Big block build for the Starship

Only 2 more wire end connectors to install on wires. I did a trial install of the distributor eliminator, and got it positioned so I can see the position LED when the timing is set properly. I had to buy a new distributor clamp...I forgot that the distributor eliminator has the smaller standard flange rather than the original LO3/5 distributor.

making progress!

All the little and unforeseen things seem to take the most time to sort out.

The last 10% takes 90% of the time and effort. I had to drive 10 miles to get a single stud to attach a bracket to the exhaust manifold for the oil dipstick.

I made a trans dipstick bracket for the aftermarket dipstick. I installed it, and found it was about an inch too short. I made a new one today, and did a trial install. I had to pull it out and elongate the mounting holes a little...Now I have to put it back in the car and bolt the dipstick tube to it. Once that is in place, I can put the passenger's side valve cover on, and make the spark plug wires.

I did a little cleaning up and putting things away in preparation for realigning the front fenders that the paint shop could not figure out. I must open the doors fairly wide to get to the bolts, and have a table in the way.

I have the distributor eliminator installed and timed. I got the dipstick bracket installed, and the dipstick tube bolted to it. The right valve cover is now in place, and I hooked up all but a few of the connectors for the computer. Many of the wires from Holley are longer than I need, so they are jumbled up behind the throttle body. I do not under stand why they make the wires so long...I guess they have a lot of people put the computer in the passenger compartment, and they need long wires to get to the engine bay. One small job at a time, and soon the engine will roar to life.

I had the phone on auto flash, and this is what I got.

I forgot to put the break-in lube on the distributor gear, and had to pull it out again. Fortunately my guardian angel was looking over me, because the gasket for the adapter was totally FUBAR. I put it back together with a replacement, and reset the timing, so all is good.

I hooked up my oil catch can and all of the connectors except for the injectors. I also hooked up the throttle linkage, and trans cable. There is a convenient place for the MAP sensor behind the throttle body, so it is going there.

The table by the driver's side door is almost cleared, and I will probably work on the fenders tomorrow.

I finally got the table cleared, and out of the way, so I loosened the front fenders, and positioned them to look right. I had to remove a small amount of metal from the mounts to get them to align with the doors. The gap between the hood and fenders are a little bit wide, but the fenders must be lower than stock because the doors are on a little low, so the tops will not go in as tight as I would like. I may take a shim out of the driver's side to get it a little closer.

I had to paint the mount for the MAP sensor and will install it tomorrow. I found a discarded attempt at a oil dipstick bracket, and may be able to use it to hold the top of the dipstick.

Sprocket visited today to pick up some small parts. Had a nice chat, and he helped me set the hood in place as a first test fit.

My new wheel nuts arrived today as well. They look really nice, but we will see how long it takes for them to get rusty. At the price I paid for them, I can afford to replace them if they do.

I found out that the doors are mounted too low, not the fenders too high. I have to remove the fenders to adjust the doors. I got the driver's side raised, and the fender is "in place". I must adjust the shim stack under the core support to match the height of the fronts of the fenders. The hose I have for the MAP sensor will, with some effort, go over the nipple, and also fits the one on the throttle body.

To adjust the door, I put a jack with a block of wood, and a foam pad under it, and against it. I then loosened the door, and hinges. By jacking the door gently, I raised it and made sure it was tight against the body, then tightened the bolts again. The door gap at the back of the front door is much more even than it was.

I got the passenger's door adjusted and began mounting the fender. Now I have to finish mounting both fenders, and align the hood to them.

All I got done today is install the MAP sensor, and started making the spark plug wires.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I

Sprocket visited today to pick up some small parts. Had a nice chat, and he helped me set the hood in place as a first test fit.

Had a nice visit. Thanks for entertaining me for a little bit and thanks again for the parts. He is making good progress on the build.

I need to do some adjustments to the hood mountings. More BS work that I do not want to do. I can not tighten down the fenders until I have the hood aligned with them.

