Vegabee(framing)

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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby spencerforhire » Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:08 am

Awesome fab work! But 72 SS PNL is correct; the panhard brackets have to be in the primary axis of rotation. No matter what kind of joint you use, they're all designed to rotate freely in one axis but handle minor deflection in others.
I do like the 3 link with panhard design; your car should both handle AND ride well.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:39 am

http://www.massivespeedsystem.com/_mass ... 59172.aspx This is the panhard bar going on and was thinking it could be run either way but no problem,I could use the brackets and plate and tap them the other way,thanks for that good catch guys.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:17 pm

Rear shocks.After looking over the KYB application page I ordered KYB KG5546 gas adjust rears Plymouth Fury application.
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tacked up temp bracket
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lower bracket for pass side
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figure out some upper brackets
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made a set and angled them but they came out a little short and needed more angle so cut another set.
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drilled out centered and 15/16 down 1/2' hole
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checking upper location and angle and distance between axle tube and,tacked lower bracket on previously angled pan hard bar bracket.
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upper shock sleeve measures 1 7/8
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made some inner mounting plates and tapped them out for 1/2" bolt
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screwed it together and clamped and tacked at correct width
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Cleared out undercoating and sheet metal for the upper bracket.made it longer than previous bracket to center shock between pan hard and housing tube.Tacked lower bracket on.this was a lot of trial fitting and was essential that the set up jig was straight and square at the ends so the brackets come out parallel.
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This side looks good so I measured and tacked the other upper angled bracket to the floor and upper tube in the opposite as the pass side.then I made a template for the driver side bottom bracket
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heated and bent some plate to match
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drilled the 7/8"shock hole
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Rounded corners and ready to tack on
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upper bracket already on so just a matter of measuring out the lower mounting point to match the other side,using the same set up jig
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby 72 SS PNL » Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:49 am

Vegabee wrote:http://www.massivespeedsystem.com/_massive_speed_system_/massive_prosteel_series_panhard_bar/g-59172.aspx This is the panhard bar going on and was thinking it could be run either way but no problem,I could use the brackets and plate and tap them the other way,thanks for that good catch guys.


since its just laying there in their pic , just looks its siting that way to be easier to take a picture of

you are moving pretty quick with the fab work !!! rest is lookin great !!
first and best car owned 72 GT(changed to SS) panel wagon

pictures of the car from 86 - http://www.myrideisme.com/Garage/06_IBM_GOAT/955
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby HI WINDING MONZA » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:35 am

Great job, ( and I thought I was the only one with"Benchtop Tools") Purchased a socket set in the 80's , the rachets have long been replaced, but 90% of the sockets are still original :th:

Doug in Az 8)
My Old Monza now lives in Arizona with its newest owner.

The 90's just keep rollin' along........
1990 Chevrolet Silverado Regular Cab Long Bed 350 TBI V8 700R4 118K miles
1992 Pontiac Sunbird Coupe 2.0 OHC MPFI I4 TH125C 157k miles
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby chevyart » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:54 am

hey vegabee very nice work you are doing. just curious as to why the severe angle on the rear shocks. looks like you have about a 45 degree angle to them and most factory shocks(like vega) from the factory, come with aprox a 25 degree angle. almost seems like the shock wouldnt worh under normal driving conditions. are you road racing this car on real curvy road courses? just wondering. in drag racing they are installed straight up an d down, just for a up and down actioning. keep up the good work art
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:37 pm

Yea Art I'm not going to drag race but street and maybe some cornering.I tipped the shocks to clear the air bag and still get in between the pan hard bar.It's a pretty heavy shock being from a rear Fury-Diplomat and was thinking a little more tip would off set that but I may have straighten them up a little.

Just looking under here with this shock in my hand and since the upper brackets are just still tacked in place it looks like I can nip the tacks and move the uppers outward may be an inch and a half or so.Yesterday I hauled the housing to my brother-in-laws and where he uses a big Miller and blazed all the brackets on so if I have to tip the bottom brackets up a little its going to have to be the old Whaleroo.















diplomat
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:38 pm

That's why I post here you guys are great on the positive critique.Have much more done on the car but me and the wifey are going out on cycles this aft so later.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:11 am

