74 TR6 upgrade

[Phil Crawford]

This is the second attempt at the steering but didn't work.  Would have had to remove the steering to change plugs. AS you can see it is tight. Will see the finished  steering later on when the car goes back together.

Had to remove more of the ear on the block where I have been grinding for shaft clearance.  This was the hardest job on this car.

Fabbed the fender body mount. Have a little metal to replace and the gusset on the upper but joint needs to be welded.

Taking the body off again.

Got the four links in pace and the shocks mounted.  Notice the bottom link is longer than the top one.  The top one needs to be longer but there is no room for it. All the brackets on the trans. tube home made out of 1/4" plate.

Things are coming together.  This took a lot of time and trial and error. I laid the four links out on plywood with movable arms and found what works best for this car.

[Phil Crawford]

Another look at the rear end suspension.

This is a big rear end.  Wish I had used an 8".  Hind sight Ha Ha

Looking at the lay out. It's hard to see everything with one photo.  If you have questions please ash and I will try to answer them.


This is the diff. mount for the panhard bar.  It is 1 1/8" DOM steel and it was a bear to bend even after it was white hot.  It goes over the top of the diff.

You can see I have the diff. jacked up to check the clearance of the panhard bar over the diff.

The panhard bar really worked out well and sits horizontal at normal  ride height.  This whole area became really tight.

I installed 325 gears with an auburn limited slip diff. in the rear end.

[tbo]

Wow . What a great build, beautiful work.You mentioned foaming your frame. I'm going to fill mine too.The Challenger car is built in Brampton Ontario, close to Toronto. I saw a program on how they were biult and they have some parts of the car foam filled.I'm doing a TR3 and afriend also is restoring a TR3. He knows people at the plant and is going to get info on how it is done. If that happens I will pass on the info to you.Tim  ps some upgrade, how bout super tweak?

[Phil Crawford]

Tim
Let me know about the foaming the frame and thanks for looking.
Phil

[Phil Crawford]

Diff. all painted and ready to put together.

Flipped the frame and welded everything on the bottom that I couldn't get to from the top.  I weighed the frame with nothing attached and it weighed 178#,  even I was supprised at how little it weighed.


Made the alt. bracket from plate steel.  The alt. is 1/8" off of the valve cover.

Test fitting the vintage aire.


A lot of cutting and welding and fitting and grinding but not a real bad job just took a lot of time.  About ready for primer.

[Phil Crawford]

Making the diff. cover out of 16 gauger steel.

Ready to install.

Finished diff. cover.

Made the AC bracket adjustable and later added a belt tensioner.

Still looking at steering. You can see how tight it is through the header.  I changed this set up later.

Had to clean up some sheet metal for the frame not to touch.

Eliminated the clutch pedal and adapted the drive by wire module to a new accelerator pedal.  Made the jack shaft housing out of water pipe with skate board bearings.  I saved the bearings when my kids were young and have had them for over 30 years.  I am a true junk collector.

[Phil Crawford]

Added to the trans. cover making a console.  Made out of card board and fiber glass.

Another look at the room behind the dash with the vintage aire installed.



Fitting the 2 1/2" exhaust tacking as I go.  The exhaust came out perfect only hanging 1/2" below frame. You can see the O2 sensor bung below header.

Cut, grind and weld when it is right.

I bought a X pipe kit from summit racing and it worked out well and was easy to use.

You can see the pipe going under the diff.

[Phil Crawford]

I used the flowmaster 50 series muffler because I didn't want it too loud. I have hangers at the front part of the x pipe and on both ends of the mufflers.  I welded the mufflers together and they lay flat not like the photo.  


I relocated the exit out of the muffler so the mufflers will lay flat and the exit is below the cross bar of the frame. i don't have a good photo of this.

The exhaust is complete.Yea.

Was able to use the TR emergency brake cables minus a little hardware but had to move the emergency brake back a little.  This is the only thing I used off of the old frame.

Making sure everything fits and will move ok.

Another view of the diff.

[Phil Crawford]

Painted it outside with oil base primer and oil base flat black paint.  I know there is better stuff to use but didn't feel like driving 2 hours.

I added the angled arms from the bottom of the crossmember back to the frame. You don't have to do this but I thought it would make it a little stiffer especially when braking.  I was also concerned about going over a speed bump and there not being a horz. frame in this location would allow the oil pan to be crushed.


Installing the front end hopefully for the last time.



At last a rolling chassis. One person remarked that it looked like a go cart.  Here are some more photo's.


Screwed sheet metal above the exhaust pipe below the body for a heat shield for the body.





The old booster was a 7" single diaphragm and this one is an 8" dual diaphragm. Had to move it to the right about 3/4" to miss the steering shaft.

Another look.

[Phil Crawford]

Trying to make sure everything fits.

I am using an intake manifold off of a 2002 camaro ls1 but the fuel rail will not work with the lsx enjectors because of the height and because the plugs are different so I used the lsx enjectors and fuel rails and made the fuel lines from 3/8" brake lines and the transition ends of the lsx fuel line.  If I had to do it over again I would use a LS1 motor.

