Mark (Intel) came by today to help me drop in the motor and get the transmission installed in my track car. While he was working his way downtown, my buddy and I pushed the motor 2 blocks from my office to the garage where the chassis has been stored. Unfortunately, the transition from the office, where the motor has been sitting since delivered last September, to the back alley involves a tricky bit of elevation change. A few well placed pieces of base board and a small ramp solved that.
 There have been a lot of handicap accessibility upgrades made to the sidewalks in the area so the furniture dolly made the trip w/o too much trouble. We had to take the long way around to avoid the speed bumps in the alley.
 Second trip included a box of other misc. parts and the transmission.
 When we got to the garage, I was surprised to see my neighbor who rents the other half of the garage, was actually parked there. One of only five times we've crossed paths in the last year. The X5 made for tight quarters.
 We managed to get the engine bolted onto Mark's engine sling using four bolts into the top of the plenum. We had to lower the car much closer to the ground in order for the hoist to clear the very low garage door... I'm about 6'8" with shoes on and have to duck when I walk in.
The engine went up, over, and in without much effort. We were fortunate a large crack in the garage floor was not another inch forward or it would have stopped the engine hoist from getting the reach we needed into the bay. 
After lunch we had a little more room now that the X5 left.
Lifted the transmission with the trusty HF trans jack and got it bolted into place. Let me say, 30" 3/4" extensions rule. I really wish I would have replaced the reverse switch sometime over the last 10 months while it was sitting on the floor at my office. Now I'll just have to get a little custom with the wiring harness.
 The rest of the car looks to be a mess, but it's actually progressed over the last few weeks. I replaced the main wire harness with another that I stripped of all unnecessary wires and connectors. The dash is ready to go back in. I was in the process of replacing the main body wire harness last week, but got violenty ill for three days.
 The project two weeks ago was installing the Wilwood rear brake kit. Still needs a little messaging to be perfect. The two caliper mounting bolts are too long and need to be ground down so they don't hit the back of the rotor surface. I also haven't centered the driver's side caliper over the rotor properly. I think the hub might be a little rusty/dirty and the rotor isn't seated correctly.
 Nevermind the rusty subframe. The important parts haven't been installed yet, but are shiney and from SPL. I swapped my TT subframe with another local Z owner so I could run the NA diff. His car has seen a few Chicago winters. You should see his rocker panels; they make baby pandas cry. When I bought the project mid summer last year, I had hoped to be back at the track this season. A new baby, housing market issues, garage logistics, and a really cold winter have ground progress to a halt over the last 7 months or so. Now that the driveline is finally installed, I can start bolting on all of the cool stuff. My new goal is to have the car road worthy by the end of the summer which will make it easier to porter between garages. I can start to shake it down in the fall and should be ready to go just in time for the winter racing season here in Chicago :( The first track event in 2010 will likely be in April, only 9 months away. It's like waiting for another baby!
"Too dumb for opera, too smart for NASCAR." |
Finally some progress on my track car - 
