Casey Family Build thread....

[Pedalmasher]

Originally Posted by QSL

Come on Derrick! this thing is a baby compared to what you have LOL.

The difference is: your motor is nice and pretty (and complete), and I'm still playing around with the mock-up bare block and heads.

Congrats are still warranted - - you might have to have an "engine warming" party!!??

Derrick

[QSL]

well, i guess i certainly understand that!

You do know that you dont need to wait for a warming party of any sort for you to come over right? I still need to hit up your place to check that build.

Well, we got it off the truck, but not without hesitation. Going up hill, getting stuck in cracks and not setting up the lift perfectly. Good thing steve is wicked strong.

This thing is so awesome that i had to hire two gaurds... Yea, we are wierd! They had to drop the guns a couple times because we heard cars driving up the street and did not want to freak them out!!!!!

[QSL]

couple more pics...

[Pedalmasher]

Too much fun!!

Just this morning, one of my co-workers asked me if I had any regrets (building the car) yet - I told her - absolutely NOT!! I too, am having too much fun!!

I'm off on Monday - Maybe I'll take a Hayabusa run out there!!

Definitely let me know if you'll be in Anaheim area...

DV

[QSL]

came home and found this gem on the doorstop. Russ thompson builds these and i will say it was worth every penny.

[Doug Meldrum]

Yup, worth every penny. It's one of the best additions to my build.
It's looking good. Keep it up.

[Pedalmasher]

Originally Posted by Doug Meldrum

Yup, worth every penny. It's one of the best additions to my build.
It's looking good. Keep it up.

x2 on the Russ switch - - Nice piece, good instructions, ordered it and got it in 2-3 days!!

[QSL]

seems kinda early to get one, but we went into the build with a plan to buy everything that was custom built that we wanted ASAP. I know from other hobbies if you wait for when you need it, it may not be there anymore. Gotta support those guys as fast as you can or you may regret it.

[cobrajj]

Mike, You might also want to consider Russ Thompson's gas pedal kit. Much nicer than what came with my 3.1 kit. Breeze Automotive Factory Five Racing

Jim

[MRSQSL]

Thanks Jim. I really like the pedal. I was looking at options just this morning as I'm not fond of the one that came with the kit. This is exactly what I was looking for!!

[Mikey Likes It!]

Russ Thompson is a vendor on the forum.... Check out his site. He was at the Huntington Beach show last year, a really great guy!
Mike

[QSL]

Originally Posted by MRSQSL

Thanks Jim. I really like the pedal. I was looking at options just this morning as I'm not fond of the one that came with the kit. This is exactly what I was looking for!!

So thats what you were looking at this morning on the ipad when i woke up... You need to take a break sometime! LOL.

FYI, i liked the pedal we got from FF with the complete kit. Nice quality, its just that the pedal itself does not match the new wilwood clutch and brake pedals.

[bcw]

I found that the pedal that came with the complete kit sat too far back against the footbox and didnt match the height of the wilwood pedals very well. I went with the Russ Thompson pedal and since its position is adjustable I could align all of my pedals the way I wanted. Since we are spending your money, you should look into a manual throttle linkage if you havent already.

[QSL]

Damn you guys...

Ok, yea i am definately doing a mechanical linkage and not using the cable. The way the weber setup works, the mechanical linkage will work the best with it.

So, guess i need to call Russ again...

[MRSQSL]

Originally Posted by QSL

Damn you guys...

Ok, yea i am definately doing a mechanical linkage and not using the cable. The way the weber setup works, the mechanical linkage will work the best with it.

So, guess i need to call Russ again...

Get me the pedal while you're at it.

[Presto51]

Originally Posted by QSL

So thats what you were looking at this morning on the ipad when i woke up... You need to take a break sometime! LOL.

FYI, i liked the pedal we got from FF with the complete kit. Nice quality, its just that the pedal itself does not match the new wilwood clutch and brake pedals.

