My 1968 LS swapped RSR project

[YellowBee69]

Summer has snuck up on me for the 4th (or 5th?) year in a row. Luckily this time I really don’t have much to finish.. the motivation was lacking for a while but I’ve recently sparked interest again in getting this turd done… I rebuilt my front wheels a while back with BBS 17” halves. So now I’m 17x13.5 in the rear and a17x11 up front. Love the look, the rear fitment at certain angles looks a little off but not too bad that I’m going to worry about it. I have to continue patching the steel where the hump in the rear seat is. (I’ve started, just halted and never finished).
To do list:
-Finish rear seat patch
-carpet
-door cards
-address minor cooling system leak at the water manifold
-possibly re do the brakes
-remove oil pan and put some liquid gasket at the front and rear cover to stop leak
-tidy up interior wiring
-install bumpers
-install windshield (for the second time)

The list really isn’t that long. If I put my head down and just work I’d say 2 weeks I could have all this stuff done. I just need to do it!!!

[sebhrw]

The lack of motivation is so real, especially getting into the summer months.

Super keen to see this one out and about, hopefully one day our paths can cross and we can rip around in our engine swapped 911s!

[YellowBee69]

Been a while! I finally got some motivation to get this damn thing done! Although it’s not there yet, we are getting real close. I finished up the rear seat area where I cut out for the trans. Is it pretty? No. But it’s functional. The panel to the left is bolted and gives me access to the shifter cables for maintenance/adjustments if needed. Next, I wasn’t sure how to bolt my lap harnesses in… This was what I came up with. Welded some small 5/16 plate to the outward panels on the interior. And then welded some to the interior tunnel…

My wonderful mother also re upholstered the upper door trim, and upholstered the door cards I had made. We just did them in some black vinyl for now, as we are just doing a RS panel. Couldn’t be happier with how they’re turning out!

I also may or may not have a whale tail coming in the mail this week…..

[YellowBee69]

Finished the passenger side door today. I’m slowly realizing my shop is a disaster. So I’m going to eat dinner, get the kids to bed, and clean the shop up around the car.. then maybe pull a late nighter and get the drivers done, or do it in the morning and then start on carpet!

[YellowBee69]

We have a finished interior!!

[Cobalt964ruf]

Looking very nice

[YellowBee69]

Haven’t posted an update in a while, for a few reasons, but the main being about 5 weeks ago my wife and I welcomed our son into the world! So I’ve been spending some quality time with the kiddos and the newborn. However, I’ve started back up as I’ve got a show to make September 6th… and I will be making it this time… The car is nearing completion…. Of vol. 1… I know I know it’ll never be done completely. But it’s nearing actually seeing the road. I’ve been trying to take my time and make sure things are done correctly, and not miss anything that I’ll have to come back and do as soon as it’s on the road. This project below was one of those preventative things. I always saw the oil cooler opening in comparison to my radiator opening and thought it wouldn’t be getting much air flow to the radiator… the issue was I am not a metal fabricator, nor do I have any tools for bending or anything like that. I can weld, and get by with what I need to. But sheet metal isn’t something I do much. So to complete this little project feels pretty good! A Ram air duct from the oil cooler opening to the radiator opening, should do the trick!

I’ll include a few photos of some of the other goodies I’ve done/got…
-new LED classic look lights from Morimoto
-headliner installed, completely done by my mom who is extremely talented.

[Yan2947]

Looking great! I'm slowly getting there also but you are way ahead of me!

[eypuff]

Wow. Can't wait to see the final product.

[YellowBee69]

It’s getting there! My dad came over the other night and helped me get the front and rear glass back in, when he left I put the pop out windows in… May need to massage the trim in some in the corners of the front but it turned out great! I go my coolant system “almost” bled, I haven’t started the car yet, so I’m sure it’ll take a little more. But I hope to get the car tuned this week if all goes as planned. Seats are also bolted in for good! A lot is happening quickly here at the end, getting closer by the day! It’s been a long 4.5 years working on this car.

[YellowBee69]

Maiden voyage! Thursday evening I took the car in town to the gas station. I knew the tune was bad, but after 4.5 years I couldn’t resist. I caught some good gas station photos and thought the car was on fire on the way home. Turns out when I set ride height the tank was empty! I was rubbing pretty good up front. Got that taken care of and got the car tuned on Friday night, thing runs like a dream and pulls like none other!

Of course at the end of the tubing session we ran into a fuel issue, which ended up being vapor lock. Fuel in the cell was boiling due to an early style renegade tank, not enough ventilation. Hoping to get a new tank on the way, and re do my fuel system in a couple days and be on my way!

[Cobalt964ruf]

Great job!

[YellowBee69]

Ive been a little MIA lately. Getting the car on the road was such a relief I kind of have been just enjoying it, and all the free time with my family now that every spare second isn't in the shop working on the car...

That being said, she's not 100% done yet, they say a project car is never done and I somewhat am starting to believe that... There are certainly a few things that I'm wanting to do sooner rather than later, but there's also a few things I am not worrying about until it comes time to repaint the car. (Under both the frunk and the engine bay areas). Now that the car is on the road, there are 2 things I really need to address.. The first being, the car runs too cool. I can't seem to get it above 185 degrees even on hot days.. So rather than install a thermostat, my plan is to build replaceable shields for the radiator duct that I can bolt on that have different variations of hole sizes to restrict air flow to the radiator... I've spoken to a few old rally drivers and they said this was the method they used so Im going to fire up the CNC, and get some acrylic and see what happens...The Second issue is not a huge issue, more just comfort, but over time this car has accumulated several holes under the dash from wiring and who knows what else.. When the car is "warm" Hot air seeps through these holes and hits you in the legs while driving.. Not as much now that ive installed the hood seal, but it still comes in a little. So I just need to take a day and figure out the best way to block all those off.. Other than those two things the car honestly runs amazing and is a blast to drive.. The 6 speed 996 gearbox makes it very enjoyable to drive, I will say at interstate speeds in 6th gear around 70-75 mph I am cruising at about 2700 RPM, which is a tad high, but nothing crazy! I have a couple more shows to attend this month and then the car will be in the shop for the winter, Ill start tackling the small stuff slowly and doing a once over on the suspension components to ensure nothing has come loose!