Did a little bit of work over the Thanksgiving break.

Started back up on the engine by remeasuring my pushrod length and lifter preload.  I discovered that fully torquing the heads down has a significant effect on gasket thickness, and thus the required pushrod length - much more so than I was expecting.  When I measured them before I only "snugged" it down tight because I was leery of what multiple torque sequences might do to the sealing ability of gaskets that are $80 a piece.  But when my measurements weren't repeating with what I took last time I said f*ck it and torqued it down.  In some cases my measurements changed about .030".

Anyways....onward with measuring lifter preload.  When I tried this before I was  having problems as I snugged the rocker pair down with the indicator tip wandering around the pushrod cup, fucking up my measurements.  To try and help solve this I bought a pointed carbide indicator tip, which I ground/polished into even more of a point.  This would locate it positively in the oil hole on the pushrod side of the rocker.

This helped to make my measurements much more repeatable.

Now with my pushrod lengths taken, I could test the sample push rods I got from trend and attempt to measure an expected lifter preload based on the difference between what I actually need and what I actually have.  This was in an effort to more or less show that my measurements are comparable to the measurements they take at Trend.  Results were all over the place, and at the moment I can't really say why.  I tested the expected preloads with a 7.700 rod from Trend.

• Cyl 2 intake:  Expected - .037.  Measured - .038.   Good.
• Cyl 4 intake:  Expected - .030.  Measured - .020.  What.
• Cyl 6 intake:  Expected - .040.  Measured - .023.  Wat.
• Cyl 8 intake:  Expected - .022.  Measured - .015.  Eh.

There's no consistent pattern here, so I suspect my indicator fixturing may be contributing to the problem.  The only thing I can think of is that I'm getting some cosine error in the event that the indicator travel isn't perfectly in line with the pushrod, so I'm going to attempt to improve my fixturing and see if that helps.  Here's how I'm doing it currently.  I'm not sure whether a flexible arm of fabbing up some kind of rigid mount would be better.

At the end of the day - I have no control over what Trend sends me.  I'm going to all this trouble to minimize measurement error and quadruple check everything, and then they could send me a pushrod that's out of spec.  Say 0.009" short of my spec'd length.  Like they did with the 7.730 rod I ordered.  Which was supposed to be cut within +/- 0.001".  WTF

Am I the only one who checks this shit?  Short of ordering a whole slew of slightly varied lengths to accommodate all the measurement / machining error, I really don't know if there's a bulletproof way through this. 

This has been the most frustrating part of the build to date BY FAR.

While I figured out how to handle all of this, I decided to get out and practice some MIG welding in the garage.  T-joints on 1/8" steel.  I was disappointed to find that my little HH 140 wasn't powerful enough to really burn it in nice - the toes of the weld seemed to be pretty cold even with the machine maxed out, a reduced travel speed, short stickout, etc.  So I'll be looking to source a more capable 230V machine in the near future, but figured I could get some decent practice in regardless.....at least work on hand consistency.  This is about the best I could do - pulling from left to right and tracing out small "e's" with a little pause at the top of each loop.  C25 gas and 0.023" wire.  Might have worked better with 0.030" but this is what I had.

Like I said, the welds are cold but I beat the hell out of a few of the joints like they owed me money and nothing let go. 

TIG welder coming later this week!  Gotta get power run and another bottle before I actually melt stuff with it though :(

The past few weeks I've been working on selling parts / reorganizing the garage and cleaning out any unnecessary junk.

I started taking the interior in the m3 apart to decide what I'm going to do with it.  Either by selling it and swapping it black, or converting it black myself, the dove grey has got to go.  Given that people seem to think OEM black interiors are worth $800 ON TOP OF the dove grey in a trade, I think I'm going to see what I can do with SEM products for a fraction of that cost.

The back seats aren't in bad shape, no tears or anything.  Just ugly.

Front vaders and carpet aren't as good.  Bolster wear / failing dye coat.  I'll probably either sell the front seats as-is or convert them and sell them.  I plan on autocrossing / tracking the car so would like something a bit more performance oriented  and comfortable in the front.

I also decided to remove the gay-ass ricer wing that came with the car.  I think the lines are much cleaner wingless and it serves no purpose at speeds below probably 120 mph (which I spend pretty much 0 time at). 

With the wing off I found the trunk lid to have pretty bad gaps and be slightly bent up at the mounting locations - so I'll need to replace it with a lid that isn't fucked up and have it resprayed.

In other news, I finally pulled the trigger on a TIG welder!  I've been researching / watching videos for about a year now and finally decided to make the plunge.  Black friday discounts and additional promotion deals were too good to pass up.  My plans for immediate use are to fab my stainless exhaust and all engine / trans mounts for my LS swap that I plan to start in the spring.  In the mean time, I'll be practicing all winter.

