Project "Jane Doe" 69 Camaro at Best of Show Coachworks

[Gandalf]

Well, late to the party but friends here have been bugging me to post a build thread on my car for a couple years now. So I have some notes over on PT that I'll post here to get started. So hold on for the ride - there's a lot to cover....

Welcome to my 69 Camaro Coupe build thread, known as “Jane Doe” until we come up with a name. I’m 5yrs into this build and never posted a project thread so here it is. If the guys at Best of Show finish the car before this thread gets posted I’ll never hear the end of it!

The story so far…..

Here she is back in 2005, as purchased, ready for a few days’ work to get her running and on the road again. It had come with a fresh SBC crate motor built by Joe Sherman Racing here in SoCal. The car was an older, driver quality restoration and it looked like it had been done "ok". An x11 car with a/c but after chasing numbers on an earlier project, I could care less. I had different plans for this one.

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The crate motor and trans were just sitting in the car with nothing attached so before reconnecting everything I decided it was easy enough to pull the motor and trans to “clean up a few things”. Well, from there it spiraled out of control and I ended up with what I once heard Steve Rupp describe as a bad case of "While I'm here, I might as well ...".

Before I knew it I had completely gutted the car. I had stripped the underside, fitted DSE mini-tubs, replaced a tulip panel, smoothed the firewall and had most of the trim holes welded closed. Then off to have the entire shell media blasted inside and out including the doors & the front sheet metal.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101625549_kZ5rU-M-2.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101625549_kZ5rU-A-LB)

The shell was really good except for a few issues. The passenger quarter had been replaced from below the sail panel leaving a cavernous weld that had been filled over with bondo and the drivers side had some rust down low that could be patched. I decided to have both full quarter panels. Here she is freshly stripped, right before being put in primer.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101625884_gMxBb-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101625884_gMxBb-A-LB)

With the floors, trunk, doors, roof and everywhere else being solid, I would have a good canvas to start the build. Sweet!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101626182_L76b6-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101626182_L76b6-A-LB)

The first shop took more than a year to replace both full quarters. Thankfully they did a quality job fitting, aligning and welding these. During that time they managed to "loose" most of my stock front sheet metal, steering and suspension. On top of that the car was left outside for weeks while still in etch primer! Needless to say it needed to be stripped again. I pulled the car from that shop. A total waste of money, time and extremely frustrating.

[Gandalf]

Not long before that I had met Steve Rupp who had introduced me to the guys at Best of Show Coachworks. They were less than 5min away so I literally trailered the car down there. After looking over the car together, I sat down with D!ck and we came up with a plan. Within a few days Best of Show got to work refinishing the previous metalwork including the firewall which was totally redone.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101627362_Gf2Dd-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101627362_Gf2Dd-A-LB)

The car was then stripped section by section back to bare metal with the DA and lots of 3M cleanstrip wheels. It was great that BOS let me contribute my own labor to the process. I felt like I still had a connection to my own project and I didn't mind getting down and dirty to get any job done.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101633042_g3pRP-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101633042_g3pRP-A-LB)

Several areas were POR15’d and later the entire shell was sealed-up in epoxy primer. We had collectively achieved more in 2wks than I had seen done in the previous year!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101628995_fvnNN-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101628995_fvnNN-A-LB)

From there the guys got onto bodywork and primer. This was awesome progress after my experience at the previous shop. It would serve as ground-zero for the build ahead.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1101629592_m8P6X-M-1.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1101629592_m8P6X-A-LB)

[Gandalf]

Fast forward 10mths..... I did not have BOS do much more on the body itself. I did get most of the drivetrain & suspension pieces together.

