Determined to get my baby back on the road. Just thought Id share my progress so far.

Installed some blue halo lights. I had to cut on the metal behind the lights near the plugin to make them fit. But Im happy with them.









Ordered new springs and bushings for the pop up headlights. Still need to get a vacuum tank.
This all has to go in.



Recently installed the MSD and started with the dynamat. 10 sheets wasnt enuff. Im going to order another 100 bux worth tonight.



Also got my newly built Megasquirt setup and relay board installed.







Decided to take it back down and put some behind it.





I put an extra fuse box here. Oh, I forgot to mention the painless wiring kit.







My favorite part.



550ci Merlin block, forged bottom end, Brodix heads with lots of goodies, solid roller cam, Jesel roller rockers and timing belt, Holley single plane with 50 lb injectors and a 2000cfm throttle body, Super Comp headers, 4in side pipes, ARP bolts, I could go on. Lol

Big radiator wont hurt. Pricey tho. Im gonna run dual cooling fans and an electric water pump controlled by the computer.



Things to do still.. Some steps are just waiting on parts..

Get the vacuum operated part of the headlights working.
Get the horn and relay installed and working.
Install new courtesy switches in the doors and get the interior lights working.
Test the power windows. I believe they are fine but its been about 8 years since Ive last really worked on this car. Its been in storage. Money reasons mainly.
Install carpet.
Install sensors for an assortment of guages I want to use.
Install brake booster and master cylinder.
Windshield wipers need some love.
The alternator has slack in it somewhere. It wiggles. Gotta fix that.
The power steering pump has been a pain. The pulley is hitting the crossmember. These billet accy mounts dont seem so cool at the moment. Ill get those sorted out though.
Throttle cable.

Hood clearance was a challenge. I want a fairly stock L88 look from an exterior glance. Ive got a 73up long hood instead of the wiper door assembly. I think Id rather the wiper door but I dont think Im up for back tracking at this point. Anyways, the drop base L88 air cleaner lid is hitting in at least 3 spots. Throttle linkage and IAC sensor for sure. So, modifying that is a must.

After I tend to all of that.. Ive got more list.

Ive always enjoyed reading other peoples projects so its nice to be able to share something again.

More to come.

 

Looking good!!!!


I'm running a megasquirt as well- the DIYAutotune guys were great to deal with.

You might thank about bagging the vacuum set-up all together and going w/ electric headlights-

 

Thanks. I have considered that. If I the old setup doesnt work out, Ill try and find some cheap miata actuators. ☺

 

Lookin' good...

 

Gilmer belt drive.






Alternator bracket and new power steering pulley.



Had to modify this L88 drop base air lid with epoxy where it was hitting the throttle linkage.








Dynamat finished, carpet is in, waiting on interior screw kit. The ones I could find were rough.



Switched to a mechanical long water pump.



Finished the headlights, installed the vacuum actuators and lines.





Finished courtesy light switches.

 

Finally, the hood closes!

 

 

Wow!

 

Im working on the interior. Starting from the back. The lid for the passenger side box was falling apart so I replaced the wood.

 

You seem to be getting a lot done..making it your own.

Living in the Great PNW (dark, rainy nights), I hate those blue headlights, very distracting if you are the oncoming car. I think they should be outlawed, and I believe they are in some states.

To each their own, until/unless it adversely affects me.

 

GREAT..........now another chrome bumper build is going to pass me up

Just kidding......You'll never regret spending the extra $$$.$$ on the heat/sound insulation!

The headlights look bold (but I'll need some "Anti-Blue" night glasses)

 

Looking good!!

Rusty?

 

Thanks, I've been working diligently on it for the last few weeks.

I also dislike those annoying blue xenon bulbs you are referring to. These are halo lights. The blue rings around the headlights turn on and off separately. I only plan to have them on while parked for show. The headlights them self are not blue, but a pleasure white/yellow color. ☺

 

Hey man, yeah its me! Pm me!

 

Ran out of black spray paint. But plan to hit this.

 

Tonight Ill be swapping the tranny out with another th400. Gonna have a few things welded too. Just waiting on bracket bolts and its almost time to fire her up and begin tuning the megasquirt fuel maps.

I got some Hooker flow max mufflers and new weather stripping in. So those projects will be tackled soon.

 

Bad news, the free transmision has issues. So I didnt put it in. It may be time to learn how to rebuild one myself. I did get some welding handled and the the old tranny is out at least. If I can this header repaired and back in the car 2mrw then I should be able to crank the car and begin playing with the tuning software soon. More to come.

 

 

Mocked up the brackets and pulleys. This is gonna work.

 

Looks great.
Question: Does the Gilmer belt system make a lot of noise when running? Like a supercharger belt sound. Have you actually run it yet?