My Next Project: 1965 Sunbeam Alpine
- Thread starter UNSTUCK
- Start date
Bret, the owner of the 'beam is talking about swapping the 327 out of his camaro and putting in an ls3, so it would be similar to yours. He'll drop it off when he picks the 'beam up. I told him about yours. He might want pictures in the next little bit.
no problem, I just pulled mine out today, LS3 and the T56 to do some previous owner repairs and clean up the wiring, raise the tranny tunnel....is he looking at doing a NA build or possibly boosting it? I would also tell him to look at the 5.3 or the 6.0. for the price of a new GMPP crate LS3, he could get a 6.0 and build it up and put down 100 hp more than me.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
It's likely he would use a junkyard pull out ls3, but there is that gmpp ls3/525 that looks like fun. Way more than what he needs. At this point it's just talk, and he didn't seem to interested in changing the stock suspension, so there's no sense in putting in a ton of HP that he couldn't handle.
Have you used your cage yet in the blazer?
Have you used your cage yet in the blazer?
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
I know where there is an LS1 with 37K miles is for under $4K
That 525 one would be nice, I am wanting more power. If I could sell mine fast, for what I want which won't happen, I would love to pick up a LSX 454. Stock 10 bolt won't last long. Then again, there are s lot of guys that have beat them.
luckily I havnt had to use it yet, except as a head rest. Have hit my head on it though. Good thing I am not taller.
luckily I havnt had to use it yet, except as a head rest. Have hit my head on it though. Good thing I am not taller.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I'm long over due for an update, so here goes:
The project is really starting to get into the small unseen items. Most of the big "cool" stuff is done. I really hate doing the little details, but they are what turns a nice car into an awesome car. I'm really going for awesome here.
Dave, Moabcj5 on here, has taken on the task of building the dash. I had a template of the original that I used to make this mockup and drew up some templates of the items going in the dash. This gave us an idea of what it will look like. Dave will make a better, finished template and when we are happy with it, he will transfer it all to a piece of mahogany and stain it to match the steering wheel. Now we are toying with the idea of making a plaque to go in the empty space on the passenger side. Something like, "1964 Sunbeam Alpine, "The Ligar Build". (The owner likes the Liger name for the build as the car is a fake Sunbeam Tiger restoration...and the Napoleon Dynamite reference.) If you have another idea, please let me know. We just want to personalize the car a bit.
I got the Front Runner system installed. I was very pleased with it. Simple, functional and a touch of bling.
The engine compartment is getting full, but I don't think it looks busy. The fan shroud was too thick and gave less than a 1/4" of clearance between the fan and crank pulley. So that had to be redone. Other than that it's been pretty smooth sailing.
It's an Arizona car, so it has to have A/C. I spent too much time getting the hoses how I wanted them. I'm still not happy with the upper line to the condenser, but there's not much I can do about it. You can't see it in this picture, but the fitting will stick out of the radiator mount and look funny. Plus it doesn't line up right with the fitting coming out of the compressor so it puts it in a bind. We're working on a solution now though.
I tapped the heater hose ports coming out of the water pump to use fittings that match the A/C lines. So the bulkhead will have a four matching lines. And since there will be all fittings, there won't be any ugly worm gear hose clamps.
Inside the firewall is a bit of a mess. Though it's out of sight so it's okay. I think Vintage Air could do a better job of locating the ports of the heater and A/C to keep it cleaner. I mounted the dryer inside and am happy with how it turned out. I realize being this far away from the condenser will cause the air to not be as cold, but with this system in this small car, I think we will be okay. It was this or mount it on the inner fender.
Right now I am running a few miles of wiring all around the car. The whole car is one giant harness. It will all come out in one piece, including the engine and transmission, so careful planning was needed to make sure it will work. Does it work? Who knows?
I hope to have it ready to run by this weekend.
Stay tuned.
The project is really starting to get into the small unseen items. Most of the big "cool" stuff is done. I really hate doing the little details, but they are what turns a nice car into an awesome car. I'm really going for awesome here.
Dave, Moabcj5 on here, has taken on the task of building the dash. I had a template of the original that I used to make this mockup and drew up some templates of the items going in the dash. This gave us an idea of what it will look like. Dave will make a better, finished template and when we are happy with it, he will transfer it all to a piece of mahogany and stain it to match the steering wheel. Now we are toying with the idea of making a plaque to go in the empty space on the passenger side. Something like, "1964 Sunbeam Alpine, "The Ligar Build". (The owner likes the Liger name for the build as the car is a fake Sunbeam Tiger restoration...and the Napoleon Dynamite reference.) If you have another idea, please let me know. We just want to personalize the car a bit.
I got the Front Runner system installed. I was very pleased with it. Simple, functional and a touch of bling.
The engine compartment is getting full, but I don't think it looks busy. The fan shroud was too thick and gave less than a 1/4" of clearance between the fan and crank pulley. So that had to be redone. Other than that it's been pretty smooth sailing.
