End of June Update

Well, it has been another couple of weeks since my last update.  I got the truck back from Tommy's. He did the fabrication of the seat brackets, throttle pedal bracket, and some other items.  I mounted the core support, radiator, and air conditioning components.  I was going to mount the radiator hoses, but I am still waiting for the right clamps. I installed the passenger side inner fender along.  I mocked up the battery tray so I could determine the right lengths for the 4 AWT wire.

It is starting to get a little tight in there.

I installed the 2010 Camaro starter.  I had to modify the wiring harness to use a connector rather than a ring terminal...didn't get any photo of that.  However the main terminal for the starter is about 5mm from the dipstick.  I am not too concerned, since both of the parts are fixed in place.

I attached the fuel line to the transmission using some clamps I had laying around and it looks pretty good.

The nicely modified crossmember.  I will try to get another picture today.  His notch was 1000 times better than mine.

I started working on the interior.  I put down some vibration dampening material (RAAMmat on the floorpan and back of the cab.

On the back of the cab, I put on some Ensolite along with the factory carpet backing.

Have a little more to do on the driver's side,  You can see the drive-by-wire throttle pedal here.

Radiator Support

It has been a fairly quiet two weeks since my last post.  The truck is off-site getting the brackets fabricated for the seats and the drive-by-wire throttle pedal installed.  In the meantime, I worked on the radiator support and documented the process.

The radiator support was untouched since I removed it from the car in Feb.

I made note of all the wiring clips and j-nuts.  The middle support needs to be removed in order to have room for the condenser.

I mocked-up the radiator/condenser assembly and determined the modifications I need to make in order for everything to fit right.  I have to drill two 1.5" holes (that is 38mm for you metric guys) for the A/C lines as well as to make a notch so that I will be able to install the fittings.

Also, in order for the radiator to fit properly, mounting holes need to be drilled in the base of the support slightly inboard from the factory locations.  Once again 1.5" holes.

Here is a shot of the base after the main support was removed.

Here is a shot of the notched area along with the 2 - 1.5" holes.

I smoothed-up the holes and notched areas and sent the radiator support to Edmunds Metal Works for powder coating.  I ended up drilling three holes in the base of the radiator frame (had to be careful not to puncture the radiator) so that I could use some factory wire clips.  I also took this opportunity to replace the 6 AWG factory wire with 4 AWG along with some new copper ends.

Here is another view:

Opposite side.  You can see the A/C lines and their relationship to the holes in the support.  Also, what looks like a mark on the condenser is actually the background...you can see through the radiator/condenser at this angle.

Another view:

Power steering

The power steering was quite a pain in the ass.  I am using Russell Powerflex hose that is designed for power steering systems.  It has a PTFE liner that has a 2500 PSI rating.  I couldn't get the Powerflex hose to fit on the return line fitting that is located on the reservoir, so I had to use standard #6 fuel line for that.  The good news is that line is not pressurized so I don't have to worry about any hose failure.

The second issue was the fitting on the pump.  It was an NPT female fitting that I had to use a NPT to #6 AN adapter.  This made the assembly length too long and I could not get the hose fitting to thread on without hitting the pump pulley.

I purchased a new pump outlet fitting from Detroit Speed.  This fitting is designed with a #6 AN male end and is about 1/4" shorter.  It was a very close fit and I ended up having to grind the top corners of the hose end fastener to get it to thread on (see circled area below).

Once on, I was able to tighten it and I have clearance (about 1-2mm).

I cut the other end of the hose and routed it to the power steering box.  Not sure I like the routing.  I may change it to be more direct, but it does give me some flexibility in that I don't need to remove the line when removing the pump.

I began the installation of the engine harness along with the coils.  There is not much room on the passenger side, but the AC box looks like it was designed to work with this setup.

The driver's side is even closer.  It is kind of a weird angle here, but it looks closer that it really is.

I ended up grinding a notch in the brake booster flange to clear the plug wire.  Better view here:

A couple shots of the engine (getting closer!):