#41  
Old 06-04-2020, 10:41 PM
1965gp 1965gp is offline
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What is the benefit of the groove in the oil filter adapter?

  #42  
Old 06-04-2020, 11:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1965gp View Post
What is the benefit of the groove in the oil filter adapter?

According to their website, "The underside of the housing, where the filter attaches, has a deep oil grove cut into the housing, right over where the filtration holes are on the oil filter, to provide superior unrestricted oil flow".

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KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
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So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #43  
Old 06-05-2020, 02:30 AM
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That oil groove is needed because without it, that part of the filter would be right up against the filter housing. Very little flow. I don't think that groove is large enough personally. I would've whittled it out wider and deeper.

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  #44  
Old 06-06-2020, 02:03 AM
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Default exhaust

WARNING: Very exhaustive post ahead. (I'm not kiddin!)

================================================== ================================================== ====================================
Tip#14: Fitting a 3.0" inch exhaust is no picnic. To make your life easier, cut out the 47 year old sagging floor, build the exhaust, and then weld in a new floor. Its quicker in the long run.
================================================== ================================================== ====================================

Yeah, its a big car, but that's also a big pipe to get by a 9" rearend, upper control arms, coil springs, and shocks. Plus it all has to line up symmetrically when complete, not bang around on the floor or frame or leak. That's a lot to ask.

I just looked through 17 years of pictures I've taken of this car and none are specifically of the exhaust. I don't even have any of the final mounted system for this build. I had to go take some.

Why? Likely because I'm never really happy with it - its just something that has to be there and was just "good enough" to not annoy me. Its not the quality of the parts chosen, its the fitment. Its always a compromise. I get it, I'm asking a lot of this chassis to hide pipes it was never designed to hide, but I'm tired of compromising, so I was determined to get this fixed this time around.

Most midsize car chassis are expecting their exhaust to share space in the driveshaft tunnel while the mufflers tuck up nicely into the recesses designed in the floor. That's all well and good if you're running the stock 2.25" duals. They'll fit just fine. Now get an 3" X pipe to fit by the humps of the trans cross member. It wont. Try getting two 3" pipes to share room in the trans tunnel with a 3" driveshaft. They wont. And now, because you had to pull of those pieces so far down to clear the floor, the muffler will never come close to sitting up in that recess specifically made for it. Finally, because the muffler now hangs down so low, the tailpipes are lower than the should be and don't line up with anything, except the 9" rearend, upper control arms, coil springs, and shocks. (OK I exaggerated - it clears the shocks) The domino effect is extensive, but thankfully the fix is simple.

One of the key points of any good exhaust, is where the headers "dump" you. They set the tone for the X pipe to either fit up tight, or hang down low. I don't know how the header builders do it, or what rule of thumb they use, but these JW pieces set me up to sit up nice, tight, and level; just how I want it. If you ignore the trans fluid on the floor, (stupid drain plug) you can see it in this pic - the bottom of the header is almost perfectly in line with the trans pan. (The only reason it likely isn't 100% level, is the shims at the trans mount helping me achieve proper u-joint working angle)



Here is a good shot too, but I'm getting ahead of myself here -



In case anyone needs to know, the system behind those headers will be a duplicate of what Ive run on this car ever since they started making them - Pypes 64-74 A-Body 3" Crossmember Back w/X-Change System. The mufflers are 20 inch case Magnaflows.

BTW, If you like numbers, it takes 4 jack stands to level the car. Two more to hold up the X (if its connected to the header, 4 if not) and then if you're good, 1 for each muffler. (2 if you cant connect them to the X). Now try navigating around on a creeper.

I built these to help me get the height I needed to roll around under the car with ease. Doesn't help with the mockup just yet, but they allowed me to get rid of the stands holding the car level. (They will prove to be useful for many things going forward.) Oh yeah, I hung some fenders. And had to put on wheels. And I ran a wiring harness. And painted me fender supports.



Life is good. I wish I made these a long time ago. Now we can get back to the actual exhaust.

Here is the secret sauce to all my woes. These will take all that hangs low and bring it up again.



================================================== ==================
Fun (like makes you angry fun) Fact: In looking up this part number, I see Pypes now has a high tuck setup, similar to how I solved my problem. Son of..... Twas not an option when I bought. And the whole time working on this I was thinking, how can a company that sells 3' exhaust, not be thinking about how much they hang underneath these cars? At least they're paying attention. Well played Pypes Peeps. Well played.
================================================== ==================

Since I didn't know where the X was officially going to end up, I asked my header builder to make an extension I could cut to length when ready. The Vband connector was mandated by me. I'll rant about 3 bolt flanges later.



And we gotta have some fun, right?



These QTP cutouts came highly recommend and I dig their low profile. What I don't dig is the cutout for a 3" system only has a 2.5" butterfly. WTF? Just keep that in mind if you're looking to buy. I guess it still beats carrying that 9/16 to undue the caps, right?



They also come with their own pre-wired switch and factory terminated wiring. You cannot cut the wiring to fit or you void the warranty. With the amount of wire given, I could mount the switch some where near the radiator I think.

