620KC on 720 bare frame build

[EDM620]

5 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

I hate having to put a half finished project into storage. It's like making bread but not eating it until it's stale.

I can relate. Since this whole move shit started I have hardly turned a wrench on it in a year. Throwing the rest of the body on for this last shuffle felt like a good kick in the ass.

[EDM620]

This week has been busy with demo, stripped out good salvagable stuff in prep while I waited for shit to happen.

Managed to be around for the big day, took only 20 minutes to knock it down.

After the junk was cleared off, the pad was busted up starting with the corner that was broken off and falling away.

As the rest of the concrete was busted up, I saw that the added section was made very poorly, back filled with broken concrete without any sand or anything to fill in, so there were lots of gaps. Also there wasn't any rebar used, just some wire mesh that the pad was simply poured on top of. Not even properly tied into the old concrete.

The rains have come (no risk of wildfires here) so progress has come to a temporary halt. Pilings and foundation to be done Monday if the rains end...

 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by EDM620

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Wreck it ralph

[EDM620]

Concrete has been curing for a week now, was framed up and poured in 1 day.

It was a long reach from the street with a big tree in the way

2 loads, 10 cu yd ea?

More concrete to come - won't be much lawn left to mow...

Slab is insulated to retain some heat during the winter. 14 pilings underneath.

 

Framing happens on Wednesday

[shlammed]

Thick slab! Or did they drop the slab edge?

 

 

[EDM620]

The slab is indeed thick, 5 1/2" throughout. There is a significant slope so the foundation was poured thick (+ 14 pilings) to deal with our weather. Tend to have alot of frost heaving which buckles most surfaces, be they concrete or asphalt. 

[EDM620]

At long last the 620 has returned home, pulled it out of storage this morning and raring to get back twisting wrenches.

 

I need to update my To Do list and prioritize, establish a plan. So many things were left in a state of partial completion that it's going to be a domino effect (I hope) and really start to come together. I'll update with some photos soon.

[EDM620]

Hard at the To-Do list, I have timelines set and aim to keep them. First priority is completion of engine plumbing and primary electrics. I'll post pics before long. Marrying different vintages means nothing at all fits as original and it's surprising the number of differences between the 620 and 720, many details you might not expect. As I'm focussed on making the finished project look, well, finished, I just might get OCD on some stupid detail that then takes forever.

[EDM620]

Picking away ay the engine plumbing, modified some other hoses to fit into the limited space between rad and engine.

 

I used some barbed adapters and covered the joints with a special heat shrink made for underground TELCOM service that features an inner adhesive. I'm hopeful this won't require hose clamps overtop but if need be they can be added. Doing this allowed me to clock the sections for a much better fit and not introduce any kinks.

 

The heater core hoses are a work in progress, today I managed to do a test fit of the heater core connections. I'm waiting on a couple more bits to test out the engine connections then I should be able to mark that all off the To-Do list. I need to source out the firewall grommets before it can be tryly complete though.

Also picking away at stuff on each inner fender. Evap can almost completed and tidied up the coils mounting. Coolant puke tank roughed in and sorting out the wiring harness underhood.

 

Trying to limit myself to working (job) only 3 days a week so I can get wrenching done but too much day job demands. Pays for the parts though.

[Ooph!]

No pics of the new shop?

[EDM620]

I'm mostly into the new shop, still dealing with crap that doesn't belong in there. Built a couple of tin sheds to hold the garden & camping gear, but should have sprung for the poly sheds as much easier, taller, and stronger. Seems to be always windy here so I built them in the shop & moved them into place after building a 2x3 inner skeleton inside to add strength. Poly sheds would have cost 3-4x more so not sure if the savings was a win.

Have lots of shuffling inside the shop to do as I hurried up to get the project back home & stop paying for off site storage. I planned on the workspace to be the far left and currently am using the far right side, further from my tools etc. It's a dance - 2 steps forward & 1 step sideways. Fingers crossed I'll have my act together before the winter months.

 

A couple of before & after pics to show the gain. Old shop was exactly 8' walls, new is 10' plus an additional 4 at the peak.

 

 

The footprint isn't much bigger, went basically from a tight 2 1/2 car to a tight 3 car. I cut the depth one foot as I needed to stay within the maximums set by the county, and wanted as much width as I could have. The single doors makes the old shop look wider.

