double post

[This message has been edited by RCR (edited 04-01-2016).]

I finished the air distribution manifold today.





Here is the final location of the blower motor. Brackets are welded in place. I still need to connect the outlet to the main housing (just needs a small elbow to connect it) and connect the firewall fresh air intake to the top inlet of the blower. The interior air recirc inlet (seen in the pic) is located just behind the glovebox.
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the first photo looks like a new intake manifold....

Looks like the blower unit is sitting the there like it was made for that spot. Nice work

quote Originally posted by GlennGdman: the first photo looks like a new intake manifold.... Looks like the blower unit is sitting the there like it was made for that spot. Nice work

I was pretty happy with that location for the blower. I should end up with about a 6" deep glovebox as well (possibly a bit deeper on the left side of the blower)

I started to assemble the fresh air intake duct. First part is the plate that the blower motor butts up against with the air opening. Next I'll box it in.





Hmmmm....forgot to remove the wheel well........plastic melts....who knew?

Mostly finished boxing in the fresh air intake. Not thrilled with my welds...quite messy. That's what happens when you are lying upside down squeezed into a space the size of a shoebox welding with one hand twisted at a weird angle...the other trying to hold your welding helmet on properly so you can see...ummmm.....yup. I'll try to get in there to clean it all up tomorrow.

Finished boxing in the fresh air intake. Blower motor fits perfectly up against it. Now I've started to build the connector elbow from the blower motor outlet to the main unit inlet duct (...there will be a test later to see if you are paying attention... )

quote Originally posted by Neils88: (...there will be a test later to see if you are paying attention... )

Your talking about installing the muffler...right

I was able to get the blower outlet ducting boxed in (connects blower to main unit). Everything is tacked in place. I'll try to get it finish welded tomorrow.

I finished welding the blower motor ducting. After installing the blower motor, I went to test it and nothing... I had checked the function of all the servos and the blower itself, but not the actual blower speed controller. I went ahead and bypassed the controller and at least the blower is working well. The blower pumps great air flow through the ducting and no noise issues.

...back to the blower speed controller. It is possible that: a) it was faulty when I got it b) I broke it when I hooked up power to it c) I haven't sent it the correct signal to operate. My understanding (according to what I read) is that it requires (in addition to the +12V and ground) a simple voltage reference to indicate the required speed. i.e. putting +12V to the control wire should run it at max speed. A lower voltage, lower speed. If this is the case, then likely it was faulty when I got it. I'll investigate the other two options. Worst case, I just use another motor controller...but I would prefer to keep using the existing hardware.

Neil...... you just keep taking steps outside the box. Great work Buddy ! Love watching this come together.

Boz

quote Originally posted by Bozzie: Neil...... you just keep taking steps outside the box. Great work Buddy ! Love watching this come together. Boz

Thanks Bozzie!

I put together a little cover plate to cover the fresh air intake opening on the firewall. A lot of effort for something that will be almost impossible to see. Since it is accessible, I made it removable.

Today, I made a couple of welding touch-ups and started to get the "dash panel" on the passenger side ready to be welded in place. The "dash panel" is the metal plate that fills the gap between the firewall and the lower windshield support bar. I covered everything under the panel in paint since it'll be difficult to do it later. I'd love to bolt the fresh air intake vent (previous pic) in place before welding the panel in place, but I'd likely ignite the sealant on it since it'll be so close to the weld line. I can get in there to install it...but I'll probably have to climb into the trunk compartment, lol...of course that's what will be required for brake and clutch work once the driver's side panel is in place...

[This message has been edited by Neils88 (edited 04-14-2016).]

Why does that not sound like fun...... good luck

quote Originally posted by GlennGdman: Why does that not sound like fun...... good luck

With the hood off, it's really easy. ...of course if I leave it on, I find out how old I am and how un-flexible my body is...

I'm starting to get the dash panels installed. Nice to finally have a dash again

Just out of curiousity, would it be cheaper to just buy a "real" Aventador? Are you having enough fun building this to make it worthwhile?

quote Originally posted by Monkeyman: Just out of curiousity, would it be cheaper to just buy a "real" Aventador? Are you having enough fun building this to make it worthwhile?

It would be a damn sight easier just to buy one, lol ...but at about $500K for a used one...I'm pretty safe to come out ahead, lol. This project is all about the fun of the build. Doesn't matter how long it takes...I just love building it!

I cut the driver's side dash panel to size, but don't plan on installing it for a bit since it limits easy access to brakes and clutch. I also started work on the last open part of the firewall...this is where the wiring harness and brake vacuum line run through. Unfortunately I made a small measurement error when installing the housing for the HVAC. It is off by about 1/2" from where I intended it to be. Now the harness doesn't fit in the opening. Grrrr. It's an easy enough fix, but of course it tough to get in there to work. I finally opted to remove the brake booster so I can get in there easily. Wow those bolts were tougher to remove than I expected. I know it'll be a nightmare once the dash panel is in place, so I've decided to make an "oh crap" panel in the top dash panel. That way, when the time comes that I have to remove the brake booster again (and I finally give up trying to turn the bolts from the front) I'll be able to remove the dash and have a way to access them. It'll be lots of work either way, but hopefully not something I'll be doing often. Now that I have access, I'll make a small plate to close up the opening, with holes for the connector and the vacuum tube.

