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Before I moved the radiators to the rear. This would be a setup for a
single radiator.
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These are the pieces and I have it temporarily set up to check for
clearance. I hooked up the compressor and may need to do some
adjustments to get the lift that I need.
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| The 11"
brake package from RCC in Fort Worth has now been installed. The
package was very complete complete with detailed instructions. |
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| When I
was in California, I spent part of Friday at IFG. This is a frame
ready for a car. Note the diagonal brace for additional rigidity. The
front framework is now done considerably differently than the video in
the instruction manual. I like the new method and have done the
following modifications. |
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| I removed
the frame as shown in the top pictures. I welded the lower 2 x 3 tube
and then put the body on. Once the body was located with the plate
attached to the car, I tack welded the plate to the horizontal 1 x 3,
removed the screws that were through the body into the plate and
removed the body. I then added the square tubes to permanently fasten
the plate to the frame. I am only running the condenser up front. I
will fabricate a bracket to hold the fan assembly. |
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| The dash
on the left is from a car at IFG that I saw when I was going to Knotts.
I created the frame for my dash after removing all of the metal from
the top of the dash. I will fill in the front with sheet metal and
duct the front air lines into the metal. As you can see from the IFG
picture, they simply put a plate with 4 tubes coming out to go to the
vents. |
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| Now that
I have the condenser installed, It was necessary to fabricate a
bracket to keep the fan off of the condenser. The front assembly is
now complete minus the electrical connection and the sheet metal to
make sure the air flow is forced through the condenser. |
| I got the
air shocks mounted this weekend. I used the original shock tower
location and fabricated a bracket to hold the top of the shock as
close to vertical as possible. I welded a bracket on the base of the
suspension to connect the bottom of the shock. |
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| Got
revised brackets from Ryane Motors Sports. Daryl powder coated them
and the finish is fantastic. |
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| I mounted
the windshield wiper motor and connected the heater controls. I have
also temporatily put in the Old Fiero guages. I may be able to use
some of the indicators such as the Check Engine light, and I also can
verify the lights all work. |
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| I
replaced the steering damper with a new one. |
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| I made
two brackets to mount the compressor for the air shock. These brackets
were made from 1/2" tube with small teeth welded onto the sides to
that act as a clamp to hod the feet of the compressor. I mounted it
to the left of the wiper motor. I may move the gauge inside to be able
to tell how much pressure I have in the shocks. I installed grommets
to route the air lines lines through the fenders. |
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| I have
decided to relocate the air compressor for the air shocks next to the
brake cylinder. This was necessary because I want to put the battery
in the front. |
 
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| I
finished the cabling for the battery. After I was all done, I had
neglected to take into account the hinge for the trunk. I will have to
get creative as I like where the battery is and besides, I cut the 15'
cable to fit the current location. Oh well. |
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| I have
been trying to come up with a way to regulate the air shocks from
inside the car. I found an airlift system that has the power, release
and a guage all mounted to a compressor. It is for the Air bag type
shocks as seen in the August Kit Car Illustrated. I replaced my old
compressor with the new one, got a special connector that connects to
the Gabriel fitting and wired the guage, power and air to the new
guage. This will allow me to back into my garage without hitting. I
am boing to put a steel plate under the bumper so I do not crack the
fron lip if I should tap something. As you can see I have very tight
clearance even with it inflated. |
 
 
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| I needed
to make a modification to the front trunk. Because I moved the hinges,
I believe there was too much give in the hinge to allow the trunk to
conform to the body. My solution was to warp the hood a slight amount
to accommodate the discrepancy. By clamping the hood in the position I
wanted, I needed to hold it in position. I bent a piece of square tube
to match the contour that I needed. I then bonded it in place. Glassed
it in and then put the pieces back. |
 
 
 