Don’t you know yet when it comes to women

It doesn’t matter what you like

[QSL]

Just got word from Jim Inglese that the intake system will be shipped early next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, i cant wait to top off that engine with this...

[cobrajj]

Mike, That intake system is a work of art! I'm jealous! You probably have already though about the heat your engine will be putting out, but suggest installing a good insulation layer and maybe Cobra Earl's footbox vent system--the footboxes get hot without a good air flow. Jim

[QSL]

YES, the intake is breathtaking. I have always wanted a setup like that. I really struggled with justifying the price, but i knew i would not be 100% happy with a 4bbl. I wanted something to awe at when you open the hood. This is a key component to me to make this a real dream car for myself.

i plan on installing some risers once i test fit the engine with headers on the outside of the foot boxes to block the header heat some. As for vents... i saw a long time ago a thread where someone put some on the trans tunnel and had scoops to suck in air by the trans. I know the air wont be as cool, but should do the job? I say just because i dont like the look of the hose going up front to the intake. Anyone here use a setup like that or have experienced one?

[Big Blocker]

Go with Cobra Earl's Footbox Vent kit . . . best money spent for your car. The hoses hide up high in the fenders so pretty much out-of-site. The amount of air you will get with the "tranny louvers" will not compensate for your 427. They only allow air movement after the engine heat. Earl's pick up fresh air from the front brake ducts (read: cool air).
I have them on my car, I live in Vegas where it get HOT! . . . life saver in traffic, for me.

HTH

Doc

[MRSQSL]

I meant to update the thread last night, but the sofa swallowed me up.

Mike will have to add pictures later since I don't have any on my computer.

This was one of those weeks where life kinda got in the way. I'd guesstimate we only spent 6-8 hours working on the roadster. Sadness.

I'd start out by telling you what Mike and Steve did, but I honestly don't know. When I asked Mike earlier (in preparation for writing this), he couldn't really give me a useful answer. I know they attempted to put the rear brakes on and once again had issues. Mike is going to call Wilwood today, but he thinks one of the rotors is warped. He and Steve checked the runout and found it to be pretty severe on the one rotor. They checked again without the rotor (to make sure the rear end wasn't the problem) and found it to be fine. They swapped the rotors in the rear and still had the same runout problem with one. It will be interesting to see what Wilwood says. Anyway, that was quite time consuming. I think he said he got the other rear brake completely mounted and they started on the steering shaft as well.

Alyssa and I had a much more productive time. We finished drilling the panels for the driver's footbox and then removed them. We scuffed and cleaned all the front panels for powdercoating after Alyssa cut the hole in the firewall for the heater (with Mike's supervision). Mike took the panels in to be powdercoated this morning. We had a lengthy discussion (all four of us) about color choices with lots of looking on the forum at what others have done. We decided on metallic gloss black, but when he got to the place this morning, they told him it would scratch really easily. Sigh. He picked a slightly textured black instead which should be finished by the end of the week. I'm a little concerned that Mike picked a color without the rest of us, but I trust him (despite the fact that he's color blind).

What did we learn this week?

1) My coworkers get annoyed when I announce approximately every two minutes that I smell smoke and then sniff them and then ask them to walk around sniffing things. Alyssa finally said the only thing she smelled was "Harbor Freight". Lightbulb moment. Mike realized what I was smelling was the Summit heater. Bingo.

2) All these years Mike has told me he needs x tool or y tool. My response has always been "You have a giant toolbox full of tools. How can you possibly need another?". Looks like he was right. Who would've guessed he'd have the tool for measuring the runout? Actually, I kinda already knew he was right because he let me build an RC car once and I discovered we needed a bunch of tools. My new motto is you can never have too many tools. My advice to any man that wants more tools is to have your wife do a project and give her all the wrong stuff.

3) Alyssa HATES cutting aluminum with a Skil saw. HATES!!!!!!