It's an Arizona car, so it has to have A/C. I spent too much time getting the hoses how I wanted them. I'm still not happy with the upper line to the condenser, but there's not much I can do about it. You can't see it in this picture, but the fitting will stick out of the radiator mount and look funny. Plus it doesn't line up right with the fitting coming out of the compressor so it puts it in a bind. We're working on a solution now though.
I tapped the heater hose ports coming out of the water pump to use fittings that match the A/C lines. So the bulkhead will have a four matching lines. And since there will be all fittings, there won't be any ugly worm gear hose clamps.
Inside the firewall is a bit of a mess. Though it's out of sight so it's okay. I think Vintage Air could do a better job of locating the ports of the heater and A/C to keep it cleaner. I mounted the dryer inside and am happy with how it turned out. I realize being this far away from the condenser will cause the air to not be as cold, but with this system in this small car, I think we will be okay. It was this or mount it on the inner fender.
Right now I am running a few miles of wiring all around the car. The whole car is one giant harness. It will all come out in one piece, including the engine and transmission, so careful planning was needed to make sure it will work. Does it work? Who knows?
I hope to have it ready to run by this weekend.
Stay tuned.
Corban_White
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Payson, AZ
Did you end up putting the bluetooth amp in?
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I did get that amp. Cute little thing. It has good reviews. I think it will be perfect for this car at 45 watts rms. I just need to get speakers now. I'm on the fence about speakers though. I can fit 6x9s in the front down by your feet and I have a spot in the rear right behind the head rests. But I may only be able to fit a 4x5 or something in that range. Is it bad to have bigger speakers in the front? Should I just four small ones of the same size?
- Location
- The Village of Kay
I will have a revised template to you on Saturday afternoon.
- Location
- West Jordan
Not uncommon or bad to run larger speakers in the front. Most OEM systems are setup this way. And, just a matter of personal opinion here, but don't run 6x9 or 4x6 or any goofy shape speaker. I think you get better sound out of a round speaker, and packaging is easier as well. Run 6" or 6 1/2" fronts and 5 1/4" rears or something. They are common sizes so you'll have tons to choose from.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I've noticed that a lot of the rounds don't come with speaker grills. I need them in both front and rear. If I stick with the round I think the rear will be a 4". That is why I was thinking 4x5. It's a very small spot between the roll bar and inner wheel well. They wont go anywhere else. It's frustrating because I can't find the overall frame or grill dimensions of most speakers. They will tell you the diameter of the speaker itself and the diameter of the hole you need to cut, but that's it. The speaker will be right up against the roll bar so the grill may or may not go on if I get it a size to big. But, obviously, I want the biggest speaker I can. Any recommendations?
Ignore the first part you want grill measurements. Doh! But the second part still stands. http://www.jlaudio.com/c2-400x-car-audio-speakers-c2-coaxial-systems-99612
Crutchfield has cut out specs on their website. You could look there and buy some where else if the price isn't right. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SPS410/Alpine-SPS-410.html?tp=102
Another thought if you know the speaker you want contact the manufacture via email or some might have full specs on the website if you already know what speakers you want.
Last edited:
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
Everyone stop responding to this thread so he can work on it. Can't wait for it to get done
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I gave up on Crutchfield. After MANY emails their tech support could not figure out grill or frame measurements on the speakers I was interested in. They just wanted to sell them to me. I need to walk into an audio store and see if we can just start opening boxes, I guess. I like the looks of that JL speaker though. How much difference will I notice from a 4" speaker to say a 6" speaker? Just less bass? I know I can make a 4" fit, but I want to go as big as I can, unless it doesn't matter. I can do a 6 or 6 1/2" in the front, no problem. Should I just order those and the 4" and be done with it? Or maybe go with my first thought of the 6x9 speaker in the front?
The amp does not have bass or gain controls so I"m a bit worried about not being able to tune it very well. It does have fade. I know I can get phone apps to make adjustments, but I doubt my customer will mess around with that. Should I install crossovers and try to tune it that way?
No need to worry about this. I only waste time on RME while I'm at work. I focus on the car when I get home.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Ran it. I decided not to drive it till after paint.
The owner was up this weekend from AZ. He was pretty giddy. It almost didn't happen though. I have a fuel hard line that I cannot get to seal. As a last resort we picked up some hose and bypassed it. After that it was a ground wire I left off. After that it was an ignition wire to the starter relay I left off
Now the oil pressure gauge isnt working. We Ohmed the sender to ground and could see the resistance value change as we idled and reved it up so we know it has oil pressure. Not sure how much though. So if anyone is wondering, it has 43 ohms of oil pressure.
The owner was up this weekend from AZ. He was pretty giddy. It almost didn't happen though. I have a fuel hard line that I cannot get to seal. As a last resort we picked up some hose and bypassed it. After that it was a ground wire I left off. After that it was an ignition wire to the starter relay I left off
Now the oil pressure gauge isnt working. We Ohmed the sender to ground and could see the resistance value change as we idled and reved it up so we know it has oil pressure. Not sure how much though. So if anyone is wondering, it has 43 ohms of oil pressure.