slusher Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Engine looks great, and nice shot of the cuda... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 JIM, oyur build looks pretty awesome from where i'm sitting it looks great up on all fours. do ya have any chassis shots, or did I skip over them? keep up the awesome work! Shaun.s Hi Shawn and thanks. But no I dont have any finished chassis shots yet because It's still under construction. The engine is still being built and hasnt been installed yet. However if you go back through the thread you will find some chassis shots as the chassis was being built and detailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 Engine looks great, and nice shot of the cuda... Thanks Carl. I hope to have the engine complete and ready to install in a few days.. Stay tuned lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFchronos Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Amazing work on the engine and the Cuda looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 I finally finished up the detail on the engine the past few days. Attached the valve covers- made and installed the plug wires and boots- tied in the vacuum lines from the intake and carbs to the valve covers- painted and installed the starter and exhaust manifolds- paint detailed the radiator, shroud, fan, fan clutch, fan belt and pulleys, and drive shaft. Yes I know..... I'm a slow builder and detailer lol. But assembling and detailing the engine and planing out to make sure it will still fit in the car takes time when you step away from the order in which the kit recommends building and installing it. You'll understand what I'm talking about when it's time to install it in the cuda. Sorry the pics are a little dark. I took them outside and its cloudy today. I have to do this in multi posts since there is a photo limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 The next couple of pics show the starter installed and the starter cable from the underside Here she is with her hat on dressed for the weather.. Her hat with be removable for displaying.. There is a reason why the fan assembly isn't installed yet.. It will make sense during the process of installing the engine in the car And very soon it will be time to stuff all this...................................... Into This.... Can you say FUN?!!!!!!!!! Actually, it has all be pre-test fitted to make sure the assembly process will work and that everything lines up like it should. Soooooooo..... It shouldn't be a issue, other than it's a little tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Very nice detail on your Hemi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow12 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Very nice. It will look great in there. I see you did as I did and swapped the valve covers to the proper sides. The kit art and instructions show the oil filler on drivers side but it should be where you put it on pass side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Getting ready for the cuda engine install. I try to prep ahead with what I'll need so the install process would go as smooth as It can. To start with, since I will be handling the cuda alot during the engine install, I always where a good pair of cotton gloves so I dont get the paint to messy with finger prints. And because I did alot of test fitting as I was building and detailing the cuda and engine, I know the tools I'll need. A good pair of tweezers to help me hold and install parts, and tooth picks to help align a few parts and apply small dabs if adhesive. And of course some adhesive that will bond strong but give me a few seconds of time to move things around if I need too. This is the adhesive I elected to use for this process, because it holds strong, and though you need to hold the parts for a second or two, it still dries slow enough to allow you to adjust things as you go if needed. It's also a favorite of mine as far as instant CA glues go, because it doesnt craze white when it dries like some instant CA glues do. This is going to be a multi part post and maybe a little long winded at times.. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 The First step in installing the engine is to lay the remaining starter and negative battery wires out on the engine in a way that will allow me to slip the engine into the car and still route the starter cable the way I want it. So to start with I faced the started wire toward the bottom if the engine to allow it to slip through the bottom of the engine bay, and the negative wire facing upward to toward the top of the engine bay. This is important so that everything goes smooth without fighting with these wires later. Next is to slip the engine into the engine bay by tilting it slightly with the tranny sliding over the tranny mount. I did not cement it into place yet at this point. and I left it slightly forward off the tranny mounting pin to allow for setting the drive shaft into place. Notice the starter wire below the bottom of the car. Next is to slip the drive shaft into the trans first then carefully into the rear axle. (remember the engine is still loose at this point. Next I bowed the starter wire up and slipped it between the steering shaft and fender wall. Then turning the car over, carefully, because everything is still loose at this point and I need it to stay in the location I have it so the drive shaft doesnt fall out, I pulled the started wire up into the engine bay. once the starter wire is plulled all the way up where I need it to be, I turned the car over and gently nudged the engine backward and cemented it into place with a drop of CA glue on the tranny mounting pin and a drop on each of the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipes. This is all thats needed to hold the engine in the car. Sorry about the pic quality at times.. Next I went head and tied the brake booster vacuum line into the intake manifold where I had pre-planned for it to mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Now its time to get the fan assemble installed. Once again a toothpick and tweezers come in handy. A drop of CA glue was applied to the lower pulley mounting pin andThe fan belt assembly was lowered into place with the tweezers. A toothpick was slid through