SlowProgress Project Introduction

[SlowProgress]

Originally Posted by rickpaw

What's the make/model of the fan? Is it a GM fan from a Cadillac SRX?

I am pretty sure the fan is from the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. The GM part number is 23455465. It is a monster about 22 x 24.

Hope that helps!

Scott

[rickpaw]

Originally Posted by SlowProgress

I am pretty sure the fan is from the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. The GM part number is 23455465. It is a monster about 22 x 24.

Hope that helps!

Scott

Thanks. That helps a lot. Great build.

[SlowProgress]

Nothing too glamorous this weekend, I am trying to figure out all under-dash stuff so I can weld up all the stray holes. I like the factory style dash pad in these old cars. I spent some time trimming it for all the extra brackets and the Vintage Air bulkhead. I had the pedals, column and emergency brake in and out about 5 times.





I spot-welded some studs to the firewall so I won’t have anything coming through the other side. I thought to just use some plastic air cleaner style nuts. These are the wrong color but the idea worked great. I will see if I can find them in black with a hex head, or some sort of speed nut that will look good.








I still plan to put sound mat underneath, but planning to keep the pad. If it doesn't work out I can just take it a shop and have some carpet cut to match.
I will hopefully start mounting the electric throttle pedal next. I need to find a way to make it look nice by hopefully welding on the early style pedal parts.

[SlowProgress]

My radiator showed up this week from C&R. It really looks like a nice piece. .



I mounted the Vintage Air condenser and everything lined up perfectly.



I knew I would need to trim some of the stock fan mounting tabs but it didn’t take too long. If I ever needed a fan on the road these mods could be done easily with a cheap hack saw. I will trim and clean-up a little more to make it look nicer.



I like it, slightly modified OEM up against purely fabricated aftermarket.

I was going to work on mounting the throttle pedal but ended up thinking about how the transmission cross-member will tie into the floor. Here is a first draft of what the doubler will look like on the inside.



Unlike some of the DSE cars and Mark’s cars at Sled Alley, I don’t have the seat pans out already. I will try to make it just as stiff, but it will be a little bigger and heavier to keep the seat pan installed.
The idea is the tie into the seat pan for stiffness, and stiffen the floor and trans tunnel at the same time. I haven’t quite got it all worked out but this is close.

[SlowProgress]

Finished the firewall pad installation so I needed to get the throttle pedal in the right spot in case I needed to trim the pad some more.
I Started by installing the stock pedal to take a few reference measurements. I don’t know if it is exactly right but the car drove well so I figured just copy it.




I ended up lengthening the pedal bracket tabs to fit the firewall contour the best.



I couldn’t work it out without making this little bracket. Maybe there is a better way but this worked. I will fill the stock pedal holes from the other side at a later date.



Here is how it fits.



I just chopped and slotted the pedal bracket to make a home for the stock pedal rod which was also chopped and hacked away from the stock mechanical pedal assy. I ended up lengthening the rod after this. I hate it when I cut stuff twice and it is still too short!!



The complete assembly in the middle and parts left-over on the left and right. I just like the look of the stock pedal better than the plastic one that comes with the electric assembly.



Here it is all together with the stock pedals.




Next move onto either the trans cross-member or radiator install, both pretty big jobs!

[KPC67]

The pedal looks right at home in there.

[waynieZ]

What a slick setup for the pedal mount and I love the original pedal in there. Please excuse me if I steal your idea.

[SlowProgress]

Thanks for the comments guys. Wayne if you steal the pedal idea it will be perfect. That way if it doesn't work in your car I will still have time to change it before mine is running!!

[waynieZ]

lol I'm not sure about that!

[SlowProgress]

I finished welding the pedal this weekend. I took it nice and slow to avoid overheating anything. I also wrapped the pedal lever with cooper wire dunked in ice water to keep the temperatures down and cooled it with the air hose frequently.



I put together a simple pedal stop with a shoulder bolt and an old metal self-locking nut. The pedal seems pretty strong but I thought it best to not constantly hit the lever on the side of the housing.





I moved on the transmission cross-member. I started by cutting out and rough bending the top doubler plates. I am using 10 gauge material and I probably used everything in the shop at one point to bend these around. I don’t have the proper rolling equipment so it was more like blacksmithing with a couple of big hammers. I still have a ways to go before they fit well enough to be useful.