Project Journals

Owner: Dennis Costello
City: Ankeny, Iowa
Car Model: Triumph TR6 1973
Engine: '97 Ford Explorer 5.0


Engine: AFR heads, Comp Cam, roller rockers, modified intake, Patriot headers, larger injectors, EDIS ignition, Megasquirt II

Cooling: alum rad. with junkyard 16" electric fan - pulling

Exhaust: dual 2 1/2" with Aero mufflers behind headers, and single twin inlet/outlet Magnaflow 11386 muffler (too loud).

Transmission: Tremec T5, 3.35 1st.

Rear Axle: 3.54 R200, Goodparts CV axles and hubs

Front Susp.: Ratco 3/4" stab. bar, nylatron bushings

Rear Susp.: Ratco 5/8 stab. bar, shock-in-coil

Brakes:
(master) stock
(front) Canley Classics caliper spacers with Toyota Cressida rotors
(rear) finned brake drums, 7/8 wheel cylinders

Wheels/Tires: 15" Panasprot wheels, 205X65-15 Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tires

Body Mods: paint

Interior: speed/tach from Speedhut, chassis mount rollbar, thermal underlayment

Electrical:Relays added to control oil/brake warning to full brightness, headlight relays, all lighting except headlights LED

So, I thought I would start on a project entry. This is what I started with - a perfectly good TR6 that was showing some rust in a couple of the usual places.
I thought I would do a minor rust repair, and that would be it. HA! The urge to have a quick car to replace the one I didn't have as a teen was too much
to resist, so here I go.
I would like to start a thread under Triumphs, where anyone can ask why I chose what, or ?
I have never done a project like this, and assuredly made mistakes, (some of which I will admit) but I would not want to have never attempted it.



The replacement for the 2.5l six:
What a convoluted example of exhaust they used to get this engine to fit the first generation Explorer. Apparently there was no intention of
putting it in the car at first. This proves even the factory does engine swaps!

The first order of business was how to shorten this upper plenum 1/2 so I could clear the hood.


So, I began a design 2" shorter in height.

I'll get into that next time
-Dennis

Dennis, I'm attaching a fifth photo just to make sure the forum is working correctly...

... and it seems like it probably is. Your shouldn't have to delete anything old to add something new. Please give it another try. Kind regards, Curtis

Well, everyone can see I didn't quite understand the project journal idea, but i think I have it now, so let's continue.
The picture added by Curtis is the baseplate for the new upper plenum. It has matching passages to the lower half that
is retained from the factory setup.
Here is the base plate with the radiusing done on the passages, and the clamp tubes that pass through the plenum. These
are necessary to prevent crushing the sheet metal plenum when clamping it down.


And here is the upper plenum as it develops. I would have liked to include "trumpets" in the design, but i didn't feel there was room,
as this is only 4" tall, and the overriding concern was reducing height to clear the hood. Also, there was the necessity to clear the valve covers,
resulting in the lower floor of the plenum rising, and then falling back down. The throttle body mounting plate is near the outer edge of the valve cover as you will see.


These are the original valve covers, and will be replaced by taller ones to clear replacement rocker arms.


O.K., I need to resize some more pictures!
Dennis

Here is a side view of the new upper plenum installed on top of the original lower manifold. Also installed are the new "higher" valve covers,
which demonstrate the need for the rise in the floor of the plenum. Even so, there was some shaving of the ribs on the valve covers that needed
to be done for clearance.


On to will it fit?


I have the engine sitting on a piece of 1/2" OSB, and a string across the inner fenders. I knew the difference ((but can't remember now),
between the top of the inner fenders and the under side of the bonnet. I had the original Explorer oil pan on at this time,
and determined the Mustang dual sump would save me an inch or so of depth. I didn't want the pan hanging down below the chassis rails like some gasser,
as street driving can have obstacles to clear. Ha! like this thing would clear anything bigger than a beer can!