HTP Invertig 221

 Also got 2% lanthanated tungstens along with filler metal in several sizes for use on aluminum, mild steel, and stainless.

Also got a few different gas lens kits.  A jumbo cup for 1/16" electrodes for use on stainless

A regular size pyrex kit with gas saver lens for use on other stuff..

And a stubby gas lens kit for reaching into harder to reach places.  I envision this potentially coming in handy on header collectors.  Also gives the -17 torch a bit more of a smaller -9 torch feel....a bit easier to manipulate.

Also got a dual feed flowmeter that I can attach to my tank, feeding one line to the welder and one for use as a backpurge on stainless exhaust tubing.

Really not sure exactly what the best combinations of everything will be but I wanted to give myself some room to experiment with all the different setups / applications of torch configurations - as it seems to be really application dependent on what you're welding on.  Really looking forward to learning!

Had a bit of a swing in direction regarding the build. 

I was looking for a second vehicle to use during the winter and came across a clean M3.  Long story short I bought it and have been working on shaking it down and getting it up to snuff.  It's a southern car and has never seen a winter.  No rust on the car to speak of.  99 model year, 170k miles on the clock.

Since the purchase, I've been swapping all of my goodies over from my other car.  But so far here's what I've gotten done in about a month's time:

• Fixed misc fuses / lightbulbs / wiring issues
• HID headlights / drl hookup
• Replaced fog that was missing
• New rear vent window seals
• Removed front fenders and cleaned out dirt.  Also coated the backsides with an enamel to keep rust away.
• Stainless brake / clutch lines
• Short shifter
• Replaced fuel filter
• Changed engine oil and installed magnetic drain plug
• Changed diff oil 
• Changed transmission oil
• Installed lightweight flywheel and the 3.2 clutch kit, new pivot pin, fork, TO bearing, pilot bearing, and rear main seal
• Replaced missing engine fan
• Motion motorsport underpanel / splitter
• New flex disc
• Transmission detent pin fix / seals
• Swapped on borla catback exhaust
• Put on my CSL's for the time being.  The tires that came on the car were down to the threads.
• Bled the brakes / clutch
• New battery
• New sideskirt clips
• Removed window tint
• Installed BSW speakers (still need to do the doors).
• New spark plugs
• Coolant flush 

Picture from the transmission / clutch job.  Getting the trans out was much easier than last time but the job still managed to be a PITA.  I botched the install of the 5th detent pin bushing by driving it in too far (used the wrong drift), so I was sidelined the better part of a week because of a $3 part.

Here's how it sits currently.  I was out and about this weekend enjoying some of the backroads around here along with some of the beautiful fall weather.  Finally got it back together after struggling with trans/clutch related things.

Still to do is replace the tie rods, motor mounts, control arms, and control arm bushings.  Along with installing my coilover suspension, rear camber arms, and a rear end suspension refresh.  Front wheel bearings/hubs need done too I think - the bearings sound "dry" when you spin the rotors.  The car also has been throwing some codes and I'm not sure as to why that is.  No vacuum leaks that I'm aware of and it runs fine.  Might try replacing the gas cap and go from there.

At any rate - this is the car that will be getting the LS1.  I plan on getting everything sorted and enjoy it in its current form before I start the conversion.  It's been way too long since I've driven a fun car and I'm not ready to give that up again just yet.

Shortly after buying the car I came across a set of SSR Competition wheels for sale locally that appeared to be in great shape.  They have gun metal powder coated centers with a polished lip, and clear powdercoat over the entire thing.  They are around 18 lbs a piece and are semi-forged wheels.  18"x 9.5" et 38.  I should be able to support up to 275 rubber on them, maybe even 285 depending on the particular tread.  More research to do but leaning towards Michelin PSS or Nitto NT555.  I have plenty of time because I can't run these without either 1) jacking the car up like a monster truck or 2) welding on fender flares.

Unrelated to the project, I was away this past week at the annual ASPE conference which was hosted in St. Paul, MN.  Got a couple cool pics of the area.

Just some misc stuff this weekend.  Spent what felt like all day in the garage on Saturday and accomplished less than nothing.

Worked to break loose some adjustable rear camber arms that I intend to sell.  Looking to upgrade my setup and get away from these arms - the vendor designed the bushing end to be proprietary so you can't use either version of the stock style replacement available everywhere.  Fucking assholes.

Had to get out the angry tools.  Pipe wrench, huge ass pipe, kroil, torch, hydraulic press, hammer.  Great success.

Tried to also unseize my coilovers.  I'm going to let them soak in kroil for a while longer but they may be a lost cause.  The strut bodies thread into the housing to allow you to adjust ride height.  For whatever reason I didn't anti-seize them prior to install because they came coated in a light oil.

