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DadofThree's Roadster Build Thread

37K views 239 replies 40 participants last post by  phileas_fogg 
#1 ·
I can't believe I'm doing this.

An actual build thread? So I'm building one??!! After 5 or 6 years of checking them out, the time has come!?!? I'm actually building a Roadster???

I have a lot of apprehension about starting the build thread. Go easy on me as you dissect the build.

In addition to the build thread; During the Christmas Break away from the build, I decided to start a blog showing the build. I've been documenting everyday on an excel sheet (along with my budget:scared:). So even though I'm only now starting the build thread, I've been documenting the build.

So take a look, and let me know your thoughts. The knowledge that is on this forum has helped me out tremendously. I've met great people, and look forward to meeting many more of you.

Dave

www.BuildaRoadster.com

 
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#2 ·
Just visited your blog page .Excellent job. There are so many little details to be picked up from all the photos and seeing how others are doing it is very helpful. Its also great to get the kids in there to let them help ,I have had my kids out there for certain steps .That way they will really appreciate it when they get older.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the comments. I'm trying to get the little one out there often.

Glad to meet you guys... good luck on the build. It's very addictive. I still work full time and even if it only 30 min, I hit the garage to just look over things and if nothing else , plan my next QUESTION.... hahaha... you thought I was gonna say , plan my next move!!
Yes Al, I know the feeling. I also work full time. I've been learning a lot from your build. Keep up the useful questions for the forum. A lot of the time I have the same questions.


Dave:

What is that red thing you are wearing? Seems out of place for Georgia.

Roy from Springboro
That's my dad on the left. A true Buckeye Grad. I'm on the right. :wave:
 
#4 ·
Dave:

What is that red thing you are wearing? Seems out of place for Georgia.

Roy from Springboro
 
#6 ·
I've decided to skip the Ocala trip today and try to get more work done on the build.

Here is today's whiteboard list for the weekend. Of course, the DW hasn't made her edits yet. :)
 

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#7 ·
I strongly advise that unless you want a very displeased spouse, drain and clean out the rear end outside. That smell is pungent, lingering and will get commented on QUICKLY. Surgeon's gloves are highly recommended also as that smell will be on your hands after multiple Dawn washings when you go to bed tonight.
 
#8 ·
Good detailed blog! I was wondering how you were going to paint POR-15 in your garage with the fumes and how the wife would not like that but zi now see where you live. Nice area!
 
#10 ·
Thank you KDubU
 
#12 ·
I had a great day yesterday with the work that I was able to get done on the Rear End.

I was going to head on down to the Ocala, FL car show today. I got up at 5:45am, took a shower and was going to be out the door by 6:15am for the 4 hour drive.

But while I was in the shower, I was thinking about what I was able to get done last night, and I wanted to continue. This was a wide open Saturday and I really had more interest in continuing with the build. So I stayed, and went down into the garage.

It's a little chilly this morning (well, it is January), and the smell of gear oil is not a good smell. So I'll be doing this outside the garage.



Drained the rear end.



Then I rotated the axle ends until the differential pinion shaft lock pin shows up. I found that this needs to be removed with an open end wrench because there wasn't enough room to remove the socket when taking the pin out.

Now remove the pin itself.


This will allow you to be able to push in the axles so that you can remove the U-washer. I wasn't sure what I was really doing, and I rotated the axle to see the pin. Next thing I heard was the pin dropping into the depths of the differential. On the other side, I didn't rotate the axle, I just pushed in and removed the U washer.

Removing the axles, you can see where the bearing rides the axle.  It's the clean machine mark on the the right.



Now take out the S shaped spring. I removed this with some vice grips to get good traction on the spring.


Notice the crow bar in the right of the photo. I used that to hold the big gear in place as I rotated the axle end. Now I can reach the spider gears, and removal was easy. You need to make sure that you keep the washer that is on the back of the gear. Also, the gear that you see on the top is easy to remove, but you need to reach your hand down in the diff case to get the other one. It's not hard at all. I just found that you can't rotate it up to the top.



Now that those are out, just reach inside and get the gears with the traction lok plates. Be sure to keep them on the same side as removal. The shims may be different thicknesses.



Also, after removal, I did notice that one of the clutch plates was still inside the diff case. I used a flat head to make sure that all of the items were out. On one side I still had the shim plate, and on the other, I still had a clutch plate and shim plate still inside. If the last thing you remove is the thin shim, then you got it all.

