Everything takes so LONG! – NASA American Iron Javelin update…

I know the updates have been slow to come but I’ve only been able to spend 4 days with the car since the last update. This is the busy season at work so I haven’t been able to take any days off. Also I lost a weekend because of the Chumpcar race. Anyway, here’s what’s happened…

Transmission – Joe extended the pull slave for me and I got it installed. I thought I was going to have to make a mount on the cross-member but after looking at it Joe felt I could just drill a hole in the cross-member and bolt the rod end to it. That ended up being a little more involved than I initially thought it would be. I had to drop the cross-member and clearance the floor pan a bit with a sledge hammer. Then I put a bolt through the rod end on top of the cross-member and bolted the cross-member back in place. Then I put a nut on the bolt and tightened it up. Speaking of the cross-member I added a couple of gussets for strength, so it’s done!

Engine – I got my coil mounted (mounted it to the head) and ran my plug wires (except the coil wire which was too short, got to get a longer one). With the clutch fork and pull slave mounted I was able to install my headers. I also installed the starter and wrapped it in heat wrap. I installed the radiator and the radiator hoses. Also mounted a power steering reservoir and got all the lines done except for the pressure line. I’ll get one made this week and then the steering system will be done! Oh, I also modified the throttle bracket and got the throttle (at least the carb side) done. I’m using a stock bracket and cable but for some reason the cable didn’t quite reach the carb stud. It was about a half inch short. So I sliced the top half of the bracket, moved it forward a half inch and re-welded it. Worked great.

Misc – I installed a breather in the rear and ran a hose into the trunk. I also tightened the other two plugs in the rear so it’s ready for fluid now. I finally got a shifter handle and knob. I sat in the car and decided where I wanted the knob to be and then went looking for a shifter with the right length and layback. Hurst has a ton of shifters and I found one with the right specs. It’s right were I want it. I swapped the 7/8″ clutch master I had installed for a 3/4″. I should have done more research when I was putting the pedal set together. I just bought three 7/8″ masters. Well I finally got around to asking Joe about it and he said change it over. Bummer… just that took 2 hours because I had to drop the steering column, undo all the brake lines and remote reservoir hoses and pull the pedal box out of the car. I made some inside door handles. The exterior handles have been in and working for a while but I needed a way to open the doors from the inside. I ended up using the stock inside rods and putting a 90* bend up in them. they work by simply grabbing the handle and pulling back towards the rear of the car. And finally the roll bar padding install is in progress. whew…

Don’t think I’ll be back with car until Sunday… I’m really itching to get the car to the muffler / driveshaft shop so I can start it up! It seems like the last 20% of this build is going to end up taking 80% of the time! Here are some pics…

1974 Javelin-road race, American Iron

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