Had to cut scallops out of the back for the exhaust. I used some 3" exhaust pipe for the metal.  The muffer no longer hangs down under the car and gets knocked off.  At least I hope not.

Had to remove the metal that protruded down because of the mufflers.  Used 16 gauge metal.

The trans. hump is welded in place and other metal cut away in various places to make room for the frame.


Welded the rear fender and have everything floated and primed.  I didn't weld the fender solid but stitched it about 3/8" apart.


Filed the fresh air vent with metal and welded in place.

Had to replace some rusty metal.


Used the metal I cut out of the trunk for the repair. I beat on it until the shape was right then welded it into place ground it down flush and spread bondo to get the shape right.

This car had been hit in the front and crushed the hood in the front and back.  After I removed all of the bondo the work began.  I had to remove some of the stiffners, reshape them and weld them back into place.  I had to shrink the metal in the front by heating it.  i spent as much time on the hood as I did on the rest of the car.

[Phil Crawford]

This is the mounting bracket for the shaved door opener. I welded it into place. I used the motor driven type because I didn't have room for a solenoid.

The engine compartment is done.  Yea!!  I used House of Kolor Kosmos Red over a white primer/sealer.

I built a paint booth in my shop and that is were I worked. After the body work was done and everything was primed and wet sanded to 600 grit this is the way I painted.  I had not painted a car since I was 16 years old.
I sprayed the car with an epoxy primer/sealer followed with 3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear..Color sanded with 600 git until smooth and sprayed 3 more coats of clear.  Colored sanded with 1500 grit then 2000 grit. Buffed the car in 3 stages of compound. Then your done. It was a pretty good job but I am glad I did it. A lot of work but saved a lot of money.

This is before color sanding.

The paint booth came down and the painting is over.


Except for painting the back black.






These are the shaved door motors.


When I purchased my motor I was able to get anything I wanted off of the truck and this is the cruise control off of the column.. I adapted it to the turn signal.


Putting the car back together.


Ran the window washer through the firewall with a groumet.


I painted the windshield frame with the same urathane paint with less flatening agent as the back of the car.  I lifted the edge of the rubber and pushed tv coaxial cable under it all the way around the frame.  This kept the rubber off of the frame and allowed me to sand and repaint.  Once finished I pulled the cable out.  Worked great.



Getting ready to put the body on the frame.

[IaTR6]

Really enjoy the pictures and write-up Phil! I think I see "Smarties" candy in your hand? They are my favorite, but they don't work! My daughter got me a big bag for father's day, and I'm still no smarter.
Dennis

[v869tr6]

So you have spent over 2 years thinking, engineering, cutting and building on a defensless Little British Car ? Awesome job, I like it !
These things are labors of love but having it out on the road will be super, first time I drove mine with a V8 the front fenders were coat hanger wired on and with no rear wheel tubes the thing throw rocks at my head. LOL
You have some awesome skills, nicely done, that is one sweet ride, or should I call it a pissed off roller skate !

[Phil Crawford]

Dennis,
I guess I got caught.  They are one of my favorites but they didn't work for me either. My daughter also loves them. The only thing they do for me is make fatter.
Thanks for looking at the progress. I know it is a lot to look at all at one time but I procrastinated for quite awhile.  I have no doubt the journey is the destination because I have really enjoyed working thru all of the little issues.  
Thanks for looking
Phil
Don't eat all of the smarties./

[Phil Crawford]

Ed
A skate board it is and a labor of love.
Thanks for looking I have more to come.
Phil

[rficalora]

It does look great.  Not just the paint, but all the work leading up it too!

[Phil Crawford]

Rob
Thanks for the kind words.  I do appreciate them.  It has been fun. I think my wife would like me to finnish and do a few honey do's.
Tks again
Phil

[socorob]

Once you get it broken in, you need to take it down to NOLA motorsports park for one of the Drag-N-Laps.

[Phil Crawford]

Starting to look more like a car than a skate board.

If you are wondering what the black thing with the wire coming out of it but were too polite to ask I will tell you.  It is a switch box for the trans. selector to show you which gear you are in.. It didn't work so I am making another one and maybe it will work.



Just looking

I modified the old bumper bracket to make it work.  I don't think this is going to stop very much.

The bottom of the car really come out clean. The exhaust came out well and out of the way.  You can see the bottom link and shock support below the rear axel.  I used the shortest coil over I could find and it still protruded down this far.  The rule is it can not be below the rim.  If you have a flat you can guess the rest.

I used the flash this time.  With the removable trans. mount I should be able to remove the engine and trans. out the front hole.

I modified the existing anti sway bar to work with this front end   The triangle thing on the bottom swing arm is the spindle stop  I had to make this.  I had to use the old antisway bar because they didn't make one this narrow.

