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Tennessee Tim's build thread

27K views 114 replies 35 participants last post by  Tennessee Tim  
#1 ·
Well, it's been one month and one day since I took delivery, so I thought it would be fitting to start a build thread. I took delivery on December 20, though the kit was completed on December 3. Stewart has a driver get injured and that set them back several days.

Since I live at the end of a 1/2-mile winding gravel driveway, I had to meet the driver at a nearby church to pick up the kit.

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When I got it home, I had to get it off of the trailer and onto the dolly. That was a nail-biter...

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The first thing I did was notch the tubing to clear the clutch pedal for the Wilwood pedal box.

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Then I cleaned and etched the frame and painted it with POR-15 and installed the front suspension.

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Then came the Wilwood 6-pot front brakes.

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Continued on next post...

Tim
 
#2 ·
Next came the installation of the rear-end and rear suspension. Getting the pumpkin in by myself was a challenge. See here for more details.

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And installed the pedal box.

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I installed Forte's link adjusters on the upper control arms.

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And Gordon's rear brakex.

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I coated the bottom of the frame with bedliner material.

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Then I enlarged the passenger footbox.

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Continued on next post...

Tim
 
#3 ·
Meanwhile, I have another kit to work on...

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It's been a blast so far. There are a lot more pics and descriptions in the link in my sig.

Tim
 
#5 ·
Nice setup. Keep posting pics.

Greg
 
#6 ·
this the church this is the steeple back up a truck and unload for all us people

time to wrench an engine

looking good:001_smile:
 
#7 ·
Looks great, nice documentation on the build. Shes gonna be a beauty! Big brakes, stroked 302, IRS, all with custom tweaks! You've got some great skills and a shop to go along with them. Keep up the great work and keep us posted.

Mike
 
#8 ·
Nice work looks great keep us posted!
 
#10 ·
I got a nice present from UPS today:

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Darn things are a work of art.

Tim
 
#12 ·
I will have power steering, though I want it depowered enough so that there is good road feedback. No power brakes. With 6-pots in the front and 5-pots in the rear and 3/4" master cylinders, I shouldn't need them.

Tim
 
#14 ·
Very nice build!

Where did you get the webers and have you worked with them before? Do you have the proper cam selected to match them?

- Allen.
I got the Webers from Wayne Presley at Very Cool Parts. I selected the Inglese (Comp Cams) Stage 2 cam specifically designed for Webers.

I have never worked on Webers before and I fully realize the challenge. I would venture to say, however, that there are very few people who have read as much about them as I have.

Tim
 
#16 ·
Tim,

Your car is looking great! I wanted to say that our completion date was the same as yours. I hop on my computer every Sunday evening to go to your website and see what you've done on the build. It's a lot of fun to compare what we are doing (especially since there are four of us and only one of you). I don't know how you consistently get SO much accomplished in a week. Please keep posting updates as I REALLY enjoy watching.

Julie
 
#17 ·
Thanks, Julie. I've been following your build as well. I've chuckled a few times at how many things we have chosen to do the same or similar. We have the same front brakes, the same Webers (well, mine weren't done by Jim Inglese, but they're still Webers), the same Russ Thompson turn signal etc.I also love how you've gotten the whole family involved.

I did have the luxury of having 3 weeks off around Christmas that gave me a good head start. I also tend to spend every spare minute in the shop. Once I get started on something like this, I get pretty single-minded. 6 years ago, I decided I wanted to build a house - by myself. I even milled most of the lumber myself from trees on our property (I have a sawmill for my other hobby woodworking). It took me two years, and we're very happy with it.

Tim
 
#19 ·
Tim, she also "forgot" to say sunday nights right before she checks your site she says "that bastard better not be further then we are today" Unfortunately you are and thats when the real profanity comes into play... :) LOL...
 
#21 ·
Well, I'll slow things down a bit. I don't want to be the cause of profanity in the Casey household. :)

Tim
 
#22 ·
thanks, maybe she wont whip us so much this weekend to try and beat you. :) LOL!!!!
 
#23 ·
Tim, your house is gorgeous!!!! I love the wraparound porch. What a beautiful area. You are living my dream.

As for mike, don't listen to anything my husband says. If you knew me, you'd be cracking up. I don't think I've used profanity since October when I broke my thumb. It wasn't even a very bad word. :001_smile:
 
#24 ·
I have to say that we're living our dream too. We love it out here.

