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Thank you Ted, nope it's not wet sanded and buffed yet. The paint looks great straight off the gun, but it'll go in for a wet sand and buff after it's all assembled again! I didn't paint the car myself, I have a buddy who builds and paints show bikes. He took on the paint job for me, he's good for sure!

ANDDD the build continues. got some more goodies, Aluminum radiator, shroud and low profile fans installed, all new moog suspension components, front coilovers installed, braided brake lines, new brake rotors and pads, front spindles installed, etc.

IMG_20200707_182545 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200715_194012 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200719_170716 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200719_184729 by zac savage, on Flickr

Next was to figure out the battery relocation power cable... I decided to run it with the engine bay harness, easy enough. I may end up changing this up, but for now it seems to be my best option.

IMG_20200719_155924 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200719_155933 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200719_155937 by zac savage, on Flickr

No, those stupid cheap spacers are not on there permanently. They're just there to hold the rotors on while installing the calipers... Things are looking good at this point! time to torque everything down to spec and potentially put the front end of this car on the ground for the first time in a long time!

IMG_20200720_183309 by zac savage, on Flickr


While torquing everything down, disaster struck. I had finished the subframe, power steering rack.... then while torquing the motor mount bolts..... SNAP. I broke a damn stud off the rear motor mount. At this point, I threw my piece of **** harbor freight torque wrench in the trash and decided I'd fork out some $ for something nice. Ordered a Proto half inch torque wrench and waited for the mailman to bring it to me. In the meantime, I tore everything down to get the motor mount out and have a mulligan. The key, I found, was to pop the steering rack off the subframe to squeeze the mount out.

IMG_20200720_204344 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200720_204401 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200720_204413 by zac savage, on Flickr

I love doing things twice, don't you? haha what can ya do.

lol you snapped it. i didnt torque that, just tightend it with a ratchet.

my friend accidentally sent me his E56 rear mount, and i shaved the poly mount down to fit that bracket thinking it was an s54. so i just ended up installing a factory rear mount. ughh he still owes me

Beautiful build process. I always appreciate people who take their time and do things "right".

You got to take pics of the oil spills, radiator fluid on the ground not to mention brake fluid, steering fluid, the swap how to was easy to read but when you actually do it..lots of cursing and parts not fitting in well...gremlins to come after you thought all is well. Good job...it takes time when you do it yourself...not having the right tools is the worst part of the project.

This post has been edited by chacha: Nov 4, 2020 - 12:10 AM

So... it's been awhile... a long while. I've let this project sit for too long and now I'm finally back at it. I've got some catching up to do on the build thread, so I'm going to try and make a concerted effort to get this thread updated and wrap things up with the car..

I know it's been 2 years.. I've got no real excuse but to say that I moved on to other things.. until now.

Wrapped up the front suspension and brakes next. Installed Avalon 2 pot calipers ( they fit on stock rotors and brackets, nice easy upgrade). ST sway bars, undercoated wheel wells etc.

IMG_20200725_153643 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200725_175935 by zac savage, on Flickr

IMG_20200726_101402 by zac savage, on Flickr