well I finally managed to get my harness bar notched and welded in. Since much of my cage is custom (only the main hoop is a production piece) it's a lot of work to get new parts added onto it. nonetheless, it's now 1 step closer to done. Net gain so far is a little more rigidity in the chassis (like I needed more hehe) and I'm held a little more securely and comfortably in the seat than before. It's enough of a difference to matter the way I drive.

the door bars are next... maybe next weekend. I've also pre-paid for a new Eaton diff, 3.55 gears and a whole grip of little odds and ends (welding axle tubes, etc...) plus install... guess how much. C'mon you'll never guess (see end of post). I'm hoping to have that done just after Christmas with the door bars.

A word of note to all... if you are thinking about a torque arm suspension setup then I'd HIGHLY recommend getting your rear end built and whatever gears get you hard installed before the torque arm. It adds better than two hours to the gear job to have to pull the TA.

I'll try to get pics of the harness bar up if anyone actually really wants to see it. It looks pretty much like any other hunk of .120 wall DOM chrom moly steel pipe welded between the uprights of a roll bar.











the whole shootin' match for the rear end is $250 installed. Includes diff, new FRPP gears, bearings, and labor. I've got a bunch of redline gear oil and FM so that's a zero cost item too. You gotta pimp it beyotches... two fitty. I get that deal because my wrench is also a pal of mine and my neighbor, so no... I can't get you the same deal. I can get you close but not that close.

 

sounds good. youll have to post more pictures. is all this stuff done just for the hell of it or do you actually do any type of road racing or autox? I always tell people who cry about paying premium prices on car labor - i say you gotta make some friends with mechanics. i had my 7 hour header+mid pipe job done for 200 bucks. same guy does all my stuff for my mustang.

 

Sounds great, yeah, I'd like to see some pics. I'm always interested in seeing what ppl have done or are doing to their cars.

 

I do actually race. Autox and road course are what gets me off for the most part. The car has been built from the beginning as a Silver State Classic Challenge car (90miles open highway, no speed limits... check it out) but I've also built into it a lot of extra handling for my favorite local twisty roads. The one I take to work is like a bloody rally course, so the car gets worked HARD every day, usually twice a day.

Once the 5.4 is in and the TKO600 then I'll be doing a lot more active racing than I do now. I didn't race much at all in the last year but now things are looking up.

 

What twisty roads do you like to go on r3dn3ck? I know theres like Patterson and all that, but where else in the area are there some good twisty roads?it's fun going up to Mt. Diablo, but you gotta watch out for all the damn bikers and of course going over the edge.

 

take 84 till it turns into calaveras rd at Sunol, follow the road till it pukes you out in Milpitas. Some of the hardest core 21miles you can get in the bay. I have a personal best over the 17 miles of real nasty twists of 12min and coin. 17 minutes over the whole 21 miles. I also like Mt. Hamilton Rd, Morgan Territory Rd and South Flynn Rd. If you ever decide you need to drive for a whole day, then find your way to Hyampom, CA and say hi to my uncle when you get there. There's also Palomares Rd up on top of the Dublin grade. It's gobs of fun but it's also 2 lanes the whole way which I don't find too exciting. Nothing like lane sharing to get the blood pumping.

If you go and you haven't been before... be careful. I've got over 1000 passes on Old Calaveras and probably 3-400 on S. Flynn. They're no joke unforgiving roads just like patty pass. Watch for cyclists on the weekends.

 

PICS: You can see it's been painted to match the rest of the bar. I used 1200deg high temp paint cuz that's what I had laying around that matched.

Driver side with shoulder belt flopped over the seat. excuse the bad quality... they're from my new treo 680 which isn't the best of cameras but it's a killer phone.


View of the passenger side. Passenger side shoulder harness bolts in, driver side is a wraparound.


View of both through the driver side door.

 

Damn, 17 minutes! Your flying man. I've been on all the roads you mentioned and they are no joke! Don't get mad and start honking your horn and flashing your lights if you see a DSG mach driving like a granny along those roads! ha ha ha

 

I usually come up so fast people jump out of the way and find a turnout or just pull off and wave me by. My general rule is, if you catch me, you're clearly faster than me and I'll pull right over to let you by... most of the peeps that go up there know that rule and they live by it just like I do. I'm nicer to stangs than other cars though.

My first pass on OC took me over 30 minutes and I was trying to be brave. Now, I've got so many passes under the belt that I know exactly where every turn apexes and what gear to be in by instinct. That's not to say that an insane amount of attention doesn't get paid to actually piloting my way through but it really helps with the times to know the road that well. I don't even smoke a cigarette while driving up there. All focus is on the task... if I want to smoke, I pull over and get out. It's just safer that way, especially since mistakes up there tend to end in a fatality.

 

My gf use to take calaveres all the time coming home from San Jose on fridays. I'll have to check that one out. I've been wanting to do Mt Hamilton road. To get out to Mt. Hamilton, do you take Mines rd. and that takes you right to it? Where the hell is Hyampom at?

 

You can take mines but you can also come in from the San Jose side and come out the mines side. I like to do it that way cuz the return trip is hella faster taht way.

Hyampom... uhhh...hrmmm. From P-town go to Redding, make a left real sudden like at 299. Go west till you think you're lost then turn on Hwy 3. Go till you're afraid you may never come back. That'll be Hayfork. Stop and get gas, ask the kid behind the counter and she'll point out the goat path you take to get to Hyampom. Make sure you FILL THE TANK. Next gas is normally $6/gal or better. They don't drive much in them parts.

For a doubly exciting ride, get off 5 at Red Bluff and take 36 to 3 to hayfork rd, to hyampom rd.
40,36,57.16x123,27,11.83

 

Those roads are pretty exciting.....I grew up in Anderson (10 miles South of Redding).

 

yeah, 36 through redbluff is a total goat path. it looks like someone just unrolled the road onto whatever the landscape looked like for like 30 miles then it begins to look like a real if undermaintained road. Makes for one helluva ride and a lot of wrecks.

 

Even though it wasn't super twisty or anything, I miss the old camino tassajara. They have added way to many stop lights and it isn't as fun anymore. You use to be able to just haul *** down it.

 

ditto. used to be fun. BTW..you should not go down morgan territory unless you're in a pickup... MOOEY bad for lowered stangs.

 

I will remember that one. Hey r3dn3ck, I'm probably gonna get gears with some gift certificate money I'll be getting for x-mas. How much do you think your neighbor would charge to install them? If he is willing to do it that is.

 

Is that a bolt in or weld in roll bar.

 

Probably 150 bucks. He's cheap and good.

it started life as a bolt in but it's been retro fitted with bigger mounting plates on the main hoop and fully welded to the chassis everywhere it touches. Once the in-floor subframes come into play then I'll tie the cage into them and the body will only be decoration.