I purchased a number of brand new items including a powdercoated AME subframe w/C6 suspension, ATS engine mounts, Art Morrison LS headers, Ron Davis Radiator and G-Bar setup. I also snagged a freshly built LS6 and 4sp auto as part of the deal but I had other plans.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120706466_vpf7x-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120706466_vpf7x-A-LB)

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The LS6/A4 was sold off to help secure an LS7 and FBody T56! I ordered up a few choice performance parts and took everything up to Charlie Williams @ RPM Motors in Santa Clarita to get some love ;-). Charlie has a great reputation as a high performance LSx builder and tuner, especially in the Corvette and CTS-V community. The stuff I see and hear in his shop makes my jaw drop. Charlie & I sat down and went through the build and came up with a plan. I supplied many of the build parts and let Charlie work his magic. I cannot wait to run this motor!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120704683_FBsqc-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120704683_FBsqc-A-LB)

It also helps that RPM have their own in-house transmission shop with a TON of T56 builds to their credit so I had them build the T56 using some much stronger components.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120703868_xnXZZ-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120703868_xnXZZ-A-LB)

I purchased a "G-Bar ready" Moser narrowed 9” rear and axles from Frank at Prodigy. We welded the G-Bar in place and BOS then sprayed the entire underside of the car with their Wurth StoneGuard. We mounted the GBar components and then the 9" rear.

With Matt overseeing the show, we introduced the freshly built engine and transmission to the sub-frame. From there we used DSE solid aluminum body mounts and polished hardware to mount the sub-frame to the body. A big day!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120709459_8EtRM-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120709459_8EtRM-A-LB)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120708876_ADWok-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120708876_ADWok-A-LB)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120709150_nkkWg-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120709150_nkkWg-A-LB)

Like my new rollers? Leave your wheels scattered around the shop and they will be put to good use, Ha!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120711065_8kwuR-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120711065_8kwuR-A-LB)

Since I had changed it up to the LS7 we figured this would be more than just a good idea to add some DSE subframe connectors.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120714138_Vp43y-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120714138_Vp43y-A-LB)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120715558_fRDQx-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120715558_fRDQx-A-LB)

They came out real nice - I had BOS make them a bolt-in with the Art Morrison sub-frame.

[Gandalf]

Aluminum center section from Currie arrived - 3.89 gears and TrueTrac should get the job done.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120717990_QoAHt-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120717990_QoAHt-A-LB)

Delivery from Wilwood who helped us spec out the combination we were after:

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120722678_fV647-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120722678_fV647-A-LB)

All wired and ready to rock! Apparently not one of D!ck's favorite tasks......but still nice to know my rotors aren't going to come flying off anytime soon :-)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120723221_RSjwU-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120723221_RSjwU-A-LB)

On to the custom roll-bar. Would have helped if I had taken photos when it came back from powedercoat and before I wrapped it for the install - oh well. You'll have to imagine it like I have to for now. Went in real nice.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120721248_hG4cP-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120721248_hG4cP-A-LB)

[Gandalf]

Out comes the aircraft stripper......

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120719507_T6xWX-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120719507_T6xWX-A-LB)

Lots of bodywork including fitting the trunklid from Matt @ Anvil. More Carbon fiber goodness coming from Anvil - almost seems a shame to cover them with paint!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120724997_cPrg2-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120724997_cPrg2-A-LB)



So now "somebody" thinks his ass is funny when he shows me the freshly applied PINK guide-coat! Very funny. I'm not the one who now has to sand it all off again.... :-)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120726813_3ZNCz-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120726813_3ZNCz-A-LB)

The boys really knocked it out of the park with the bodywork - lines and gaps are looking killer already.

The overall theme called for a few small modifications to the body but I did not want to detract from the original lines of the car. I liked the thought of raising the filler from down behind the license plate. We'll tidy up the bumpers front and rear, delete the door and trunk locks but keep the original door handles.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1120727059_MgDfN-M.jpg (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/14775476_5C6oG#1120727059_MgDfN-A-LB)

[Gandalf]

The boys at BOS continued to block the entire car AGAIN and refine the bodywork even more. The firewall was also blocked and the car given some final fit and finish.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174968806_tLDFV-M.jpg

A familiar looking all Carbon Fiber cowl hood from Anvil
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174969187_GeWxB-M.jpg

The car was blown apart again. Jesus got down to work and gave the firewall area and inner fenders a few layers of Hot Rod Black. The door jams also received sealer and their respective base and clear coats. Finally some color - woot!

