Cascade Crew

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 4:41 pm Post subject:

Fuel tank is up, never to come down again! Cool

And do you remember those radiator hose clamps I bought from the Chevy dealer that were too small? Turns out they are perfect size for the filler neck. Laughing

Also put the heat shields up but I am running short a few screws. I am guessing this type of thing is going to keep happening after having things apart for over a decade.

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:17 pm Post subject:

Finished securing the heat shields and put in the new exhaust hangers and installed the over-axle portion of exhaust. Frankly, I would have put in the muffler and tail pipe but a jack stand is right where the tail pipe wants to be, so I'll have to wait for that moment of satisfaction.

Not setting any speed records but bit by bit I am making progress!

Dewey316 · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:52 am Post subject:

good to see progress! No one is actually expecting it to be finished, it is like a gearhead soap opera, we can watch for years! Wink

QwkTrip · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:14 pm Post subject:

QwkTrip · Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:15 pm Post subject:

So after giving it some deliberation (meaning this is all I accomplished tonight) I decided to hack up the Racetronix harness even more in order to move the pump relay. It makes no sense to have it outside behind the fuel tank. It should be inside the car or in the engine bay. Nobody in their right mind would put it at the fuel tank if wiring from scratch.

Dewey316 · Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:44 am Post subject:

Agreed. I think Brandon and I both came to the conclusion when we helped Mike put his racetronix wiring kit in, that really, the idea is good, but we would probably both just build a harness from scratch and locate/route things how we would like.

--John

aaron_sK · Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:25 am Post subject:

I too had to hack up my Racetronix harness. IMO it is designed as a plug-and-play solution for a really poor choice made by GM, but they sacrificed quality for ease of installation. If you have a bone-stock car and limited mechanical skill then it is a good improvement, but if you are like us and building from scratch it really makes no sense.

I moved the relay to the engine bay, tapped power from the distribution block rather than the alternator, removed the tank level wire loop (which you did previously) and ran the entire thing inside the car instead of along the underbody. I was much happier with that setup and it worked great.

QwkTrip · Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:06 pm Post subject:

Well this is one time when my slow approach is paying off. I refuse to make 2 new holes in the rear firewall for the fuel pump B+ and ground lug. The stock ground wire is only 16 AWG but I thought if I could re-pin the connector at rear firewall for a 12 AWG then I could pass the ground into the car where I could easily find a ground point. So I drilled out the rivets on the stock pass thru but found it is a molded unit and the wires and pins are not accessible....

.... But the good news is I was left with a nice big hole in the rear firewall where I can run all the wires I want. And I can re-use the stock low profile cover plate in the interior so all the wiring follows stock routing under the carpet. All I need to do is make a new sheet metal cover plate on the outside that seals the hole and provides the new wiring pass thru. I will probably make a pigtail that will hang off the firewall that I can plug in to the tank harness (to make tank removal easier).

Now all I have to do is decide where I'm grabbing power for the pump. I can either use the Racetronix 10 AWG wiring from alternator, in-line fuse, and relay; or I can utilize my new underhood fuse box that has a built-in 12 AWG fuel pump circuit and relay. Honestly, I'll probably hybrid the two by using the fuse box but also making use of the 10 AWG wire.

Twilightoptics · Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 6:46 pm Post subject:

I had good power at my pump so I never bothered changing the wiring.

QwkTrip · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:13 pm Post subject:

I have very little margin left in my fuel system. I have to be a bit conservative with the wiring.

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:43 pm Post subject:

The rear brake lines are a b****. That's all I'm going to say about that for now.

Ran all the fuel tank wiring inside the car, found a good place to ground the pump, and hung the relay next to the new underhood fuse center. Need to order parts for a seal at wiring pass thru, and electrical connectors.

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:41 pm Post subject:

So it turns out I hate working on brake lines more than I hate wiring.

Figured out I am missing hardware that holds brake hoses to the rear axle. Finally found a place to buy that. It's just small **** like this that burns days at a time.

Also finding more fitment problems with the rear brakes. And of course the '92 brake lines don't fit at all on my car. Might as well have just bent my own lines from scratch because it would have been easier.

I don't know why any damn bolt-on part I buy can't just bolt on. Seems everything I buy is wrong somehow. I'm sick of this stuff and it's not even April yet!