So, time to remove the tub from the chassis, and attend to the issues there.
I saw an example on 6-Pack, I think, where a clever soul used round plywood pieces to turn the tub over.So,
I copied the idea:


And here is a shot of the 2X4 frame for the 1/2 rounds:


I enlisted the help of three others, and we carried the tub out into the yard, sat it in the grass, and rolled it over. Then, we picked it
up, and carried it back inside. I had a framework that allowed the tub to sit on the battery shelf and the parcel shelf at the inside rear of the cockpit.
This allowed the tub to sit on the framework either right side up, or upside down.

Next time, we can look at the chassis modifications I made.

Before we get to that, I found a couple of pictures that are of no particular value to those of you who are familiar, but may be educational
to others. These are pictures of roller lifters taken from my Ford engine. Looking at the end, there is a roller where older lifters had a "flat" end (which was not actually flat, but had a slight crown). This slight crown, when in contact slightly off-center with the slightly tapered to one side, cam lobe, resulted in a rotation of the lifter. This can be observed in a running engine that has the valve covers removed.
The second picture shows the spring steel hold-down, that holds the "dog bones" in place. The "dog bones" are used to ensure correct alignment between the lifter and the cam lobe, so the roller actually rolls along the lobe, and does turn out of alignment and slide on the cam lobe.




I needed to reduce the overall engine height, so I reduced the upper plenum as shown above. Also, I replaced the original, cast aluminum oil pan with a steel Mustang double sump pan. These two modifications gained me 3" total. I believed that I needed another 1 1/2", so I modified my front chassis crossmember.
I have looked at several crossmember modifications, and came up with a version of my own. I don't know that it is better or worse, it's just different.
These are the pieces that will make up the crossmember modification:
The top piece is the filler that follows the original taper of the crossmember, and carries the taper farther down.
The second and fourth pieces are the front and back faces. The third piece is the center stiffening rib.
Not shown, is the lower plate that covers the three ribs, and ties to the outer edge of the original chassis rails/tubes.


Here is the front crossmember cut to accept the dropped center section. The cut continues the same angle as the original.


This view shows the slot that will accept the center stiffening rib. I am only able to weld it on the underside, as this rib will go in after the top plate is on.


This view shows from the floor, looking up. The top dropped plate is on, the front cover plate is on, and the center stiffening rib is in place. I will weld
the stiffening plate to the cut ends of the original crossmember, and to the underside of the top plate. In addition, the ends of the stiffener are welded to the original frame on the bottom of the rails.


This view is from the transmission location, looking forward. You can see a 1" drop below the original chassis. The previously mentioned center rib has the same end tab as the end cover plate, and is welded to the original frame rail as are both the front and rear cover plates.


The bottom cover plate extends over the outer sides of the original chassis rails, and is welded to the spring perch support structure. The material was all 1/8" X3 or 4". The order of construction was:
1) place top cover in place, and plug weld to upper surface of original crossmember.
2) tack in place front cover plate.
3) place center stiffener, and weld to underside of top cover, to cut crossmember slots, and to original frame rails.
4)weld in place bottom cover, and weld center stiffener to bottom plate.
5)weld in place rear cover.
6)seam weld everywhere I could get the MIG nozzle. I'll resize the picture I have, and show the removed section of front crossmember.


Here are pictures of the removed center section of the front crossmember from the donor chassis I used for practice.
You can see the section is welded up from two "U" shapes, not from a box tube. In addition,
the metal gauge is something British, near 15 Ga. The second picture shows the results of hitting something, and perhaps jacking under the crossmember.
At any rate, what I have now is sturdier.



Now on to other chassis repairs/modifications. First, what I found after chassis "dustless" blasting: This is at the front
spring perch, and is the factory weld between the support, and the shock absorber "dome" support.


So, I rewelded, and added some small gussets. Whether they actually do anything I cannot say for sure, but they make me feel better.


And, adding to the rumor that there is nothing worse than an amateur with a MIg, I added additional beads to the upper connection.


And now to the rear, where the differential bridge is a known weakness. I had looked here before blasting, and thought there was no issue.
It goes to show, the area must be cleaned to properly assess the condition.


So, plug in the trusty Mig and strengthen it.


And, box in the rear bridge. This one isn't as prone to damage I don't think, but what the heck, it's easy at this stage. This step also
involved repair to the front differential mounts, which had been poorly boxed in some years ago. I encountered brazing, which complicated things,
and led to some staring with the famous dumb look on my face.