Below is the kit. It came with one bottle of Modifier, 6 clutch plates, 8 steel plates, a new lock pin, and 6 steel shims.



You're to soak the clutch plates in modifier before install.  WOW, that is a strong smell. I thought the gear lube was bad, but this is really bad too.



Now would be a good time to use the POR-15 to spray on the rear end. Items are removed, and it's easy to get around the rear end.

It looks a lot better.


New plates are stacked up, and ready for install.  All of them have been covered with plenty of lube before install.


Install complete. Just need to install the S spring and then the pin. I learned a couple of things on the reinstall. One, that S spring is a bear to get back in. I finally got one corner inside, then used a hammer to beat it in the rest of the way. But then I couldn't get the pin to install because I didn't line up the spider gears with the casing correctly. I had to remove the S-spring so that I could rotate the spider gears into the proper location. Then, I had to reinstall the S spring again. This time, I had hammered it in too far, and the pin was hitting the spring. After some monkeying around, I got it installed.

I didn't install the U washer or pin bolt yet, because I am going to replace the axle bearings. This will just save me a step when removing the axles later this week.



A LOT more Details on my Blog.

Dave
 
#13 ·
Yesterday's work replacing the axle bearings and seals in the rear end.

Djmccormick was nice enough to let me borrow his Bearing puller kit. He was also very generous in giving me an axle that he had from his '96 Cobra. Thank you, Dan.





Since I left the u washers out of the axles from Saturday, they just slid right out. I left the differential cover on right now to prevent unnecessary smells. :)

First were the axle seals. I've never done anything like this before, so I was improvising a little bit. Take a look at the video. I'm shaking trying to get that thing out.

Video of Seal removal

Then the puller. this is a very necessary tool I found out. I'm very thankful for the loaner.



My Daughter helped out with the bearing puller at this point. She's great! See Video here



Once everything was out, I lubed up the new bearing in oil, then pressed it in with the remover. I snug the bearing up on both sides, and lightly hammered it in until it was seated.



Once those were done, I opened up the differential cover again so that I could install the u washers onto the axles.



I filled it with gear lube and modifier. Buttoned up the differential, and it is now complete!

Things are moving along!! Soon, we'll have a Roller! My DW is excited.

As Always, There are a lot more details on my BLOG

Thanks, Dave
 
#15 ·
3.08 Yes, I've decided to stay with this set up while "learning" the car. If this was a set up for a GT, and my car is 1,000lbs lighter, it may be enough for me. I'm not exactly a race car driver, and I'm not out to have the best times off the line. A lot of my driving is 55-65 mph where I live. I like to cruise.

If I decided that I would like a little more get up and go, I can do the conversion at a later time. (like when it's at the painter for 6 months :scared:)
 
#16 ·
Well, tonight I learned that the axle tube goes above the pan hard bar frame. I guess I have my car so far up on Jack stands that I didn't really think about how low that brace really is.
This of course after I attached two lower control arms and had the upper link in its bracket but not fastened. Trouble came when I tried to connect the shocks. That's where I found my error. And even then, I couldn't picture the axle tube above that bar. But with a ride height of 4.5", I guess nothing should really go under the 4"tube ride height.
So, I'm just going to undo the fasteners and try again. Right? Except, now I can't get my fasteners out without a fight due to my dumb a$$ getting that thing all crooked.

Time to put the tools away, and wait for another day.
 

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#17 ·
Crap.

Had the wrench set at 18 ft-lbs. Cheap fasteners.
 

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#18 ·
Yup. When you're down in the sub 20 ft/lbs of torque requirements, you should be using an inch/lb. torque wrench as you would intake manifold bolt type specs on aluminum heads. They are much more accurate and repeatable in that lower range.
 
#19 ·
After Breaking a bolt into the differential, I went to Ace Hardware to pick up SS bolts and a back out kit.


I was careful about torquing the bolts, but they all are now torqued and set to install.




There are no photos of installing the rear end over the pan hard bar bracing because I don't want to get shut down for safety concerns. It was sketchy, but it is installed. I left the car frame on the jack stands, so jacking the rear end to a high point concerned me if it were to fall. I had jack stands on dollies, so when moving the axle towards the driver side for installation, the entire axle could travel to the side at a close to horizontal position. I'm fortunate that thing didn't fall.