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With the front sheetmetal off the car one last time, we took the opportunity to unbolt the sub-frame and take care of a few things. I removed the engine and transmission, cleaned-up the subframe and suspension.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174974639_JszBM-M.jpg

Received my SupertTwin P-Trim clutch and flywheel setup from Jeremy @ Spec. Looking forward to a quiet, reasonable effort 1400lb-capable twin clutch.

Paul @ TurnKey installed the updated pilot bearing, SPEC flywheel & clutch. The guys there are great and their facility is like going to LS-heaven. Tons of engines and bins of go-fast parts for LS engines.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174974328_23Ayv-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

Everything back together and ready for front sheetmetal. I confess I did not realize just HOW great the engine would look against the Hot Rod Black firewall.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174978883_AXJSx-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174979809_pvx8d-M.jpg

Ok - reassemble the front end one last time before paint. That boy Jesus can mask a car quicker than anyone I've seen!

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http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174999413_RoFrq-M.jpg

Time for some paint.... Jon sealed the body Thursday and painted all day Friday. The weather was perfect (for the paint process anyway - we're not sure about Jon)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1174999581_nLreM-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175001032_TaYLq-M.jpg

Outside a few days later, still curing. Tough color to photograph.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175012760_gW6Yb-M.jpg

Let the colorsanding begin.....
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175049179_Q5DGX-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

After a week and a half of colorsanding and buffing (even from the phone pics in the v. late afternoon sun you can still catch a hint of what all the hard work produced). Jon tells me there's still 2 or 3 stages to go but he refuses to do them until "you guys and your grubby fingers have finished assembling the rest of the car". um, er, "ok Jon" :-)

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[Gandalf]

Among other things, we got the lower steering wrapped and D*ck has been running brake lines:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1180751283_EC7C7-M.jpg

Chris got my ISIS laid out and mounted for me to complete the wiring:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1180751883_P5kmo-M.jpg

Fuel lines are next, new wheels should be getting close, waiting on our redesigned drysump tank to arrive and about to start laying out the Damplifier Pro mat.

G.

[Gandalf]

Thanks guys. Yes, a TON of my own sweat and tears for sure. Ok, with work out of the way for a few hours, time for some well-overdue updates:

I ordered my Dry Sump Tank from Kevin @ Peterson Fluid Systems back in early December. They delivered early in January as expected but unfortunately the top half of the tank was created without the changes we had ordered. From there we got put back in the standard production queue and did not see the replacement until early February. Disappointing but there was plenty else going on so no lost ground. Here's the tank initially delivered:

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175002008_4jmXJ-M.jpg

This is essentially the ATS part number (still available from Peterson) but included additional ports for a temp/pressure sender and a heater element in the base (I later nixed the heater element port). The top part of the tank had been ordered with the filler to one side and the 2 ports clocked to aid fitment into the first gen fender. Once the correct part arrived, I set to work, spending hours (days) fitting, cutting, mocking-up and had to fab a custom bracket to mount the tank. You can get a sense of it from this shot early in the process (note to self - straigten the bracket before pictures - doh!)

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-dmTx5sv/1/M/i-dmTx5sv-M.jpg

You can see the offset filler in this next shot. It enabled me to set the tank further into the unused portion of the fender while still being able to access the filler. This paid dividends as I soon realized how tight this fit was going to be. You have to cut on the inner fender in just the right spot and mocking-it up is a challenge as you litterally have to consider the limiting factors on ALL SIX planes including top and bottom. It's tight but it worked-out.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-zTNvQKW/0/M/i-zTNvQKW-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

You can see the ports in the top part of the tank more clearly in this shot. These parts all headed to be hard annodized (black). You can also see where Jeff @ Precision Metal Crafters closed out the extra port on the lower tank for me.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-pNKzKZN/0/M/i-pNKzKZN-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

Not long after the move - Jon @ DriverzInc delivered my new Fikse wheels....

