August 4,5, 2001:
Didn't do too much with the project in July because I was away for work in Northern Virginia. I got back this weekend and caught up with lots of the little things that needed to be done. The major accomplishment for me was figuring out how I was going to do the brake pedal box and master cylinder. I read a lot of different ways that people did it and used a combination of these approaches.
I'll post pictures and describe what I did in more detail in the photo page.
August 6-10:
Heat wave is in full effect here! Didn't do too much since my garage feels like an oven. It is supposed to cool off a little this weekend.
August 10-12
Picked up the rear end from the shop after work on Friday afternoon. I'm glad I had this done professionally. There was no way that I could have gotten the gears installed correctly (at least not within a reasonable time frame!). Later that evening I cleaned up the rear end and applied more POR 15.
On Saturday after shopping for the required parts, I began test fitting all of the parts in preparation for the rear end installation. Like many people have said, it is a tight fit to get the control arms in. I read on one person's site that it is better to mount the upper control arms on to the frame first as opposed to mounting it on the rear end first. This technique didn't work that well for me and I ended up mounting one arm on the rear end and leaving one arm on the frame for the installation.
I tried enlisting some help to get the rear end in but was unsuccessful. Instead of waiting for help, I decided to use some ingenuity in getting it in. I first lifted the rear end (with the engine hoist) onto a dolly and pushed it under the frame. I then used the engine hoist through the frame and lifted the rear end up into position. Then using my trusty rubber mallet, I got the control arms in.
As simple as that sounded it ended up taking me almost two hours of pounding, adjusting and lots of sweat to get them in. I don't think that having help would have made this process go any faster. It's a tough job no matter what. It sure felt good once they were in.
On Sunday I tried adjusting the coil springs again but later decided to wait until I got the tires on and the engine in. I did install the gas tank later that afternoon. That was relatively uneventful. This process would have been easier if I had a 3rd hand. I still got it in anyway.
(TIME: 12 hours)
August 13,14:
Worked on getting the master cylinder installed. This wasn't too difficult since much of the hard work analyzing what needed to be done was accomplished the previous weekend. This is what I ended up doing:
1. Exchanged the donor MC with a 1984 Mustang, 4 cylinder power MC from Pep Boys. Cost me a whopping $15.
2. Left the brake arm alone. I do not plan on cutting the arm like the manual states. If I find that I need more brake pressure, I will drill a hole and mount a bolt between the the two existing bolts. I will then drop brake arm to the manual brake position on the pedal box.
3. Used the donor push arm that goes into the master cylinder.
August 15-17:
Began installing the aluminum floor panels. Check out the photos.
TIME: 6 hours
August 18,19:
More aluminum work.
TIME: 14 hours
August 20-24:
Completed the aluminum footboxes.
TIME: 6 hours
August 25,26:
VA Beach had great surf this weekend so I didn't do a thing to the car. Spent all day at the beach on Saturday and also Sunday morning. Had to go into work for a bit in the afternoon.