This the third and I hope last mod I have to make on this mount.  The plates the hiem joints bolt into had to be removed and replaced with plates with slots to be able to move the hiem  joints around to get the clearance and the right angle for the universal joint.

You can see how the mufflers lay flat with the exit coming down below the cross member. I believe this is the only thing visible other than the wheels that is not stock looking.

Wires wires everywhere.  Trying to protect the paint is tough.

This fuse/relay box is made for the ls motors.  It was reasonable and had everything you need for a stand alone motor and trans.

Alt. and compressor are in place.  Had to make the brackets.  The comp. is adjustable and it also has a tensioner.  The red hose goes the trans. for cooling.  They hook to the radiator.

Hope it fits under the hood.

Ran the ac and heater hoses.  If I had to do over again I would use solid hoses through grommets rather than these connectors.. They look good but have 8 places to leak.

Installed the brake master cylinder and booster and tubed the cylinder.  Lost a ferrel out of a fitting. Had to use the coupling instead of solid tube because the flare that goes into the master cylinder is different from the double flare that is used now so I had to use the small pieces from the car.

Radiator and fan are in.  The fan is16" and moves 2200 scfm.  I mounted the radiator to the frame and not to the body to cut down on the vibration and ultimately a broken radiator.

AC condenser installed.

Filter dryer installed.  I moved this thing 3 times because of the hood hinge.

The battery wire from the trunk came through the firewall below the ac hoses.

[Phil Crawford]

I am gradually using up all of the room.

Different look.

I worked on this hood support and I believe it will work.  Once the hood is installed and alligned I will attach the black arm to the fender with a small clamp.  The bracket takes the pressure because it works at the pivot point.

Now the hood is up.  It takes a lot of force to push it down.


I used a shorter piston on this one because I needed the room for the air cleaner. It is harder to push down than the other one because of the up angle.

Trying to keep it quite.

Relays for the door openers and the wireless remote control module.  Thats all of the photos for now.

Head lights are in.  Used relays for almost everything to keep the load of the switches.


Battery cables in the trunk.  Ran the ground down to the frame.  Welded a bolt to the frame for the battery ground.  Ran #2 cables.


Started making the dash.  Used 1/2" birch exterior plywood for the base. Covered it with South american Rose Wood veneer.  

Used the old dash as a pattern and cut it out with a formica flush cutting bit.  

Not bad.

This is the rosewood veneer. 1/25" thick.

Making a piece for the ac controls and the ignition switch.



After 9 coats of sanding lacquer sanded after each coat and 3 coats of house of kolor clear, wet sanded with 1500 grit then buffed with 3 stages it looks great.  Finished it today.  Waiting for my gauges to come in so I can finish cutting the holes.

Lots of wires.  Used a second fuse block with flashers and horn relay for rest of the car.

Power relays for various things.  The black box to the left of the relays is the tac module for the drive by wire control.

[tr6turbo]

I really liked your hood support.  Can you share the size, part number, or application and where I could get one of the same size.

A lot of great work and engineering in that car.  Looks great.

[Phil Crawford]

dale,
I am getting ready to leave town for a few days.  But when I get back I will get the piston # and take some close ups of the system..It took me about a day to get worked out after a few trial and errors.  I haven't tried it with the hood  on yet but I believe it will easily hold up the hood.  If not I will put another one on the other side.  I wish I had worked this out before I painted, I still have the hook on the right fender.
Phil

[74ls1tr6]

Phil,

You have posted up some skill on this thread. I just envy your shop too!

I have a question on your 07 4.8 ls?. Did you change out your truck intake for a car intake? I thought the truck intakes sit pretty tall?

From your photos everything will fit under the hood with spare room. With my Ls1, I could have made my oil pan flush with the frame, but yours is a "custom frame".

Great job...Can't wait for a write up on this ride. That 4.8 can rev up nicely with just a few mods!

Calvin

[88v8]

Incredible. You've pretty well created the whole car from scratch, taking in various skills that most people would regard as specialist. Even veneering the dash would be a big deal to most.
I suppose now you're breeding your own beef for the leather to upholster the interior....

And when you're done it won't shout Look at Me, because it will appear almost stock. Or it could, depending what seats you choose. Be a shame to use modern buckets, just my opinion.

It took me 60 years to realise I don't have the skills or the persistence to create something like this, but I certainly admire those who do.

How easy is it to insure a car like this? Also getting it past whatever govt legislation might get in the way?

Ivor

[Phil Crawford]

Calvin,
The intake is off of a 2002 camaro ls1.  Part of the fuel rail is off of the truck because the injectors are shorter and the plugs are different.  I fabbed the fuel line from part of the old one.If I were to do it again I would use a ls1 because you have to change too many things on the motor to make it fit in a small car.
I going to leave the engine stock for now and pump  it up later or get me a vette LS6 or build me a used ls1.  I don't know yet.  Once I finish this project I think there are a few honey du's that have been waiting for a while. Got my gauges today going to put them into the dash next and try to close the dash up.  
Thanks for looking
Phil