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Old August 18th 2004, 20:24
Bill K.'s Avatar
Bill K. Bill K. is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Woodinville, Wa
Posts: 210
I'm really tired -- 8p to 1a every nite for weeks since the paint was done... Running on sisu. The launch down the street this morning helps a lot.

DTM tin -- tricky with or without instructions. I pre-fit before installing, then tweeked some more after installing. I did this after replacing my rear clip and before paint to make sure the engine would fit. I had to clearance/bend the lower lip of the apron for the header to clear. The car had been rear ended, so the body was tweeked in the left rear. The body shop pulled it back into alignment so the deck lid would close right. Now header clearance is great.

Anyway, there is a lot of work to do to the side tin to fit around the intake manifolds. I used a hole saw to rough cut then a grinder to finish fit. Mine ended up a lot narrower at the apex than the kit starts with. Jake says the kits that way for compatibility with other intakes. The engine seal gives a lot of room for slop and Jake said some gaps are fine. I measured my engine bay width, cut a cardboard template and used that to gauge how much to remove from the side tin. When I have the engine out next time, I'm definately going to open up a couple holes and use fender washers to cover up the misfits. The double over lap ones in the rear corners were the toughest for me. The shroud tabs also needed trimming to fit the breather hoses at the heads, so take that into account when installing the nut inserts. Then I had to clearance the corners of the intake manifold flange next to the breather hoses to install the carbs.

You can probably trim the side tin with the engine in. Hopefully you have the rear tin attached to the engine... pull the engine if you don't . For me, getting the engine in/out was easy compared to fitting the tin.

Filter adapter -- mounting to the wheel well was simple enough. I had brake line clearance issues to the left muffler when I lowered the car to the ground, but I re-routed the line. I have stock trailing arms with CB disks, so the Porsche setup probably won't have a problem. Just be aware of wheel travel when mounting the filter adapter, etc. I'm going to add 2 +/- inch spacers to fill the +3 fenders, so I'll have more muffler clearance but it's fine as is. On STF, I'm getting suggestions to add a filter rock shield. I'm thinking about a "fender inside the fender" to guard the filter bottom and side while still giving access to change the filter without removing the shield.

BAS -- Mounting the trany brackets is just as much fun as the engine tin. Starter bracket took bending to clear the traction bar and eyes on your fingers to fit the link fastener. Left side bracket involved shortening the mounting stud, dimpling the frame horn, backing the trany side plate studs out, washer shims, clamp welding. At this point I was in another world, so I just took it one challenge at a time always with the "do it right" montra keeping me from flipping out. I used exhaust clamps to hold the three lateral seams together and will monitor for backfires before I commit to welding.

Take it one step at a time, there are no short cuts... The racing starts when the car is done AND your happy with it.
Bill
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