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-87WwQGb/0/M/i-87WwQGb-M.jpg

We were united in thinking it totally transformed the look of the car. Fikse Profil 5s in 18", Technipolish centers with polished hoops. 9.5" up front and 12" in the rear. Thanks to Jon for his patience - he walked me through every step of the process including measuring and changing finish a few times lol - thanks Jon - you're a rock star!

[Gandalf]

So having moved-in, that's where the fun really began. With the dry sump tank situated and all the parts away being hard anodized, I decided to get busy again on the wiring. That lasted all of half a day before I got fed up with how things were fitting. I had elected to run my engine harness through the tunnel since one of my main goals was to keep as much plumbing and wiring hidden from view. It seemed I was working "up-hill" trying to make each leg of the SpearTech harness reach and also having to run some really tight corners. The driveline angle built-into the Art Morrison clip is about 4deg so raising the trans tunnel and creating a slightly larger opeingin in the firewall for the trans would give me some more options.

So reluctantly, we pulled the front-end including the engine and trans again.

To be clear - this was not the fault of the harness - John @ SpearTech had designed the harness exactly as requested and it came out great. Similarly there was nothing wrong with the Art Morrison setup, I had just elected to run less of an angle, closer to 2deg. Since we could not drop the front of the engine lower due to the dry-sump pan clearance at the rack, we will raise the trans. With the earlier move to the AM engine mounts, that extra 1/16" thickness helped with some issues (like exhaust and pan clearance) but showed up in other areas like the engine-to-firewall / tunnel area. Not a big deal if you are running a stock firewall but in our case, too much work had gone into this to not stop and get it fixed now.

Eric is the newest addition to the BOS team and is a fantastic fabricator. We had Eric cut out and create a new trans tunnel with more clearnace for everything.
Here's Eric doing his thang....

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-drjtv2Q/0/M/i-drjtv2Q-M.jpg

The real joy - doing all this on an already painted car...ugh! Jesus refinished and sprayed the firewall and once out of the booth we re-undercoated the tunnel with Wurth StoneGuard.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-g3KkTcS/0/M/i-g3KkTcS-M.jpg

Prior to reassembly we took the opportunity to locate and mount our 4-port a/c bulkhead, ready for the Vintage Air and Jesus & i took care of the shifter cutout and mounting. With the engine and trans back in, we were finally getting set to go forward again!

[Gandalf]

Long story but my original ATI underdrive balancer for the LS7 finally arrived back from ATI so we were able to swap that onto the engine in place of the standard ATI balancer. The main difference was not as much the underdrive ability but the offset difference allowing me to run FBody accressories and not the YBody/Corvette setup. Again, looking to keep the engine bay reasonably tidy and therefore the a/c and alt down low in the frame - not up high like standard Corvette accessories. I taped that ATI puppy up REAL quick because in the 12mths the other balancer had been mounted, it had started to turn a nice shade of dark purple(!) Not sure the tape will help but it cannot hurt.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-Zp4d4mH/0/M/i-Zp4d4mH-M.jpg

My new coil-relocation kit from Jason @ Katech showed-up so I mounted those on the Katech valve covers I already had. I wanted to start nailing-down my final "look" for powdercoating the valve-covers so I gave them a quick squirt with the gloss black rattle-can to check the look. Didn't come out too bad. I'm not 100% on it yet but I have time before my next powdercoating order so I'll sit with it while the remainder of the engine compartment comes together.

Also Greg @ Meziere repositioned the connectors on my electric water pump so I could have one less connector in plain view, enabling me to hide it within the harness. Meziere just happens to be a couple blocks from BOS and Greg has a VERY nice '69 Camaro PaceCar Convertible - he happens to be a helluva nice guy and a car guy like you would expect. Thanks again Greg!

[coolwelder62]

Awesome.The camaro is really taking shape.Going to be outstanding.:thumbsup:

[Richio1]

Yeah looks sweet. Is the color a dark blue or black with a blue tint or pearl to it? Looking forward to seeing more updates on your progress. BOS does some awesome work.

:cheers:

[KPC67]

Great car Gregg, I secretively followed this one over on PT.com. I envy you.:bow:
What are the specs on your front wheels? i gathered they are 9.5", what about bs?

