Suspension Clean Up

In preparation for building the GTM, I scour GTM build blogs and logs. (This is one of the reasons I am writing this blog, to help illustrate the path toward a successful GTM build.) Anyway, one thing I liked was the idea of cleaning up the suspension control arms. Fparts degreased the suspension before they shipped. I know the parts came from a minimum of 2 cars (yellow and grey). Based on different coloration between the from and rear suspension members, I think they may have come from different vehicles as well.

 One thing I learned from other build logs is the idea of repainting the suspension pieces to give them a "new" and "uniform" look. I took a quick trip down to Loews and picked up a couple cans Rustoleum metallic paint, set up a paint booth in the corner of the garage and masked off the rubber gaskets. This went pretty quick.

The other improvement is the replacement of the rotors, brake lines, and calipers with the Z06 Big Brake Upgrade. That's a late fall, early winter project.

Donor Parts Kit (Cataloged)

The donor parts kit was the most practical approach for this phase of the build. I do not have space for a donor C5, plus storage for GTM components. I had already decided that I was going with a bigger engine than the LS1, and I plan to purchase the big brake upgrade kit. Those decisions make a donor C5 impractical.  Photos are here.

I purchased the kit on Ebay from Fparts. Fparts is a salvage yard located in Bristol, PA. They specialize in Firebird, Camero and Corvette salvage. According to their banner, they put together more than 25 of these kits in 2008.

The first thing you need to understand is the kit is not sitting around on some skid, waiting for you to put your money down. These parts are still installed on existing vehicles. They even apologized that it took them a week to get things together. It would probably take me a month.

The second thing is this is going to come via freight. The shipping company provided a tracking number, and I was able to follow my skid from Pennsylvania to Minneapolis. The day before it was due into the Minneapolis terminal, I called and set up a delivery time. I did have to pay extra for a lift gate truck. If you have the means to pick it up yourself, you can save $50.

The third thing is the parts are used. However, you have to understand the Corvette mindset. Since I have a C5 and belong to Myrtle Beach Corvette Club, I get it. Most of these cars are driven on sunny days by older people. When I'm in South Carolina, my C5 is my daily driver except when it rains or I'm on my way to gun range. I'm hard pressed to put more than 3000 or 4000 miles per year on the car.

 Factory Five provides a GTM parts list. They even have a page with pictures of the parts. I make no claims that I know what everything looks like, and they look different sitting in your hand than they do attached to a vehicle.

Fparts uses this same list and provides everything except radiator, alternator, brake pads and brake lines. They print this stuff in red. Parts arrive on a pallet, steel banded and bubbled wrapped or bagged where appropriate. This means items like the steering column are bubble wrapped. Items like the O2 sensors are in bags labeled as such. Items like the fuel tanks, suspension are just sitting there, but these are pretty obvious. The suspension came in four pieces: left, right, front, rear. I don't have to think about putting all those parts together.

So you have the part numbers, description, photos (in some cases) and a list. What could go wrong? I broke things into the following groups:

• Suspension
• Fuel Tanks,
• Steering Column
• Transmission harness
• Engine harness
• Cooling system (e.g. hard pipes, condenser, fans)
• Doors (e.g. window motors, side view mirrors, handles, seat belts)
• Small items (e.g. sensors, bolts, tensioner, pulley, ignition)
• Electronics

I still ended up with a couple of things not on the list, and a couple of mystery pieces. I texted photos to my buddy Brian, who has forgotten more than I'll ever know about cars. He'll either have a good laugh or wish me luck.

I use the same list that Factory Five provides, and Fparts uses to define the donor parts kit. I cataloged everything so I know where I put all these parts. I intend to matched these parts up with the build task list that I developed. I also plan to integrate the Factory Five Parts into the task list. This is my method of knowing where to go find something, when it is time to put it into the build. There are a lot of smart people out there, so you probably have a better way to do this.

Donor Parts Kit Arrives!

This is really quite painless.

Fparts shipped the kit via ABF. I told them I needed a lift gate service as the destination was a residential garage. No problem. The ABF folks were very professional and we arranged a four hour window for delivery. Everything was packed on a single skid. We slid everything into the back of the garage, signed the paper work and got to work.

To give you an idea of how much space you'll need, here is a quick photo of the skid, the gun safe and the hound. There is more than enough room left to park the Boxster in front of the skid.

I didn't have a lot of time last night to work on this, but I'll go into detail in next post. I will say this. Fparts did a super job. Most parts are bubble wrapped, many are labeled and the skid is wrapped in plastic plus 3 steel bands.

Donor Parts Kit (Purchased)

Over the weekend the GTM Donor Parts kit offered by FPARTS, went on sale at 10% off on Ebay. I've been watching this auction since May. It has been relisted a couple of times, and according to FPARTS, there were 3 kits available.

The economics for the donor parts work out like this:

• A new parts kit from SMC Performance is starting to push $12,000. 
• The GM Performance Parts kit never really materialized. This was something announced over a year ago.
• A salvage title C5 is running around $10,000
• The FPARTS kit dropped down to $4409 for 2 days over the weekend.