the grill opening and through the fan pulley into the engine block to line it all up as the cement dried. The fan clutch was slid into the fan but not cemented into it.. I needed this loose to maneuver the fan into place in the engine. Leaving the fan out away from the pully a little bit, a drop of CA cement was place on the clutch pin and then the fan was slid into place with the tweezers Next the fan shroud was carefully slid down between the fan and core support with the mounting locator for the shroud to radiator facing the drivers side. This is important when it comes time to mate the shroud to the radiator. No glue for this step yet. And sorry about the blurry pic. I was holding the camera with one hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalper Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 super engine detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Finally the radiator was gently and carefully slid into place between the fan and core support and gently pushed down into the mounting holes for it on the frame A couple of drops of CA glue was applies with a tooth pick to each side edge of the shroud and it was mated to the radiator. Then the car was turned upside down and a drop of CA glue was apply to each hole for the radiator mounting pins. And thats pretty much how I had planned it out. I still have the radiator and heater hoses to work on and the battery and battery detail to do in the engine bay. As well as a lot of other things left to finish up on the car. So stay tuned and thanks for checking my build out so far............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow12 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Great job. You got it in there just as planned. Watch out for lower rad hose fit. It's a little tricky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10thumbs Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hi Jim, You are showing some fine model building detailing, I really like seeing these things, and I like seeing what can be done with the kits we buy. We're given lots of times a good start with a solid kit, but the detailing makes these models look right. Just like you're doing. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Wow Jim I am really impressed about how this is coming together.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Super step by step installation instructions and pictures. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjracing Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Great build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron5150 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Now we just need an awesome focused pic, of that engine bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Jim, you're doing some stellar work on all the details, now we need to get you a better camera with a great Macro feature so we can see all that awesome work in sharp focus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Now we just need an awesome focused pic, of that engine bay Jim, you're doing some stellar work on all the details, now we need to get you a better camera with a great Macro feature so we can see all that awesome work in sharp focus! Hi Guys sorry about the focus on some of the pics, the problem wasnt the camera, I have a pretty good camera, its a Fuji finepix S1500. I had the model in a box lid outside and it was windy, so I was trying to hold the camera with one hand and the box lid I had the model in with the other hand to keep the wind from blowing it. This caused me to not be able to hold the camera steady as I was snapping pics. Then at some point my finger must have moved the setting on the camera I normally have it set at. I didnt notice this till this morning. So I will try to get a few better pics up today for you all of the engine bay with the engine installed. I'm just waiting for the weather to clear up a little this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Great job. You got it in there just as planned. Watch out for lower rad hose fit. It's a little tricky Hi Fred, I sure will. I have a plan for that though if it does give me any issues. Hi Jim, You are showing some fine model building detailing, I really like seeing these things, and I like seeing what can be done with the kits we buy. We're given lots of times a good start with a solid kit, but the detailing makes these models look right. Just like you're doing. Michael Hi Michael, thanks. I very seldom do box stock builds anymore. I was building back in the 80s and 90s when a lot of the aftermarket industry was coming into its own and really took a shine to detailing. I like detailing model because I always find something new and more I can do with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Great job. You got it in there just as planned. Watch out for lower rad hose fit. It's a little tricky Hey Fred got the lower radiator hose in this morning and it went without a hitch.. Just FYI, the lower hose actually has a long section from the bend and a shorter section from the bend.. Not very noticeable either, but there is a difference and it matters when installing it.. The longer end should be to the block side. If you get that right the other end drops right into the radiator hole for it. I had made one with aftermarket radiator hose material just in case there was a issue with it, but ended up not needing it. Edited July 12, 2014 by microwheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Here is a few better detail shots of the engine after the install.. the engine bay still has a few things that need to be finished up with. The battery and battery cable detail and radiator and heater hoses, and a little clean up. But hopefully these pics are easier to see than the blurry ones from yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustybill1960 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 This is the most meticulously thought out projects I have seen on this board in some time!! My hat is off an d I appluad Your efforts Mr. Daniels! By far one of the best builds I have seen in awhile! Thank You for sharing with Us all here Looking forward to more of Your work Later Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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