C2's Alero Updates

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by dbral

Great to hear that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel finally. Having new paint and interior is going to be awesome. Is your color choice finalized? Did you give up on the Subaru suspension?

Paint will be the same color, Ford DX Dark Blue Pearl Metallic.

Yeah my suspension is fine currently, and I don't understand how someone would modify Subaru coilovers to safely fit the N-Body. I'll just wait for properly designed adjustable coilovers.

In other news, the truck's 33 year old fan and shroud catastrophically disintegrated, damaging my new radiator, a hose, and denting the hood significantly.

[dbral]

Holy shit-balls man. You can't seem to catch a break...

[Oldsnut]

You are lucky that your head wasn't near that working in the engine bay!

[[ion] C2]

yeah for real lol the dashcam video is funny, huge bang, parts scattering all over behind me, i'm like wtf was that my fan?

[[ion] C2]

Final results:

• 3 out of 4 runners were cracked (one completely circumferential), re-welded and reinstalled
• one coil and/or its wiring was acting up, so it was replaced

I really want an all-new 321 stainless manifold made but the welder insists I should just run this one as-is for now. It's true that his last repair is the only runner that didn't crack... he knows how to do it right, so maybe it will last a bit. I just know most stainless steels aren't suitable for heat cycling like 321 is. So inevitably, it will fail eventually.


Drove all the way to the shop before I remembered I took the seats out for reupholstering. Can't drive it home with no seats. Sigh.

[[ion] C2]

Interior's coming along

[dbral]

That is turning out really well. The seats are spot-on and look comfortable. Do those still use the stock seat frames? How did you make the headrest-delete seat backs and cushions?

[[ion] C2]

Those are my black/blue Recaro seats from the Evo 8, reupholstered. I just have thick steel plates on the bottom that bolt to the OEM sliders, and then bolt to the seat.

[tw0123]

Looks awesome Chris!! Can't wait to see the finished product all assembled in the car!!

[dbral]

Those are my black/blue Recaro seats from the Evo 8, reupholstered. I just have thick steel plates on the bottom that bolt to the OEM sliders, and then bolt to the seat.

Okay, got it now. Good job blending an OEM look into those seats.

[LRM88]

Originally Posted by dbral

Good job blending an OEM look into those seats.

I'll second that. The Olds logo is a nice touch.

[[ion] C2]

Made an aluminum version of the OEM dipstick. Tired of replacing broken plastic.

[dbral]

Dang man, nice job. CNC? Is it all one piece?

[[ion] C2]

yup, just machined 6061

it will be hotter than the plastic one but at least it will finally be durable

i also need to make a custom dipstick tube setup that's more durable, as I've gone through a few. Anytime I or someone else works on things back there and have to move/remove the tube, it tends to snap off. It's a super weak design with a thin spot.

[dbral]

Hellz yeah, that is an intricate part. Guessing a 5 axis machine? The program for that had to be a mile long, lol. Would love to learn CNC. There is one at work but it is off limits to us peons, lol. We have a manual mill/lathe in our department that is fun to use and learn new things on though we just make basic things with them. Machining would make for a fun hobby too. Would be great to have a lathe/mill at home. Some of the older brand name used stuff is not too expensive.....

Check and see if you have a Metal Supermarket in your area (if you haven't already found out about them). Went to the one in our area for the first time myself today and the selection of tubing is impressive. They might have some ss that you could use to design a dipstick tube with maybe.

[Oldsnut]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

yup, just machined 6061

it will be hotter than the plastic one but at least it will finally be durable

i also need to make a custom dipstick tube setup that's more durable, as I've gone through a few. Anytime I or someone else works on things back there and have to move/remove the tube, it tends to snap off. It's a super weak design with a thin spot.

You could Plasti Dip the round piece to avoid getting burned by the hot metal.

[[ion] C2]

Interior's still moving along... very expensive.

Paint wants to replace the windows with new ones, but the right rear quarter is unavailable anywhere. I want to remove and install the ones from my current running Alero into the new chassis, but they are worried about damaging the trim during removal. He's a high end glass guy but I might have to get an even better one to do what I want.

Truck is back after getting very expensive long travel. It's sweet.

[homegrown]

Man, that is beautiful country.

[dbral]

Wow, nice pic. Looks like that suspension would soak up some bumps. Your truck needs throwback Ivan Stewart paintwork now.