I swear, I do NOT work for this company- they just make good stuff.



Mix all of these pieces into a paper bag, and this is what you get. (notice how much I had to reshape the sagging floor pan to avoid having any contact)



It takes a certain level of talent to get these cutouts to be parallel to the ground the way they are. Especially since each exhaust piece you cut splice and weld has an angle, and any turn from its original location, will throw everything off down the line. I do not posses such talent, so I whittled out the bolt holes on the cutout so I could clock them correctly.








If you've never done a 3" pipe in one of these cars, (or any older GM muscle for that matter) it'll be tough to appreciate the effort involved in making it work. I can show you a ton of pictures, but they'll never capture the time it takes to get those tailpipes to fit. They'll also never allow you to see how much higher this kit sits up from any of the ones I ran previously, but that's probably because I never took any pictures.

There, and I even saved you a rant on 3 bolt flanges. Youre welcome.

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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
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So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #45  
Old 06-06-2020, 07:28 AM
cdrookie cdrookie is offline
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What rear tire and wheel size are you using, along with the backspacing? I went with the 3.5" oval X kit for the reason you stated-----> floor pan. I think I have 7" of backspace on my 10" wheels though, and there's very little room between my tire and frame. The 3" tailpipes hit the tires, so I just stopped over the axle.

  #46  
Old 06-06-2020, 12:15 PM
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I'm running a 325/50/15 on a 10 inch rim. I'll have to measure the backspacing, but I think its 4.5. 7" of BS will really bring the wheel inboard a lot, so yeah I can see why rubbing would be an issue. I think I have a few finger widths between the tire and the frame. I;ll check later and let you know.

What exhaust did you buy? I'm thinking for my projected power level and ET goal, 3" may prove restrictive.

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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #47  
Old 06-06-2020, 02:37 PM
cdrookie cdrookie is offline
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I used the R.A.R.E. kit. Called and the dude said I will get it sent out... 2 months later it arrives. I also said I wanted the 3" kit, but the 3.5" kit showed up. Oh well, it matched the collectors on the OBX headers.

I THINK the backspace was 5" when I ran 325/50-15's. I know they rubbed on the lip with some junk in the trunk. When I lowered it, I just went with 275/60's on 15x10's and moved them in as far as I could. The 325/50"s MIGHT fit under there with the right backspace but I'm tired of buying things 3 times to see if it will work. Hmmmm...That seems to be the theme here.

  #48  
Old 06-07-2020, 12:20 AM
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Default Lower Radiator Hose

For the sake of keeping the story line straight and all in one place, I'm going to steal what was already solved in a previous thread on the topic, for this posting if you don't mind.

Lower hose with aftermarket radiator?

Basically, the OD of a stock radiator inlet for a LeMans is 1.5625" (1 9/16). The ID of the correct lower hose is 1.55" and normally, they fit together just like they are supposed to. Introduce the new, awesome aluminum, took me years to commit to buying, aftermarket radiator's 1.75" outlet and it presents a problem. (Who didn't see this coming? Anyone? Bueller?) Here is the rundown.

The original style hose is the NAPA 7592:



I can get it over the outlet, but it stretches so badly, there is no way this wont collapse and eventually cause an issue over time. (no spring in this hose)



Since I know of no hose that has 1.75 on both ends, AND takes the turns this one does to tuck up and out of the way, I had to make it a fix. (Hey my Italian mechanic is back!) Enter NAPA 9733. It has 1.75 on the radiator end and is 2.0 on the water pump side. It has a straight enough section near the 1.75 end and a proper radius to make the turn to the radiator I need. I cut this hose in the middle of the straight and mounted it to the rad outlet.



Then I cut the stock hose replacement (NAPA 7592) at the same spot I cut the first hose - the middle of the straight - and mounted the part of this hose that fits the water pump.

In between these two hoses, I used this adapter from Filler Neck Supply (P/N 3844)



Barring a few ugly clamps in the middle of the lower hose, it works. What I've found in the startups however, are the hoses want to push off until they reach the bead on either end. So, instead of it looking like I had in my picture before I started the car.....



...it now shows a bit of the adapter between the hoses. Thats fine, I just need to cut the hoses a bit more.

To mitigate the risk against leakage, I'm using this type of worm clamp on both sides.



So far, no leaks, but a drive in the heat with a few fluids cycles will be the true test.

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Mark S
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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #49  
Old 06-07-2020, 01:38 AM
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Brian Baker Brian Baker is offline
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Just thinking out loud but aren't your rear tires mounted backwards? See the "tread".

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  #50  
Old 06-08-2020, 02:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Baker View Post
Just thinking out loud but aren't your rear tires mounted backwards? See the "tread".
You are 100% correct. LOL. My 5 year old, 0 mile ET Streets are are on the wrong side of the car!

I have since fired my tire tech.


