Striped my engine bay to metal lastnight.(well gota finish up 2day)
Getting preped for por15 1st Then sanded/primed for paint.

This is how ya do a nice dual setup.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ricktpi/Pictures




Im going a little Diff. though.
Im doing Dr.Gas oval pipe and a X-pipe into 2 spintech muffs.

 

Wow! Nice set up!

On mine we have to seriously get the car in the air and start measuring and pondering...Alot will show when we get the subframes welded in...I have never seen the tubular spohn subframes on to know how they clearance...but I have to order them and get them in before I can proceed on the targa anyway...so I guess once I get them and get teh car in teh air alot will become clear!

I hope to run teh exhaust partially into the gfx...All depends on clearance. I plan to lower the gfx from their stock mounting local anyway, so that could help...Honestly we are not far enough along to really say for sure yet!

Hopefully the MAC or ALSTON subframes can work with teh set up as well. the rollcage is becoming difficult since I plan to run with a notchback! I will ahve to have it altered and I may not get the notch back in enough time...Aug deadline here...Fun Fun!

 

I'll worry about exhaust when everything else is done. I can bend that to however i need it to work.

 

Check this thread out.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...t=ultimate+sfc

I knew I should have taken more pictures!!! Got a lot of views but only one or two people replyed that they wanted to see it. Anyways, everyone here who has seen the Kenny Brown's or Sphon's installed, and has seen a t-top or convertible car's floorpan/rockers from the inside will understand what I did. Essentially the rockers are now framerails. I can't wait to drive it to see how much it helps (this is in a convertible); should be finished this weekend. I just got the Alston's delivered yesterday, if its still not stiff enough I will try adding those. The reason I was not comfortable with strictly MAC/Alston is that by their design they stiffen strictly in torsion, while my method essentially braces the rockers. I think this is good as the 6" or so vertical distance from the top pinch weld to the bottom pinch weld is being used, not just a ~1.75" roll cage tube. I had thought about also reinforcing the trans tunnel to aid in bending rigidity, but it was not practical at this time.

If anyone is interested how much this helped, I'll reply nest week after I drive it. TPI383, judging by the pics you easily have this capability, and you could also more effectively tie in the cage's front bars for a stiffer/stronger/safer car. I recognize that cage, its the Kenny Brown, and I would be extremely interested in that for my TA convertible, except I'd have to cut and move the rear bars to go between the seat and the tonneau .

Sorry for the length.

 

Cool thanks for the link...I would love a more detailed account of what you did please, more pics!

 

Thats kinda what I will be doing on mine, except i'm gonna make the entire frame from scratch and not use sfc's. I need to find a pic of the corvette targa frame. I think I have a pic of my idea earlyier in this thread. I'm pretty sure I will make the driveshaft tunnel bars bolt onto the box frames on each side of the car. That way I can remove them if I need to drop the tranny or remove the driveshaft for some reason.

 

377z,

Looks goood I seen your post when you 1st made it. Just didnt have the time to reply.

On the Targa I got a CE 8point cage at summit a few days ago.
and Im gona do mac sfc's also... I deff. might do like you just did if this cage isnt enough. but Im sure it will be. Right now with just my sfc's it is prob = to a vert.

On the vert Im gona do a custom cage easy acess side bars like
92zzzzzz did in your post with the main hoop and back bars like these photos

 

..

 

...

 

Redraif: Check the link again; I added some drawings (sorry, no more pics). They should still be quite descriptive though.

85SportCoupeTo89RS: Thats what I should have done, but I already had the Kenny Browns when I decided to do this. I got the Kenny Browns because thats what that guy from thirdgenresource (I think his name is Roy Fender) used on their third gen Z28/LS1 project, so I figured they'd work well. Then, when I test fit them, I saw a lot more potential there going untapped, and the rest is history.

TPI383: I will be saving these photos. I think its time I got a tubing notcher. Can you bend your own tubes? I wonder if those hydraulic tubing benders in Harbor Freight could be used; I don't want to spend $150-200 to find out.

 

a buddy of mine has the bender your talking about. Lucky us have a local Harbor Freight in town. I was gona see if he can bend em so I'l let ya know.

 

Harbor Freight opened a store local to me finally. That place is the greatest for tools from little things to huge benders, concrete mixers and all kinds of crap.

I'll have to keep an eye out on how you guys are doing your cages. I have absolutely zero experience in that area so I promise I will be stealing someones idea, no offense.

