Project Cleaning the Clutter in Our Engine Bay

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by Matt @ FSP

Wow Blair that is awesome information that I did not even know...

Hands down to Pfadt on this, now you realize that THIS IS the company that does all of their own R&D, and has the tools/resources to analyze proper suspension pieces and geometry.

Matt... without a doubt hands down an AWESOME Company and a great group of guys to deal with!!!

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I've been working on my second coil relocation setup, LOL. I'm working with Blue Streak (Known for NASCAR wires) on a custom set for G5R. They sent me a bunch of different ends to see which will work best. Once I have the sub put together, I will be able to drop the engine and go from there.



These were kinda cool. They have a ceramic shell for heat dispensing purposes.



I am thinking I'll go with these as the are the lightest.

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Nathan Moreno

Matt... without a doubt hands down an AWESOME Company and a great group of guys to deal with!!!

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I've been working on my second coil relocation setup, LOL. I'm working with Blue Streak (Known for NASCAR wires) on a custom set for G5R. They sent me a bunch of different ends to see which will work best. Once I have the sub put together, I will be able to drop the engine and go from there.

Attachment 475426

These were kinda cool. They have a ceramic shell for heat dispensing purposes.

Attachment 475427

I am thinking I'll go with these as the are the lightest.

Attachment 475428

Black? I figured you would go with a gunmetal on black two tone wire custom made by MSD made out of carbon fiber with solid gold contact points

[Vette TPI]

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

Black? I figured you would go with a gunmetal on black two tone wire custom made by MSD made out of carbon fiber with solid gold contact points

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

Hey guys!

First off, thanks for getting us involved in this discussion. This is the type of stuff we thoroughly ENJOY doing, although we do not have a ton of spare time to do it as often as we like.

So basically I will get straight to the point: We would not recommend modifying that arm in anyway beyond what you have already "trimmed" up. This is one reason why we don't currently offer an aftermarket Rear Lower Control Arm; because the stock one actually has pretty good strength to weight ratio, and it ISN'T overloaded with useless material. You can certainly improve on the arm's strength with a new design, but it will have a similar strength to weight ratio at best. Please remember that lower control arms carry more than their fair share of suspension loads.

We did some analysis to show exactly what we are referring to, regarding whether it would be a good idea or not to remove material. Below is the report from our engineering staff here in the office:

The strength of the part is on the marginal side already and it has substantial deflection at load which would be exacerbated with the proposed modification. The amount of material that could be safely removed is small and could only be removed in an application that does not utilize the inboard sway bar mount.

The two plots attached are a Factor of Safety plot and a strain plot. The Factor of Safety plot is pretty self explanatory: Red areas are more likely to break first. The strain plot I use frequently for determining areas of material that are not pulling their weight so-to-speak. Red areas are carrying more of the load then blue areas. So, blue areas can be more safely removed without affecting the strength of the part. This does not mean that you could cut out any blue areas and be safe. The load that these areas were carrying will be distributed to areas that are already highly stressed. For instance, notice the small drilled hole and how the effects the area around it.

FACTOR OF SAFETY


STRAIN

Originally Posted by Matt @ FSP

Wow Blair that is awesome information that I did not even know...

Hands down to Pfadt on this, now you realize that THIS IS the company that does all of their own R&D, and has the tools/resources to analyze proper suspension pieces and geometry.

Very cool stuff. I should have been an engineer.

[pony]

Hey Nathan. Your project looks great. You posted somewhere you had a metal polisher that did great work for you. I have a old LS3 TB that I'm replacing with a Vmax that a local friend want to buy from me, but wants it polished. What is his rate for TB polishing? Thanks for any info.

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

Black? I figured you would go with a gunmetal on black two tone wire custom made by MSD made out of carbon fiber with solid gold contact points

Originally Posted by Vette TPI

I guess I've lost my mojo Need to get my game back!

Originally Posted by pony

Hey Nathan. Your project looks great. You posted somewhere you had a metal polisher that did great work for you. I have a old LS3 TB that I'm replacing with a Vmax that a local friend want to buy from me, but wants it polished. What is his rate for TB polishing? Thanks for any info.

Hey Pony, I spoke with Geronimo and showed him pictures of Synners before and after pictures of his TB. I wanted to make sure he was aware of how crappy the factory casting is and how much work it takes to make these things look nice! He does hundreds of billet TB for a few companies and I didn't want him to think this was like the TB he's use to doing. He still insisted to quote just $40! I thought he's crazy but thats what he said. Anyways, if you decide to use him, let me know and I will personally go over there and make sure it passes my OCD for quality control. It might be the last one he does for that price but if it is, consider it a great deal!

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Quick random update: Received a few more billet pieces today.

This is my second rendition of the upper radiator hose. Since I'm tucking the radiator under the core support, I decided to use an inline filler. The black anodized billet cap is from Billet Specialties. This is just a mock up and not the end product. I will need to purchase two more of the straight couplers, 4 more clamps, etc.



Here is a close up. I will be running a hard line that will loop around and under the hose to the over flow tank.