Excuses I was thinking of coming up with instead of owning it -

- Reverse burnouts are easier on the car due to the gear ratio advantage (but only one speed)
- Putting on negative mileage (i.e Bueller) so the tires would last longer
- Camera mirrors must have screwed up the shot
- The classic 'I was playing a trick on you guys!'

Keep an eye out for other blunders. I'm sure they exist. They certainly are showing up in the friggin electrical department.

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Mark S
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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread

Last edited by 73LeMans; 06-08-2020 at 02:26 PM.
  #51  
Old 06-10-2020, 02:07 AM
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Default random

Some random shots I took of the "bigger picture". Nice to take focus off the frustration sometimes. Helps me remember why I'm doing any of this.

A few things left to do in this shot.
- connect the vac lines for the brakes (and cut those zipties holding them)
- some spark plug wires would be nice
- add the throttle cable
- connect the fuel pressure isolater and route the fuel pressure line
- Plug in the distributor




Lets appreciate that vast, open, and clean area of the firewall, shall we? Mmmmm....firewall.



Not 100% ready, but getting closer. There are a few gremlins lurking in these pictures I wouldn't undercover until startup. I'll document those later.



Vacuum pump catch can. Mounted slightly lower than the pump, so hopefully doesn't present an issue. Not ideal, but I'm running out of room for all this stuff!




The black dye on my steering wheel was showing some signs of wear, so I decided to redo it. SEM makes some awesome stuff. I took a chance (because Im cheap) and used the same SEM cleaner and prep I used the first time I did this wheel...which was well over 20 years ago. It worked! Bought a new can of color to ensure favorable results. Took almost 4 hours to get the wheel 100% cleaned of the old dye. This pic looks to be about 3.5 hours in.





Came out pretty good. I did NOT repaint the center section. As you can tell, color match is near perfect. As you can also tell, the interior is filthy.


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Mark S
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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #52  
Old 06-10-2020, 09:24 PM
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Default Driveline angles....no. Panel alignment....no. Seats?

I could show you the pictures of me setting drive line angles, but they're pretty boring. A bunch of shots of a magnetic protractor is about all you'd see. (who can read those tiny lines anymore?) A digital inclinometer is on my Christmas list in case anyone is feeling generous.

Panel alignment is also pretty boring work, so we'll skip that too, except for these quick points.

- 1973 A-body doors weigh 1665 lbs each (I'm guessing). Man, are they a PITA to align. But with a bit of time and a second set of hands to tighten the hinge bolts, my doors have never shut better. Hinges were rebuilt by me in 2010.

- I'm impressed my fiber hood that's been off this car for a good 3 years, actually fits in its spot after the fenders were remounted. I actually have a picture of that -

Once fastened, the same low spots that existed before, exist now.




The "interesting" topic, is the new seats I decided I wanted on a whim. I have to warn you though - there are very few pictures (I have 1 of the finished product) and a lot of foul language is used. Like George Carlin and Pulp Fiction Sam Jackson got into an argument kind of language. Read at own risk. And don't say I didn't warn ya.


The old Jaz seats were great. Affordable, well made, strong, semi comfortable and easy to install. So yeah, of course I wanted to replace them.

In all honesty, long drives were starting to wear on the wife and me with the old seats. This gave me the opportunity to update the car's look while making it more comfortable. Win win! (Next year, it'll be wheels to REALLY update the look, but for now, the seats will fit the bill). Kirkey 55s, here we come.



Funny, they don't look comfortable. Good thing I bought the covers with the contoured foam. Makes all the difference.


As you can see, they sit about the same on the floor bracket, so how hard can they be to install?




The Cambridge dictionary defines impetuous with the following:

impetuous - /ɪmˈpetʃ.u.əs/ - adjective - likely to do something suddenly, without considering the results of your actions. Acting or done suddenly without much thought.

Yeah, that sounds about right. That's me. At least for this seat purchase anyway.

Other than the height off the floor, these stupid $#&$*( ^$*()#@ , $^&forsaken seats had nothing in common with the old ones. And while that doesn't sound like a big deal, allow me to illustrate the 4 main reasons why it is.

1. ) I'm 5' 8" on a good day in heels. (At least my license says so)
The new seats have contoured foam that while comfortable under my legs, now angle my knees slightly upward, instead of allowing them to just go outward. That means I need to sit a bit closer to the wheel to reach the pedals. And when the roll bar's down bar has to pass in between your shoulder and your elbow to pass technical inspection at the race track, this presents a problem. With this, I'd be too far forward for the bar to be considered legal. And a new down bar / roll bar is out of the question.....

2.) The cross bar also has guides welded through it for seat belt bolt retention. 2 for each side.



With the old seat, it sat perfectly between those two spots. Now, because the new seat is wider, I cant center it because its already as far over to the drivers side as it can be. Any closer and my arm isn't protected by the down bar; it sits on top of it. I guess that's really OK, since the further to THAT side I go, the less it centers up on the steering wheel anyway. $#&&. Maybe its me, but that is the $%^& I notice when I look into the car.