 

I only got one word for this car: :hail: :hail:

 

I wish I lived near a big city. I have to take a 104 mile trip to the nearest lowes,home deop, ect. or I have to order stuff and wait forever for it to get to my house. LOL, zero experiance is a good thing. It makes it possible to have more ideas than normal on how to do something. Almost everything i've learned about cars has been thru trial and error, luckly those parts are pretty much over.
Today was annoying, the jy still hasnt gotten my car out so I spent an hour cleaning it out and taking more pics of the t's and interior.

 

Well hopefully you get it out soon man.

My compressor died 2days ago. so Im on hold striping the engine bay Untill monday They are coming out to fix it. Gota love In home repair under warrenty

So hopefully by Next weekend my engine bay and Int. will be striped por15'd and primed ready for paint. Yes Im shooting some of the Int. a few inches in. This way its gona be hard to tell it was a color change again.

While the Complete Int. is out. Dash and All. Im gona dynomat it while Im at it. Picking up new black carpet 2day or 2morrow.

Im debating puting my black seats back in . or The grey leather outa the vert.... Mmmmmm..

Last thing I might sell my 92 Dash and do a 96+ TA dash. whats everyone thing about this?

 

do the TA dash....that would kick

 

The TA dash sounds good. I would put seats in the back unless you make something to cover up the mounts for the seats so they dont stand out.

 

Just thought I'd bring this one back. How's everyone's projects going?

Anyway, I have been driving the car ('91 T/A conv.) lately and it does feel stiffer. I think. Unfortunately, my memory kind of faded since it had been so long since I had driven it with the stock frame. Plus, while I was at it I did an (almost) complete suspension rebuild & added a TDS wonderbar.

If I jack up the front or rear and put the frame on jackstands a change in the door gap is still evident, & the car still creaks over transverse (stuff like turning into steeper driveway aprons). Some shudder over weird bumps is still present as well. I was expecting more, but I do think its better than it was though.

At this point I will try to minimize the time the car spends 'laid up' in the garage as the summer months are fleeting in up here in Illinois--but it will give me time to decide if I should just add Alstons to see what difference if any they will make to this particular car or if I should cut and reposition the back ends of the front subframe 'rails' so that they would be positioned in a similar fashion to the 4th gen's, & add a 6 pt. A 6 pt. would definitely go a long way in 'finishing the job,' but it will be a last resort as its a heeell of alot of work to make it fit right and I don't want to compromise interior space (I'm like 6'2").

TPI383 how are you doing? Also, did you ever find out if the harbor frieght tubing bender is good enough for mild steel roll cage tubing?

 

Damn, that is the EXACT color my ride is going! HOK cobalt over the orion.I just need to find an awesome painter who can spray it.
Your car without the coils is how mine lays out when i deflate the bags!

 

Its going slow.... Working on the 91 Vert also... Pulled the COmplete int. out that for a 4thGen Dash conversion and a 8point cage.

I striped the complete engine bay in the targa car and did 2 coats of por15. need to scuff it up and get it primed for paint now.

LowCamaro, hows the ride with airbags. as compaired to say koni's and ebachs(sp) Im sure you cant compair the 2

 

Was that a custom cage you had to put in your Vert?? Someone else on here put a cage in his Vert but he never came back with dimensions.

 

Nope, I got a 8point Comp. Eng. cage. Tge main Hoop is F-Body specific $40.00 and then the rest of the 8point kit is universal. was like 149 or so.

Ya i tried to get more pic's of the gace in the red vert also. havent heard back from the guy at all.

 

this whole targa top thing has me interested...not exactly sure what it is....was wondering if someone could link or show a pic of the finished car?

 

Keep up the good work and keep us posted with pictures...

:hail:

 

I'm still dragging...had to help Joe with some family cars that needed paint, so we are only at the priming stage on the 82. i got it soundproofed on the inside. I have to get teh subframes and work out what the story will be on the cage and then we will cut the bar out.

Check www.cardomain.com/id/redraifta for some pics!

I got my crank yesterday though! Got to get the pistons and then the LT1 block is on the way to the machine shop.

 

Its a single removable top. Just like corvettes have, dont have to have a t'bar in the way so its much cooler to have than a regular t'top car


I'm still sandbaggin on mine, its still in the stupid junkyard. The yard is wating on a car crusher to come in and get rid of unusable cars and while they are doing that they will remove my car. They are suppose to show up next week, THEY BETTER I'm tired of wating to get my car

 

the Z is comin slow. I did POR15 the complete engine bay

I'm concentrating on the vert more now. I want to get that done 1st. The cage should be goin in soon. Then paint.

Then to make up my mind a HSR motor or a heads/cam LS1