Might be looking at buying new front coils because they won't budge with what feels like 3000 ft-lbs of torque on it.  I had a 3 ft pipe on the housing while my dad had a 3 ft pipe on the collar nuts, both pushing/pulling as hard as we can on it.  A situation where a little prevention goes a long way. 

My dad picked up a couple gnarly tools today at an antique show though.  4" vice for 45 bucks and a brass hammer for 10.

I also made a handle extension for the pressure screw for my bead roller out of some scrap pipe I had left over.  Coped the t-joint slight and ground a M10 bolt down until the head could be pressed into the ID of the pipe.  Welded it out.

Works real nice.

Also made this panel that will be going under the drivers seat mount.  I flanged 3 sides to all the panel to sit flush with the adjoining metal, and bent one side 90 degrees to tie into what will be the inner layer of the rocker panel.  Rolled some beads for extra rigidity.  I pre-stretched the bead area with a ball peen hammer prior to rolling so that the panel would remain relatively flat after rolling the beads.  Not doing so will cause the panel to distort to all hell.

I hope to get a few more sheet metal tools in the coming weeks to help me improve the quality of my work / make my life easier.  Also starting to look at TIG welders.

Been a little while since an update, but I've been busy.

Engine 

Still working on the motor - it's about 90% done.  All the details are documented in my build thread here:  http://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/1622786-my-347ci-build.html.

Latest progress:  I set rocker height, measured for pushrod length, and ordered a pair of "sample" pushrods to verify my measurements before I order the whole set - looking for trends that may suggest there's some bias to my measurements.

Setting rocker height with shim to obtain narrow and centered contact patch on valve tip through lift:

Measuring for pushrods accurately was kind of a project of its own.  The comp checker tools are basically an expanding threaded rod that ranges in length from 6.800 to 7.800.  Each full turn gives you ~ 0.050" in length extension.  The general procedure is to expand the checker until you reach zero lash at the rocker, count the turns, and then add your desired lifter preload to that.  The problem is that you have no precise way of measuring where you are in that last turn - and with a preload target of 0.025-0.030" on my lifters, I'd have no chance in hell at hitting it by using such an imprecise method.  This is probably the most common method of those that measure at all - and those guys will almost always come back after their H/C/I install complaining about valvetrain noise.  It's because they really have no idea how much they've preloaded their lifters.

The checker tool:

A nifty cross section of all the parts at play that influence pushrod length: 

Given all those variables, I facepalm so fucking hard whenever guys just throw in 7.400" comp magnum 5/16" rods and call it good.

What I ended up doing was measuring the "gauge length" of the pushrod manually.  This is defined by the distance between the .140" diameters at each ball end - and is slightly shorter than what the overall length would be.  The idea is that this removes the influence of the oil passage which range in size and "clip" the full radius of the ball end. 

To begin, I verified the calibration on my 8" mitutoyo calipers by using a range of mic standards at work.  They measured pretty consistently between -.001" and -0.002" short through the measurement range. 

To intersect the ball ends at exactly that .140" diameter (or as close as I could), I drilled holes in a couple pieces of steel with a #28 drill bit (.140x" diameter) and glued them to the jaws of the calipers with 3M Photomount adhesive. 

Then I'd measure the pushrod checker, seating the ball ends in the holes I drilled in the steel.  This theoretically would give me the true gauge length of the checker.  Fully closed, the checker is supposed to measure 6.800".  My setup resulted in repeatable 6.798" measurements.  So I've got -0.002" bias, assuming that the Comp checker tool has no error (and it does, but my hands are tied because I have no way of quantifying it).

The point of all of this is to identify all of my sources of measurement error in order to produce the most accurate results I can.  So far I've got:

• -0.002" accuracy of the tool
• -0.002" offset from "correct" gauge length

The accuracy of the tool itself doesn't matter because my measurements are a relative measurement - meaning my baseline with the jaws closed against the washers has error too.  The error of the tool ends up being cancelled out in this instance.

Measuring the checker.  Once I got close to zero lash it became necessary to secure the threads with some tape to prevent rotation when removing from the block.

I measured each valve several times over the span of a few days.  My results were pretty repeatable - most of the variance attributed to my "feel" for what zero lash was.  But in general I was within +/- 0.002".  Yea I know it's a big picture.  Deal with it.

To verify my measurements with lifter preload, I ordered a pair from Trend Performance - custom length 3/8"-5/16" double taper ball ends with .135" walls.  Basically the stiffest option that will clear the heads - about 90% as stiff as full 3/8" rods but lighter.  Got them in 7.700 and 7.730 to allow me to check 4 valves each and give me a broader data set to make decisions from.  Nice pieces.