3.) With bright red Kirkey logo centered in the headrest, its real easy to tell from the outside of the car if the seat isn't level. Not saying the old ones weren't, but if they were, no one would ever notice. I can think of 100 other things Id rather do than level a seat with a 47 year old floor.

4.) And finally, if that wasn't enough, the Kirkey butt bucket is lower in the seat than the Jaz. I need to gain some height or else I'll never see over that scoop. (ha, like I can now!)

Am I the only one that makes up silly requirements and then sticks to them regardless of much more work it creates? I keep fixing-forward hoping it will get me where I need to be. It eventually does, because I make it happen, but its done with a lot more effort, stress, and time than needed. The requirement I'm talking about here was to NOT move the existing brackets on the floor. I didn't want to drill more holes. Not a ridiculous requirement, but given all I've done to get these seats to fit and look good, life may have been a lot simpler if I just moved the brackets to a more advantageous position. (Not that there is a ton of room to do that mind you)

The problem too is I like symmetry and staggering the seat brackets wouldn't have looked right. And most importantly, the seat is a safety item - its gotta be smartly constructed, with the "what happens in an accident" scenario always playing in your mind. Too many pieces, too many fasteners and you may end up with weak link you didn't count on.

For that reason alone, my first inclination was to call a race shop and have them reinforce the floor, weld in a halo off the floor and bolt the seat to that. I imagine that would have been a lot quicker and safer. As a matter of fact, this whole setup was all supposed to be "temporary" anyways, just to get me in the car for testing. I spent so much time on it, I'm not sure I'll swap it out now.

I'll shut up now and show you some pictures. (I went and took some more. I felt bad I only had 1)







I have to say, this will be the most comfortable I've been in this car since its bench seat days. The shifter is easy to get to and visibility is great over that scoop.

I do have to be careful...with the height Ive built in, the seat is barely below the main halo bar. Hard to tell in this picture, but its about 1/2" below the bar. Not ideal. Tech may have something to say about that.



I'll be using these under the car to act as washers.




There are certainly a lot of ways to mount a seat. This is my interpretation of one way to do it. There are likely slicker ways to make it happen, but its level, solidly mounted, and puts me in all the right positions to focus on the driving.

Now I just have to modify those pedals so I can reach.....

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Mark S
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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #53  
Old 06-12-2020, 11:11 PM
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73LeMans 73LeMans is offline
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Default Fire in the hole!

Soooo...if the engine is in, and the electrical is run, and the fuel is run, you see any reason I cant start this thing? Me neither.

Lets just pretend I posted about making the spark leads. And while you're pretending, imagine I said this:

I went with the Taylor 409s because I like the way they look - plain and simple. Taylor makes a great wire and these should prove no different. Just buy the universal set - The Pontiac set has wires that are way too long IMO.

If you can imagine all of that, we just saved ourselves a post on making wires. I had no pictures anyway.

Since we are in the pretending mood, lets also make believe I ran the fuel isolater and connected the vac lines for the brakes, and plugged in that pesky distributor.


First things first.

Tip#15 Always purge new fuel lines into a cup before sending fuel to the carb:



A shout out to the kick ass wife who tolerates all this crap, for getting distilled water for me in the middle of this ridiculous "pandemic".

Now we need oil and we gotta prime-



What else?
- Fuel fittings are tight
- 5 Gal in tank
- Lash is set
- Timing is close (initial is 10)
- Rotor is at number 1 on compression stroke
- Wires connected. CCW dont forget!
- Trans fluid at the ready
- Fire extinguisher is....somewhere...nearby. Where did I see that last? But seriously, its at the ready.
- Rear wheels are off the ground....you know, just in case that trans that's been out since 2015 ecides to do something funny.

I'm guessing this site (or maybe YouTube) doesn't allow YouTube videos to be embedded? I'm using the proper coding; other links work, just not when I feed it a YouTube link. I spent an hour coming to this conclusion. I gave up. Stupid YouTube.

As cool as it would have been to have the video clickable right here, I'll just give you the link:

====================First Fire Up=====================================
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0uEynN2IUc
====================First Fire Up=====================================

What I discovered after fire up -

- All my fuel fittings were not tight
- Minor water leak at the crossover and head
- She starts a tad hard
- My temp gauge no long gauges temp
- I'm not getting all my mechanical advance (barely any!)
- Electricity hates me
- The alternator isn't charging the battery (but its putting out voltage. Not a ton, but more than 12)
- The exhaust is smokey


How does the list of "to dos" get longer AFTER firing up the car? %&*%% ^#&()*%&*%. %$^&*(%^( %$@ *^%()_)%^

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Mark S
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Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #54  
Old 06-13-2020, 07:22 AM
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Default

Love the wooden "jack stands" -- great idea.

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  #55  
Old 06-18-2020, 01:45 AM
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Default Pedals

To offset my vertical challenge (I blame my mother) and to make sure my new seat stays where my rollbar passes NHRA tech, I need to bring my factory pedals further off the firewall. I'm not sure if any others out there ever had to do this - I feel like I might be the only one - but a new roll bar is out of the question, so I had to find alternatives. Plus this allows me to tailor the car for a bit more comfort.

