Got alot done the last 2 days. Still stupid hot, but not triple digits and 120+ heat index. Working inside the cab is horrible regardless though.

I got the under hood junction wired up, just need to mount the relay. The cabin junction has a home, I just need to screw it down. I installed the fuse holder for the 200 amp ANL fuse on the alternator wire above the rear axle bumpstop, since that's the only spot that will go unmolested once I go to a rear fuel cell and traction adders. Everything is set to connect the new wire from the alternator to the fuse holder, just need to get a piece of wire from holder to master switch.

I also need to loom the wires going from the under hood junction to the coil hot wire (ASD relay) and the fan and water pump wiring.

I also took photos of the bumper brackets. To fit a radiator in front of the core support, I wanted a little more room up front. So I plasma cut these brackets to move the bumper out 1.5" . The body lines aren't too big of a problem and can be dealt with later

Background: NHRA requires the alternator to be wired directly to battery so that when the master switch is killed with engine running, alternator and battery are both removed from the power circuit. What this does, however, is make that alternator wire hot 24/7, switch on or off. So by putting a fuse there, allows a way to kill that wire when working under the hood, as well as a safety factor if that wire were to ever short to the frame.

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Picked out a fuel cell: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/j...6-nf/overview/

With the spare tire hanger/crossmember out, available room is 32" x 24" x 12" (to bottom of the trailer hitch, which is staying put for future use). This tank is 25 x 17 x 9 inches (16 gallons), which would leave me room to run a fill tube down to it. I'm partially thinking to go old retro mustang, and use a fold down license plate to cover the filler. Just not sure if it will work or not, one of those things you just have to mock up. I really don't want to go hole-in-the-bed style. Or I can completely lose my mind in trying to route hoses, and re-use the factory filler. Either way will require a custom welded filler neck that comes in parallel to the top of the tank, under the bed.

Looking at going with an Aeromotive Fuel System plumbed in all 10AN (5/8") hoses and running on E-85. The FPC progressively pulses the fuel pump at low RPM to keep it from overheating when full pressure isn't neccesary due to low injector pulse width. Once RPM comes up and the injectors go to high duty cycle, the pump goes to 100% drive.

Eliminator Fuel pump
Fuel Pump Controller
Pro-EFI Pressure Regulator
HiPoTek 8AN Mopar Fuel Rails (Dual Feed Setup)


Right now all I lack is 5 feet of red 4 gauge from the alternator fuse to the master switch, and running 8 gauge from the cabin fuse block to the alternator fuse block and grounding the fuse block's ground side.

The transmission fan and water pump are wired up and the sPOD relay board is wired up to the cabin fuse block. The underhood harness needs to be connected to the sPOD and the ignition-on relays, and the radiator fan wiring needs to be installed (I already have it assembled on the bench). Then I should be able to put the radiator fan in.

I removed the lines from the factory transmission cooler, plugged the lower port and put a plug in the top port with a 1/16th inch vent drilled in it...enough to vent any pressure differential, but not enough to let debris in.

Once the new alternator wire is complete, I can remove the old one going to the PDC. That will remove the last piece of factory battery wire. The new 2 AWG primary and 4AWG charge wire should well outperform the factory 6 gauge primary and 4 gauge charging wire. Definitely shouldn't have any issues with spinning the engine over.

With electrical done, I can turn my attention to the chassis and figure out a plan to remove the spare tire hanger/crossmember. I'd rather not have to remove the bed, though I'm told I may not have a choice.

 

Got the alternator wiring done tonight. Also ripped out the trailer wiring harness since I don't think this thing gonna be towing much anytime soon. It's a Hoppy PNP kit so it'll be easy to put back in when I want to. Next step is wiring in the interior stuff.

The only original wire is from the fender tap to the starter, which is OEM 6 gauge. I haven't got under the truck to see what kind of room there is, but i'll either go with 4 or 2 gauge. All the primary chassis wire is 2 gauge now, with 4 gauge on the alternator side and a short 4 gauge jumper from the fender tap to PDC.

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Back to unemployed status, so no parts buying for a bit. Did thumb through the rule book though, and learned me a few things.

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For a cage 42" tall (I'm guessing here), the 30 degree limit is an offset of { 42tan(30) = 24" } with a diagonal length of { 42/cos(30) = 48.5" }.

This is important because I want my down bars to go under the rear window, preferably where the cab vents are from the factory (wouldn't that be convenient?). With the main hoop located just behind the factory B pillar against the ceiling, and the down bars attached directly to the main hoop, I think there will be enough room for the bars to go under the window.

