Some of that weight difference is the airbag being in the 1.8 dash. The 1.6 dash has the tombstone and cluster shroud that are hard to find because they are always broken, aren't they?


Troy,
Y U so meticulous with some then get impatient and hack other?
Too so impulsive, too so impatient. Need much more breathe deeply. Zen.

 

Yeah some of the weight is the air bag and the air bag structure, but the dash bar/structure is supposedly lighter as well.

 

He's taken all of the structure out of it. All of it. Pick it up with one finger.

 

I was being a little sarcastic. I always thought the 1.6 dash was better looking, but what are the chances of finding one that is in pristine condition.

Like Steve has alluded to, there are not many dashes or dash bars that are lighter than what I have. Ten years ago I did a major overhaul on them, and it recently went through stage two of cutting every shard of metal that I could live without.

Tonight I was taking a peak, and I think I have come up with a way of modifying the dash in a way I could live with. It will have a more gutted look than I was hoping for. If it bothers me too bad, I will replace it.

Because I now have the dash pretty much in place, I know exactly where to cut to make another dash fit perfect. But for now, I am going with it.

 

Your build is inspiring me to get to work on my Miata chassis soon. ugh

The as much as possible, for as little as possible build LOL.

 

Today was the first day I spent most of the day working on the car in weeks.

I thought that I was pretty close to getting the dash to completely bolt to the dash bar, but I had to do quite a bit of trimming to get it to fully seat. After all is said and done, I think I can live with the dash the way it is. I did find another one for a reasonable cost, but am not so sure I am going to buy it.

Also got most of the driver side seat belts sorted out. Just need to weld one more tab, and it is done.

This week I should have the driver side seat and seatbelts mounted.

 

Nice.

I find most dashes look compromised with roll cages. I saw one once that the person used riv nuts in the dash and flocked filler panels with black coated flush mount hardware to finish it off. Was pretty sharp looking.

Keep in mind though the whole dash in this case was flocked so it was more or less seamless.

 

Pretty much got the passenger seat sorted out. It was important for me to to have Steve (Sixshooter) fit in the car. He is quite tall, and I had to do a test fit to make sure he would fit.

After the test fit, I realized that it would be nothing like the bracket I fabricated on the driver side. I had to cut out the factory rear seat mount brackets so the seat would fit flat on the floor and still sit back far enough so that Steve will be comfortable. Still have to do a little more welding yet, and round up the proper fasteners.

In other news, RyanG and I took our motors to a machine shop. Ryan needs the whole nine yards. I just need the mains align bored and the rotating assembly balanced.

There is about a 3 week turn around time, so after I get the seat and belts sorted out, I am going to tackle the wiring.

 

Progress. Troy's been busy.

 

I picked up my motor from the machine shop Friday. I was so excited about putting the motor together until I realized that I have not ordered the oil pump yet. Fail.

Eventually I will drag out the camera and show you guys what I have been slaving over.

 

Did you find your balancer?

 

Yes I did. It occurred to me that I drove a different truck when I delivered the parts. He did not need it, and it was sitting in the back seat all along.

 

The above pics are all of the passenger side. It was a bit more challenging because I wanted taller passengers to fit comfortably, safely, and legally at a race track.

The factory drain hole prevented the seat bracket from having enough of a flat surface for the seat to rest and bolt properly, so I raised the depression and filled the hole.

The frame rail I installed previously makes for a nice place to weld a sub-belt anchor to. The passenger side was offset a bit, but it should be plenty safe.

 

Today I decided to tackle the dreaded wiring. Because the dash bar was modified, I had to relocate the under the dash fuse box. I welded a tab on the dash bar; an easy job.

I already gutted the wiring harness and re-taped it months ago, but I am afraid that I am going to have to unravel it all and re-tape. It just does not seem to fit on the firewall and still reach all the electrical components on the steering column; not so easy a job.

On my next session, I am going to figure out a way to relocate the under the hood fuse box to under the dash by the glove box. I already cut one hole and began routing the wires on the driver side for a wire tuck.

 

Goddammit, updates man!

 

He's spending his money on more important things right now.

 

If related to cars, I'm sure we all wouldn't mind reading about it!

If not, then hopefully everything gets straightened out!

 

 

Sometimes it takes investing a little money in your business to be able to make a bunch more money in the long run.

 

Farm all the things? And amen on spending money on equipment to make a lot more money later. Putting $15k into my oven at my bakery 5 years ago hurt at the time but was well worth it.