It has begun...

[IsaacHayes]

So you have to cut it even with the tubular K frame?

When welding that (good luck) be sure to go slow with a little bit at a time as that might warp the block sealing surface... It doesn't help that you have to get aluminum super hot first too. Being cast that is going to suck even more.

[bszopi]

Its ~0.23". As far as welding goes, that's why I am letting John handle it.

And yes, it has to be cut even with the K-member. Check out the pics in previous posts to see the issues.

[geldartb]

i saw the .23 too. i have the same style caliper.

id love to have the tools to weld aluminum.

[IsaacHayes]

LMAO,

Brad, I got you confused with Dave's build... I was like, yeah but those pics were before you got the tubular K-member.... LOL My bad!

[Nick-G]

i saw the .23 too. i have the same style caliper.

id love to have the tools to weld aluminum.

I can only hope a nice TIG welder is in my future. I wouldn't mind learning how to weld aluminum and stainless.

[ForcedFirebird]

I'm going to have to practice first lol. And I just threw away two 3500 timing covers when I moved because they were broken

Super clean, pre-heat then to 400* and practice practice practice - then hope they don't have to go on the milling machine after to straighten the gasket surface or repair the cross bolt mounts. Might actually have to bolt it to a block first and quench after the welds...

[bszopi]

Maybe I'll send you this one to practice with before you do the real thing. Anyway, got a few minutes to get it to a closer "finished" state last night.

[Superdave]

lol, i probably could have saved $600 if i'd have done the same thing...

[geldartb]

I can only hope a nice TIG welder is in my future. I wouldn't mind learning how to weld aluminum and stainless.

me too. i wouldnt mind access to the tools to do so, dont necessarily have to own them myself right now.

I'm going to have to practice first lol. And I just threw away two 3500 timing covers when I moved because they were broken

i got a UIM that the corner broke off on. prob would cost more than its worth to ship it to you since your only using it to practice.

well i look at it this way i got some stuff to practice on when i do get a TIG welder.

[bszopi]

Might actually have to bolt it to a block first and quench after the welds...

Would it work to make a support frame out of angle iron and what not instead of bolting it to a block? I figure as long as all the bolt holes are used and supported between each other, it might be easier. I could be wrong... If you think so, then I can probably fab something up here and send you everything at once. Hopefully you also have access to a large bandsaw so the cuts on the real oil pan are straighter than my Sawzall cuts.

[ForcedFirebird]

I have more than one 3500 block I can (and do) use as a jig(s)

[bszopi]

Decided to do a little work to the car today, in hopes that I get to do some more work on it in the future. The work I did today is basically to help protect the paint job. I have some gripes, and I have some praises, but first, how about some pictures!











Ok, so I decided to take the front fenders off so that I don't bang them up. Now, for the gripes. I'm not really a fan of ground effects, but the car already had them, and since I don't want to repaint the car right now, I pretty much have to keep them. Not really that big of deal. Except that they used double-sided tape to hold it to the fenders better (they used screws as well, but I have a feeling there were gaps). And let me tell you, it was a pain to separate the 2!! And what sucks it, I was as gentle as I could be, but I still cracked the paint some on the ground effects while trying to pry it apart. Its not super apparent, but its there.

As far as the praises, it appears that before they painted it, they sprayed the inside of the wheel wells with undercoating of some kind. It's a really nice job as well!

Hopefully I'll get the transmission cross member early next week, so I can place the tranny and figure out where the engine is going to sit, so I can figure out how much John has to mess with the pan.

[Superdave]

damn, i just turned down a set of Prostars with 15x8 rears and 15x3.5 fronts.. you are making me reconsider.


the front skinnies just say "I'm here to haul ass"

[bszopi]

the front skinnies just say "I'm here to haul ass"

Yes, they do. I am considering getting a set of regular tires later, for any time I want to drive it on the street. Or maybe I'll just keep the skinnies...

Got the trans crossmember tonight. Woohoo!! It didn't come with any bolts. Slapped it in there anyway, and found some large diameter steel pins to shove in there now to at least place the tranny. With the cuts to the pan above, it just may BARELY fit. I'll take pics in a bit. Bit I have a feeling I'm going to want to cut a little more out just to be on the safe side.

[Superdave]

i hear they aren't fun to drive on the street with but if i can handle a FWD car with a welded diff i'm sure i can handle skinnies.