The accelerator pedal is obviously the easier of the two to move, but even more so since I've been using a Lokar cable with a Jegs bracket for many years. A simple set screw and a longer cable and its done.



FYI - the Jegs bracket instructions tell me I'm supposed to have the return springs bolt where the throttle is, and the throttle where the return springs are. Things tend to bind up when used that way, so I moved them back to where I've run them for years with no problem.


On the pedal side, I just used some 2 3/4"? inch sleeves I had lying around to space the pedal off the firewall. Got some longer screws to hold it to the firewall and kablamo, I'm in business.



Moving the cable retainer to the second hole on the pedal alleviated the binding issue I was having with the new cable geometry. The hardest part of this whole deal was coughing up the money for a new Lokar cable.


The brake pedal was a tad more challenging.

I'm a firm believer in a saying used frequently on this board "Engineers do things for a reason". I'll add to that, "so long as the bean counters don't get in the way". Because I'm not an engineer, I usually spend way too much time trying to replicate any "engineering" I come across in an effort to not change anything "they" were thinking of I'm not. In the big picture I get it; its a brake pedal. Press it and the car stops. However, doing that consistently and comfortably every time requires a bit of forethought.

The stock brake pedal pad on my '73 lays back toward the arm at about a 20 degree angle.



My plan was to remove the pedal pad, extend the area behind it to get me the distance I need, then weld the pad back on.



Things to think about -
- Any new metal must be as thick as the OEM bar itself to ensure safety. Welds are paramount.

- There is an OEM distance between the throttle pedal and the brake pedal I'd like to keep the same. I cant make the brake pedal so much longer that it sits well above the accelerator or else I may potentially hit it with the side of my foot in an emergency situation.

- I cant make the brake pedal so heavy it tries to apply the brakes even when I'm not stepping on them. I don't know what the tension is in the master, but I do know its expecting either a factory pedal, or a lighter racing pedal, never a heavier factory pedal.

I'll make the pad extension longer than I need so I can tailor the fit. Tack on the pedal pad and this is what I got -





The pad doesn't quite lay back at 20 degrees but its where it sat the best on the new metal. (because I didn't grind in a bevel to allow it to lay further back) Its close. Also, because the arm swings on an arc, I probably should have angled this extension a tad upward some degree of that arc, but I have no way of figuring that out. I'm just going to test fit in the car and see how it feels.

Now I can't tell if it was laziness or if it really felt perfect, but I liked the pedal so much where it was, I left it. Pulled it, fully welded the pad in place, painted it, greased the bushing and put it back in the car.



Yeah, I know, its not keeping the OEM (social?) distance from the accelerator, BUT after sitting in the car and getting the feel, I can tell you I have full range of the brake pedal with minimal effort on my part. The accelerator however, I need to push and then roll my foot downward to achieve full throttle as seen at the throttle blades. In other words, to bring these pedals closer, I may just bring the accelerator out just a tad more off the wall.

Still not sure if this "improved" pedal its applying any pressure to the braking system so I need to check in to that. (Other, more "pressing" issues "dragged" me away) Also need to periodically check these pieces for fatigue or any sign of abnormal wear. Don't forget, I'm not an engineer, so there is a chance my "solution" isn't as foolproof as I think.

__________________
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Mark S
.
Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread

Last edited by 73LeMans; 06-18-2020 at 01:50 AM.
  #56  
Old 06-21-2020, 08:38 PM
73LeMans's Avatar
73LeMans 73LeMans is offline
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Location: Berkley, MA
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Default Electricity hates me

Since the temperature gauge wasn't gauging, and I was waiting on the new one to arrive, I wanted to make good use of the one day a week I work on this thing, so I decided it was a good time to wire in my fancy new Aeromotive Fuel Pump Speed Controller.

Behold its beauty, but don't stare at it too long!



Ooohh.... ahhhh.


This wasn't part of my original fuel system plan, but the more I thought about it, the less I felt I could do without it. It makes sense; keep the pump running slowly until you need it, and keep the fuel from needlessly circulating and taking on heat, all the while prolonging pump life. Win, win, win. Lets face it, this car will see more time cruising at 40mph, then it will ever see wide open.

Probably best to start with a tip.

================================================== ================================================== ==================================================
Tip#16 Read instructions. When done reading instructions, look for any tech bulletins or troubleshooting tips for the item you're trying to install before actually installing it. This way you can know the entire scope of pain on which you are about to embark.
================================================== ================================================== ==================================================

This one had me almost throwing tools. (OK, maybe some actually found their way to the other side of the garage)

Before installing, the question arose of whether or not the relay in the pump circuit was needed anymore. Reading a bit of the marketing on the company site with regard to this controller, it states "A solid-state transistor circuit, rated up to 40 amps, replaces the relays recommended in most fuel pump electrical circuits."