I made a small template and cut a patch to fill the hole. I added a hole for the wiring harness connector, another for the brake booster vacuum tube and the required screw holes. Everything fits well.

(The pics are backwards, I actually test fit everything then threw a little paint on it...but made more sense to show them this way...)

I finished installing the forward wiring harness/connector and brake booster vacuum tube. Then reinstalled the brake booster. I confirmed the cutout in the dash panel allows access to everything in case I need to get to anything major. The hole will be closed up with a removable panel eventually. The driver's side dash panel is now fully welded in place. Lastly, I went over all the welded seems with a bead of sealant just to make sure I don't have any pin-hole leaks which happen easily when you try to weld sheet metal.

Great stuff, Neil.

Question/observation: You mentioned that you would have to dismantle the dash to have access through the panel, but ultimately you needed that capability.



Wouldn't you also have to remove the windshield to access the panel?

Bob

the dash looks good!! Hopefully, you never need to get in there.

You MAY want to consider replacing the clutch master cylinder, the line and the slave cylinder now as replacing and of those will cause you to tear out the dash. On my old 87 GT Fiero, the line broke so I replaced that and then less then 2 weeks later the slave cylinder decided to die...

quote Originally posted by RCR: Great stuff, Neil. Question/observation: You mentioned that you would have to dismantle the dash to have access through the panel, but ultimately you needed that capability. Wouldn't you also have to remove the windshield to access the panel? Bob

Thanks Bob.

I put the cutout there as a last resort if I need to do major repair work (such as remove the brake booster or clutch master cylinder and give up trying to do it from the front or from below). I actually reinstalled the booster before putting the dash panel in place, but test fit the upper panel while reinstalling the booster to make sure I could move the wrench & ratchet without interference. Interference from the windshield was actually a concern. However, with the windshield in place, there is still more than enough room to get your hand and tools through the access panel, so the windshield shouldn't ever need to be removed. I actually have a screwdriver designed for low profile applications...that'll be used for the screws that will hold the access panel in place.

quote Originally posted by GlennGdman: the dash looks good!! Hopefully, you never need to get in there. You MAY want to consider replacing the clutch master cylinder, the line and the slave cylinder now as replacing and of those will cause you to tear out the dash. On my old 87 GT Fiero, the line broke so I replaced that and then less then 2 weeks later the slave cylinder decided to die...

I will definitely be changing the clutch master cylinder before I close everything up...but that's mostly because mine is pretty rough looking anyway Brakes and clutch will be rebuilt from front to back in the near future.

Today ended up being clean-up day. ....unfortunately clean-up day will likely take most of rest of the week... I finally reached a point (again) where I have absolutely no room to do anything. I'm hoping to be able to get to the landfill next weekend and get rid of all the stuff that has been accumulating for the last two years.

Still taking the week off to clean the garage. As such...not doing any work on the car. Of course, I had to move some panels (the fiberglass dash pieces) since they were cluttering up the floor. Nowhere to put them...so I decided to put them into the car. The dash panels were actually too wide for the car, so I decided to cut them in half, that way I could put them inside the car and get a better feel for how they'd fit. After a rough little trimming you can see that they are starting to fit, with a few issues...

First off, there is a 6" gap between the panels. The lower piece will likely be moved a little further forward so this should drop to 4-5". I'll fill the gap to blend the two panels together, following the normal "step" that is in the oem dash.

(they are not aligned at the moment, and still have some interference items)



Secondly, the panels I have, have the gauge pod sitting way out to the side (this has been noted before). I'll adjust that so it sits properly in the right spot.



All in all, I'm happy with the first true fit. Lots of work to come, but I can envision it easily now.

Carried on the garage cleaning today. Guess what I found under all the boxes, parts and dirt...a car!

Now that the garage is finally cleaned, back to work. I've started work on the passenger side rear pillar. This was cut up significantly during the build, now everything needs to be closed up to match the new door opening.

Continuing with the pillar work. Finished the bottom part of the window opening.

Today I installed the inner panel that closes up the gap between the new door frame and the existing pillar.

Looks good!

Come on...stop faking being sick and give us some updates already....

quote Originally posted by GlennGdman: Come on...stop faking being sick and give us some updates already....

cough....cough....

[This message has been edited by Neils88 (edited 05-14-2016).]

I'm just recovering from a severe lung infection that's kept me down for more than 2 weeks...still not 100% so I'll be a little slow getting back to working on the car.

But I did just receive the new widetrack rear suspension components today from Arraut Motorsports. 3" added per side. 375 lb springs for the coilovers. Still waiting for the front suspension (3.5" per side, coilovers, 1" drop spindles)

looks like it is Christmas time!!

I have the rear suspension in place, just need to modify the top of the shock mounts to move the shocks out 3" and up an inch or so.

Lots of work done today on the new shock mounts. Started by cutting the existing mounts.



Then I built new mounts that are raised about 2", and moved out 3". Everything is built using 3/16" steel to match the thickness of the existing mounts (which is actually made up of several layers of steel sheet metal). I made sure everything was welded fully on both sides...didn't want any weak spots. I'll paint everything tomorrow once it all cools down.



The spacing to the panels should be pretty close. This pic was actually taken before I built the mounts...but shows that the tire to panel gap should be about 1.5". The coilovers give me lots of final adjustment...the limiting factor will be the tire - frame space, which I will keep around 2". Look at those sexy brakes....