And, the rear support structure for a planned "roll bar", which isn't really a roll bar. But, it looks the part, and the actual intent of the design is to stiffen the chassis. Whether it does, is open to discussion, and you will see later what the completed structure looks like. Essentially, the structure mounts to pads added just behind the body mounting pads on the differential bridge, and to added supports behind the TA mount box chassis frame sections. Because a load added off center to these box sections would cause a rotation of the box section, I created a type of "I" beam lever that transfers the loading to the center of the chassis.
In addition, since these box sections were not designed for a point load in their center, I added a 1/8" plate to their face where the TA brackets attach.
The intent of this added plate is to stiffen the box sections in bending at the center, where the "roll bar" is transferring load. All of this because the chassis is notoriously flexible due to thin material, and in my mind, the "wasp waist" design just ahead of the differential. My theory, is that the center of rotation is
down the center of the chassis, and the farther away from the centerline a chassis member is, the more lever advantage that member has in resisting twist.
So, I have tried to transfer the chassis members that are resisting the twist (flex if you will), farther out on the chassis. By the way, the mount on the differential bridge and the mount on the TA box section are parallel to the centerline of the chassis.


So, here is a picture of the R200 differential ("94 Q45, 3.54) and the RATCO rear stabilizer bar (5/8") and shock-in-coil setup without the coil.


Now, I can't explain why, but my differential and stabilizer bar touched, even after the "hump" on the R200 case was removed. So, I thought I would put a bend
in it per Tony's suggestion. The local speed shop wouldn't touch the job - said the bar would snap! I was skeptical, and went to a shop that used to build
stock car frames. The owner was skeptical also, but pointed to the 50 ton press in the corner, and said: "have at it". So, I did, and proceeded to put a 3/4" bend in the middle of the bar. The problem remained, so I decided to raise the bar mounts. Since the mounts attach with two bolts, I thought I could move the mount
upward by converting the upper bolt to a stud. And that is what this picture shows.


In retrospect, the stud should have been welded to the differential bridge, and not the mount, because the inside nut is now way up, and very close to the top inside of the support structure. Apparently i didn't think it through enough, leaving me with a nut that is very hard to reach and VERY hard to tighten. Maybe a captive nut on the inside would have worked too. My arms felt like they were going to fall off before I got this tight!
Here is a side view of the bar with the bend and the relocated mounts.



I am impressed with Goodparts hubs and CV joint axles. I now wonder if I should have asked about drilling the hub for 5X4 1/2 to allow a wider selection of wheels? It's kind of a moot point, as I already had 15" Panasport wheels, but the choices of performance tires in 15" is close to non existent. Unless,
you can stand a 50 series sidewall.


Here is a comparison between the original solid rotor front brake discs and the change I made to '88 Cressida vented rotors. The original Girling calipers have to be split and a spacer installed, along with perhaps some minor clearancing on the caliper. In the rear, I used the 7/8" brake cylinders and some aftermarket finned drums (for looks).


And finally, a view of the rotor with the spaced caliper installed.


Setting engine with factory heads and valve covers in chassis to construct engine and transmission mounts.


These motor mounts are made from a standard hot rod part from Chassis Engineering (NFI) I believe they are supposed to attach to the frame
rails and project horizontally, but I cut them at 45 degrees and set them on a plate on end. This gave me the correct height I needed. Just tacked in
place here.


Fabricating a transmission mount to hold engine/transmission assembly at the correct angle for the driveshaft. If I remember correctly, I was at 3 degrees
tilt down at the tailshaft of the transmission. This agreed with the 3 degrees of the differential. I will mention here that I did not
use any of the Infinity driveshaft, as I purchased the differential alone. I used 1310 series U-joints, and had a driveshaft made to go from the
1310 slip yoke on the transmission to the 1310 series adapter on the differential.


Here is another view of the transmission mount and its attachment to the chassis. There is a standard Ford rubber isolator under the transmission, where the
constructed mount and the transmission bolt pad meet. Note also, that the crossmember piece of the transmission mount is not welded to the chassis, but rather, the mount has a flange that bolts to the pieces that are welded to the chassis. I will look for a picture of that. Also, note how close the transmission mount is
to the bolt holes for the dash support feet. I will measure, but I think my shifter is exactly where the old shift knob was.


