Got a few more things done today...



DTE brace installed, love that red powder coated goodness. Hate those hard to reach bolts and nuts... someone pass me a six pack and get me a shrink, I think I am mentally damaged after installing this. The motor drop was easier





Also installed a SPA boost/fuel pressure gauge in a semi-hidden location using an Autometer carbon fiber gauge cup. I didn't want to mess with the pillar pods because they can look cheap/plasticy and also are NOT stealth at all.

This is a bad pic but check it out anyway. I made a mistake in drilling the hole for the selector button, put it in a place where the pillar cover wouldn't fit back on due to interference from the metal pillar on the button switch. As a future project I'll replace it with a good condition pillar cover so it looks perfect, but in the mean time I'll just plug it with a plastic trim tab so there's no hole there.



Now notice how you can't really see it from outside the car. It's pushed far up and as far back as it can go and have the cup still fit.



Talked to Doug @ ECS last week and they will be shipping me a motor early this coming week. I expect it will be here late in the week. So that is taken care of. Now the bad news, I am told my turbos are now on backorder and not expected to be ready until at least two weeks. Great! Typical turbo mfgrs.

 

doing some great work there in Fl, Your car lift is cool too, I thought Sunday was for family, drinking and eating day. Guess not when you own a Vette. Yep the DTE brace is a bitch thats why I had ECS do mine

 

And so it begins again.....

 

'noob, what model lift is that? I NEED one

 

www.bendpak.com

Looks like one in either the scissor lift or specialty lift section on their site. I'd love to get one myself.

 

Looks good so far...

 

like the lift,
what does one cost?

More Than Zero

 

Thanks guys!

The lift is a Bendpak SP-7X. It's the best DIY lift out there that I've seen, and as you can see by the ramps, is a lift you can drive on and off of everyday. The lift pads are real wide so you don't have to be all that accurate when driving on and off it.

At the time I ordered it, the lift was something like $3100 installed and delivered. It has easily saved me that much on labor so far and I've learned a lot of neat stuff about these cars along the way.

And the first time the car pulls 700rwhp will be an awesome feeling, knowing that all the work was done by me other than building the motor itself.

 

i like the gauge local its very stealth. was thinkin of makin my own mounts and put dual gauges across the windshield(horizontal to the hoodliner) but cant seem to find time to fab anything up.

 

Things are moving right along for you. I cant wait to see your monster up and running again.

 

diynoob,

Don't mean to go off topic but I couple questions about your lift.

You were able to pull your motor and tranny with it?

Can you move around the control switch piece?

Any chance you can move it around the garage freely and somewhat easily?

Thanks!

 

No worries. I am sitting in an airport at the moment waiting for my flight. That, plus the tropical storm headed this way are going to delay the project about a week.

Yes to the motor. Have not tried the tranny but I don't see why not. I used a lift table (check out northerntool.com for more info) to jack up and support the motor while the cradle was unbolted. I used the RoadRebel method of dropping it out which works great.

The only thing that might be difficult is dropping the motor AND tranny at the same time. The issue is that there is one part where the hydraulics of each side of the scissor lift cross over (on the ground). So if you are using any kind of rolling table or cart it may not be able to get positioned underneath the tranny if you dropped the motor. You have to pick your poison, go straight in or back it in. If you back it in like I did the front is wide open and you can do anything. Who knows, dropping the tranny may still be possible, I just haven't tried. I assume the whole cradle would have to come out but I may be mistaken.

The controls can be moved around, they are just regular hydraulic hoses coming from the unit to the lift. My understanding is that they have to be in proximity to the crossover I mentioned earlier though. Check with Bendpak for more details.

The lift cannot be moved around. The "appropriate" install procedure is to anchor it to the concrete it sits on. This is what makes it one of the best DIY lifts IMHO. The surface that sits on the concrete is large and flat (the length of the pads you see in the pic). So it is very stable. It also lifts the vehicle on a long, flat surface, but in my case I put in jacking pucks in the frame and have the lift raise the car that way. It's very easy to drive on and off of so I would just say leave it in one garage bay and drive on and off everyday. There's no reason I am aware of not to.

 

Hmmm... what's this?

 

A forged short? :o

Congrats.

 

As long as it is NOT a 383

 

That looks like an ECS crate?

Forged 346 or 402?

 

And I was thinking really large toaster...

346x or 40x?


Mike

 

Forged bottom

 

That is what "SHE" said

 

Looks like an Escalade that needs a set of turbos (to help you pick up parts faster).