[Will]

Just stumbled across this thread. Don't know how I missed it all this time.

All I can say is "wow." Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Zyman]

Ron and Potomac Pontiac are a gem. Helped me over the years with used parts on a couple of my cars.

[Gator67]

Building permits are finally ready and plans/choices/building contract are close to being finalized, so the yet to be named Formula (I'm thinking Caroline, short for Sweet Caroline) is getting some attention again.

Quickly bolted on the fenders, trunk lid, and hood so that we could haul the car to our friend's house for blocking. Left some extra room between the fenders and doors for now. When it gets back to Randy's shop, we'll have to chart a plan forward. I guess the next step will be to install the new subframe and subframe connectors…then mock up the engine & drivetrain.





Randy's been working on a 240Z. I really like early Zs. Good memories…a friend in college had one, but by '80 it was a rusty heap…seems like they were all rusted out in CT where I grew up. Randy found perfect quarters locally.

[Gator67]

One thing that never occurred to me is the amount of stress placed on these hoods when they're latched. I noticed that when the hood is just resting in place on the car--latched shut without hinges--it doesn't line up with the top of the fenders. It's noticably lower than the fenders in the middle, a little flatter. However it lines up perfectly when it's attached to the hinges and latched. Now I understand why a lot of the Formula hoods I looked at wete warped. Wondering if it makes sense to release the hood when the car is parked for a while?

[Gator67]

Here are a couple pictures of the car while being blocked in 80.

[Gator67]

60 hours later and the car is at 600. Looks really straight. After the auctions it will go back to Randy's sweatshop. At that point Mr. Sandman might have enough time to finish up his fine '69…

[Gator67]

Finally got our final approval and permits at the end of April. Since then, had cactus and trees moved to the permitter of the lot, cleared almost 3 acres, and brought in a couple thousand yards of fill for the pads.







Now that we're underway on the house, we're starting up on the Formula again. T56 Magnum, bell housing, twin disc clutch, hydraulic T/O bearing etc. delivered last week. Subframe and subframe connectors should be in soon. After that, the plan is to haul it to Frank G's to mock everything up. Will need to buy center section, axles, brakes, fuel tank, seats, wheels & tires.

[HWYSTR455]

That surplus truck is cool! Those things go anywhere! Is that a drill jig they have on there?

.

[Gator67]

The truck is rigged to move saguaro cactus. They moved a couple dozen for us. Some were 30 ft tall. Here's another photo.

[HWYSTR455]

Very interesting! Can't imagine why here on the east coast I've never heard of that! Heh-heh! Are those cactus protected, or if was for landscaping?

That looks like it was an old corps of engineers truck.

.

[Gator67]

Yes, the saguaro are protected. Lots of regulations to follow. To get our building permits we had to have a native plant inventory and a revegetation plan. In addition to the saguaro, we had to move ocotillo, palo verde, mesquite and ironwood. I think we had to deal with about 60 total (we could not move some and some were deemed not salvageable). We'll have to buy some more for landscaping towards the end.

[keith k]

Cool stuff, Jeff. Going to be a neat place, I'm sure-

[Gator67]

Joe finished blocking and did a great job. I can't wait to see how this car will look when painted.

Randy and I installed the DSE subframe and front suspension. It went pretty quickly, and was fun to work with new parts. Making the car a roller proved to be more difficult. Randy only had rally wheels lying around, and they wouldn't fit over the DSE suspension--ended up scrambling around for some space saver spares which we had to reverse. We then found that the factory lug nuts didn't fit. I had to go to ACE to buy some 12mm 1.5 pitch nuts. Frank and I then hauled the car to his house where we began to mock things up.

We started with the Quadralink but didn't make much progress. I didn't know we needed the original leaf spring perches to attach the lower arms to the body, and after I figured this out, I couldn't remember where I left them. We then attached the bell housing and transmission to a block Frank had lying around and placed it in the car. We'll need to shim up the motor mounts a little and then make some tweaks to the cross member, but so far no major issues. We had to cut the floor a bit around the shifter hole and we'll probably have to hammer the floor a bit towards the front, but it doesn't look like the tunnel will require major surgery to make the transmission fit correctly. I think the story would have been different had I decided to go with 1/2 height body mounts. The center section and axles are on the way.

[eaglesan13]

Jeff,

I love what you're doing with this bird, I can't wait to see it when you're done. You are painting it the original colors right? Palomino Copper and Carousel red (LOL)

[Gator67]

Slow but steady progress.

The floor needed a little more surgery than we thought to fit the transmission and cross member.





The block is set back about an inch from the factory location.



Quadralink bolted right in without a hitch. We also bolted in the center section (3.5 gear ratio). Needed to re-order axles. Still need to fit the sway bar.



I also ordered a tilt steering column from Ididit. We need this in place before headers can be built. Should be here next week.

Waiting on the arrival of the exhaust system as well. Pypes has a set-up that's supposed to work with the DSE rear suspension. It's a tight fit and we need the fuel tank in place to mock it up. So on Monday I'll be placing an order with Rick's for a tank, GM ZL1 fuel module (pump, regulator & filter), and a Vaporworx pump speed controller that will be set up to work with the Fast EZ EFI 2.0.

I will be ordering brakes (most likely Baer Pro+ 14" fronts & 13" rear) and wheels and tires too.

Making progress on my other project too.

[unruhjonny]

(hmm, where that pesky "like" button )

[dpoltzer]

That is some major surgery to the floor! Will you need to add any reinforcement to the floor? Cant wait to see your progress on the car and the house! Thanks for sharing.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by dpoltzer

That is some major surgery to the floor! Will you need to add any reinforcement to the floor?

This has been a "one step at a time" type of project, so I haven't given much thought to it. I'm hoping Randy will have a good solution.

[The Boss]

Subframe connectors ought to do the trick.

[keith k]

Originally Posted by Gator67

This has been a "one step at a time" type of project, so I haven't given much thought to it. I'm hoping Randy will have a good solution.

Jeff,
I would definitely close the hole back up with metal that's fully welded in -- it will be better for vibrational noise from the tunnel sheet metal itself, and of course for blocking trans/driveline/exhaust shell noise from coming into the interior. You'll obviously need to fab up a piece that sits a little higher, though. As long as you're planning to run a console, you should be able to hide it all under there.