Messages

Hi Aaron,

Great to hear you've worked out the suspension issue and that you're onto paint!  Can't wait to see photos.

Merry Christmas!

My personal opinion based on having my Hurricane on the road for 10+ years is that the engine compartment aluminum sees some wear.  It's exposed to the road after all.  You can pretty it up all you want before you put it one the road, but once you have some miles on the car, it is going to have to be maintained.  For me, it wasn't worth it.  I built the car to be driven,  keeping the engine compartment aluminum looking fresh isn't how I chose to spend my time. 

Tim's Custom Exhaust in Coon Rapids:  2650 Coon Rapids Blvd.  763-422-6720.  I don't like the aesthetics of their solution, but it did the job.  The photo below isn't the exact set-up I'm using, but close in design.  I'd think if you took the photo to Tim's they'd be able to replicate.  You could probably fabricate it yourself and have someone do the welding if need be. The rubber hanger is the key, and they're available at any auto parts store.

Hi Aaron,

Agreed that having the wheels balanced and an alignment done would be the best place to start.

Here's another random thought....I had a vibration that I ultimately traced back to the driver's side header flange contacting the front of the foot-box. At certain RPMs the engine vibration would transfer from the header into the foot-box, up the steering shaft, steering wheel, etc.  I ended up cutting a channel in the front of the foot-box eliminating the interference. I didn't feel it in the seat, so likely not the same thing you're experiencing, but thought it would be worth mentioning.  Make sure you have sufficient clearance between your headers and the foot-boxes.  My headers needed a lot of tweaking during the build, so I suspect the issue may have been somewhat unique to my car. 

While we're on the topic of exhaust, the build manual for my Gen I car (HM1066) called for the side pipes to be hard-bolted to the frame.  MISTAKE!  The vibration of the engine ended up busting up the headers over time, including ripping the mounting tab off the side one of the side pipes.  I ultimately had a local shop fabricate a mounting system that allowed the side-pipe to move, effectively taking the stress out of the system.  I don't recall what the current set-up looks like for the cars coming out of Carroll, IA, but if they don't come with a mounting system that allows the side-pipe to move you'll want to find a different way to do it.  I know the FFR vendor community offers something similar to what I ultimately had done locally.

Beautiful car, congratulations!  They're never truly done, there's always an opportunity to fine-tune or upgrade your original work, that's part of the fun! 

I used the Kirkey version of the seat you pictured above.  Good call, that style really keeps you firmly planted.  My first autocross in HM 1066 I was still using the stock driver's seat and found I was sliding around so much I had a death-grip on the steering wheel to keep my self in the seat.  The Kirkey eliminates all lateral movement, enabling you to be much more aggressive in sharp corners. 

Have fun with your build!

Body itself can't weigh anymore than 180-220 lbs.  I've installed and uninstalled many times on multiple cars with just two people.  Having a third to help guide things into place helps.

Hi Aaron,

I don't check this site very often so didn't see your post until today.  Did you do the trial fit last weekend?  I'm out of town for the next week, but if you're still looking for a hand give me shout. I'll be back in town on 4/23.

I drilled and tapped the column that the turn signal slide over and used a long set-screw to hold it in place. Works fine.

Hi Aaron!  Are we going to see your car on the road this spring?

Looking good Aaron.  Let me know when you plan to drop the motor in and I'll try to make it over.  I do have the plate that attaches to the intake for use with the engine hoist.  I also have a set of tools that make it easy to assembly A/N fittings when it comes time to run your cooling and fuel lines to the engine.

Dan

The most frequently used tool in my build was a hand-held pneumatic cutting wheel.  For smaller diameter cable a cable cutter is the better call.  Just be sure to tightly tape the cable and cut through the tape to avoid fraying.     

Hi Aaron,  nice to see you're well underway.  One other thing to consider holding off cutting as long as possible is an trimming you need to do to fine tune the side pipe openings.  I ended up taking off more off than I needed to, which I realized once I got the body installed for the last time with the panels all gapped.  My car was already painted, so it limited what I could do to rectify at that point. It didn't help that one of my headers was so far off that the side pipe was angled 6 inches off parallel from the frame. I assume the Lake City cars are a bit more consistent, but the Gen I cars were notorious for fit issues getting the body squared up correctly.  That's probably true of all component cars (FFR is famous for poorly made body panels). It's a balancing act because you want to install the side pipes to get an idea how square everything is, but the closer you are to the final body install with panels gapped the better.

Nice job Russ.  You're fabrication work is very professional looking. Thanks for clarifying the all-thread w/SS sleeve set-up.  I hadn't thought if it before, it's clearly a more economical approach vs. buying solid SS rods.  I've got everything on order I need to start the project once the car is off the road for winter. I found some very good pricing on the all-thread and sleeves on Amazon, free shipping to boot! 

Russ, are all the rods used in your linkage 3/8" in diameter?

Dan