all tacked up and reattached with new flanges…
Front view…
Now with the body on. Pic of passenger side a-pillar cover in place. The yellow tape shows how much can now be trimmed off to provide better fitting and looking A-pillar covers…
You can see how much tighter the hoop gap is. It’s nice to have an adult size hoop!
I think I can honestly say, the chassis fabrication work is complete and it’s time for electrical. Whooo hooo!
Like some other SLC builders, I planned to modify the front roll hoop to be less intrusive. As delivered, the front roll hoop is fine if you are not planning on using the A-Pillar covers. If you are, they simply don’t clear the roll hoop and need to be widened creating a very bulky a-pillar.
Here is a link to a video on the process...
Pic of the hoop gap to a-pillars on the spider…
Pic of a-pillar cover gap when trying to fit up…
There are many approaches to widening the hoop. Decided to cut the hoop off and then in half, widen it with a spacer, reattach it to the center section, and replace the flanges with wider ones. I chose to make the cuts where there are straight tube sections. That way the machined spacers could be inserted into the existing tube a full 2-3” deep providing a strong repair. Here is the gist…
First step was to make a cardboard pattern of the roll hoop and see how it will look if shifted outward by 1”…
Then got to work and cut the front hoop off, no going back now…
Next I shifted the hoop over 1.25” and clamped in place to get a sense how well this works. The a-pillar covers now fully clear the roll hoop. Feeling good about this approach so fabricated these parts to reassemble the hoop…
Pic of the widened roll hoop all tacked up and reattached with new flanges…
Front view…
Now with the body on. Pic of passenger side a-pillar cover in place. The yellow tape shows how much can now be trimmed off to provide better fitting and looking A-pillar covers…
You can see how much tighter the hoop gap is. It’s nice to have an adult size hoop!
I think I can honestly say, the chassis fabrication work is complete and it’s time for electrical. Whooo hooo!
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Ken Roberts
Supporter
That is a great modification Joel. I wish it was available as a kit. I’d buy it for sure. I keep reading about what a horror it is to fit the A-pillar covers.
Can you provide a material list and what was the machined the diameter of the tube that slip fit into the existing tube?
Can you provide a material list and what was the machined the diameter of the tube that slip fit into the existing tube?
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Joel K
Supporter
Thanks Ken,
I had a local machine shop turn down the ends so they were a snug slip fit.
I’ll put the dimensions of the parts together and post it. The only thing I would do different is make the notched ends .5” shorter. That leaves more of the straight section of the overhead tube available for the inserted tube.
Joel K
Supporter
Ken,
Here are the dimensions and supplies list. Keep in mind, each roll hoop has it’s own characteristics and the spacer length I used may be different due to the natural spread/radius of the roll hoop. I can discuss this in more detail on the phone.
The inside tube diameter is 1.24” which means you can’t simply buy a 1.25” slug and make work. I gave a section of the hoop tubing to the machinist and he made it slip fit so I don’t have the exact size He machined it to. The end pieces of the overhead tubing will be extra so that is what I gave to the machinist. I did have to sand out some of the existing tubing since there is some variation and some areas were a little more stubborn than others. I was able to keep a nice tight fit and still remove them during fit up.
The order of fabrication that I outlined in the video worked well. First mocking up the pieces in PVC then finalizing the sizes and sending off to the machinist. Then fine tuned the steel pieces, clamped the front hoop in place with the existing flanges. Once the spacer and overhead bars were tacked. I cut the flanges off and cleaned up the ends and tacked on the new flanges.
The only thing I would do different is make the thick part of the flange ends .5” shorter. They don’t need to be so long. Anyway here are the dimensions and part numbers…
Steel tubing - 1.5” with .25” thick wall. McMaster Carr - 7767T78 - You can find this less expensive on eBay. Search for 1.5” DOM tubing.
Flanges - 1/4“ plate. McMaster Carr - 8910K584
Dimensions…
Here are the dimensions and supplies list. Keep in mind, each roll hoop has it’s own characteristics and the spacer length I used may be different due to the natural spread/radius of the roll hoop. I can discuss this in more detail on the phone.
The inside tube diameter is 1.24” which means you can’t simply buy a 1.25” slug and make work. I gave a section of the hoop tubing to the machinist and he made it slip fit so I don’t have the exact size He machined it to. The end pieces of the overhead tubing will be extra so that is what I gave to the machinist. I did have to sand out some of the existing tubing since there is some variation and some areas were a little more stubborn than others. I was able to keep a nice tight fit and still remove them during fit up.
The order of fabrication that I outlined in the video worked well. First mocking up the pieces in PVC then finalizing the sizes and sending off to the machinist. Then fine tuned the steel pieces, clamped the front hoop in place with the existing flanges. Once the spacer and overhead bars were tacked. I cut the flanges off and cleaned up the ends and tacked on the new flanges.
The only thing I would do different is make the thick part of the flange ends .5” shorter. They don’t need to be so long. Anyway here are the dimensions and part numbers…
Steel tubing - 1.5” with .25” thick wall. McMaster Carr - 7767T78 - You can find this less expensive on eBay. Search for 1.5” DOM tubing.
Flanges - 1/4“ plate. McMaster Carr - 8910K584
Dimensions…
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Howard Jones
Supporter
Have you trial-fit your windshield yet? My advice is to do so as early as possible. The body MUST be fit to the windshield. The windshield cannot be flexed and must sit relaxed.
