SITE LAYOUT/MAP
Page 1(This page) - Introduction, news, & updates
Page 2 - Car showoff
Page 3 - Modifications List
Page 4 - To do/wish list

NEWS & UPDATES

9/10/04 - The Truth is still in pieces after the drivetrain failure, but rebuild is nearing completion. I have a lot of parts waiting to go on, but decided to clean/coat the areas where the parts are going so it'll be in better than new condition for the new parts. It had some minor floorpan and underbody surface rust problems from rain/flooding of a low parking lot where water got halfway up the wheels all in the carpet and everything, a while back. There are some spots in the floorpans where you could see light, it had eaten all the way through the metal. Until I can afford the money and downtime to replace all the pans, I am going to POR15 it which should stop the rust from spreading and give it a good primer base. I am also stripping the old undercoating from the wheelwells and underbody and applying a new undercoating called 'QuietCar' over the POR15. This should really reduce the interior sound levels of the exhaust and road noise, hopefully I'll be able to hold a conversation in the car over the Flowmasters without yelling. I am doing the wheelwells first, actually about halfway done. The undercoating and road grime was chemically stripped with Peelaway 7, ground down to bare metal, POR15'd, then soundproofed with Quietcar. I might apply a black topcoat over the sound deadener/undercoating depending on how it looks/holds up after road wear. I used POR15 on the wheelwells but might try the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator on the floorpans, Iv'e heard its cheaper and works better. I am also installing a 20 gallon aluminum fuel cell in the trunk area and am going to be doing the same coating/painting process on the whole rear interior/trunk of the car. The cell will actually be mounting basically where the original tank was, but in a custom fabricated mounting frame to drpo it down below the trunk like the tank. I wanted to be able to fit my 2 slicks in the trunk and this required removal of the stock filler neck system and a flush mounted fuel cell lid. With some minor hammering of the drivers side inner trunk wheelwell(to match the factory passenger side spare tire indent), I should be able to fit my rear slicks in the trunk. I will be making panel covers, either metal or upholstered, that cover the original sheetmetal panels to flatten the trunk corner shapes while still retaining the storage space. There will be a metal trunk divider where the trunk meets the inner wheelwells as well as a metal seat divider and package tray to totally seal off the interior cabin from the fuel, probably all made out of bent lightweight sheetmetal. A custom stereo system will be installed on the inside of the divider, facing the interior compartment where the back seats would be. I'm going to try to fit 2x12" woofers on the panel but might end up with 10's depending on space. Also I will be remounting my battery, solenoid, amplifiers and various other electronics in the hidden compartment between the seat and trunk dividers. A new 3/8" stainless steel fuel line will be run from the cell to the electric fuel pump and to the engine. Eventually I will utilize the return system on the fuel cell and run another line with a good regulated log back but what I have now should work. I have new gauges that will be monitoring all this as well as replacing my factory gauges in the dash. I got 6 Autometer Ultralite electric gauges that will go in a custom polished aluminum dash. The 8k tach and 160MPH speedo in the middle and the fuel level, oil pres, volts, and water temp on the sides. 2 more matching Ultralite gauges will go in a custom black ABS plastic pillar pod on the driver's side A pillar which will monitor my fuel pressure and A/F ratio. I am also installing a wideband air/fuel monitor in my exhaust to tune my engine and datalog runs and info. I will be installing 'Be-Quiet' sound deadening matting over the floorpans, firewall, in the door panels, etc to keep things quiet on the inside. Then the new black ACC carpet/floor mats with the silver svt cobra logo will go in. I am having removable seat covers made for my Corbeau A4 seats that have the same cobra logo on the headrest. I'll probably end up repainting the interior panels like door panels and dash with a nice semi gloss black. A few other aluminum accents like billet cobra pedals, shift knob, and switch panel in the interior and it will be a whole new car. This is all in addition to the basic transmission/rearend swap that was planned and is still waiting to be finished, that turned into me tearing my whole car apart. After this chassis/fabrication work is done, it will be a good platform to build the rest of the car on. The new Tremec TKO transmission with steel McLeod scattershield is sitting on a transmission jack awaiting installation. I'm fabricating a hydraulic clutch linkage like the JMC setup too, that's pretty much done waiting to go on too. So is my new 9" rearend, Currie 4.11 Tracloc 3rd member, custom fabricated housing/axle tubes, Moser 31 spline axles, with 99' Explorer 11.25" disc brakes. I will be swapping the front shocks for the Doetsch adjustable drag shocks that I have yet to put on, and might get a chance to get front skinnies matching my slicks before I get to the track again. I'm hooking up a lineloc to the front brakes and through the switch panel relay and a button on the shift knob will be able to lock the front brakes and heat up the back tires. Hoping to get it running before the end of the year when Sac raceway shuts for the winter, though I'm not going to rush it. Wish me luck!