This is good and bad. Good that I can use the pump power and ground wire already running to the relay on my electronic board in the passenger footwell, but bad that I spent $100 on that relay "kit" that is now rendered useless. (Another reminder of why its best to plan the project 100% ahead of time)

Wiring now is pretty straight forward. Splice into the MSD tach signal, interrupt the pump power supply circuit as mentioned, ground it and you're pretty much there.

Oh yeah....and you gotta make a mount. I did that with some flat stock and bent it to an angle I thought was acceptable. I left it open toward the top to allow the wires a place to dive into. I mounted it upside down for two reasons -

- I hate wires. The less I see of them the better. With 7 on this crazy thing, best to get them out of sight quickly.
- Easier to see the LEDs from the drivers seat

I like it -





I test fired the pump and sure enough, you can clearly hear it cut the speed when its not seeing any RPM signal. Cool. Fire it up and the car actually runs. Imagine that! Now, if only there was a way to keep it from going into default shutdown mode and shutting off the pump after 6 minutes of idling.

#&*( Maybe wiring wasn't so simple after all?

This unit limits pump RPM until a user defined RPM is set, whereas the pump then goes into Full mode pushing 100% of the fuel. Whats happening at idle, is the controller is seeing random false spikes in RPM telling the pump to go to Full for a flash, then not, then Full, then not, then Full etc, at a rate of about 20x a min. This is bad. Ive even confirmed this at the pump with a meter - the voltage is bouncing all of the place with a 1.6 volt range. To protect the system, the controller senses the fault, and shuts off the pump.

I'll have to hand it to Aeromotive- they have some good documentation. I just wish the tech bulletins were included with installation instructions. I would have wired things differently from the start.

The troubleshooting Tech Bulletin first mentions cutting down, or getting rid of the electromagnetic interference around the tach signal. It doesn't want you to splice into the tach signal; it wants the signal straight from the MSD and then a separate wire run to the tach from there. Ok. Done. No difference in behavior.

It goes on and talks about creating a filter to clean up the EMI on the tach signal. Like I said, Its excellently written so even a monkey like me can get it done, but I shudder at the mere mention of things like capacitors and resistors and all those other crazy electrical thingamajigs I never want to know anything about. I'm going to skip this part, and take the tach out of the equation by disconnecting it altogether. Same problem, but altered such that voltage fluctuation @ the pump is only .3V. Better, but the pump still shuts down.

Not sure whats going on exactly. The ground circuit for the pump and controller has 1.6 Ω resistance, connections are tight and all the crimps are good. Min volts on the controller is set to 8 volts and we never dip below that during cranking or running. Granted the charging system is not quite up to snuff yet - I'm only getting 13.6V at the battery - but never am I below 11 for any period of time.

I'm just going to leave this one up to folks smarter than me. I think its the unit itself, but then again electricity hates me, so maybe its the wiring. I've reached out to Brett @ Aeromotive and will keep you apprised of the outcome.

__________________
.
Mark S
.
Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread
  #57  
Old 06-22-2020, 01:19 AM
73LeMans's Avatar
73LeMans 73LeMans is offline
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Default Electricity hates me

For the last 23 years, my alternator (or as we say in MA, altnatedah) was my stock type unit converted over to a 70 amp? unit by me, with an upgrade kit from JC Whitney. Yes I still have the box. Yes you can see a picture of it.



Not sure why, but for some reason, I hadn't given my alternator output much thought. It worked before, it'll work again. I just took it apart, chemically stripped the paint off the case and fan, tediously wire wheeled all the places I couldn't get with the stripper, made sure all internal parts were in good working order, ordered a can of Eastwood's Aluma-Blast, waited for it to show up, painted it, watched it dry, bought an under drive pulley for it, machined a a custom spacer to bring the fan blades closer to the case, greased the bearing, put it all back together, clocked it wrong, re-clocked it, mounted it to the car, ran the charge wire, plugged it in, adjusted all the spacers and brackets for proper belt alignment, ran the belt, tightened it up and fired up the car.

I mean look at the can - that might as well be my alternator. Minus the black fan of course (mine is color matched to the case). And the pulley is different. But yeah, same exact thing -



However, after firing up the car, it seems like my pretty altnatedah may not be in a good place. I'm only getting 12.6V at the battery with the car running, with only the fuel pump and ignition on. Flip the fan on and forget it.... After confirming all the right connections were being made, I'm thinking it just may not have enough juice to do what I need.

Now that I've replaced my single 16" fan with new dual 13" fans, AND swapped my old Mallory 140 for a bigger fuel pump, AND added in electric exhaust cutouts, the old unit was likely passed it limits. (At some point something bad happened too. I don't know what, but it was bad and the regulator gave up its ghost. Pretty sure I saw an output of 36 volts on the meter at one point)

Now with two reasons to look, I needed to do something. It sure would be nice to finally have a reliable enough charging system where I wouldn't have to be constantly looking at the volts gauge wondering if whatever I was running was too much on the system. This should solve that problem -



Kinda looks photoshoped in that picture. Not sure why.

With concession to the street, I opted for a non-race type alternator. No mini case, no having to rev to switch it on etc... Just something simple that would generate some power at idle and deal well with idling slowly around town.