Also, because I am keeping a factory firewall, I am able to eliminate the lower windshield bar, and only run the upper bar. The trick is going to be fitting the forward bars with a functional dash in the way. I have not checked to see if it would be legal to run the vertical bar down in front of the dash on both sides, there is no mention of specific bar placement relative to the door opening or the A pillar. I will be able to retain a swing-out door bar, though.

 

The back wall is 22" from the center of the seat belt tensioner on the floor, and the bottom of the window is 26" from the raised part of the floor. That gives me 40 degrees as a baseline. This would be a legal 8.50/150mph cage with streetable provisions.

Height = 40" , wall = 26" , floor = 22" ==> 57 degrees { tan^-1(22/14) }

Height = 42" , wall = 22" , floor = 22" ==> 47 degrees { tan^-1(22/20) }

Height = 44" , wall = 22" , floor = 22" ==> 45 degrees { tan^-1(22/22) }

If I want to stay in the cab...

Height = 44" , wall = 0" , floor = 22" ==> 26 degrees (not legal)

Height = 42" , wall = 0" , floor = 22" ==> 27.6 degrees (not legal)

Height = 40" , wall = 0" , floor = 22" ==> 28.8 degrees (not legal)

Or if I want to just barely notch the bed for clearance...

Height = 44" , wall = 4" , floor = 22" ==> 28.8 degrees (not legal)

Height = 42" , wall = 4" , floor = 22" ==> 30.0 degrees (legal with no wiggle room)

Height = 40" , wall = 4" , floor = 22" ==> 31.5 degrees (legal, barely)

Or notch it further...

Height = 44" , wall = 6" , floor = 22" ==> 30.0 degrees

Height = 42" , wall = 6" , floor = 22" ==> 31.5 degrees

Height = 40" , wall = 6" , floor = 22" ==> 32.9 degrees

Looks like my best bet may be to go with 8 inches and notch the bed quite a bit to clear. That way I could still remove the bed if I wanted to, and the cab could still be lifted up on the cage to weld the top or pull the headliner.

 

I'm baaack. And i'm employed again, now by a local school district.

In effort of getting rid of the hideous P pump, I'm converting to a Type 2 pump off jeeps and LS/LT engines. The pressure side fitting is the same, but this one uses a remote reservoir. I'm trying to package it as far inboard and with a 0 offset pulley for maximum room on the driver side and in front of the block. I actually wanted to put it on the passenger side of the block but i'd have to have the remote water pump for that to work.

I also have some 3/8" steel and 1/4" aluminum at the laser cutting shop getting some parts made. Hopefully when I get it back in 1-2-ish weeks, I can get it put on and start part 2 of this saga. I do still have some electrical to take care of, but there's not much left.

First thing to do will be to get the crank sensor wheel mounted on the crank pulley/balancer assembly, then make a mount for the crank sensor. Hopefully that works as designed, and the engine will run.

Once I know it runs, I'll finalize the sensor mount and take the factory rear sensor out.

At that point I'll go ahead and order HiPoTek's new transmission crossmember and the mopar to GM bellhousing. I'll also take an upper radiator hose inlet and get it modified to AN spec with an onboard radiator cap, and get an AN fitting welded to the water pump block-off plate.

At that point, I'll have 2 full puzzles to complete: Transmission and cooling system.

I'll need to locate a new mounting location on the passenger fender for the remote water pump. The Scirocco radiator ( AFCO 80107) has both connections on the passenger side, thus continuing the theme of a vacated driver side.

With all that sorted out, it will be a matter of getting a transmission mounted to the bellhousing and modifying the hipotek crossmember to match.

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Cylinder head bolt spacing is about 2-7/16" (62mm) and the new pump spacing is 80mm. Then it's a matter of finding out how far down to space the pump, and how much it needs to be set back towards the block.

Also, looks like I may have a problem spacing out the accessory bracket because of the heater hose tube off the water pump. May have to mock up and test the new crank trigger on battery only, then do the water pump conversion to complete moving the bracket forward for the alternator and AC.

 

Looks like it will actually be pretty damn close on fitment. Right now the face of the shaft is lined up with the front of the crank pulley.

Going straight down should work, but I can move it in a couple inches or so once the water pump is gone if I need the space. I'll have to see about getting it cross-braced once I get the primary bracket in.

I'm using this old piece of aluminum scrap from the shop as a test jig, I have some 1.25 x 1/4" steel flat stock to make the mount with. Looks like there's 5/8" of room to work with off the centerline, so center of the 1.25 strap should "just" work. Probably cut it long to go down to the oil pan rail, then figure out a way to get it reinforced to the timing cover or something.

I'm also talking to Kyle at New Era Racecraft about getting a bottom pulley arrangement put together.

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Need to make a 1.75" on center bracket to go from the bottom timing cover hole (3/8" blind) to the bottom hold of the new bracket. Trick will be getting the end of it shaped right.

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