I’ve been driving the car — but I’m far from done. Since the car is so fresh out of the oven I need to make sure that the work I did stays “done” — and that means I need to inspect the car over and under. Over is easy — open the hood. Under, not so easy. Fortunately, I have access to a lift and I can get under the car and look at the work closely. Every bolt that’s been turned as part of the build needs to be closely inspected.

Items I go over in the video but are worth mentioning here are:

1. K-member bolts — 4 under the frame and 4 at the back (8 total).
2. Exhaust bolts — the stainless exhaust system has 9 bolts per side — 18 total. There are also bolts that hold the hangers in place that need to be inspected.
3. Fuel tank bolts — all of the hardware that holds the fuel tank in place needs to be inspected. 3 total.
4. Fuel line — go from back to front and make sure that all of the parts are not colliding with things like the exhaust, the rear end and of course the drive shaft.
5. Transmission — there are about 6-8 bolts that can be located and checked under the car. The ones near the top of the engine are of course hard to get to.
6. Starter motor — while you’re there, there are a couple of bolts for the starter that should be checked. Note — there’s an un-fused power line running to the starter and you need to respect it.
7. Alternator (under the engine) fasteners. In my case — one.
8. Hydro-boost pump — check the four bolts that hold it in place and the two bolts that hold the bracket to the engine.
9. Belt tension.
10. Radiator lines.
11. Hydroboost lines.
12. Visible wiring.
13. Tires (the usual stuff — tread, wear patterns, air pressure).
14. Brakes (the usual stuff — wear, fluid leaks) and caliper mounting bolts.

Along the way, bring some soap stone (My buddy Dean uses this stuff and showed me the way — Thanks Dean Smith!). As you tighten a bolt or check for tightness, make a mark along the nut or bolt head, such that you can check the alignment of the nut later. The video illustrates how this works. Soap stone does wash off, so it won’t be there forever. It will be there for days though — enough time to get a feel for something if it’s not appropriately tight.

Enjoy!

-=FeriCyde=-