So with that I'm trying to verify lifter preload by indicating on the pushrod side of the rocker as I torque it down.  Results have been extremely inconclusive thus far because it's extremely difficult to get repeatable measurements.  To try and combat this, I ordered more of a pointed indicator tip that will hopefully seat itself in the oil passage and keep it from shifting around as the rocker articulates.
 

This is where I've left off - I got frustrated with this and am taking a break from it.  I left off with a mockup of the motor to try and visualize how things would come together.  Not bad.

Car Stuff

In other news, I've been preparing all my suspension parts for sandblasting and powdercoat.  I used POR15 on most of the stuff on the original overhaul I did 3-4 years ago now but it did not last.  I followed their instructions to a T with sandblasting and the pre-paint metal etch but moisture still got under the paint.  Which is why I'm going to try powdercoating this time around.

New additions:  M3 rear trailing arms and rear brakes.

Bushings and ball joints pressed out, parts adding up ready to be blasted and coated.  Upper rear control arms, rear trailing arms, front control arms, rear springs, trailing arm toe brackets, front subframe, rear subframe, chassis X-brace, rear brake calipers and guides, and a bunch of other random shit that I'm probably forgetting.

I'm going to powdercoat my coilover housings as well - but the threads are seized up and I've been unable to free them yet.  Pretty much trashed the aluminum lock collars try to get it apart.  Currently they're sitting on my bench soaked in Kroil.  It's amazing how unreliable some of these coatings can be.

I also ordered some bar stock of various materials to make myself some replacement bushings and guides.  The front diff mount (delrin) in my rear subframe got pretty chewed up after a couple years and they don't sell individual replacements, so I'll be turning my own.

I'll also be making my own rear calipers guide bushings.  A stock setup has rubber bushings that allows the caliper to twist - and an aftermarket solution using brass bushings / guide pins to constrain the motion along a single axis.  Gives a much more positive pedal feel as well as more even pad / rotor wear when driven hard.  The problem with the brass bushings is that they are not sealed and require frequent lubrication to prevent seizing and sever corrosion issues.  If the steel pins corrode, the brass bushings get eaten up.  So I'm going to turn my own extended bushings that have a threaded end on them for fitment of a cap.  Fitment will be challenging but I'm hoping that this will help to keep contaminants out of the joint.

This is what they look like:

and fit like so.  The pins are stationary relative to the hub - the caliper floats in and out as necessary.

Box of materials, left to right:

• UHMW rod, going to use as caliper guide pin caps.  Impact resistant, chemical resistant, self-lubricating and good to 180 degrees F. 
• Bronze bearing grade alloy 544 - impregnated with SAE30wt oil for applications where lubrication is intermittent. Will be used for caliper guide pin bushings.
• Aluminum 6061-T6 tube for insert of front diff mount.  Needed to be bigger anyway for fitment of a M14 bolt.
• Black acetal delrin for making the mount itself.  Aluminum piece will be pressed / glued into the delrin.

Metal Work

I've also been gearing up for all of the patch panel work still to be done on the chassis.

As a first step, I bought myself a HF bead roller than I've been in the process of hotrodding over the past few weeks.  I wanted to be able to add features into flat panels like floor pans to really stiffen things up and help enhance the rigidity of the car.

Obvious problems:  it doesn't have a mount and the ears spread apart under load.

Welding angle iron to the back of the plate.  I really needed more amperage to get better penetration on the 3/8" plate - I have my little 115v Hobart maxed out.   Could have either grooved it out and/or added preheat but I was lazy.  Since my life does not depend upon this weld and I was not exactly in need of any additional work I welded it up.  Angle was welded to top and bottom ears. 

Next I bought some 2" tubing to build a frame.

Leveling feet attached to the base using weld nuts:

Support pieces added to stiffen the vertical upright with the remaining steel I had.  Wasted very little on this project - even ended up using the mitered 45' pieces I cut off.

Added a spring return for the upper shaft and zirc grease/oil fittings for all of the shaft bearing blocks.

The new and improved Cometic bead roller.  Used the aforementioned miters before to mounting some 5" casters.  Lets me tip the machine back and wheel it where I need it instead of having to pick it up and carry it everywhere.  Also welded some 1/2" pipe to the main support for storage of all my different dies.

It's a start.

There's still a bit of flex in the upper ear - vertically it's extremely stiff but I think it needs a bit more reinforcement to keep from flexing in and out so-to-speak.  I'd also like to add a foot operated AC winch motor and gear drive to it to allow for two-handed control of the sheet.  The dies need a little polishing up but all in all I'm happy with how it turned out so far.  Could certainly do better if I were to start from scratch again but you live and you learn.  Such is life.

Cheers,

Chuck