Project GLH SRT4

Finishing up the 4 wheel disc brake conversion

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:57:27 -0700

If you didn’t catch the first half of this project, go back two entries, August 10th’s entry, where I did the initial install of the rear discs, which was actually the second half of the big brake conversion I started like 3 years ago when I put the Daytona struts up front. Anyways..
The big thing to finish up the conversion was to get the parking brake working again. I bought these brakes at the JY AGES ago, like 5 or 6 years ago. And those rear brakes never got used. They sat around and got moved from house to house with me over the years. In the process, I lost just about all of the parts to the drum brake inside the rear discs that acts as the parking brake. I finally found the “actuator”, for lack of a better term, that hooks to the parking brake cable, And I got some exploded diagrams from the factory service manual so I knew how it all went together. That combined with a very nice hardware kit from O’Reilly’s Autoparts (part number H9301 in case you need it) got me going again. I bought the brake shoes at Autostoned because they were cheaper there. But I had to look them up on the O’Reilly’s website because Autostoned’s site couldn’t seem to grasp the idea that Daytona’s came with 4 wheel disc brakes in ’87+ (tried 89, 91, every engine combo, finally gave up).

DIY Solid Bobble Strut

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:19:44 -0700

I had one of these in this car last year, before the old 2.4 blew up. I snagged several parts off this car when trying to get my van completed and on the road sooner than I otherwise would have been able to otherwise. Well I could buy a pre-made solid bobble strut for $60, but I figured since I have a Mig welder now, I should go ahead and make my own.
The pipe you see above is used for plumbing natural gas, I got it at the hardware store. I also got a 2ft long piece of all-thread, 5/8” thick. All told, I was out of the hardware store for $20, and I have a ton more material than I even needed. I figure I’ll document the process, in case someone else is interested.
I started by measuring the spot on the K member that this will bolt to. There is 1 1/2” between the tabs. So I started by cutting a 1” piece off the pipe (I wanted to have room for about 1/4” of urethane at each end). Then I figured about 3” of pipe for the riser from it.

Two big projects, one is only half done

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:31:01 -0700

Remember back when I did the 2.4 swap into this car, and I installed the big Shelby Daytona front brakes? The reason I couldn’t do the rear brakes to match was that I only had one pair of 5 lug rims, the car had 4 lug on it originally. So I’ve been running this car for the past 4 years (well 3 since it’s been down for a year now) with 5 lug rims and big honkin brakes up front, and 4 lug rims with tiny little drums out back. Today I finally got another set of those rims in a 5 lug pattern. I guess I’m lucky they still stock them at the local tire shop.
Anyways, the picture above on the left is the old rims with the tiny drum brake inside. And on the right is the “new” disc brake setup, same size rim and tire (old tires were BALD). It’s a bit rusty from having sat around for about 6 years in a box, getting moved from garage to garage as I’ve moved around over the years. The fronts had been on my Daytona, but I never did install the rear on anything.
That turned out to be a bad thing.. But we’ll get to that.. Here’s some drum to disc conversion pictures for anyone looking for details on such a thing.. ;)

All sorts of progress

Sat, 7 Aug 2010 22:09:51 -0700

Starting with the intercooler, I made some progress recently. This is pretty much the cheapest intercooler you can buy new on eBay.. Probably not the greatest performer, but it fits nicely, and greatly simplifies the intercooler pipe routing. I don’t have pictures of that routing yet, it’s mocked up using some scraps I had laying around. I need to order up a bunch of silicone 90’s.

Exhaust Connected

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:21:24 -0700

The car was a bit loud with just the open downpipe. Not to mention, the open downpipe was pointing directly at my steering rack. So I finally pulled the downpipe off the turbo and cut it down some, then welded this piece of 2.5” pipe with a 45 degree bend in it to it. Then I went under the car and cut off the old turbo flange and welded this downpipe to that. It all worked out pretty well actually. I’m still learning to use my mig welder, and I’m using flux core wire, but it turned out pretty well. May not be a perfect seal, but it’s good enough for now. And I saved a fortune doing it myself. I still need to come up with a down tube for the external wastegate, but it’ll probably be fine leaving it wide open for the time being.