Hey, looking to gather some insight on the swap I am doing. Starting with a 1970 300HP, 4 speed car and converting over to C4 suspension and LS power. Tips and tricks from anyone who has done this swap are welcome and appreciated.
My budget for this build is $50K, so have to watch the dollars carefully to make it fit. Starting off with Street Shop frame, purchased from a cancelled project. C4 suspension was new but had Dana 36 rear end. Pulled that out, sourced and modified a Viper Dana 44 and installed that with billet half shafts and batwing.
TKO 600 5 speed and centerforce dyad dual disc clutch pressure plate and flywheel assembly purchased. 700hp Mast Motorsports Black Label LS7 on order. Supposed to be dyno'd and broke in this weekend. Should have it here by September 7 or so. OH Yea!
Headers are the current problem. Speedhound when still in business sponsored a 1-3/4" set from Melrose, unfortunately the LS7 runs much better with the 1-7/8" units. No one I can find actually makes a 1-7/8" set other than the frame manufacturer, but at $2k they are priced above what budget can handle. I am working with a Melrose dealer who indicates there is growing interest in the 1-7/8" LS C3 application. Who knows? Anyone have any experience discovering another application that will work?
Once you get the fenders positioned and in their final resting place, be sure to dry-fit your rocker panels. once you get the fenders fitted, make sure they fit as well. This is one area I did not pay as much attention as I needed. I had to modify my rocker panels a bit to get them to fit the new flared rear fenders.
Curby, Thanks for the tip. The fenders I received did not extend down as far as the bottom of the rocker panel. They were only as long as the corner where the body turns under just above where the rocker panel attaches.
In the initial fitting before removal of the existing fenders it appears the intent was to cut the glass along that outer corner and match the body lines. That's what I planned on doing and didn't remove any of the stock glass from the rocker area.
However, I will check to make sure the area is clean from any oozing of the bonding adhesive and test fit the rocker before painting.
Last weekend I was down hard with some bug that is going around out here. I was unable to work in the shop either day.
This tore me up, so decided to buy the wheels and tires and they are now on order. Delivery in 2-4 weeks. Billet Specialties wheels and BFG rubber. 255 x 18 in front and 295 x 18 rear.
Also ordered a complete interior package dash, carpet, seats, door panels and console. A host of the small parts too.... Al Knoch won this bit of business. Delivery on those about 10-12 days.
Need to get those fenders stuck on there so I can finish the and paint the door jams.
Wow, I did not see your updates while I was up in SD. The car is looking good. :thumbsup:
You need to get back to 100% so you can finish that baby up and make me (and Riggs) crazy.
I know what you mean, but sickness isn't quite accurate. It seems to me it's more of an addiction or a dependency. I mean just listening to these hot rod LS' engines idle is the fix I need to keep going and inspiration to spend money.
They are the best sounding auto engines I have ever heard. I just can't get over the way they sound. It's like a drug......
Now that I am all psyc'ed up time to get out to the garage and get going. Posts on progress later today. :cheers:
Well today was a nuts day. As seen below I did get one fender mounted although I didn't get the splash shield finished.
I tried something new in an attempt to get the seam sealer on there easier than with a putty knife. I got the idea to fill a cake decorating bag with seam sealer and squeezing the sealer out onto the bonding strips.
Once you mix the hardener into the sealer you only have so much time. I am trying to hurry and getting the sealer into the bag is a pain, about half way in it dribbled and closed at the top. I got the sealer all over my hand getting the rest into the bag.
It actually worked pretty well for the actual application, squeezing the bag as you go along laid about a 1/2" bead of sealer along the edges. Ran a quick bead around the fender and pushed the fender into place.
Getting it screwed down was a joy with one hand covered in sealer. It was hard to hold the screwdriver at first, but as the sealer started to dry it became pretty sticky.
Finally got the fender on there, although I will do the other side the old fashioned way.
If you attempt the pastry bag technique again try a gallon size ziploc bag. Just cut off the corner to to the size bead you want. It works great for applying grout to ceramic tile.
Been following this thread for a while now....Keep up the good work!
Sly, thanks for the tip. I may get a chance to try that out while bonding the hood support to the hood. Still toying around with how I want to do the hood.
I put the drivers side fender on there today using the old putty knife. It worked pretty well, lots of slop and glop but it's on there. The 2" flairs are on the car and they look right at home, just the look I was after.
I also worked around the rear exhaust port of the passenger side adding the under fender surround. Then went on to finish the splash shield.