[Ron in SoCal]

You guys should see this car in person. I literally cannot stop staring at it. Also, props to Gregg for all the assistance and brainstorming. We have a 'few' of the same parts (and bad habits like fabbing on a painted car :lol:) so we get to bounce ideas off each other.

Great car Gregg! :thumbsup:

[tones2SS]

Wow, great car Gregg. That is a seriously nice build. Love the paint and wheel choice. Great work from the boys at Best Of Show.

[67ragtp]

Gregg,

The car is outstanding, great job!! :thumbsup:

Keep the pics coming- Rich

[Gandalf]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Really like the way it's coming together. In the mean time, playing catch up with the updates....

[Gandalf]

Jesus & I had a marathon assembly session to get back to where we were before the firewall/tunnel do-over plus fit a few other items. Front sheetmetal for the most part, door and trunk seals, trunk latch, door handles, jamb vents.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-9nN6GT8/0/M/i-9nN6GT8-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-4vtW446/0/M/i-4vtW446-M.jpg

D*ck followed-up with aligning the Carbon Fiber hood from Anvil on the DSE hinges, trimming the openings for the Marquez markers, fitting the Anvil rear spoiler and GM Sport Mirrors.

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I fitted the Marquez billet 3D taillights along with the spaghetti engineering LED rear lights.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-2JqXRhp/0/M/i-2JqXRhp-M.jpg

I changed out the style of mesh insert that comes with the Anvil cowl panel to have it match the cowl induction grill/insert also from Anvil. I really like how this piece turned out.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-WDPpVjw/1/M/i-WDPpVjw-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

Time to take her home for some wiring and assembly. Stopped off on the way home to see Jimmy @ Warner Muffler in Oceanside, CA to get my exhaust started. The guy is a wizard with exhaust!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-gKGb8Q5/0/M/i-gKGb8Q5-M.jpg

As we pulled up the sun peeked through the clouds and we got to see a little blue....

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-qhcLNtZ/0/M/i-qhcLNtZ-M.jpg

He hung my 3" stainless exhaust, x-pipe and joined to the Art Morrison headers with stainless v-band clamps. After adding the 3" Borla XR1 stainless mufflers Jimmy noticed that we did not have enough adjustment in our Gbar setup to get the rear to sit close to where he thought it should be. There was obviously an issue with the Moser 9" housing we had purchased with pre-welded brackets for the GBar. We decided to just dump the exhaust at the muffler for now and complete the system when we had all the rear end geometry worked out.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-BXhKh9n/1/M/i-BXhKh9n-M.jpg

[Gandalf]

Back home now with a list a mile long of things to get done.....mostly wiring, ISIS, basic interior, seats, steering and lighting plus working out the rear-end/pinion angles.

With the focus of the car being mainly street with a little weekend-warrior/show, I wanted a more modern, comfortable and functional interior. Since we were doing every nut and bolt anyways, I had to figure we could bring the interior up a notch or two. Change out the first-gen seats, update the dash, controls and instruments. Quiet the interior as much as possible (good luck with that and your 3" exhaust!). A nice steering wheel and shifter combo. Modern a/c and lighting and of course update carpet and materials. So much for the list getting shorter…..

Some time back we had fitted a Gen4 dash. I’d seen one or two others do it so I was confident going in. It fit nicely once we had cut out the original dash and reused the 4th Gen cross-brace to help mount the dash solid. More on the dash later…

I chose a C6 Corvette steering column, mainly so I can use the controls like wipers, lights etc on the column instead of the regular dash-mounted switches. We are using ISIS for our wiring so we should have no problem making these work. The C6 column, like a lot of modern steering columns, is a multi-piece, collapsible column. D!ck and I collectively designed and created a mount for the column and incorporated this into the dash mount. A universal joint under the dash and a Borgeson bearing mounted in the firewall were required along with a lot of fab time and test fitting. It came out great.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-L35LxB6/0/S/i-L35LxB6-S.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-P3c6trq/1/S/i-P3c6trq-S.jpg

