Mech-Head's "The Other Woman" build thread - LS3 Upgrade

[mech-head]

Put the hood back on and pretty much finished putting the interior back together.

I bought some cheapo short stick for the stock shifter.  I really like the location, but will wait to pass judgement on the stock shifter.  Stock boot fits great.  The stock shift knob had the leather worn off, so I will look to replace that soon.

I am undecided about the Corvette covers.  I thought that I would try them out for a while.

Lots of exhaust stuff to order tonight!

[FC3S Murray]

Hell yeah man! Looks great...i like the covers too

[thetastelingers]

I have been running mine without covers. I purchased covers for it and it looks a lot cleaner that way.
Car looks great man! Go have some fun!

[NOROTOR]

Looks great, Rick! Can't wait to see it!

Jesse

[mech-head]

This was a little gift to myself.

Corvette shift knob tapped to fit the Fbody threads.  I liked the one on a coworkers Z06 and thought it would work great in the 7.  I am not sure about the shifter height, but I will give it some time before I think about making it shorter.

Still wrestling with exhaust.  Taking in more parts to be tacked at work tomorrow.  Hopefully everything but the tips will be done on Thursday.  I should have just bought a welder to do this crap at home.  Oh well, maybe next time when I have a good welding project.

[digitalsolo]

Shift knob looks good, matches the interior well. 

[mech-head]

Looks great, Rick! Can't wait to see it!

Jesse

Shift knob looks good, matches the interior well. 

Thanks guys.

I had my first actual drive today since the exhaust is installed.  It's a little louder than I expected, but to me it sounds awesome.  My wife was the first to ride in it with me, which is only right since she has been a car widow for quite a while.  She thought it purred pretty good, so I pushed in the clutch and revved it.  So much for the purr...

It's time to work out some minor kinks and adjustments.  The motor feels great, but I will give it a little time checking things over before really running it hard.

[FC3S Murray]

My wife likes how it shakes hehehe

[mech-head]

My wife likes how it shakes hehehe

Just another benefit from the swap!

[mech-head]

Ordered a new top today.  The old one has the typical holes in the corner, plus one by the rear window.  The new top will be cloth instead of vinyl.  I don't expect to see a lot of rain, but what are the odds weather will cooperate the entire time at SNS?

Now that the exhaust is on and the car is driving, I will have to get another video made and posted.  I drove it to work for the first time to show it off.  Everyone was full of compliments.  The couple of guys that were lucky enough to score a ride thought it could definitely get me in trouble.

[FC3S Murray]

Right on man! My buddies at work always fight who gets to go to lunch with me when I bring the FC up.
 
 

[WannaBeFast]

Ordered a new top today.  The old one has the typical holes in the corner, plus one by the rear window.  The new top will be cloth instead of vinyl.  I don't expect to see a lot of rain, but what are the odds weather will cooperate the entire time at SNS?

Can you give some details please. Where did you buy it from? How much? Why cloth over vinyl, is that water proof? Are you going to install it by yourself ? - (Make sure you post all the details).

Anyways i figured that's enough questions for now. Car looks great tho. As you may not know I have a convertible too. I remember when you started this and I have so much to do still. Great job.

[mech-head]

Ordered a new top today.  The old one has the typical holes in the corner, plus one by the rear window.  The new top will be cloth instead of vinyl.  I don't expect to see a lot of rain, but what are the odds weather will cooperate the entire time at SNS?

Can you give some details please. Where did you buy it from? How much? Why cloth over vinyl, is that water proof? Are you going to install it by yourself ? - (Make sure you post all the details).

Anyways i figured that's enough questions for now. Car looks great tho. As you may not know I have a convertible too. I remember when you started this and I have so much to do still. Great job.

Thanks.  The top is from Robbins, just about the only place you can get a cloth top for the RX-7.  Shops will charge you a fortune for them, but they all know you can get them cheaper online (eBay).  Every shop I talked to had no problem installing it with me bringing it in.  This is one thing that I just don't want to dick with, and plan on taking to a shop.

I just like the more expensive look of the cloth over vinyl.  You see examples all over on Corvettes, BMW's, etc.  They are water proof, so that won't be an issue.  I will definitely post some before and after pictures.

I check your build thread too.  My car is tame, and yours is pretty balls out.  I am definitely looking forward to when you get it running.

[WannaBeFast]

  I'm pretty sure I'll do the same. You got the right idea.

I am going to google Robbins right now...

[mech-head]

Finished corner weighing the car today.  I am not thrilled about the final numbers, but it is a convertible with A/C and all the amenities.  Here are the before and after numbers with around 1/4 of a tank.

Before: 3022 lbs total, 53.7% Front, 46.3% Rear.
After: 3173 lbs total, 53.3% Front, 46.7% Rear.

I think there is a lot of weight in the larger transmission.  Also, I put in a TII rear end.  The battery was moved from the front to behind the seats.  It was more weight added than expected, but nearly doubling the horsepower makes one hell of a difference.  Well any other power improvements I decide to do in the future will probably not add significant weight.

Now it's time to go out and dick with the clutch.  It grabs high off the floor and cannot be adjusted anymore.  I think the adapter threads welded on by Hinson it a little long.  It is hitting the clutch pedal arm and preventing further adjustment.  Probably go hack off about 1/8 - 1/4 of an inch to get everything happy.