The final teardown begins

[WagonCrazy]

I put Vi-King double adjustable coil overs on all 4 corners. I’ll have to get back to you with the dimensions...

[chevynut]

I got the brake line re-routed over the top of the shock crossmember to get it out of the way of my driver's side shock, since I relocated it outboard a bit. I put a bulkhead fitting in the line so I didn't have to re-bend the entire 6 feet of it. It already has a dozen or so bends to get around body mounts, etc. Sure hope the brake hoses work out.

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Now I have to address my exhaust hangers. With the ones I used, I think I have too much "swinging" of the exhaust at the tip. Also, I have no support between the header flange and the shock bar, something I figured I'd address before paint.

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I plan to remove the studs at the rear and add two of these hangers there, and two behind the transmission mount. They should help prevent the side-to-side movement that flexes the pipes.

[chevynut]

While waiting for my exhaust hangers I decided to do some more work on the body today. I sanded the firewall which only has one coat of expoy on it. It's now ready for another coat.

I also re-located the hole for passage of my engine wiring into the console. It's now on the front of the firewall, right below the level of the intake manifold and INSIDE my console. The hole I had cut before missed the console and was too hard to run the wires through it due to the angle...it was further down in the tranny tunnel.

Finally, I made another wire hole in the bottom of my console, and through the floor so I could run wiring for the speedo sensor, O2 sensor, reverse lockout, backup light switch, and electric cutouts into the car.

I'm still working on the interior panels and console too. Things kind of "evolve" on the console as I go.

Once the frame is painted and the body is ready it will be put on the rotisserie for prepping the underside.

I did remove all the plumbing lines and fittings from the frame so the exhaust is the last thing I need to deal with. I could probably do it without the hangers in-hand, but I prefer to get them before I build anything.

[chevynut]

Got my tailpipe movement issue fixed. I put two Deed's Engineering exhaust hangers near the bumper. However, since the exhaust pipes expand so much I don't believe you can just bolt them to the frame and expect them to take up the expansion. These hangers have little or no compliance once bolted to the pipes. So I think you have two choices.....put an expansion bellows into the system, or let the hangers move with the pipes.

I chose to toss the center aluminum bushings from the Deed's hangers and make a bracket that allows the urethane bushing to slide as the pipes expand. I think this will take care of the problem without causing binding and stress in the exhaust pipes.

I used 1/8" stainless plates and 1/2" stainless rods for the hanger brackets.

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[chevynut]

I was not able to figure out where to put 2 more exhaust hangers in front of the mufflers. I had planned to hang them from my transmission support but after building the parts I realized the body brace was in the way and it wouldn't work. Without building some huge bracket I can't find a way to attach the second pair of Deed's hangers I bought.

So I'm thinking I'll leave it as-is, with two pairs of hangers behind the mufflers.

[Rick_L]

So you have the urethane bushing riding directly on the rod? Doesn't that have a lot of friction?

[chevynut]

So you have the urethane bushing riding directly on the rod? Doesn't that have a lot of friction?

Yes the rod replaces the aluminum bushings. It's a lot less friction than bolting it solid!

Actually it slides really easy. From a practical point of view the urethane isn't stressed any more than what the aluminum bushings do. And the friction is very low compared to the force from the pipe expansion.

[chevynut]

Well I didn't give up on the other exhaust hangers and came up with a solution. They can't be close to the crossmember and need to be about 3" behind it because of the body brace. I decided to turn the hangers sideways to clear the floor. I thought about building a bracket to attach to my crossmember, but decided to use a long piece of stainless rod supported by 2.5" of 1" DOM tubing that just fits over it. The tubing will be welded to the crossmember and the rod is held in with a 5/16" screw from the front side.

The passenger side hanger is a little different and was more tricky. My torque arm is in the way and there's a bracket at the front of the torque arm right where the exhaust support needs to be. The support has to hold my torque arm bracket in place as well as act as the exhaust support. I had to bore the backside of the 1" DOM and weld a 1/2" nut inside of it. So I'll use a long 1/2" stainless bolt and put a 1/2" nut on the frontside of the crossmember.

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[chevynut]

The engine and transmission are OUT, the frame is stripped, and it's ready to go on the rotisserie as soon as I get rid of all the parts laying everywhere.