Note to self – make sure the parts are available to adapt your aftermarket steering wheel to your chosen column BEFORE selecting a column (!). Long story short, there was not one available for the C6/Momo combo I had selected (in fact there weren't any aftermarket hub adaptors available for a C6!). I ended up re-using the GM spline insert from the original wheel with some NRG hub adaptor components to create a one-off. It came out great PLUS I ended up with a removable wheel! Thanks to Mike @ NRG who was very helpful selecting the NRG components for modification, despite not having an exact part off-the-shelf for our combination. A local company here in Carlsbad used their CNC machine to help prepare and perfectly machine the parts. We press-fit the spline insert and backed it up with a welded collar which we fastened to the hub.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-bZ6LTqD/0/S/i-bZ6LTqD-S.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-sLX2jTW/0/S/i-sLX2jTW-S.jpg

The finished product:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-CtBMDfD/1/S/i-CtBMDfD-S.jpg

I did not want the aftermarket gauge / race car look plus we already had the LS7 and E38 GM PCM so I chose to use a C6 (Z06) instrument cluster. The cluster fit inside the Gen4 Camaro dash with the help of some custom mounting but like the dash itself, would require some extensive finish-work by the interior shop later on (more to come on this subject). Here it all is mocked-up and in place.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-HSGMdpv/0/M/i-HSGMdpv-M.jpg

Huge thanks to Gus and the gang @ Cleveland Pick-A-Part who provided most of the C6 Corvette components used in this build. The parts always arrived in great shape and packed perfectly and the price is always right! – perfect partners in a project like this. Thanks guys!

[mdprovee]

Nice story. It was fun meeting you at RTTC 2 last year delivering your fenders.

Hope to see it at RTTC 3.

[Gandalf]

Nice story. It was fun meeting you at RTTC 2 last year delivering your fenders.

Hope to see it at RTTC 3.

Great to meet you also Mike. We will definitely be at RTTC 3 this year! :thumbsup:

Gregg

[DOOM]

Gregg is that a Acura color ''NIGHTHAWK BLUE''? I see the blue pop out in the sun ..:wow:

[ironworks]

I think it's so funny that you have edit Dick's name in your post.



HAHA Poor Dick.

[Gandalf]

I want to keep the cabin cool and quiet where possible. Sound deadening, vibration and heat-proof layers will get installed later, care of Second Skin Audio. For now, one of the more time consuming and messy jobs was to apply their Spectrum Pro product to the door skins where the rough factory finish was not going to work with adhesive mat product. I used different tools to apply the multiple layers including a thick brush, a roller(!) and various spreaders of different widths. The most challenging aspect was accessing the door through the one hole (I have scars to show for this job lol). I applied the layers over several days and followed the directions closely to insure I did not have to do it over for any reason. It turned out great and I can tell you the doors shut solid! Definitely worth the time and effort. This product is worth consideration for any difficult/uneven surface. Something to watch for when selecting doors/skins next time.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-bNr4fzD/0/S/i-bNr4fzD-S.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-GHvcLbD/2/S/i-GHvcLbD-S.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-ssk8tR5/0/M/i-ssk8tR5-M.jpg

[tones2SS]

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-HSGMdpv/0/M/i-HSGMdpv-M.jpg

I thought that dash looked very familiar! Are you keeping the traction control and fog light switches on the dash, as is?
Great looking car.

[Gandalf]

I thought that dash looked very familiar! Are you keeping the traction control and fog light switches on the dash, as is?
Great looking car.

Thanks for the compliment. I had intended to re-pupose those switches and had even added an Infinity push-start engine button to the mix. But hold that thought - things get even more interesting with the dash later on.....

[Gandalf]

With the Gen4 Vintage Air mounted under the dash, it's time for some wiring.

