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Day 17 - 1/9/2004

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The weather has turned bad. As I suspected we are now under a blanket of snow. We got a bit over 3 inches over the last 24 hours. Here in Virginia that pretty much shuts down the state! It is also around 29F, so it is way too cold for my ass to be outside!

I have finally decided on the final wheels and tire package we will be using on the car. 345-35YR-15 Pirelli PZero Asimmetrico mounted on 15x13 Bassett D-Hole wheels on the rear. On the front will be 225-60ZR-15 Pirelli PZero Asimmetrico mounted on Bassett 15x8 D-Hole DOT wheels. I will need to make some slightly larger fenders. In order to get the power from the Northstar to the ground I need some serious rubber.

Tomorrow I am going to work on the subframe and get the suspension sorted out on the rear. I have to head down to Lowes and get some brass fittings for the oil coolers from the plumming department. I'll also stop off at AutoZone and get about 10 feet of 3/8" oil cooler hose.


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Instructions for the Canton Oil Cooler adaptor. I tend to lose paper. So it is nice to have a digital copy in case I need to review it in the future.

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This adaptor mounts in between the oil filter and the block adaptor. It then has an in and an out for the oil to go to and from the cooler which is pictured on the right of the adaptor.

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This is one of the nicest adaptors I have ever seen. Those el cheapo pressed metal adaptors you see on websites are famous for springing leaks. Not something you really want in a performance engine. This is a CNC'd block of aluminum.

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All I do is remove the filter and install this. Then reinstall a new filter! So easy.

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I removed the backing plates from the Caddy hubs. I did a quick wire brush job on the hubs. Later I'll use a drill and a wire wheel to really clean them up and give them a fresh coat of enamel.

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Since the hubs have been heated up pretty good due to the break failure while on the Caddy, I will need to replace the hub retaining bolts and all of the wheel studs. I'll use longer studs also.

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They are not all that heavy once they are stripped of all the suspension parts.

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Here is the lower control arm. It to will be cleaned up and painted gloss black.

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I'll need to also replace the lower ball joint on the lower control arm. I like the zirk fitting, makes it easy to lube the bearing.

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I am concerned about using these old rubber bushings. I need to check to see if someone builds some urethane bushings. There is going to be a lot of stress back here with close to 400hp and 13.5" wide tires.

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From bearing to bearing is about 56.5 inches.

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Looks like I'll have about a 5" backspace on the wheels.

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Overview of the right rear suspension.

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Left rear suspension

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The High & Tight Motorsports sway bar. It will mount to the stock AW11 mounts on the chassis.

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I'll be able to get some good camber on this suspension

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Lots of room here.

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You can see the 1987 AW11 MR2 toe control rod.

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I'll need to make a bracket for the toe control arm.

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I'll add more a bit later The HUGE Caddy axle is installed. No modifications needed since I am using the Caddy sub-frame.

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The whole assembly, just add Chassis and engine. Oh and two huge tires!

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Wanna know something funny? Well if I had built this in my little shed/garage, I would not be able to get the car out once it was all together. It would be too wide by 2 inches. That would have sucked big time!

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The H&T swaybar vs. the stock Caddy swaybar

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I don't know which one I'll use. Maybe I will just play and see what works best.

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This is where I will attach the toe control arm.

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Ya, right there.

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Huge axles compared to the stock AW11 stuff.

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Looking down on the whole assembly. Once installed I will only be able to look up at it from the bottom.

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Nothing better than a lot of head right? hehe

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Man, look what I found! From the old Krylon Special. This was the mount for the Big Red Button that wasn't. Well... I think I have a big red button now!

 

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