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Got my first Christmas present yesterday. Gonna run and get steel today to build my rear frame section. Hopefully make some progress out of that. I'm thinking about removing my guages cluster and making an insert that my guages are mounted to that will fit back where the cluster was. Gauge set came with all the electric sending units. Temp, oil, even came with the whole fuel sending unit that mounts in the tank. Reckon I'll find a fuel cell that already has the opening to accept it. One less thing to worry about.
Had a pretty productive day today. Yesterday was eaten up by all the championship college football. I'm a sucker for football down south. Anyways, I did tinker in between games.
I went to the local speed shop and picked up a few more things. Grabbed a fan temperature switch from painless wiring. $61 freaking dollars, but no one said hot rods were cheap Also go a valve cover grommet with a baffle built in for my pcv valve. Picked up 45* fitting for my hot water hose coming out of the manifold, and also grabbed a nice swivel neck thermostat housing. Factory neck came right over where I needed to mount my fan switch. My cooling system is now complete and sealed up as far as I know.
Got a bracket for my tv cable / throttle cable. It was maden for a Holley so I need to adjust it. It doesn't let me open full throttle with it adjusted all the way out. I'm guessing I need to drill a hole about an inch back to allow me to adjust it and still have some room. I wouldn't think I want to rely on a couple plastic teeth to hold that tension too long. Got a new fitting for the qjet and got the brake booster hooked up.
I got my transmission mounted solid. Drilled 2 new holes and used the factory transmission mount from the camaro. Talk about no room to spare, but I'd rather be lucky than good any day. I was only able to get one bolt in each side. The flat part of the rear mount where the rear hole is, is right where the hhr body meets the frame. So the back of the mount is wedged in place. I was able to center the tranny in what is now the driveshaft tunnel. Looks like a skinny driveshaft might just clear.
Got the frame bolted to the body as well. Up until now it's been tacked along the bottom. Now I've got 4 grade 8 bolts going all the way through my frame, the factory molded frame rail, and the body. Dropped the rear axle out. I love when things are simple. Getting it out was a breeze. Getting the new rear end in, not so much I rolled the rear end under the hhr, no way leaf springs will work without cutting half the back out. I'll reuse what I can from the hhr mounts/springs and probably just run a 3 link with a with a panhard bar.
Didn't even get a chance to mess with my pretty gauges. I did buy the steel to make my rear frame and front bumper. Guess that will be next weekend.
Last edited by RattyHHR; 12-04-2017 at 04:41 PM.
Reason: Typo
Ordered most of the stuff for my 3 link yesterday. Probbly gonna run a set of coilovers for simplicity. $288 for a set from Speedway. Ordered all my suspension parts from Chassis Unlimited. Planning on using the factory bushings for the 2 lower links, but got rod end links for all the other connections. Just gonna go with a panhard bar. Simple and effective. Today im gonna try to work on the front bumper. Gotta get some weight on that front end. Found a place that sells woven mesh with half inch openings, probably gonna pick up a sheet to make my grill filler with. I'll upload some pictures this afternoon of my bumper/grill progress.
Picked up this lock up power switch for my transmission yesterday.
Been working on the front grill. For the grill style I'm thinking along the lines of a split bumper camaro. Nice big opening, and goes to a point to give some dimension from the side view. Hopefully I'll have the grill section tacked together this evening. Actually got a level out today to try and correct/hide the difference in the two main rails. I don't think you'll be able to tell once the grill shell is finished.
Got a bracket for my tv cable / throttle cable. It was maden for a Holley so I need to adjust it. It doesn't let me open full throttle with it adjusted all the way out. I'm guessing I need to drill a hole about an inch back to allow me to adjust it and still have some room.
Jegs, TCI and Summit sell the bracket for a Q-Jet.
What did the original throttle cable bracket look like that came with the engine?
I'm guessing the cable that is hooked up is the TV cable....
12-01-2017, 12:22 PM
Also go a valve cover grommet with a baffle built in for my pcv valve. Picked up 45* fitting for my hot water hose coming out of the manifold, and also grabbed a nice swivel neck thermostat housing. Factory neck came right over where I needed to mount my fan switch. My cooling system is now complete and sealed up as far as I know.
I rolled the rear end under the hhr, no way leaf springs will work without cutting half the back out. I'll reuse what I can from the hhr mounts/springs and probably just run a 3 link with a with a panhard bar.