It's good to know that I don't actually have to slow down now. Thanks for the heads-up.

:w00t:

Tim
 
#25 ·
tim, julie has told me that the car needs to be in go kart mode by sunday night now. I disagreed for a moment but she started beating me. So all bruised up, i will be working 23.7hr shifts to get it done by her deadline.... LOL.


Awesome work man. I am VERY interested to see how that intake works for you. I too read a LOT about setting them up. I almost pulled the trigger on a stock setup to tune myself but then wimped out and got it from Jim. His site has some good tips and i can tell you some of the setup stuff he did on mine, although i dont know what jets...
 
#26 ·
tim, julie has told me that the car needs to be in go kart mode by sunday night now. I disagreed for a moment but she started beating me. So all bruised up, i will be working 23.7hr shifts to get it done by her deadline.... LOL.
Ha! I happen to know that you don't have tires yet.


Awesome work man. I am VERY interested to see how that intake works for you. I too read a LOT about setting them up. I almost pulled the trigger on a stock setup to tune myself but then wimped out and got it from Jim. His site has some good tips and i can tell you some of the setup stuff he did on mine, although i dont know what jets...
I have to say that I am just a bit apprehensive about tuning the Webers. I am definitely interested in what Jim did to set yours up. What motor are you running?
 
#29 ·
LOL. When you take the chains off, tell him that I replied to his PM.

Tim
 
#28 ·
We are running the ford racing small block 427. He put in 42mm chokes. I will pm you.
 
#30 ·
Update:

No unnecessary holes in the front of the drivers footbox (made new panels).

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Installed a dead pedal.

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Made a passenger side heat shield.

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Figured out how to attach parking brake cable.

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Made a drivers footbox access panel.

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Finished installing rotating assembly.

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Details at my build site...

Tim
 
#31 ·
those are some real clean mods there. I want to do the heatshields, but i need to get my headers here first because i need to know what kinda clearance i have.

I am enlarging the photos to try to find out something that you messed up that i can point out and will hopefully take you a good few hours to fix :) LOL. Only thing i can find is your pistons say front but they are facing back, so i suspect your engine is going to run backwards...
 
#32 ·
I am enlarging the photos to try to find out something that you messed up that i can point out and will hopefully take you a good few hours to fix :) LOL. Only thing i can find is your pistons say front but they are facing back, so i suspect your engine is going to run backwards...
I'll throw you a bone. I spent a couple of hours this morning backtraking after an embarassing goof. I had finished buttoning up the bottom end - installed the oil pimp, pickup and oil pan, safety wired the pump and pickup bolts and was feeling pretty dog-gone proud of myself. I looked over at my assembly table where I had previously laid out all of the parts and noticed the oil pump drive shaft laying under a paper towel...

That one stung just a bit.

Tim
 
#33 ·
I've been trying to get the engine finished up, but ran into a few snags. The pushrod guideplates that came with the heads didn't work. They kicked the intake rocker off center, so I had to order some adjustable guideplates. They came in, and I finished up the heads.

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I needed to make sure that the Webers cleared the valve covers, and I needed to figure out how I was going to mount the bellcrank, so I installed the carbs.

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I'm a little disappointed that the decals don't match the paint on the vavle covers. The match was perfect until I put the clear on the covers. I'll shoot some clear over the decals and maybe the match will be better.

I had to fabricate a bracket to hold the bellcrank outboard on the driver's side.

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I also mounted the front anti-sway bar from Forte's. I have to say that I am just a bit disappointed with the mounting bracket. It's just a piece of angle that has been cut and drilled, and looks like a piece of angle that has been cut and drilled. I spent some time shaping them a bit to look better. Price was right though. I think it will look fine when the bracket is painted to match the frame.

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More at my site below.

Tim
 
#35 ·
you got more done then we did. Everything looks awesome, really sweeeeeet!
 
#36 ·
cant wait to see what you get done this weekend. I am sure you have passed us now for sure! We are going to work on it this weekend as much as we can. I have 29 projects planned, so if i can finish one, i will be stoked!!!!!
 
#38 ·
Nah, you are way ahead of me. You already have your engine in. I'm not even close. Adn dangit, I have a few things around the house that I need to get done this weekend, so I won't be able to put as much time into the car as I would like. To add insult to injury, I will be out of town next weekend and won't be able to work on it at all...

I wish someone had told me what an obsession these cars can become. I find that I spend pretty much every spare moment either working on it, or thinking about working on it...

Tim