Project "Endless Challenge" 4l80E, dry sumped 500 wedge

[go-fish]

Do you cut your parts on a water machine? If not, will a water jet machine do as good as that?
We got a water machine at work and they are sending some guys to Washington for the seven week coarse.

[Tubbed440]

Yea, a water jet cutter will do a fine job of cutting things and leaving a sharp edge.  I don't know how thick you can go with it (material wise) but I would assume it would have something to do with how billy bad-a$$ the machine is.  I cut out all my parts on a bandsaw and then load them in the mill to clean the edges.  I also use the mill to mill out the intake ports. It's not a fancy mill either, just a bridgeport style, no CNC - all done by hand.  The second flange took me about 1 hour to cut out and machine.

[Street_Challenged73]

Very nice looking progress!!

[go-fish]

Yea, a water jet cutter will do a fine job of cutting things and leaving a sharp edge.  I don't know how thick you can go with it (material wise) but I would assume it would have something to do with how billy bad-a$$ the machine is.  I cut out all my parts on a bandsaw and then load them in the mill to clean the edges.  I also use the mill to mill out the intake ports. It's not a fancy mill either, just a bridgeport style, no CNC - all done by hand.  The second flange took me about 1 hour to cut out and machine.

Wow. By hand?

Our machine is delivered and set up, we just don't have an operator. They are thinking of bringing in a civilian employee to run for us. Training people every time someone transfers to another unit would get pricey.

It is the same kind of machine that the OC Choppers got on the TV show. It takes up about 800-1000 sq ft.

[Tubbed440]

Wow. By hand?

Maybe I wasn't too clear on that.    No CNC, meaning the x, y and z axis are controlled using hand wheels/levers.....like they used to do back in the 50's. 

[SilverChally]

Looking good    I learned on the pics on my first project and switched to photobucket for the 2nd one.

[Tubbed440]

Ran into a slight problem last night.  Brake seem to be a little too big for the rim and the spindle.  (Wilwood Integra 6R)  I'm currently looking into other options, like Viper Brake calipers, different uprights, etc.  I'll try and post up as I get along a little further on this.   Everyone that knows me (from way back) knows that I don't need to skimp on BRAKES.





Ordered my dry sump pump yesterday, should be here either Friday or Monday.  It's a 4 stage unit, 3 scavenge and 1 pressure.  I've had this tank for a while now, but I think I'm going to sell it and try and get a 3 gallon.  This one holds (*I think) 4.5 or 5 gallons. I've got enough fittings, line and what not to plumb it all up, all except for the filters that go on the lines in the pan. 



Material should be here on Friday for the intake and oil pan fabrication.  I still need to make the die mold for the runners, but I'll get there eventually.  I think (if the material comes in like it should) I'm going to concentrate on the oil pan, pump mounts and what not this weekend.  If I get more done than I thought, then I'll start making injector bungs and the intake plenum.

[ntstlgl1970]

It'll be cool to see what you come up with for the pan and everything. Hope you get your brake stuff sorted out.

[Travis72]

What size rims and brake rotors are you trying to run?  I'm not sure the Viper calipers will help you because they are huge!

Did you buy the Integra calipers from a Wilwood dealer?  If so you might try contacting them because Wilwood makes a ton of different calipers options (narrow body, narrow outer body, etc.) for wheel clearance.  You might even be able to exchange the Integra calipers for one of their other models.

Travis
72 Cuda

[Tubbed440]

The calipers are craftsman truck left-overs.  They were behind a 15 inch wheel originally with a rather large rotor, however, the caliper is so long it hits the upper or lower control arm, depending on how you position it. The Viper caliper (from what I have been told) is a bit shorter.  It'll clear the wheel I have now (15x6 with a 4 or 5 inch BS, I can't remember) once it's hard mounted - you just can't turn the steering wheel from lock to lock (with the wilwoods).  The thought has crossed my mind to make a new upper control arm similar to what is on a cup car, with no bends, just straight tubes to the ball joint and rod ends.   This all depends on what I can get my hands on for a decent price.  I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen because I have been toying with so many ideas.  The thought has crossed my mind to sell the existing wheel/tire combo and go with a 17 or 18 inch wheel, but you still have a problem with the upper control arm with back spacings that are greater than 6 inches due to the upper control arm design. 

I've been eyeballing this guy's thread for some ideas... 

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=28465.15

EDIT:  Imagine that, it's your thread. 

[Travis72]

LOL.  Nice.  Yeah those look like some monster calipers.   There are probably other Wilwoods that use the same mounting bolt pattern that you can use in their place.

Otherwise I have a set of Viper calipers that I can measure for you if you'd like.  Just let me know.

Travis
72 Cuda

[Tubbed440]

LOL.  Nice.  Yeah those look like some monster calipers.   There are probably other Wilwoods that use the same mounting bolt pattern that you can use in their place.

Otherwise I have a set of Viper calipers that I can measure for you if you'd like.  Just let me know.

Travis
72 Cuda

Yea, if you don't mind, that would be great. 

[Travis72]

Tried to send you a PM but your in box is full!

Travis
72 Cuda

[Tubbed440]

Tried to send you a PM but your in box is full!

Travis
72 Cuda

Sorry, PM box clean now. 

[Tubbed440]

Made some injector bungs the other day and made some modifications to the intake manifold plates.  Now I need to find someone with a metal shear and I'll be set to make the plenum. 



You can't hardly tell, but I changed the port floor of the adapter to be 10 degrees.  I also added a .100" deep x .060 cut around the mouth of the port to help with alignment of the intake runners during assembly.  Hopefully more progress to come next week.



I know you guys are probably tired of seeing models, but I finalized the design today.  This one is a little taller than the one I had previously made.  I corrected the intake port mounting angle (had it wrong on the other one) and made a couple subtle changes here and there.



This arrived in the mail today......  105mm of love.



I also heard back from Quick Time and they say that the 4L80E to BBM bell housing will be ready by the end of next week - so I should have some pics of that up some time soon.