The items not included are the following:

• Brake lines
• Radiator
• Alternator
• Brake pads (Duh)
• A/C compressor and clutch

I am still planning to get the Big Brake Kit upgrade for Z06 Corvettes. This covers rotors, calipers, pads, fluids and brake lines. I have verified that the Factory Five 18 inch wheel upgrade accommodates this brake kit.

I plan to go with a bigger radiator (probably a DeWitts) anyway.

The alternator and A/C compressor need to matched to the engine accessory kit. Again, I am going with a bigger engine than you could find in a salvage C5 (i.e. LS376).

FPARTS does ask for a little patience. They need to put the donor kit together, and that includes pulling parts off a couple C5s in their salvage yard. I hope to see everything in the next 10 days.

It feels good to take a step forward on this project.

ISIS Car Wiring System

The project I am currently working on involves updating the front end of the Boxster. One aspect of the new look is the addition of DRLs (daytime running lights) that I purchased from Pedro's Garage. For you Boxster enthusiasts, this is a great site for do it yourself projects.

To get power to the DRLs, I have to tap into the windshield wiper motor. Sounds simple, until you look at all the wires running to and fro just for the wiper motor. Fortunately, I have a multimeter and a very good after market manual. There are several pages devoted to schematics of different electrical systems. As my eyes begin to glaze over, I realize that wiring the GTM could be the hardest part of the build.

So I asked people who have wired cars. My wife's cousin, Tim, has restored several classic cars (and a few other odds and ends) told me to check out American Autowire. If I had a classic Mustang or Corvette that required rewiring, this certainly is the system I would use. However, this is a GTM that I plan to install just about every electronic gadget known to man.

Then I stumbled across the ISIS Multiplex System on the Factory Five Forum. This system might also be referred to as ISquare, 1 + 1 or LittleFuse. ISIS is a modular and scalable electrical system that that manages the lights, signals, dash gauges, electronics, ignition, battery monitoring, electric windows, door poppers (well you get the idea).

Rather than stumble through a poor explanation, I found 4 videos produced by Two Guys Garage. The best part of these videos, they explain the ISIS system and they install it on a GTM!

These videos are about a year old.

Since then, they have added the inMOTION Cell. This module handles item like door poppers, power windows and anything where reverse polarity is necessary to make something run. It manages 5 devices instead of 10 like a regular power cell.

The other addition is the inTOUCH MAX Double DIN Touch Screen. With the exception of turn signals and hazard lights, every switch on the dash can be managed from this touch screen module. Plus you can password protect the car, in addition, the security already built into the master cell. The next video shows an actual install.

I talked to Jay Harris, President of ISIS Power last week. He answered a few more questions:

• LED lights, flashers - no problem. All of that is managed through the master cell and there is no reliance on electro-mechanical flashers.
• The different cells are daisy chained via a data cable enclosed in wire loom. On a build like the GTM, there is no order dependence for cells.
• Back up cameras are not currently supported by the inTOUCH cell. Jay plans to support cameras via inTouch by first Quarter 2012.
• Custom programming can either be done at the factory, or you can do it yourself.
• There is lots of info and reference material on the ISIS Power Site.

This is a modular and scalable system that even a computer geek like me can figure out.

Down side: it will cost more, and I will not be using the supplied wiring from the kit.

Up side: the sky is the limit!!

Garage Prep I

My solution for body shell storage is to hoist the back 2/3 portion of the shell to the top of my garage. I asked Factory Five technical support for dimensions and weight requirements.

1. 14 - 15 feet long
2. 74 inches wide
3. 150 - 175 pounds

I had our handyman Ted install angle iron across 2 joists for strength.

He installed 4 three foot lengths with a width of 7 feet and a length of 10 feet. The idea is to lift by the wheel wells and door openings in the shell.

Next, I went  to Lowes and purchased a swivel eye pulley plus hanger. Each are rated to 400 pounds.

I attached the pulley to the hanger, then used two 200 pound rated cable ties to attach the hangers to the angle iron.

Just add rope and tie offs, and we have pullet lift more than capable of handling body shell for storage. It is probably a bit over built, but I really don't want to wake up some morning and find it resting on the garage floor.

The Great Parts Round Up Begins

At my birthday party last night, the guys from my small group asked me what I was up to. I mentioned that I was planning to do a GTM build. It was very reassuring to hear Don give his stamp of approval to Factory Five and the quality of their products. Don is a gear head from way back. Most of the guys were wondering if they could come over and turn some bolts. Certainly! One of the things this kind of project needs is friends.

Don asked if there was much welding. I don't think there is, but he has a spot welder I can use if it comes to that. Again, it is good to know there are friends there to help when (not if) I get into trouble.

I purchased the first real parts for the build: Porsche 930 CV Joints. Porsche OEMs are still making these parts even though they appeared in the 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo (model 930). The Mendeola SDR transmission requires these parts to hook the back wheels into the gear box. These aren't the biggest piece of the car, but it has to start somewhere. Besides the love of my life told me I had to make sure the wheels stayed on the chassis.