I wanted to go nuts with amps, but I also wanted to make sure it would fit directly into the spot I created for the old one. This was a good mix between the two. Thank goodness it fits too, because belt alignment is a royal PITA if your the type of person who doesn't like the look of a bunch flat washers taking up space (and just to be clear, I'm not the type of person who likes the look of a bunch flat washers taking up space.)

Except for the extremely bright aluminum case, and the charging post being 5/16 instead of 1/4, it looks just like my old one on the Aluma -Blast can. (Minus of course, again, the black fan. Yeah, and the pulley. Cant forget the pulley. And the Powermaster sticker)



Here's the funny thing - funny like I'm going to throw tools kinda funny. Now I'm only getting 13.6V at the battery when running with pump and ignition on. Flip on one fan you're still above 12, but flip on both fans? Forget about it. 11.xV as measured at the battery terminals.

@#$&*)Ben Franklin%* #&piece of&$&* &%(%^&#$@#^&%$& ^#$^.


In all seriousness, here is why this is really funny.



Whats so funny about that you ask? That is a picture of the wire that solved my charging problem, (2ga on the right), compared to the wire I thought would get it done. (10ga on the left) Comical, right? I now take back all those bad things I said about Benny Franklin. He was a good guy.

I should probably thank Powermaster too for printing this and putting it some place very prominent -



My battery is 21 wire feet away from my alternator. 21 feet! Friggin 10ga. lol.

So let this be a lesson to ya. But don't look to me to tell you what it is. You find the lesson in here. Its there somewhere. Volts, amperage, resistance over distance etc....


To wrap up this post, the routing of that 2GA was not going to be one of under the intake like the old charge wire. But where does one hide such a ridiculously sized wire? If I can get it into the frame, great - but near the altnatedah area of the frame, the steering box owns all the real estate. And he ain't sellin!

Up and over the cross member, under the engine mount and back down the cross member would get me to a place with enough room to make a hole...if I could actually get a drill in there. But I really don't feel like taking the header off. Plus its still pretty exposed to a lot of heat in that area.

I took a selfie when I came to the realization drilling my cross member was the only way out of this. You remember, the one the I painted a bazillion times?



There really was no other way. It was the quickest way into the frame, and I could actually get a good angle on it with the hole saw.

It came out alright. Thank goodness for tape and sharp hole saw teeth. Here is a finished shot with the wire conduit removed and me practicing safe wiring etiquette. (The smaller wire is the energizer)



and from the top side, the conduit hides it well.



I should have gotten a nice picture of the meter reading 14.6V at the battery at idle. I'll let your imagination take that one.

I didn't load test it yet, but I'm confident it will pass I'll do that next week.

__________________
.
Mark S
.
Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread

Last edited by 73LeMans; 06-22-2020 at 01:30 AM.
  #58  
Old 06-22-2020, 06:09 AM
3X24SPD 3X24SPD is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NH
Posts: 131
Default Looking good Mark

Hey Mark, your stuff is looking real good.
I'll look forward to seeing how it runs.
NED street nights are opening back up this week.
Let me know when you're ready to come up, I'll tech your car through.
-Bill

Quote:
Originally Posted by 73LeMans View Post
I could show you the pictures of me setting drive line angles, but they're pretty boring. A bunch of shots of a magnetic protractor is about all you'd see. (who can read those tiny lines anymore?) A digital inclinometer is on my Christmas list in case anyone is feeling generous.

Panel alignment is also pretty boring work, so we'll skip that too, except for these quick points.

- 1973 A-body doors weigh 1665 lbs each (I'm guessing). Man, are they a PITA to align. But with a bit of time and a second set of hands to tighten the hinge bolts, my doors have never shut better. Hinges were rebuilt by me in 2010.

- I'm impressed my fiber hood that's been off this car for a good 3 years, actually fits in its spot after the fenders were remounted. I actually have a picture of that -

Once fastened, the same low spots that existed before, exist now.




The "interesting" topic, is the new seats I decided I wanted on a whim. I have to warn you though - there are very few pictures (I have 1 of the finished product) and a lot of foul language is used. Like George Carlin and Pulp Fiction Sam Jackson got into an argument kind of language. Read at own risk. And don't say I didn't warn ya.


The old Jaz seats were great. Affordable, well made, strong, semi comfortable and easy to install. So yeah, of course I wanted to replace them.

In all honesty, long drives were starting to wear on the wife and me with the old seats. This gave me the opportunity to update the car's look while making it more comfortable. Win win! (Next year, it'll be wheels to REALLY update the look, but for now, the seats will fit the bill). Kirkey 55s, here we come.



Funny, they don't look comfortable. Good thing I bought the covers with the contoured foam. Makes all the difference.


As you can see, they sit about the same on the floor bracket, so how hard can they be to install?




The Cambridge dictionary defines impetuous with the following:

impetuous - /ɪmˈpetʃ.u.əs/ - adjective - likely to do something suddenly, without considering the results of your actions. Acting or done suddenly without much thought.