I imagined the weight of the engine, and the running torque possibly affecting the tall motor mounts, so I added a bracket to each mount that accepts a plate going under the oil pan, that ties the two mounts together, and resists either mount from bending over (I think). I am pretty sure I copied this
from Ken Heibert. I don't think I paid him for the copyright infringement!


Much ado is made of the tendency of the steering rack mounting structure coming loose from its rather weak attachment to the front suspension mounts.
I thought perhaps there was another way to ensure the rack mounts did not move side to side. So, I added a stiffener between like this:


I'm adding this picture here to allow you to see the shape of the Ford bell housing. You will notice that the top of the housing
has a flat across section with two attaching bolts. In the pictures of the firewall modifications, you will see the accommodation I made
due to this shape.


For crying out loud! A plastic battery tray hid the half-hearted repair of this rusted section of the firewall. There was a piece of beer can or some such
pop riveted to the underside of the battery shelf, and body plastic placed over it. I just couldn't tolerate that, so out it came.


This view shows my planning for the firewall modifications. The factory design has a set back section in the middle, with two areas of a slightly
concave surface, that I presume is to drain water away. As the pencil mark shows, I will cut those narrower sections away to allow the V8 to sit a little farther back, and still clear the valve covers.
Also, in the previous picture, you can see the pencil cut line on the passenger side that will remove a triangle section of the web between the inner fender assembly and the firewall. I will mention here that about this time in the project, an old classmate and his brother-in-law, both of them hot rodders, came to see the project. They advised me to cut the entire firewall out, set the engine in place, and reconstruct around it. In retrospect, probably sound advice, but I was
much too timid to follow that plan. Oh well.


Here I am beginning to reconstruct the firewall after the battery shelf has been removed, and the two drain sections have also been cut away. The floral pattern
of an old floormat is in the background, and makes this picture a little difficult to decipher. The red section is the last of the original firewall, in its original
location, and I am piecing together the new firewall sections.


This is one of the filler pieces, specifically the driver side....or, is it the passenger side? Now I don't know! I have a Harbor Freight bending brake, but it is not a pan-and-box type. That style is more expensive,
and I cheaped out. Well, this shape is considerably more difficult to make without one. But, more staring with the dumb look on my face, and voile'.


So, here is the completed firewall modifications, with the in-process transmission tunnel behind. The raised portion is to clear the previously mentioned
bell housing raised area. The "lid" of the center section definitely would have been easier with a pan-and-box brake!Keep watching for more updates!


Here is the first section of the interior transmission cover under construction. I would have liked a roll to form the cone, but didn't have access
to one. So, a series of evenly spaced bends gives the curve I needed. I used 1" spacing at the large end of the cone, and used a straightedge
to connect to the pivot of the two arcs to draw my bending lines. Apparently that is 'kinda how it should be done!


Here is an inside view as the cover is developing. Note the section on the top of the first section, that rises to clear the flat top of the bell housing
that I pointed out in a picture above. Also note that I had to create a little transition between the first cone section (truncated, or is it a frustum?), and
the next section, which is just straight.


Now the taper at the end of the transmission to the original driveshaft covering.


There will have to be a hole for the shifter, but I'll get to that.


I couldn't reuse the cardboard rear tunnel cover, as some Oaf had used it as a place to put his hand to assist in entering/exiting the little car! 20ga. fixed that!
Notice too, that the shifter stub has been installed through the transmission cover. I found that using a straight shift lever put the shift ball almost
exactly where the original shift knob had been.