4) I have an extreme sensitivity/aversion to rubbing sandpaper on metal. I don't know why any sane person would ever want to do it. I wore gloves, used a sanding block and still had goosebumps the entire time. Alyssa was kind enough to take pity on me and switch jobs. I used the pneumatic sander thingymabob while she scratched away with the paper. Shiver.

The goals for the week will be to mount the rear brakes (heard that before), remount the powdercoated panels (clecos, not rivets yet) and to finish drilling the trunk area. I suspect the steering rack will be soon to follow as well.

[QSL]

week 4 pics!

[QSL]

last ones from week 4. Now things should start getting interesting as we are starting to get to areas where we can do things as we please. There is really only one way to mount suspension and panels... well i guess there are two but hopefully we are doing it the RIGHT way!

[Pedalmasher]

Mike - Awesome that the whole Casey Clan is participating in the build, and +1 for the photos showing eye and ear protection on your daughter as she's drilling - - but did I spy "flip-flops" on her feet?

[QSL]

yea, her nickname is "hippie" cant get the damn things off her...

[MRSQSL]

Week 5 ( I think)

I've gotta stop setting goals. Rear brakes are not done since we are waiting for wildwood to ship a replacement rotor. Panels are not all attached and some are riveted. We haven't even drilled a single new hole in the trunk area. I'd call it an epic fail except that we actually got quite a bit done.

Let me first start by making an excuse. Alyssa had community service Saturday and a ton of homework Sunday so she only came out to help for a few minutes. For the record, community service is a requirement for hs graduation, not a punishment for a crime. Steve had a science project due Monday, so he spent little to no time in the garage. Mike and I were forced to build alone (also had to deal with furnace repair and helped some friends with a small project).

Mike installed the steering shaft and rack, started running brake lines, and made a tool for straightening the tubing for the lines (not necessarily in that order). I'm really impressed with the way this is all coming out. He is doing an excellent job with the routing despite all the issues we had with the riveter.

I started putting the newly powder coated panels in place. Mike urged me to go ahead and rivet although I was a smidge concerned it might be too soon. Let me just say he made a great color choice. Sadly, I have no pictures on this computer, so he will have to add them. I wasn't able to do as much as I wanted, but hopefully will have time this weekend. Maybe I'm too sick to go to work (cough, cough, wink, wink).

Learnings:

1. There are lots of rivets. Rivets are okay if you don't use a hand riveter and if the bit thing on the end of the pneumatic one didn't come from Harbor Freight. No offense to them, but the bit wasn't drilled out at all (no hole). Better to take the end off the hand one and put it on the pneumatic one.

2. No matter how careful you are, the thing you need most will drop, hit something else, and roll just out of your reach at the most critical moment. This will happen at least three times in a row.

3. Avoiding the next step because you are afraid to make a mistake doesn't solve the problem. Leprechauns don't miraculously seep in through the cracks and do the job for you. Best to suck it up and put on your big girl panties.

4. There is a graceful way to get into the engine area and a not so graceful way. Without the panels, I could be like Catherine Zeta Jones in the laser scene from "Entrapment". With the panels on, I discovered my butt is too big. I can either roll through all the metal shavings or climb over the top of the front end. The panels look great on, but they sure do complicate things.

I'm sure I learned many important things, but it's been a long day and it's super cold without a working furnace. Next week is sure to be warmer and more productive.

[Ray]

At the rate you guys on going on this build, you just might be ready for the Huntington Beach show in April....

Ray

[QSL]

Thanks Ray, we still have a bunch to do though. Basically most of the bolt on stuff is done, but now we get to the parts where we get to add some flare! Thats the stuff that takes some time.

Anyway here are some pics...

we are using the cunifer brake and fuel lines to make bending easy. So far the stuff is working awesome!!!! I made a tool to straighten out the tubing that works well.

[QSL]

More pics!

[QSL]

last ones until next week!!!