Yeah, that sounds about right. That's me. At least for this seat purchase anyway.

Other than the height off the floor, these stupid $#&$*( ^$*()#@ , $^&forsaken seats had nothing in common with the old ones. And while that doesn't sound like a big deal, allow me to illustrate the 4 main reasons why it is.

1. ) I'm 5' 8" on a good day in heels. (At least my license says so)
The new seats have contoured foam that while comfortable under my legs, now angle my knees slightly upward, instead of allowing them to just go outward. That means I need to sit a bit closer to the wheel to reach the pedals. And when the roll bar's down bar has to pass in between your shoulder and your elbow to pass technical inspection at the race track, this presents a problem. With this, I'd be too far forward for the bar to be considered legal. And a new down bar / roll bar is out of the question.....

2.) The cross bar also has guides welded through it for seat belt bolt retention. 2 for each side.



With the old seat, it sat perfectly between those two spots. Now, because the new seat is wider, I cant center it because its already as far over to the drivers side as it can be. Any closer and my arm isn't protected by the down bar; it sits on top of it. I guess that's really OK, since the further to THAT side I go, the less it centers up on the steering wheel anyway. $#&&. Maybe its me, but that is the $%^& I notice when I look into the car.

3.) With bright red Kirkey logo centered in the headrest, its real easy to tell from the outside of the car if the seat isn't level. Not saying the old ones weren't, but if they were, no one would ever notice. I can think of 100 other things Id rather do than level a seat with a 47 year old floor.

4.) And finally, if that wasn't enough, the Kirkey butt bucket is lower in the seat than the Jaz. I need to gain some height or else I'll never see over that scoop. (ha, like I can now!)

Am I the only one that makes up silly requirements and then sticks to them regardless of much more work it creates? I keep fixing-forward hoping it will get me where I need to be. It eventually does, because I make it happen, but its done with a lot more effort, stress, and time than needed. The requirement I'm talking about here was to NOT move the existing brackets on the floor. I didn't want to drill more holes. Not a ridiculous requirement, but given all I've done to get these seats to fit and look good, life may have been a lot simpler if I just moved the brackets to a more advantageous position. (Not that there is a ton of room to do that mind you)

The problem too is I like symmetry and staggering the seat brackets wouldn't have looked right. And most importantly, the seat is a safety item - its gotta be smartly constructed, with the "what happens in an accident" scenario always playing in your mind. Too many pieces, too many fasteners and you may end up with weak link you didn't count on.

For that reason alone, my first inclination was to call a race shop and have them reinforce the floor, weld in a halo off the floor and bolt the seat to that. I imagine that would have been a lot quicker and safer. As a matter of fact, this whole setup was all supposed to be "temporary" anyways, just to get me in the car for testing. I spent so much time on it, I'm not sure I'll swap it out now.

I'll shut up now and show you some pictures. (I went and took some more. I felt bad I only had 1)







I have to say, this will be the most comfortable I've been in this car since its bench seat days. The shifter is easy to get to and visibility is great over that scoop.

I do have to be careful...with the height Ive built in, the seat is barely below the main halo bar. Hard to tell in this picture, but its about 1/2" below the bar. Not ideal. Tech may have something to say about that.



I'll be using these under the car to act as washers.




There are certainly a lot of ways to mount a seat. This is my interpretation of one way to do it. There are likely slicker ways to make it happen, but its level, solidly mounted, and puts me in all the right positions to focus on the driving.

Now I just have to modify those pedals so I can reach.....

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  #59  
Old 06-22-2020, 06:59 AM
cdrookie cdrookie is offline
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Default

I just woke up, I'm confused, and I don't think I'm going to like your answer. You put a 2ga wire on the 5/16th alternator terminal? And an "energizer" wire on the same terminal? And they go to where?

  #60  
Old 06-22-2020, 11:22 AM
73LeMans's Avatar
73LeMans 73LeMans is offline
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by cdrookie View Post
I just woke up, I'm confused, and I don't think I'm going to like your answer. You put a 2ga wire on the 5/16th alternator terminal? And an "energizer" wire on the same terminal? And they go to where?
They do not go to the same post - they just take the same run down the frame rail.

The 2ga is the charge wire and yes, it comes off the 5/16 charge post on the alt. It goes to the cold side of the cutoff switch in the bumper. The energizer wire is the 12 volt power feed for the alt and is my 'one wire' that plugs into the two port plastic connector on the bottom of the unit. It goes to the other cold side post on the cutoff switch so it shuts off the alternator when the switch is flipped.

__________________
.
Mark S
.
Who needs nice and pretty, when you can have mean and nasty?
KRE Aluminum headed 463CID 73 LeMans. Used to run 10.6x @ 124.55. 3700lbs
.
So much for 2020...shootin for 9s in 2021...and in 2022 apparently.....looks like 2023 as well.
>>My 73 Build thread

Last edited by 73LeMans; 06-22-2020 at 12:14 PM. Reason: I screwed up hot/cold terminology. All good now.
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