Tomorrow I will add the exhaust port and finish the splash shield on the drivers side.
Today I worked on getting the new fenders aligned with the doors. After working all day adding a shim here and there, they are real close. Once I got them all lined up I did a little filling to match up the lines.
A testament to the fit of Custom Images fenders. This was the total amount of filler needed on the fit of the doors. The other side (not pictured) used a little more but not much.
I hope to finish the back half of the body tomorrow so I can start on the hood.
Body work, body work body work.......... Sand, sand, sand and sand some more. But at the end of the day the bodywork on the rear body and doors is completed. Gaps are done as well as fitting the new fenders.
I started working on the hood, adding glass to low spots and removing places that are high. Still have a couple of days work fitting and testing.
Next weekend I will be working on the hood..........
As you know, Josh made the molds for your fenders from the custom work they did on my car; so we have exactly the same fenders. When he created mine, the car was on an original C3 chassis, and the rear wheel opening was custom fit around the wheel position. Since then, I picked up a Street Shop chassis w/ C4 suspension just like the one your car is sitting on. Now, my rear wheels are sitting way back in the opening, and it appears the wheel base is at least 1" longer. There's a question coming...
Have you put the wheels on and set the car on the ground to see if everything is lined up? If not, you might want to check it out. I'm still trying to figure out how the SS chassis and original chassis could be so far off??? I've never heard of another case of this problem with a SS chassis. :huh:
Wheels and tires are on order but not here yet. I have not tried a wheel in the opening. But you can bet your a$$ that will be one of the first things I do when I get them.
I did do a plumb bob check before I attached the fenders and it appeared they were pretty close to center. The suspension was fully unloaded at the time so I'm thinking it could vary a little bit but an inch seems like allot.
Does your differential have the billet bat wing or is it a stock one cut down? Stock dog bones or adjustable? Wondering if SS did the differential work or the guy you got it from?
Have you discussed with Tray at SS? He has been very helpful to me, even though I got my frame second hand. Says allot about their customer service.
Let me know what you find out, I will post results when I get the wheels.
Mine is the standard C4 DANA 36 differential set-up; nothing unusual there that I can tell. The rear wheel position is really set by the trailing arms. I know Trey's frames are all jig built; so it's hard to believe that things could be that far off. There are a couple of things I still want Josh to look at, like seeing how much farther he can bring the body back on the frame and how much the wheel positions change at ride height versus fully extended. Like you said, I doubt it's going to change by an inch. If we can get some of the error out of it that way, then my last-ditch idea to get the rest is to try the adjustable-length C4 trailing arms from Van Steel or VB&P. More to follow...
Front is fairly centered:
Here's the rear:
For reference, here's with the old chassis that the flare work was done on:
Got off early yesterday and put a second layer of fiberglass on the hood. Went out today and ground that smooth and added another layer to the problem areas.
Of course attaching the hood support with screws each time to check the fit and mark spots that still need adjustments. Little by little it is forming to shape. All in all coming along pretty good but slower than I would like.
Back at it again today with 2 more layers of glass added. I also added a flat panel inside the rear of the scoop. I will use this panel to mount the engine trouble lights.
In between coats of glass couldn't help working on some of the interior parts that came from Al Knoch his week. The center console was looking lonesome so added some of the parts to see how they fit. The fit was good, with all parts easy to install. I did have to do some trimming on the inside edges.
The hood is getting closer, I believe I have the fitting of body lines mostly completed. Still have some minor contour work do.
Still working on the transition from SS strip to hood. Working on a new idea, will see how it turns out. The hood is the last major body piece to do. Once that is done full tilt boogie on the paint.
Today was another long day of sanding, fitting, sanding, fitting. Add some adjusting in there as I remove and install the hood between sanding sessions.
In the end I got a pretty good basic fit. Satisfied with that I bonded on the lower hood surround. Not before adding conduit for the under hood lights. I also filled the edges and squared up the overall fit.
Next is to attach it to the hinges and latches, then do the final fit before primer. This is the last of the large body pieces to do.
Spent both days this weekend working on the hood, the underside is coming along well. The hood light panel and edges are pretty much done. Still doing work on the flats.
The top side still needs work, there was a large low area right in the middle of the forward part of the scoop. I added 5 layers of fiberglass this afternoon and it still looks a little low. Won't know for sure until I can lay a straight edge on it after it dries.
I think I still have 2-3 more solid days working on this hood.
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