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:05 am Post subject:

I have most things tidied up now in the back end. Still trying to find some soft brake lines that fit. I have a pile of new brake hoses that I will be selling. Thinking of doing a custom order.

I have a double hump crossmember that does not accept a torque arm mount. I looked at every torque arm on the market and decided to go with Hawks Thirdgen "Sinister" torque arm. I'm telling you, Bruce has knocked it out of the ball park with this one! It is a mid-length arm (shorter than stock) made by UMI and sold exclusively through Hawks Thirdgen. It is top notch, and IT IS A BEAST! Just look at that thing! Thumbs up

Fit up perfectly to the axle and it comes with a weld-in crossbar with a hump for extra exhaust clearance, plates, and other hardware.

I had to guess at what brake lines to use so I went with '92 because they had PBR calipers. Those lines might as well come off a Fiat. I had to reshape the entire thing, taking out bends, putting in bends, trying to extend them down the axle further. It would have been easier to make lines from scratch but I already had money in these stainless lines so I used them. I also had to cut the spring wrap in to two pieces because it was too short to be in all the right locations. Here is my finished product. Believe me, that is damn good considering what I had to work with.

That little shiny bracket delayed me a week. I didn't know the disc brake cars had brackets like this. I just couldn't make the damn brake lines package right and it dawned on me that I must be missing something. Sure enough, I can see brackets in pictures on the internet. I spent hours on the internet looking for OE style brackets. I found it at www.andyz28.com and it comes in a set (left and right).

Strange 12 bolt mounted up in car. Kenny Brown double adjustable panhard rod with spherical joints. Hotchkis drop springs that I had to buy because my old drop springs were too large diameter to fit in the BRM a-arm pockets. And the old Suspension Techniques sway bar I installed back in 1993.

Kenny Brown adjustable control arms. Poly bushing on frame side, spherical joint on axle side. Founders drop brackets that I had to bend the hell out of to make them fit. Also had to drill out the bolt holes bigger for the control arms. They have some lax quality control over there.

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:36 pm Post subject:

Another milestone has been reached........ Gentlemen, drum roll please..... Exhaust is installed!

This is the Hawks Thirdgen (Stainless Works) 3" dual Y-pipe to single 3.5" exhaust that goes with their 2" primary headers they developed for LS7. Fit like a glove. No issues whatsoever. It is all V-band clamps from front to back except for one side of Y-pipe has a slip joint to allow for final adjustment, and the inlet and outlet of the muffler is slip joint. Really easy to install.

Over the axle takes a nice route. The stock rear hangers are replaced by special brackets to keep it up high.

Single inlet and outlet with a down facing slant cut tip. I didn't want pipes sticking out under the bumper. Dust clouds off the road when you take off are an added bonus. Very Happy

I can tuck the tip completely up behind the bumper or let it show. Right now it is barely peaking out from the back. I'll decide position later when I get the car on the ground and out of the garage where I can look at it from all angles. Still rockin' the Washington plates! Very Happy

Dewey316 · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:05 am Post subject:

Whoa, it is looking almost like a car!

Twilightoptics · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:20 am Post subject:

Exhaust forward off bumper = massive cabin resonance. Been there.

Nice progress!

aaron_sK · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:29 am Post subject:

In my experience a turndown like that will cause a lot of reverberation off of the pavement in addition to the noise issues from dumping before the bumper.

Also, it gets old real fast if you ever go down a gravel road or driveway at anything above idle. Laughing

The rest of that exhaust looks great. I like the v-band setup.

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:49 pm Post subject:

Ah, this is my fun car.... let it be loud! Very Happy

Thanks for the input though. Now I'll know how to fix it if it is too much.

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:39 pm Post subject:

Holy cow, my subframe connectors work! I moved one of the jack stands yesterday and put the car down again. I was vacuuming tonight and bumped a rear jack stand and it moves. What??? It's only making contact on 3 stands and the car is level. I pull down on the hanging corner and it ain't moving. Damn, that car is stiff!

Twilightoptics · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:45 pm Post subject:

That's the whole point! I love having them as jacking points too. Rotate tires? Sure, jack in one spot and the whole side lifts!