I must move the hood pin mounts, or the latches on the hood. I think it is easier to move the latches, but I must make 3" OD aluminum washers to cover the change in location on the hood. It looks like I will be cutting them out with a shears, and finishing them by hand.

The fenders and hood are aligned, but I must move the latches. I bolted the core support to the frame, and the fenders to the top of it.

My dad's garage door lift spring broke sometime during the night, and I spent most of the day interviewing garage door repair people. It is really hot working on the car with the garage door closed. I guess I can handle it for a couple of days. I have some "in the house" projects to do so I can sit in the AC and work.

I made 3 whole ignition wires, and partially reinstalled the PS wheelhouse. The boots for the plugs are a real bear to install. I must have spent 3 hours on the ones I finished. They are custom, so I can't go buy them at the parts store. The only redeeming factor is that they are pretty much the same side to side.

I put 7 of the plugs in, but did not tighten them.

There is a threaded hole in the head that can be used to hold the bracket for mounting the oil dipstick. I am going to put a stud in it, and make yet another dipstick mounting bracket. If I do not mount it in the right place, it will interfere with the #6 plug wire.

The garage door gets fixed tomorrow, so I will have a lot more light to work by, but the misquitos will again have access to the interior of the garage.

I called MSD, and they said to use silicone spray lube. It actually worked. I got the rest of the wires done in about 1/2 hour. I had to modify one, because it was a little too long (#7). I had to realign the core support, and still have to finalize the alignment of the hood and fenders. Tomorrow is reinstalling the left wheelhouse, and checking alignment of the hood and fender again. If all is aligned, I can tighten the bolts and assemble the front end. I may put 6 qts of fluid in the trans as well.

I got a few more things done today. partially installed the left wheelhouse, installed the FEAD belt, Spent hours hunting tools and screws.

I need to fit the hood one more time so that I can bolt down the front clip. I have a couple wire issues. With the main cable from the interior in its current position (I can't move it) I need to lengthen the wires to the wiper motor by about 2 inches. Most of the wires can be released from the cable, but I must splice three of them. I have another set of connectors with wires, so I can remove the pins with longer wires, and insert them in the original connectors, so I only have one splice per wire.

The hood and fenders are aligned, and for the most part tightened down. Next is the evap core, and wiring across the front.

sounds like me and my 68 project.... little bit here and there and so many many places that need attention... its a ton of little (and big) jobs. currently waiting on the trans to come back from the trans shop so i can continue

Yeah, 1000 tiny things to do, and each one takes a half hour once you figure out how to do them. When it is custom, and you are doing it yourself, you must do every little detail. That includes all wire ends, splices, each and every nut and bolt, and on top of that you must make every bracket, and drill every hole to attach any random item. Finally you must pray that everything works correctly or you are in for a long troubleshooting session. I have electronic MPFI and had to wire the individual coils for the ignition. I double and triple check everything I do, and study all projects for indeterminate amounts of time before doing anything. I even had to make a custom bracket to hold the oil dipstick, and figure out where, and how to mount it. That took 4 tries, and two brackets. Sometimes one thing is actually 4 before you get it right. I also hate undoing something someone else did wrong, and then figure out how to do it right. It seems like every time something gets "done" you end up removing it to do something that was not expressed to you by a "specialist" from the manufacturer.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

Yeah, 1000 tiny things to do, and each one takes a half hour once you figure out how to do them. When it is custom, and you are doing it yourself, you must do every little detail. That includes all wire ends, splices, each and every nut and bolt, and on top of that you must make every bracket, and drill every hole to attach any random item. Finally you must pray that everything works correctly or you are in for a long troubleshooting session. I have electronic MPFI and had to wire the individual coils for the ignition. I double and triple check everything I do, and study all projects for indeterminate amounts of time before doing anything. I even had to make a custom bracket to hold the oil dipstick, and figure out where, and how to mount it. That took 4 tries, and two brackets. Sometimes one thing is actually 4 before you get it right. I also hate undoing something someone else did wrong, and then figure out how to do it right. It seems like every time something gets "done" you end up removing it to do something that was not expressed to you by a "specialist" from the manufacturer.

yup. my 68 cougar , i got it with just an engine block and trans. engine had already been torn down and wiring all unhooked etc... been piecing back together stuff and fixing rust holes and floor pans, etc... i'll post about it in the appropriate thread... didnt mean to hijack yours.