After beginning the interior install, I found that the original cast aluminum dash support would not fit over the tunnel. This, after having been to two welding
shops to have the corroded driver's side foot repaired. The first shop said they could not help, as the casting seemed "funny", and wouldn't take
the welding. Second guy "kinda" welded the foot repair on, but it was not as nice as I would have liked. I don't know if the casting is full of dirt,
gas pockets, or what, but it is headed to the scrap. This is 12 ga. strips along the sides, and 18ga. facing. I did put the cutout for the radio in, but so
far, there is no radio. You can see the lever that I made to open/close the cowl vent just to the right of the support. This lever interferes with the kidney
pads for the speakers, so I have to make some changes. I'm aware of some who have speakers on the rear shelf, and in the panel over the fuel tank, but I haven't decided if those solutions suit me. I'll look for a picture of this support after upholstery. I tried to do as much on this project as possible, not that I'm
experienced, but just so I could have the enjoyment. However, I just couldn't see how to cover the panel, what with the curves. A local shop did the work,
and I'm very happy with it, and even happier when the man who did the stiching told me how difficult is was.


The tub is now painted-I'll address that in a later post, but here you can see the right side header is too close to the inner fender bracing. I had to cut some relief here, and since the piece that I cut away was a "U" shaped piece, I was sure it added more structural strength than what was left could account for.
Basically, this is in the area where the body sits on the angle brace from the front suspension spring perch to the chassis rail. These are Patriot H8482-1 headers that are not well advertised, and a "pancake style". I see most folks using a four into one type, but whatever my install difference is, I didn't think they would work in my case. So, I stumbled on these, and they work - well, not exactly, as you will see.


So, and I apologize for the lack of a good picture, but I constructed a stiffener panel that goes in the wheel well and attaches to the flat inner fender. It has flanges on the face that bear against the footwell, and one under the lip that was partially cut away. There is a 3/4" "L" on the face of the panel to give it strength in buckling, which is what the loading would try to do to it. You can see the row of bolts that attach through the inner fender.


I again say that I'm not sure why my install seems different, maybe the block is sitting lower in the chassis, or I'm not as far back (I'm almost sure that is true),
but I ran into an issue with the header turnout. It was in conflict with the chassis rail, so I made a clearance modification on the turnout. I really didn't like
doing this, as I paid good money for headers, and didn't want a performance compromise. Well, it isn't a big intrusion, and performance cut or not, it had to be done.


Skipping a little out of order, this shows one of many issues that occur when a rank amateur tries a project. I had the engine setting in the engine compartment for initial fitting, after the tub had been epoxy primed. I had constructed a containment (I called it a paint booth-HA!), and was now faced with the problem of the engine compartment needing color paint. So, hoist the lug as high as possible, and paint away!


Here I am constructing the radiator bracing. I originally tried to angle the radiator to the rear, as Derek Costello did, but I couldn't get the setup right. So, I went
with the "forward look". The radiator had to be modified to accommodate the bonnet, so the angling of the filler cost as much as the radiator! Plus, I neglected to have a drain put in! I regret that already. I wanted to include the original braces from the inner fender to the front cowling,but the radiator was too wide. So, I
added a 3/4X12ga. strip along the front that extended the mountings a little farther out (maybe 2"). At the bottom, the radiator sits in the mounts that came with the radiator, modified with a tab welded on, that attaches to an existing bolt on the chassis (I think it held the factory radiator support).



I made a shrouding around the radiator to force all the air to go through it, thinking that cooling might be an issue. I also found an electric fan some poor soul had added to a Taurus that was now in U Pull-Apart. It looked good, so I brought it home and it did work. However, it pushed, and I didn't have room for a pusher.
I found that connecting the wiring reversed, it ran in reverse, but I wondered if the airflow would be compromised given the curved blades.
So, I emailed the company, and they informed me the blades can be removed and turned over for a puller! Removal of a spring clip, and reversing the blades
was done in short order, and voile"! Oh - the poor Taurus had the fan mounted as a puller, behind the radiator, but it was operating as a pusher, so I'm sure the cooling was less than what the owner wanted. It may have hurt the freeway merging too!

I located the fuel pump and associated filters on the outside of the boot where the spare tire is located. This places the three pieces inside the chassis rail,
and allowed me to put a sheet plastic cover over it - which is supposed to keep most road debris off the components.
You can see a line encased in a thermal barrier sleeve (why? because I had some left), which is the fuel line from the tank to the first filter, a 100 micron. The fuel
line continues to the fuel pump, which I tried to isolate from the sheet metal as best I could to keep noise down. Then, a 10 micron filter before transitioning to braided line, which again becomes solid steel line along side the chassis rail to the front. Also visible, is the braided steel line rising vertically next to the blue 90 degree fitting, which is the fuel return line to the tank. The return line goes to the top of the tank where a fitting was brazed in place.


