Alex66

I like it a lot! Well done, and the vintage vibe is def. there. The classic look of the instruments is looking great

bmans vette

Thanks Neil...great look. I like the radio delete and shifter console work. I am planning on using a 78-82 dash panel and drill it out to hold Autometer Phantom gauges. Plus I get a glove box. Will go Classic Air or Vintage Air depending upon what will fit best.
Txs for the extra pics....appreciate it.

69ttop502

Absolutely perfect!!!!

Neil B

Thank you very much. This is my first time wiring a car and doing any sort of interior work, so I'm glad people are liking the result.

SB64

Very nice details on the interior dash. The whole project was a great success. I will be picking your brain for my next build.
Great job!
RVZIO

Neil B

Sounds great. I'm not finished yet. I just ordered some parts for the front lighting.

The13Bats

My dad who passed in 14 was a navy plane tech, he had a little plaque that read " close and lock door for takeoff and landing" on the dash of his avanti 2,
When the end was coming, and due to step family tentions he asked me to sell his avanti, but i kept the plate for the dash of my 69, important things...so true.

Your build gives me so much inspiration and motivation, while most top end builds are all about "look at me and what i can spend"
You dont have a hint of that, you just come off like a down to earth real car crafter just making your dream happen, and being a low end builder i can really appreciate that and get lost in your build,

Many thanks,
Cheers
B

StraubTech

Awesome build Neil.

a striper

A real beauty!

I wish my arms were long enough for switch placement like yours (I can't reach the gauge cluster when using a five point harness).

Neil B

Thank you so much for such an amazing compliment. I've had this car in my head for 30 years, so it's time to make it happen. I know my limits and bring in the experts when needed, but it's been fun to learn by doing on this thing.

Neil B

Thanks Chris! I bought a cam and lifters from you for a different car that I sold to fund this build. So your parts may end up in this car's next motor! LOL.

Neil B

Thanks! Yeah, I can't reach the toggles in the radio location with the belts on full cinch. That's why I ended up wiring a redundant starter switch in the keyed ignition switch so I wouldn't have to loosen the belts to restart the car in the event of a spin at the track. The DSE car has the ignition switch in the radio location, so I'm not sure how that works unless their seat position is totally different. My seats are basically on the floor as far back as they'll go.

StraubTech

Cool. Thank you for your patronage!!!!!!!!!

Just1More

Awesome build.. Neil you're in my old playground, Tampa, and it looks like SOHO.. My buddy has a Factory 5 Roadster over in the Westshore area. He let's me drive it around town when I come back for Christmas. Hopefully i'll see yours on the street sometime.

Neil B

I'm just off Howard/Bayshore. Let me know when you're in town. My buddy has a Cobra in the neighborhood as well.

Neil B

So here is attempt #4 at my power steering system. I chose a new reservoir from a company called Chase Bays who specializes in fluid transfer products for BMW and other import cars. They were the only company that made a reservoir with the baffling and size/dimensions I was looking for. It's a nice piece. This reservoir allowed me to get the suction line further away from the control arm and also place the steering box return line on the bottom of the reservoir. I also replaced the stainless PFTE pressure line with a rubber/swedged fitting setup. I had high hopes. The foaming/aeration problem seems better, but the fluid is still getting way too hot and the pump starts to groan when the engine comes up to temp. With this being a track car, I just bit the bullet and ordered a Derale stacked plate fluid cooler which I am going to mount in front of the radiator. This should add significant fluid volume in addition to the cooling unit itself.

Neil B

I think I've finally got my power steering woes resolved. I started by taking a baseline temp reading. On jackstands, I brought the car up to temp and cycled the steering with no load. As the engine warmed up, I noticed the steering pump just starting to groan at about 150 degrees. Hot, but not THAT hot. I brought the car fully up to temp until the radiator fans kicked on at 180 degrees. I took another steering fluid temp reading and the fluid was 167 degrees. The pump was groaning with no load when I cycled the steering.



I came to the conclusion that the fluid temp was not the culprit for the groaning because the fluid was simply not hot enough. However, I felt the temps were too high for a no load test (especially since I will be tracking the car). So, I went ahead and bought a cooler. I went with a 13x5" stacked plate style cooler and made a bracket out of 3/16" 6061 aluminum.





I used the nylon braided hose with AN hose fittings for the low pressure cooler lines. I love the nylon hose. It is so easy to use and doesn't mar up paint like the stainless braided hose. Here is the final config with the Chase Bays baffled reservoir.



Since I didn't think the temps were causing the groan, I swapped fluids from the Royal Purple synthetic to good old GM power steering fluid. I ran the same test again and the peak temp was only 118 degrees. That's a 50 degree difference with no load on the system! The pump is now also whisper quiet.

FLYNAVY30

Well played! Im surprised you saw that drastic of a difference without having the benefit of the airflow through the cooler due to driving....although I'm assuming your fans were on when you took the 118 reading? Either way, nice set up....and I agree, that nylon braided hose is great stuff.

Neil B

I was surprised the cooler made that much difference as well. However, adding the cooler and lines more than doubled the fluid capacity of the system. In my simple test, I took the temp readings just as the rad fans were kicking on.

FLYNAVY30

That makes sense....I hadn't taken the added volume into account