No big deal, it gave me a reason to vent a little.

I got the wiring stretched across the core support, and opened combing at the main harness to get a little more wire for the wiper motor. I only need to splice 2 wires, because the others come from the interior, and that is the direction I need to go. The wires I must splice are the ones to the fluid pump. The condenser probably needs to be cleaned, and to be on the safe side, I am going to shoot some brake cleaner in it until it comes out clear. It evaporates in a few minutes, and leaves no residue. Tomorrow is clean the condenser, and clean and paint the battery tray (again for the 5th time). I may even get the condenser installed. If I do, the radiator is an easy next step.

Wire brushed the battery tray, and painted it. The trans cooler and AC condenser are installed, and the radiator is partially in place. All of the lines got bent a little when the idiot hooked my core support to pull the car onto the tow truck, so i have to reshape them a little. The wires for the wiper motor are spliced, and ready to be put back onto the loom at the new position.

The wiper motor is wired, and mounted, and the front wheelhouses/fenders are fully installed. I put some "Kleen wheels" behind the front wheels to keep the brake dust off of the new rims.

I am contemplating a skid plate under the engine, because the oil pan extends slightly below the frame, and the manufacturer chose to put the drain on the bottom instead of the side.

Spent the day test fitting a bunch of stuff. Nothing really completed.

Finished a couple of wire ends, pulled the orifice tube out of the line, replaced all the old lug nuts with new acorn style ones and tightened them down.

I devised a way to take the warp out of the bottom of the core support without using my come-a-long. I can put a 2X4 across the front wheels and use a small jack that I have to push the bottom out on one side.

I finally got the core support straightened, and can mount the radiator. The headlights are installed, but loose for adjustment. After I removed the orifice tube, I noticed that it has some black stuff clogging the small end. I am taking it to a radiator shop to see if it just needs to be replaced, or if more needs to be done. I also found that the connector for the fans has a burnt connector, and the plastic has melted to some extent. I think I will have to visit the local junk yard for a replacement.

I needed to modify one of the fans to fit on my shroud, and got that done, so I can install the radiator.

I cut the adjusted latch holes in the hood, and marked the core support for drilling the post holes for the hood latches. I used a tiny circuit board cutter/drill in my Dremel. It cut the CF like a hot knife through butter. I made sure I wore gloves so I did not get the CF chips on my hands. It is worse than fiberglass.

I must go to the junk yard for a 94-96 fan wiring harness tomorrow. I really only need the connector and one wire, but I will take the whole thing.

I tried to get the cooling fans hooked up, and got most of it done. My tool for extracting the pins from the connector is about 1/2" too short to get them out of the larger end of the connector. I also need a connector for the driver's side fan. I am not sure where on the car the ones I have came from, so I may get a slightly different type. I need one with some thick wires to carry the current for the fans. Always petty crap close to the finish.

My AC on the White Elephant died yesterday, and there is definitely something amiss. The brakes are acting up as well. What a PITA.

Another small step...finished the wiring for the cooling fans, and drilled the holes for the front hood latch posts. I drilled them about 1/8" too far front, and had to elongate the holes a little, so I can get the bottom washer and nut on the post.

I had to take the radiator out again to be able to flush the evaporator and lines in the AC system. I saw some fins that were a little banged up, and straightened them. I have not been feeling good all day, and stopped after working on the radiator.

I felt better today after taking my allergy medicine. I got the AC system cleaned out, shot oil in the evap core, and new accumulator. It turns out that it takes a total of 7 1/2 oz of oil. I had a new 8 oz bottle, and put all but 1/2 oz in the system.