I bought a plastic sealed battery box, but it was too big - too bad I didn't read the information first. So, I built one from 20 ga. It is in the boot, as the original
battery space in the engine compartment is taken up by the coils and remote battery terminals.

I completely revised the wiring loom, adding and subtracting pieces. When we get farther along, I'll take a picture of a couple of wiring changes some TR6 folks might like to look at. I've driven 500 miles or so since the project rolled on its own, and no smoke has escaped! Which means I didn't make any errors,
or it's building up to a biggie! I was very diligent about placing a tag at every location, so I would know exactly what was what. Too bad some of the notes were so cryptic -I could have saved a lot of time with the multimeter. All the bulbs are LED, except the headlights. I used the modification of a strip of 3 LED's inside the small gauges to light them, and used a KICK PWM dimmer. I'm happy with the result, and I did it just to reduce the current load on the wiring, which
results in lower voltage drop to the lights. Was it necessary - who knows, but when shipwright's sets in, you're toast!


Throwing this in here because i just thought of it the other day. It's a poor cell phone picture, but shows the finned rear brake drums. I told on another forum about buying these thinking they were the coveted aluminum ones, only to discover I didn't read what was printed in the ad, I read what I wanted to read, so they are iron. What the heck, I needed new drums, and these are new, and they have FINS!


Here is the steering modification. I really was interested in a flexible shaft like the early Pinto, but just gave up, as it would have been too much of an issue.
There are companies that make them in larger diameter, but the whole thing just wasn't worth the effort. Also, asking a u-joint company about flexible steering shafts is not advised!
I used Woodward joints, as they had a .563-36 spline for the steering shaft and rack attachment. I used 3/4 DD steel shaft to connect the rack and steering
column, with a double u-joint in the middle, to divide the angle. It doesn't show very well, but I made a plate close to the size of the factory flattened area
on the inner fender, and backed it with a same size plate on the wheel side of the inner fender. The idea here is to spread the load out, and to have the edge of the plate near a shape change in the sheet metal, where there is more strength. Each side of the double u-joint has a 3/4" rod end to support it. I was not happy with the tolerance between the inside of the rod end ball and the 3/4" shaft, as it allowed a slight movement, that I thought would result in steering free play.
I made very small plastic pieces that were driven into the space along side the DD shaft, which forced the ball to rotate with the shaft. These are PTFE lined, and
although I had concern the steering would be tight, I have no evidence of that in actual use. By the way, those wires got tied up, they don't rub on the shaft!








Passenger side of the engine compartment, showing Spectre air filter assembly. I'm not too keen on the hose arrangement, but I will wait for the dyno tune to see what its effect is before making a change. The air intake is through a opening in the shroud around the radiator, to bring in cool air. Was this necessary? I suppose not, but it makes ME happy, so there you go! The high point in the cooling system is in the upper radiator hose elbow, and there is a petcock there to vent trapped air. The original charcoal canister is mounted low on the right, out of the way. I had to remove the factory restriction in the fuel tank vent line as the action of the return fuel being dumped into the tank created more vapor than the restriction would allow. That resulted in pressurization, and fuel smell in the garage after a drive. You can also see the modification to the plenum that was required because the plenum was originally designed to have the throttle on the driver side. Unfortunately, the brake booster was in the way, necessitating the change. The cutout for the fuel pressure regulator is 4" diameter, and does not intude into the plenum space beyond the edge of the base plate. (Look near the start of this journal to see the base plate. Am I restricting air to one or more of the rear two cylinders? My unscientific guess is probably, but only at the highest rpm, and I won't be there that often.



Here is the driver side, which shows the new mounting for the coils (Ford had them on the front of the engine), the fuel supply and return lines, the throttle cable coming up from the shelf next to the steering shaft, and going to a home made bell crank device to operate the throttle. Also, on the far inner fender, the Ford EDIS, and a silver box with a relay on top, which is the Megasquirt relay box.