This is also another mock up to give you guys an idea. I will be welding a -3 90 degree AN fitting on the tube which is where I will be connecting the water vapor line. Part of the racy, mechanical look I'm shooting for.



Received my Ring Brother hood pins also. Spoke with Mike Ring today. He gave me some tips on the best way to finish off the carbon for a stain look. He mentioned that they are talking about doing a ZL1 for SEMA this year. If you know their work, you know thats going to be the most stunning ZL1 ever, PERIOD!




Here is the Stang they did last year. There's over $10,000 in custom carbon pieces.
















Here I am soaking up the beautiful detail work!




Recieved a few more of the ZL1 pieces I will be getting replicated in carbon.



RJ, these are a few of your fuel line system. Let me know if you'd like me to polish the QD on the fuel line. Waiting on some more parts for you.




Mike2SS, this is the piece you will need to weld onto the radiator tubing for the oil cooler. I can't remember the size. I think it's a -8. The place I got it from is near my school. I can drop by next week on my way to college and get you the size, part #, etc.

I looked up the part # for the aluminum tube and its 917-1001-1.25 from Speedway. Sells for $16.99.

[Moreno1]

Sneak peek ........ replacing the hard line with braided steel lines.

[driyac]

Originally Posted by Nathan Moreno

Sneak peek ........ replacing the hard line with braided steel lines.

Attachment 476572

That is Beautiful man!

What a work of art.

[kjkjr27]

Originally Posted by driyac

That is Beautiful man!

What a work of art.

I completely agree. Everything that you have done/ had done is truly a work of art, really wish I had your skill. Keep it up

[ZooDad]

Nathan,
Do you have a source for your rocker panels. Our dealerships want a nice amount of coin.

ZooDad

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

[Kronix]

Hey Nate, Can you give me the info on where I can get these hood pins please?

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by Nathan Moreno

Sneak peek ........ replacing the hard line with braided steel lines.

Attachment 476572

AWWWW YYYYEAH!! Looks like that orange worked out pretty well!

[vroomapunk]

Steering rack looks sooooooooo goood

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by driyac

That is Beautiful man!

What a work of art.

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

Steering rack looks sooooooooo goood

Originally Posted by kjkjr27

I completely agree. Everything that you have done/ had done is truly a work of art, really wish I had your skill. Keep it up

Thanks guys, but i can't take all of the credit. Case and point, there were a total of three guys helping me out at Lee's power steering. These guys really know their stuff. It's amazing how much i have learned through this process. They machine pretty much all of their own stuff. we had to machine a special tool just for this rack because it is so new. The cad plated fittings were machined at the shop.

Here is a pic of two of the guys that were helping me. Tom, the owner, is not in the picture, but he has definitely been instrumental in helping me out.

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

AWWWW YYYYEAH!! Looks like that orange worked out pretty well!

Hey guys, thanks again for giving me the source for the anodizer! color looks even better in person.

Originally Posted by ZooDad

Nathan,
Do you have a source for your rocker panels. Our dealerships want a nice amount of coin.

ZooDad

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

Actually I do. Jared at Lakeside Chevrolet (in Lake Elsinore, CA) hooks me up on everything I get. My prices are better than GMpartsdirect. The rockers List for $224.93, I payed $161.95. For you guys who are not local, I am not sure how it works out with shipping, but you should give him a call. 951-674-3116

Originally Posted by Kronix

Hey Nate, Can you give me the info on where I can get these hood pins please?

They are a piece made by the ringbrothers, whom i have referenced a few times in this thread.
http://ringbrothers.com/unviersal-ro...n-kit-943.html

Originally Posted by Doc

I'd be careful removing that much material; you don't want these things twisting. You might try asking Pfadt (nicely of course) if what you want to do is safe or not. Good idea though if it's safe.

You ought to do them in something completely different like polished bronze, so they'd look trick as hell. It might give it that "this has a purpose" look instead of just a show car. Just an idea... BTW, did you win the lottery or something?? Those CF pieces are gorgeous but pricey as all get-out. For what you're putting into this, your car is going to be the all-time epic Camaro lol.

Hey Doc, the more I think about it the more I like your idea. The brakes I'm using have a nickle finish which would tie in very well with the control arms. Stay tuned.

By the way, I wrote out a rough spread sheet of everywhere that i am losing weight on the car. I didn't think to weigh everything as i go like you have done, but i have gotten the weight of particular parts online through the forums and manufacturer websites. If the data i have gotten is true, i should have lost at least 385 lbs so far, including near future plans, 120 of those lbs being unsprung weight.

I bought a scale to start weighing some more things as i go. The CF fenders are about 3lbs lighter each for those who asked.

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QUICK UPDATE:

Did some work creating a fan shroud for the radiator today.



The piece is very nice as is, but for my project, I wanted a cleaner look. My plan is to cover up the rad fins completely, with only the fans visible. I will then mount the fans to the shroud by fabricating a 3 spoke mount and welding it to the fan shroud.

I took some measurements and made a template out of thin cardboard for when i go to the local metal fab shop tomorrow.