Rear shocks had to be turned upside down so that they would clear the pan hard bar frame. With the shocks the other way, the spring would interfere.




Installed!
This is a big milestone for me. I'm excited to see the car come together, and to see how all of the components put a car together. I've never done anything like this before, and it's been a great experience.

 
#20 ·
IT'S TIME TO PUT SOME WHEELS ON!!!
I Can't Resist! I have to see how they look!! I am thrilled with the look of the wheels, and am pleased with the size.



On the back I have 15"x9"s and on the front are 15"x8"s. With all of the talk about Fox width, getting a large wheel/tire combos, etc; I was concerned about my decision to stay with the sn95 width. I guess I was concerned because I want the car to look AWESOME and not having a set of 315's on the rear would rob that look. NOT SO! One reason that I didn't do the switch was because of money. Purchasing the fox width with brackets for the brakes. I really wasn't interested in making the purchase. I have a set of 17"x10.5" and 17"x9" Halibrand wheels that came with my purchase. Therefore I would need to make the rear end change to accommodate the extra width of the wheels and tires that would be used. Purchasing these 15" halibrands solved that problem, and I'm thrilled with the look.


I got the rear end mounted just in time for some visitors from Atlanta. My good friends came on down to the Islands for a couple of days. They stopped in to say "Hi" and to see the car. The two boys were very excited to see the car and to climb all around it. It was a lot of fun for me to show them everything that had been done, and how parts of a car work.





Little A trying out the seat belt to see how it works.







It was a very good day.
 
#21 ·
I'm going to start a trunk mod in the next couple of days that I purchased off of the forum. It is one of Cobra Earl's Touring Trunk Mods. First I need to mark and drill all of the holes in the trunk panels. I started with the bottom one. I used a #30 drill bit that has been mentioned for a 1/8" rivet. I bought short length drill bits as recommended by DJMcCormack. This was a very helpful, and I didn't break a bit. I would dip them in some cutting oil when drilling into the steel.





Then the top one.





Here is why they tell us to remove the aluminum panels after drilling. Look at all of the steel shavings under the panel after drilling. I vacuumed up all of them with my shop vac.

 
#24 ·
Here is why they tell us to remove the aluminum panels after drilling. Look at all of the steel shavings under the panel after drilling. I vacuumed up all of them with my shop vac.
Yeah, you sure don't want to put silicone on the panels with all those shavings..what a mess that would be.
In spite of vacuuming them up at the time, and sweeping out the shop several times since, I still find those darn shavings. :(
They must jump out from under things, as I keep finding them in my clothing..Sweaters are the worst..lol
 
#23 ·
#27 ·
haha, I remember your DW commenting to my wife on all of the shavings that are left behind on the floor. So I'm trying to vacuum OFTEN.
 
#26 ·
I found a piece of scrap diamond plate at work, and it's about the same size as the firewall. I traced the piece and cut it on the shop vertical band saw. I think I may try to mock up a firewall forward design so that I can have more room for my heater and all of it's duct work.



Crud. I realized today that I cut this on the wrong side of the diamond plate. Putting this in the car would have the diamond plate pattern facing toward the cabin.

Typical Me. Dave



 
#29 ·
You could always go for the Mad Max look, and just leave the dash uncovered, and the tread pattern showing..:)
 
#30 ·
I tried to turn the engine crankshaft with the ratchet last night. It was the first time I've tried since obtaining the motor. It wouldn't budge (Plugs are out). I sprayed PB Blaster in each of the spark plug holes last night. Hoping for some rotation today.
 

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#31 ·
Cobra Earl Trunk kit

The Trunk Kit is installed, and I think it's going to make a great addition to the car. I was nervous about taking in on, but I'm glad that I did it.















 
#32 ·
careful

WOW! that trunk mod seems to sacrifice a lot of structural integrity. looks nice but i would be cautious.
 
#33 ·
Foot Box Expansion

I took the template off of Nice Guy Eddie's Template page and made a footbox bump out for my left foot. For just doing it on my workbench, I thought it turned out pretty good.







Below is the one I made with the Dark Water Bump out that I ordered a couple of months ago.

 
#35 ·
For what it's worth, you can bump the throttle pedal side a little more too and I highly recommend Russ Thompson's Dead Pedal and Throttle Pedal.
Thank you Mark. I do indeed plan on enlarging the right foot side. I'll take a look at that link. And I have already picked up RT's throttle pedal.
 
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