I mentioned before that the high point in the cooling system is the upper radiator hose. It is much higher than the radiator fill (which was modified to clear the bonnet by mounting it at an angle), so I used a pressure fill apparatus. I filled the cooling system as much as possible, and then pressurized the system with the sprayer. I had the heater valve open all the way, and would periodically crack the petcock vent to release any air.


And, the radiator end. I just used the radiator overflow to send the coolant into the system, just as the system would draw coolant from the recovery tank as the engine cools.


This is the beginning of the chassis stiffener (rollbar). The material is DOM 1 3/4 X .095 1020 A513, which is pretty standard tubing for rollbars, stock car chassis parts etc. The tubing supplier bent the tube per my specs, and was the same person who let me use his press to bend my stabilizer bar. The hoop goes through the floor panel and bolts to the pad on the differential bridge that was installed earlier.


Here is a picture showing the forward attachment for the "rollbar". These are the ends of the "I beam" sections that were added to the chassis at the earlier stage.
Also note my use of Thermozite under the carpet. This becomes the heat shield and carpet pad. The foil is faced to the floor, where the heat is coming from, and is intended to reflect the heat away from the passenger compartment.


The completed assembly, with carpet installed around it. The effect on the rearward movement of the seats seems to be minimal to nonexistent.
There is a one piece hoop, with two forward braces that are tied to the hoop near the top, and with short horizontal pieces between. Also, there is a diagonal piece on the hoop to create more of a triangle for structural strength. The whole intent is an attempt to transfer some of the twisting of the differential bridge
diagonally to the opposite side of the chassis. Does it help the chassis, I don't know, and probably only a torsional stiffness test would tell.


Another view of the passenger compartment, with the driver's seat track set back ~ 1 1/2". I have the seat as far back as it will go, and it does not hit the "rollbar".
The shifter lever has been constructed of a piece of 3/16" flat with a 5/8 O.D. tube for a lever. A 3/8 bolt, with the hex head removed was welded into the end of the tube to make a lever. It's about 6" long. The TR6 folks can compare the location of the shift knob relative to the end of the emerge brake lever, and judge how that compares to the original know location, considering the bend in the factory lever.



Another interior view, showing the covered dash support, the cherry veneered panel, Speedhut gauges, recast and recovered steering wheel and the cable from the Megasquirt to the laptop. I originally intended to reuse the original speedo and tach, but the cost of conversion pushed me to something newer. Both of these are electronic, the tach is connected to the four ignition coils through a tach adapter from Autosport Labs, and the speedo connects to the sender on the Tremec transmission, and can be calibrated to whatever number of pulses the sender is providing. I used my handheld GPS to set it. So, a change in final drive is easily accommodated - not that I have that in mind.


I updated to shoulder belts from the original lap belts. They aren't completely installed here, but you get the idea.


I have some wiring info to post, but I'll get to that later as it is rather wordy. Here is how the car looks now - well, not now, because it's winter and the car is on stands in the shop. 500 miles approx. under my belt, and no walks home, so mostly good.


I was hoping Santa would bring me a rechromed front bumper, but she said we weren't doing presents this year, so.......
These tires were replaced, and the new ones fill the wheel wells a little better. 16" wheels would be nice, but nuts, is there no end?


Earlier, I mentioned the exhaust as being too loud. Actually, it had a drone I disliked immensely. The muffler shop had only heard of a "J" pipe, and when I mentioned Helmholtz resonator, I got the deer in the headlights look, so I went home. There is no room for a "J" pipe, and since I have no H orX pipe before the "X" muffler, the resonators had to go after the muffler-which the muffler shop said wouldn't work.
I made two resonators from mandrel bent 1 1/2" tube welded to closed end 3" tube 7 5/8" long. There is a lot of cipherin' that goes on first, and on the engine/transmission forum section I can go into it for those interested.

Here is one resonator:


And one side of the muffler/resonator assembly, which is replicated on the other side.


My take is that the drone was eliminated to my satisfaction, and I now have a deeper sound, which was masked before. Now on to the other issues during
the winter!



Edited 17 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2017 03:39PM by IaTR6.

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