Some of the ISIS components.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175051183_ExKMH-M.jpg

The SpearTech engine harness, E38 PCM and Vette DBW pedal. This harness came fully labeled, complete with fuseblock and separate labelled diagrams specific to my harness. I had John make the harness so I could locate the PCM inside the car, add a second OBD2 connector to pull some data for the dash and also added some lines for me to route to the Corvette cluster. I have to note that John was one of thee most helpful vendors during this build. He never quits being available for questions and followup. Thanks John!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175048673_gbRRe-M-1.jpg

With the tunnel and firewall now modified, I re-mounted the PCM, re-installed the Speartech engine harness and fuse block. I modified the ISIS mount that Chris had originally come up with. The SpearTech fuses and the ISIS system (the MasterCell and 1 PowerCell) will be hidden under the dash and be accessible by dropping down the glove compartment door. I started wiring the C6 column into ISIS which was a breeze with the ground-switched inputs and 22ga wire.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-3LZMb4W/0/M/i-3LZMb4W-M.jpg

I had seen the Corvette guys switching over to these Braille batteries and at 17lb it was hard not to at least try one. The small size and bracket that would fit nicely in the side recess of the trunk could work well. I plan to add a C-Tek maintainer with an external connection. The grey of the battery would later be changed to black and the aluminum bracket that was anodized did not come out as nice as I had hoped so that will be powdercoated.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-8kwzbRh/0/S/i-8kwzbRh-S.jpg

I ran the battery cables from the passenger footwell to the trunk alongside the ISIS power and a few lines I ran separate from ISIS. I ran these through the rear side panel using a large grommet obtained from John @ SpearTech.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-WFqcPGp/0/M/i-WFqcPGp-M.jpg

I designed a removable aluminum panel to mount behind the rear seat to try and help keep any noise down. I neglected to get a photo of the final product so you get to see the cardboard mockup lol. We later covered the aluminum piece with Dynamat.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-9Hj5BqB/1/M/i-9Hj5BqB-M.jpg

My 2nd PowerCell and InMotion Cell are mounted in the trunk along with all of the main ISIS power fuse blocks. If I could have found a tidy way to mount a cell in the engine compartment somewhere, I’d have done that and just run the few rear lighting circuits back to the trunk. That would have been more efficient for the individual circuits (lights, fans etc) but with the battery in the trunk you have to think about where you are going to route your power to each cell AND where to mount the main fuse blocks. Planning ahead makes all the difference with the ISIS system and it worked out well here. Here’s the mock-up of the rear ISIS modules mounted vertically in the forward trunk area while I wired everything and made sure everything would work as intended. The module on the left is the inMotion cell for door locks and windows. To the right is the second PowerCell.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-vcp73pf/0/M/i-vcp73pf-M.jpg

[coolwelder62]

Very nice job on the wiring so far.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Musclerodz]

With the Gen4 Vintage Air mounted under the dash, it's time for some wiring.

Some of the ISIS components.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175051183_ExKMH-M.jpg

The SpearTech engine harness, E38 PCM and Vette DBW pedal. This harness came fully labeled, complete with fuseblock and separate labelled diagrams specific to my harness. I had John make the harness so I could locate the PCM inside the car, add a second OBD2 connector to pull some data for the dash and also added some lines for me to route to the Corvette cluster. I have to note that John was one of thee most helpful vendors during this build. He never quits being available for questions and followup. Thanks John!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1175048673_gbRRe-M-1.jpg

With the tunnel and firewall now modified, I re-mounted the PCM, re-installed the Speartech engine harness and fuse block. I modified the ISIS mount that Chris had originally come up with. The SpearTech fuses and the ISIS system (the MasterCell and 1 PowerCell) will be hidden under the dash and be accessible by dropping down the glove compartment door. I started wiring the C6 column into ISIS which was a breeze with the ground-switched inputs and 22ga wire.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-3LZMb4W/0/M/i-3LZMb4W-M.jpg

I had seen the Corvette guys switching over to these Braille batteries and at 17lb it was hard not to at least try one. The small size and bracket that would fit nicely in the side recess of the trunk could work well. I plan to add a C-Tek maintainer with an external connection. The grey of the battery would later be changed to black and the aluminum bracket that was anodized did not come out as nice as I had hoped so that will be powdercoated.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-8kwzbRh/0/S/i-8kwzbRh-S.jpg