I finally installed the radiator for what I hope is the final time. Hooked up the trans cooling lines, and the aux cooler in front of the radiator. I did not get the hoses done yet, or attach the fan shroud. I must jack the car up (again) to install the lower hose. Two ground leads are now attached, and I have 5 more to go. It seems like everything must be assembled in a specific sequence, and if I get 1 step ahead, I must take at least 1 part out (usually 2-3) before I can start assembly again.

A little each day gets the job done.

I finally found the right hoses to make a new lower hose. I tend to save receipts, and low and behold, I searched my build materials, and there it was. I ordered a lower section, and can leave a little on a section of it to reshape the hose as a whole. This time it cost me less than $20.

The fun of custom builds, remembering what you used to make it all work the first time!

That is also one of the great things about online ordering, your account has the info saved as to what you have ordered in the past. Like receipts it does take some digging to find what you are looking for...

I bought them locally, and have a paper receipt from the store. I subconsciously put all receipts with the rest of the documentation for the build. It is just a good habit.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I bought them locally, and have a paper receipt from the store. I subconsciously put all receipts with the rest of the documentation for the build. It is just a good habit.

i try not to keep receipts unless its for something big that I need the documentation for... the small receipts are what adds up and lets the misses have something else to get pissed about lol

The little stuff is what holds up the project, and when you need the "bastard" part again, you can not figure out what part you bought unless you keep the receipt. If she is going to whine about a small part, buy her something of the same value. We're talking about $20 here.

The hose I "found" is made by Continental, and is not the same as the Gates that I originally bought. I found the Gates part, and it fits perfectly. I guess the Continental is a "replacement", but not exactly the same. The Gates hose was about $3 more. It is now cut to length, installed, no holes, and does not touch anything.

The radiator and fans are installed, along with the new A/C accumulator. I had to stop because the O-ring for the thermostat housing was crushed beyond salvage. Fortunately O'Reilly's happened to have one, so I can install it when I get back to working on the car.

I tried to install the O-ring, and it is still too small. I did get the first 6 qts. of trans fluid in, made bracket to hold a bundle of wires, connected some grounds, and started to fit the air intake into the changed position of the filter over the computer.

I found a correct thermostat gasket, and installed it. I also started to make a new cold air box.

The front bumper is in place, centered, and two of the nuts are snugged. I need a hand to put the bumper cover in place to finish the final alignment. The lines are drawn on the metal for the airbox, and next is cutting it out.

The front bumper cover is in place, but I need to adjust the height. I cut out the bottom and end of the air box, but must fold it, and reshape two sides.

I got the basic box of the airbox formed. Next is pop-rivet the two pieces together. I found out that the bumper can not be adjusted to the correct height in comparison to the headlights. I need to check the headlights for height above the ground.

Riveted the air box together, and had to modify it a little (surprise). The right headlight was too low, and I raised it to match the left side, now the bumper is properly positioned in relation to the headlights, and the bumper is the same height on both sides. The screws for the sides of the bumper cover have disappeared, so off to the parts store in the morning.

I got my butt in gear a little today, and got the bumper cover installed. The bumper is about 1/4" off center to the right, but is a lot closer than the custom shop's work. I also cut out the disks to cover my fix on the hood. They need to be cleaned up a bit, but the basic disk is cut out. I found out that I have a piece of aluminum that will work as the top of the airbox.

Amazing build Fred, I enjoyed reading through this. Thanks for the write-up.

I did some filling of the modified hood pin holes with carbon fiber and resin. I will check on it tomorrow when it is set up.

I've been offline for a while, my computer broke.

I made an airbox, and it hit the hood when the hood was on. I must reroute the intake, and make another airbox. 2 days shot in the butt for nothing. Probably wasted the aluminum too. I am going to make a template for the skid plate. My oil drain plug is below the frame, and I would rather not hit something with it and lose my oil, and the pan. I will double, or tripple it at the drain, because it sticks out more than the thickness of the metal. Having a skid plate makes it more difficult to change the oil filter, but the other option is far more of an issue.