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| I wanted
to put a skid plate under the front lip. I used a piece of foam to
mark the outline of the front lip. I cut and welded a piece of 3/16" x
5" plate to match the contour. I then welded it place to the piece of
tube that I had already bonded into the front nose. I then fabed a
bracket to support the lip and tie into the radiator bracket. I then
added a piece that spanned the entire brace from skid plate to
original frame. This provided me the rigidity that I needed. I can now
jack up my car from the front bumper. I will grind the edges and
finish it so it will look like one piece. I also tied in the sides so
the fender wells are now solid. |
 
 
 
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| I had to
do a modification to the hinge to bypass the battery. (bad planning on
my part.) I ended up adding a plate to connect to the bolts in the
trunk lid. It was necessary to reattach the hinge point on the window
cross bar. |
 
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| I used
the Fiero trunk support and adapted it to the trunk lid. It was
necessary to cut a new stop point for the catch as the diablo trunk
opened differently than the Fiero. |
 
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| To clear
the latch, I had to remove a section of my condensor brace. I used the
two cables from the Fiero Trunk lid but will replace with a longer
cable. I split a 1/4" bolt to hold the cables and tightened nut to
hold them in place |
 
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| For the
front trunk release, I used the Fiero hood release. I cut the end off
of the Fiero Cable (had dual cables in it) and drilled out the plastic
end to accept a bicycle cable. I ran the cable through the clip and
back into the housing and extend it to the front. It was necessary to
put a spring on the latch to pop it back after it had been opened. To
hold the spring it was necessary to ad a brace for it to rest against. |
 
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| I needed
to reshape the front trunk. My earlier attempt with the 1/2" rod
wasn't strong enough or long enough to hold the shape. I started by
bending a piece of 3/4" square tube that was 24" long to match the
contour of the front fender on each side of the trunk opening. I
drilled holes to accept the bondo which should make it more stable. I
then used clamps to warp the trunk lid to match the shape of the tube.
I had already cut out the openings on the inside of the trunk to
accept the new tubes. I just made them longer and wider. This helped
me to get the old metal out as well. I then applied bondo to the tube
and set it in the slots. After they had dried, I used fiberglass mat
and cloth to secure the tube to the trunk lid. I also took the
opportunity to bond a piece of 1/4" flat bar to the back side of the
trunk brace. I threaded the metal and now I have a solid support for
the trunk brace to keep it open. I used bondo and replaced the pieces
I had cut out, sanded them down and now I have the proper shape, solid
mounting holes and a little more weight up front which I will
desperately need. |
 
 
 
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| I routed
out the opening for the third emblem in the front of the trunk. I am
sanding down each piece as I work on it that is why it looks dull. |
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| Began
working on the front trunk floor. I used 1" side straps that were bent
to fit the form from the front lip to the cross bar. The front side
was fastened by drilling and tapping the existing plate. The top side
was fastened by bolting through the 3/4" bar with 1/4" bolts. I cut a
section out of the trunk lid support to make it shorter so it would
clear the strap. Once the straps were fitted, I used poster board to
trial fit the floor for a pattern. |
 
 
 
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| Slight
modification to the slats on the front trunk. I used a 1/2" tube that
is bolted to the 3/4" tube on the front. I spot welded the nuts on the
bolts that were holding the battery holder, window washer and air
compressor brackets. I then cut and welded the straps to the 1/2" tube
and then bolted the tube to the 3/4" tube. I tapped the holes so it
could be bolted without having to have nuts on the other side. I cut
sheet metal to fit and fastened temporarily with sheet metal screws. |
 
 
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Lastly, I completed upholstering the
front amp area with trunk carpet. I started by making a metal insert
to fill in the gap. This was fastened at the top and bottom with pop
rivets. I made a panel our of my FRB board and used one way fasteners
to secure it to the metal. I drilled the holes for the panels prior to
mounting them in the car. This made it easier. I then upholstered the
sides and fastened them in place. The upholstered panels were shorter
than the metal panels by the height of the weather stripping. I made a
template for the area to cover the battery, air compressor, etc. added
some flat bars for rigidly and then covered it with the trunk carpet.
It now has a very clean look. |
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