I ran the battery cables from the passenger footwell to the trunk alongside the ISIS power and a few lines I ran separate from ISIS. I ran these through the rear side panel using a large grommet obtained from John @ SpearTech.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-WFqcPGp/0/M/i-WFqcPGp-M.jpg

I designed a removable aluminum panel to mount behind the rear seat to try and help keep any noise down. I neglected to get a photo of the final product so you get to see the cardboard mockup lol. We later covered the aluminum piece with Dynamat.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-9Hj5BqB/1/M/i-9Hj5BqB-M.jpg

My 2nd PowerCell and InMotion Cell are mounted in the trunk along with all of the main ISIS power fuse blocks. If I could have found a tidy way to mount a cell in the engine compartment somewhere, I’d have done that and just run the few rear lighting circuits back to the trunk. That would have been more efficient for the individual circuits (lights, fans etc) but with the battery in the trunk you have to think about where you are going to route your power to each cell AND where to mount the main fuse blocks. Planning ahead makes all the difference with the ISIS system and it worked out well here. Here’s the mock-up of the rear ISIS modules mounted vertically in the forward trunk area while I wired everything and made sure everything would work as intended. The module on the left is the inMotion cell for door locks and windows. To the right is the second PowerCell.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-vcp73pf/0/M/i-vcp73pf-M.jpg

looks great, however i would be careful putting voltage wires next to data cables (ISIS interconnect data cables) as they could interfere with the signal. same on the engine harness especially around ignition wiring.

[Gandalf]

looks great, however i would be careful putting voltage wires next to data cables (ISIS interconnect data cables) as they could interfere with the signal. same on the engine harness especially around ignition wiring.

Thanks but I think of it this way (being an IT guy): ISIS uses a CAN bus system so it likely has some redundancy in the protocol (aside from the physical redundancy in the pairs). That means if something get's f'd up along the way and ISIS doesn't understand, it's going to ask for it to be resent.

I had similar thoughts regarding the SpearTech harness but then you have to think - well they all run into one common bundle right next to each other eventually anyhow and how many LS harnesses are out there?

I also ran each set of cables inside it's own wrap and they were laid parallel - albeit that does not provide any actual "sheild" per se but it can't hurt.

Add all that to the fact I grounded each component at multiple points so that should help to keep any "noise" down.

Let me know what you think - this stuff interests me and I spent a LOT of time thinking through the routing of the wiring.

G.

[Musclerodz]

Thanks but I think of it this way (being an IT guy): ISIS uses a CAN bus system so it likely has some redundancy in the protocol (aside from the physical redundancy in the pairs). That means if something get's f'd up along the way and ISIS doesn't understand, it's going to ask for it to be resent.

I had similar thoughts regarding the SpearTech harness but then you have to think - well they all run into one common bundle right next to each other eventually anyhow and how many LS harnesses are out there?

I also ran each set of cables inside it's own wrap and they were laid parallel - albeit that does not provide any actual "sheild" per se but it can't hurt.

Add all that to the fact I grounded each component at multiple points so that should help to keep any "noise" down.

Let me know what you think - this stuff interests me and I spent a LOT of time thinking through the routing of the wiring.

G.sounds like you are on top of it and that is good. I don't know if signal noise is seen as an open circuit to set off the malfunction light. It knows and sees the connection, it just can't transmit a clear operation signal. I have seen electricity do weird things. I always try to be cautious on routing, better to know its good than hope.

[Gandalf]

sounds like you are on top of it and that is good. I don't know if signal noise is seen as an open circuit to set off the malfunction light. It knows and sees the connection, it just can't transmit a clear operation signal. I have seen electricity do weird things. I always try to be cautious on routing, better to know its good than hope.

Completely understand. That's the nice part of the SpearTech engine harness being self-contained and almost entirely separate from the ISIS system and being constrained to the under-hood and dash part of the car. There are a couple of exceptions like I run the Fuel pump and 2x fan signals from the PCM into ISIS and have ISIS take care of it from there. Those signals come out of the PCM intended for relays anyways. The remainder is all bundled-up inside the SpearTech harness, none of which runs the length of the car.

G.

[waynieZ]

Nice neat job, its looking good..