 

 

The final touch was getting the overhead doors to follow the pitched roofline. The openers are different and raise the door by turning the jackscrew, not by pulling up the door. Gravity does the closing - when the doors were on horizontal tracks you couldn't raise them fully or the cable would just unwind and ball up (I ruptured my bicep dealing with that). Actually a pretty nice system and incorporates power deadbolts.

 

 

Now to get back to twisting wrenches!

[EDM620]

Ever have one of those days that you can't seem to move forward? I wasted hours today looking for a couple of firewall grommets for the heater hoses I was 97% sure I had. Maybe 97.885%.

 

Went through everything I could think maybe... twice. Then again. OK, so let's check my records. Sure enough, I ordered a set of 4 in the size I need. Back in July '22 and received in Aug. '22. Pretty damn sure I recall exactly how they were packaged. Now I'm torn, do I order yet another set or keep searching? BAH.

 

Maybe it's the heat frying my brain. It's been damn hot here for a long stretch.

It's been hotter but it's the continuation, I've seen over 102F just last week. Weather we're not exactly used to and dry as a popcorn fart. Fire Smoke descended this morning now visibility is reduced. Ain't complaining, they'll be plenty of months to bitch about the cold!

 

 

[iceman510]

Shop is looking good.

[EDM620]

Thanks Iceman, shop can never be big enough...

[iceman510]

Totally agree. 🙂

 

The extra sheds are nice for extra storage and you have a great location for them.  I recently put up a Harbor Freight shelter just to get some lawn equipment (rider, tiller, push mower, fertilizer spreader...) out of my shop garage and make more space.  I want to put a 14' x 30' or so lean to onto the side to keep all that stuff covered, but I think I likely need permit for that. I have to go ask my township.

Edited July 22 by iceman510

[EDM620]

On 7/22/2024 at 8:08 AM, iceman510 said:

but I think I likely need permit for that. I have to go ask my township

I have that problem too, ultimately the reason I didn't go bigger on the shop size as going bigger would have required county permit/engineering blueprints plus neighborhood compliance which I assumed I wouldn't get. I have an old woman next door who I have a siamesed driveway with and she complained about us driving over the edge of her driveway. I need to get on her good side as I need to cut back the fence on her side to give me better entrance into my yard, I have only a few inches more width than my new truck measures with mirrors folded in.

[shlammed]

there is likely a way to build your garage without the intervention of an Engineer.  This is my day in and day out (but in ontario) and home owners can basically design anything they are permitted to have on their own properties.

16 hours ago, EDM620 said:

I have that problem too, ultimately the reason I didn't go bigger on the shop size as going bigger would have required county permit/engineering blueprints plus neighborhood compliance which I assumed I wouldn't get. I have an old woman next door who I have a siamesed driveway with and she complained about us driving over the edge of her driveway. I need to get on her good side as I need to cut back the fence on her side to give me better entrance into my yard, I have only a few inches more width than my new truck measures with mirrors folded in.

b

[EDM620]

Work is progressing but I've not taken any pics, they will follow later when there is something worthwhile to show.

 

My timeline to have it running is rapidly approaching and it's not looking like I'll make my target, but I'm busting my butt. "Creating" the necessary wiring has set me back mentally as I have struggled at times to remain focussed on the necessary tasks - well actually I admit I would rather be enjoying a cold beer or several some days and find a way to make that happen instead!

 

I have recently received a pair of door skins so that should translate to less work dealing with the rotten doors.

 

The good news is that progress continues. The bad news is that work remains busy, taking more of my "free" time than I made allowance for.

 

A pic & video to share as I have been testing all my custom electrics and my gauges/dash lights, everything works correctly. The gauges have many light colors to choose from, the video cycles through them for fun.

 

 

 

[datsunfreak]

For some reason, I did not know they made a speedo and tach. We used their small gauges in the van project and they work great. What is the size on the speedo/tach? 3 3/4"?

 

 

[EDM620]

Yes they are 3 3/4". If I recall correctly you can get different scales/redlines for the tach.

 

I liked that I could choose the scale and display range - all my gauges have a 3/4 range or rotation of the needle. I was also able to specify my speedo in KmH and my temp gauge in Celcius. Just because, well, Canadian eh?

 

When I bought mine, GlowShift didn't have a means to link the color shift together, so if I want to change color I have to change each one separately. I think newer ones can do that with one button push? Can't say I would ever use the light show of cycling thru the colors, but others might like that.