BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Tygaboy's '75 LS3, It seemed a good idea at the time... Options

[tygaboy]

I dubbed today "Repurposed Friday".
With the car off the rotisserie, I can now get at the front panel to cut it for the radiator inlet.
But since I plan to keep the hood latch, I want to retain a section of the panel from below the latch, connected to the lower area. And I wanted to reinforce that area before cutting the openings.
A bent channel section of sheet metal would be best but that area has a lovely slight curve and making the needed piece would be fiddly.
What to do?

I've noticed that there are a lot if similarly curved pieces on these cars. I wonder if I can repurpose a part from somewhere else. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

I had a trashed engine lid and noticed this wonderful, curved sheet metal channel!
Would it? Could it?

Slice, slice, shape, shape.

[tygaboy]

Yep, that'll do it. Still a bit of final shaping but yet another interesting "looky there" moment.

So if anyone asks: Yes, you can use a trashed engine lid to make a hood latch support for your water-cooled conversion! And it's all Porsche metal so you gotta love that.

I need to order longer arms for my spot welder in order to reach in far enough so it'll be a few days before this get's welded in.

[tygaboy]

I tacked on yesterday's support brace, doodled out a shape that I thought made sense and cut the main radiator openings.
Sharp eyes may have noticed I had drawn a couple other hole locations on the angled areas just outside where the main openings are.
To @Rand 's point, it's another unneeded mod but I always wanted to do it so...
Here's the before and after drilling the pilot holes.

[tygaboy]

Then I use a knock-out punch to cut the appropriate hole needed for the dimple die. I use a Harbor Freight hydraulic pump set up. It works wonderfully. The knock-out punch set as well as the dimple dies are from SWAG Off Road in Oregon. Great stuff!

[tygaboy]

With the holes punched, the same press is used to stamp the dimple.
Here you can see the amount of metal that gets moved to make the dimple.

[tygaboy]

Done and done. Stamping all four took maybe 20 minutes.
No, you'll never see these. Yes, I'll know they're there.

[tygaboy]

My take on a water-cooled front opening.

Maybe I'll work up a frame and add some grill work...

[djway]

You have all the coolest toys. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[Andyrew]

Very clean!! I love it.

[tygaboy]

Thanks for all the nice words, guys.

And back to today's work: I should have waited until I was "done", before posting pics.
I drew up and cut a quick set of covers for the BUB mount holes as they would otherwise bleed off some air that should flow to the radiator.

If anyone wants a set of these covers, PM me. Yours for the cost of shipping from 94952. Well, OK. And you can buy me a coffee, should we ever meet! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Cairo94507]

Love the cut-out for the radiator and the extra dimple-die cutouts for additional airflow. What kind of screen or mesh covering are you going to use to protect the radiator? As low as our cars are everything on the road gets thrown at them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[tazz9924]

Thanks for all the nice words, guys.

And back to today's work: I should have waited until I was "done", before posting pics.
I drew up and cut a quick set of covers for the BUB mount holes as they would otherwise bleed off some air that should flow to the radiator.

If anyone wants a set of these covers, PM me. Yours for the cost of shipping from 94952. Well, OK. And you can buy me a coffee, should we ever meet! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

The build is ruined! You used two different types of hardware to mount the block off plates?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[tygaboy]

Love the cut-out for the radiator and the extra dimple-die cutouts for additional airflow. What kind of screen or mesh covering are you going to use to protect the radiator? As low as our cars are everything on the road gets thrown at them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

@Cairo94507 Michael - I have some light-ish expanded material that I think will work for the screen. More a question of if I mount it on the nose panel, where it'd be essentially hidden, or in the bumper cutout, where I could make it more of a feature. I'll play around with it and make that call when the time comes.

[tygaboy]

Thanks for all the nice words, guys.

And back to today's work: I should have waited until I was "done", before posting pics.
I drew up and cut a quick set of covers for the BUB mount holes as they would otherwise bleed off some air that should flow to the radiator.

If anyone wants a set of these covers, PM me. Yours for the cost of shipping from 94952. Well, OK. And you can buy me a coffee, should we ever meet! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

The build is ruined! You used two different types of hardware to mount the block off plates?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

Hold on now, @tazz9924 ! I should actually get credit. The large bolt uses the factory threaded insert. I "added lightness" by using that smaller sized fastener! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[tygaboy]

Yesterday was all about the front. Today, the back. The drive train is back in and should stay in until this thing sees the road! It's been months since I saw this view.

On the down side:
Ugh...now to see what I can do to tidy up the wiring... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)
The fun part is that the Holley ECU comes with a wiring harness that expects the engine to be in the front of the car so almost all the connection points are "backwards". Hence the extra lengths everywhere, except where things are way too short and I have to use extensions... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

I am not well practiced with wiring but I suspect I'm about to learn all about it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[djway]

Love the cut-out for the radiator and the extra dimple-die cutouts for additional airflow. What kind of screen or mesh covering are you going to use to protect the radiator? As low as our cars are everything on the road gets thrown at them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

@Cairo94507 Michael - I have some light-ish expanded material that I think will work for the screen. More a question of if I mount it on the nose panel, where it'd be essentially hidden, or in the bumper cutout, where I could make it more of a feature. I'll play around with it and make that call when the time comes.

Make your own mesh out of aluminum by programming your cutter to cut hundreds of little 914 and Porsche emblems. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[tygaboy]

And for anyone running/considering running the Boxster S 6-speed, here's the axle angle you get when you move the drive train forward 1.5 inches, like I did. I'm still running the Renegade 1/2" spacers between the output flanges and the inner CV.

In all, I think I reduced the axle angle by about 1/2 of what it would otherwise have been.

[djway]

And for anyone running/considering running the Boxster S 6-speed, here's the axle angle you get when you move the drive train forward 1.5 inches, like I did. I'm still running the Renegade 1/2" spacers between the output flanges and the inner CV.

In all, I think I reduced the axle angle by about 1/2 of what it would otherwise have been.

Is the angle due to the LS and adapter or the transmission or both?

[Cairo94507]

Wow! That is a great shot with the engine and headers. I can't wait to see and hear that engine running. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[tygaboy]

And for anyone running/considering running the Boxster S 6-speed, here's the axle angle you get when you move the drive train forward 1.5 inches, like I did. I'm still running the Renegade 1/2" spacers between the output flanges and the inner CV.

In all, I think I reduced the axle angle by about 1/2 of what it would otherwise have been.

Is the angle due to the LS and adapter or the transmission or both?

@djway - the Renegade kit assumes a stock chassis and in order to fit the LS with the Boxster 6-speed, the axle output shafts end up where they end up. Tony @Cracker suggested addressing the high-ish axle angle, if possible to help reduce CV stress. I figured I'd just move the lower firewall a bit and scoot everything as far forward as I could.
Those aluminum blocks between the black components of the trans mount are the distance things went to the front.