Hey the engine is sitting in there.LS6 crate engine wiping it down.
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Got a take off water pump from 2010 Camaro $99 and will probably use a performer RPM on it.
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Lot of transmission options and have looked at them all.car is an auto so I'll just keep it that way.Almost did a 4sp auto not really going on the freeways a lot so I went with a cost effective TH350 built by JW Performance.Rated up to 650HP,fits in the tunnel nicely,good price,light,simple to set up.
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giving everything a good coat of Shark Hide.
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Got a PRW converter spacer and ARP flex plate bolts.
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PRW Extreme flex plate.
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Rented a bearing puller from local parts store and pulled the throw out bearing from the crankshaft.
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Lines up new LS with OLD converter and trans.
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Then bolted and torqued flex plate.Added a quart to the converter and rotated it until clicked into place on to the trans.with spacer on slid trans up to engine and bolted up.
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There must be 3/16" back and forth(in and out) clearance between the converter and the crank.then installed converter bolts
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I have seen LS motor mounts go for as much as $160 with the plates and all so I made some plates and bolted them on.
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Caressed(pounded) the right side trans tunnel which is the standard fair for V8 Vegas and set her in on blocks and door shims.
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Dead centered it side to side,leveled it out and set the trans shaft out put angle at 1 1/2 degrees down off the face of the balancer.
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Made 4 weld on tabs to go on the engine plates.
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Here's something a little different.While viewing some 4WD off road web site they were putting an engine in using a kit that had plates,tabs and steel tubing with bolt through urethane bushings.The driver complained of rough engine vibration so he tracked down chassis bushings the same size as the urethanes and replaced them.He was pleased with the smoothness and performance of them so I thought I would give em a shot here too.
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Napa chassis bushings and pipe.trimmed pipe off.
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Trying 3 bushings per side and trimmed the flange off 1.
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5/8 conduit fits if tapped into the bushings.
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bolted together with tabs on.
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slid them in a good spot with a little shimming being careful not to upset the engine level and tacked them in.
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temp installed starter to make sure there is space between it and the motor mount.here is the one I have
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:42 am

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new small starter fits nice no problem.
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I wanted a cross member that would clear the exhaust really well so i made a template out of threaded rod and went to a place that had a big brake press and bent some plate for a cross member.
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drilled and mounted a trans mount.
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Tapped the ends
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cut and gusseted more plate and tacked onto the frame rails
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Leveled it out and made sure the engine,trans and rear end again is dead centered with a string in the car.
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Here is where I marked the plate before drilling and tapping once in the correct spot
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sitting on the cross member and I can pull my weight on the tail shaft with out it moving but will add some gusseting or probably a couple of extra bolts up through the floor near the trans to be sure.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:35 am

Theres the exhaust clearance I want,for the first foot anyway.I searched a lot of LS exhaust stuff and there really isn't a lot for the tight Vega so I got a set of new Camaro take offs for another $99 and whacked them off.
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Been reading that this is a cast steel that is not too bad to weld unlike the cast mush I welded back on the farm.cut them pretty high so they came out like a figure 8.Then got some 3" pipe and squeezed it in the vice to initially match the cast.
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I like this figure 8 cut on a but weld,gives good side to side and up and down strength
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had to trim the trans cover tab off
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Fit the cut castings on and with the engine centered like it was it looked good on both sides.I needed less angle for a straighter shot back so I cut another slab off up even higher.
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kept fitting and angle cutting the pipe and found my clearance and tacked.
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Underside
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Pulled them out and heated the cast a little with a butane and welded right around them with the wire feed.
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I you can weld cast to aluminized pipes perfectly your special if not just a touch with the grinder
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back on now,plenty clearance
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Got heat shields with these and had to doodle with them just a little on the ends to make them fit
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Both on.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby rtm » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:06 am

WOW


you coulda made a television show outta your build :shock:

I would've watched every episode, and then ordered the DVD :th:

keep up the awesome work, and keep the pics coming
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Kenova » Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:56 pm

How thick is the plate steel for your trans mount? ( Looks great :th: )
How well did the welding go? Did you have any trouble getting good penetration and flow?

Ken
My other car is a Nova.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:57 am

For the trans cross member I first bent a template out of some 1/4 rod with the mount on just as if it were the cross member.The guy down the road here has a heavy brake press and he matched it with 3/8 plate.
Welding on the manifolds you mean,went OK the thickness of the cast on the butt weld gave some control to burn into the groove more or float on top if needed.I ran some weld on the pieces I cut off and had the welder dialed in first.The gap areas loaded on the inside quite a bit so I had to put a grind stone on a long extension to get in there to smooth that out.The welds aren't hardly visible,the heat shields cover them.
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Re: Vegabee(framing)

Postby Vegabee » Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:06 am

removed the 3 screws and hooked up the rag joint and steering shaft.
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Got a 3/4" heim joint and laying it in to find a good location.
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Looking to get the column,rag joint,and shaft line perfectly straight.
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Have to move the column out ward and down.Jig saw cut the area in silver marker.
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Kept opening and smoothing the radius.
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By that time the column had to be moved come too.Took the bracket off an opened up the bolt slots,when I got them where I wanted,tacked washers in to keep in place side to side.
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Fit the column support plate in the new located hole drilled it and mounted it.About an inch over and down.
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Cut and ground the bolt stud off the heim joint and carefully lined it up and tacked .
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Gave it a spin and it rotates straight and free.Brake light bracket,brake pedal,and column are 1" closer together and just about touching but look to be good
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