[woody01zf6]

Digital dash Beretta would mean 88-90, so it was a 2.8 or 3.1 and mid 16-sec 1/4 mile @ 85ish. I 3.4 swapped my last Beretta and got a 13.2 out of it. N/A Beretta world record actually.

I actually got my car in my old man's garage finally and did the FWD delete! Got his lift functional a few weeks ago. Heat will be done this week. Sucks working in the cold when I'm used to my heated garage, but that lift is awesome already. I appreciate the room too, cause my garage is pretty full with the Camaro.

Time to start cutting and get all this stuff in there. I'd love to have it done by May 21...that's the day I sold the last one. But Auhust 29 (when I bought the new one) is probably a more realistic goal. haha

Byyeeeeeeee

 

[woody01zf6]

Got the rest of the video up.

And a little taste of the next one...

 

[greygoose]

This is awesome!

 

[19trax95]

This seems like it will be a really fun car to drive when done! Can't wait to see some videos of it.

 

[woody01zf6]

Axle is in now, but it still needs the panhard bar..

 

[woody01zf6]

Panhard bar and rear axle are finalized. Figuring out the rear ride height.

But this is the part that has me really excited!

 

[greygoose]

Hell yeah! This is gonna be sweet!

 

[woody01zf6]

It's in, and this will be final placement - offset to the pass side. Figuring out radiator, fans and hoses. Just bought the Camaro steering rack too. Need to cut the firewall and floor out to fit the trans and weld up the engine mounts. Probably should wash it too. haha
Gotta keep making good progress to get it done before June. haha

 

[woody01zf6]

Keep plugging away at it. Sawzalled the firewall and floor out to mock up the trans and the 5spd fitment could be better...that's for sure. Working on a solution to that right now.

 

[woody01zf6]

More solid progress this week...and a huge upgrade! Screw the budget, I'm going t56 6spd. I mocked up my Camaro trans just to compare and it fits basically perfect. And every single thing about the t56 is better than nv3500...shift feel, strength, aftermarket, gear splits, highway rpm... Just price is the only issue. And it looks like I've found a nice solution to that, buying a Tick Performance level 2 for my Camaro and using the stock Camaro trans in the Beretta. I'll have to swap input shafts, front plates and bellhousings...but well worth it to upgrade both cars at the same time.

Got the motor mounts all done. The subframes will become one piece with a C channel crossbar for the steering rack up front, and a skidplate/brace in the back under the oil pan/bellhousing.
Got my brake math figured out and the Wilwood pedals and Afco masters ordered. Next step is to make them coexist with the steering column.
Bought a rockauto full-aluminum radiator and pushed it forward for some more fan and water pump room. Looks like it will work pretty mint.
Also got the crossmember in and the back half of the raised floor mocked up. Not too far away now! Just trans mount...torque arm mount...front floor...tunnel...pedals...steering...wiring...

 

[woody01zf6]

So that 6spd that's mocked up in the Beretta is stolen from the Camaro. Still needed to find another one...and I was able to snag a used Tick Performance T56 built for nitrous! Test drove to make sure it was good and pulled it in the guy's garage. That one will go in the Camaro once I swap it from LS to LT style. I'll take the LS input shaft, front plate, bellhousing, clutch & flywheel and throw them in the Beretta with the stock 94 T56 that I used to run in the Camaro.
Also got the crossmember built and welded in and the torque arm fabbed and installed. So now it's sitting on the suspension and it's a lot higher in the front than I expected. so I gotta figure out some coilover sleeves for the struts with a higher rate and less height. Keeps moving forward though, that's the key.

 

[greygoose]

That's awesome! I can't want to see this thing run!

 

[woody01zf6]

You and me both, man. Dailying the 8.1 hurts the wallet with today's fuel prices! And I love that truck, but it's also not a hot rod. I haven't driven anything that handles in almost a year..

 

[woody01zf6]

Got the stock LT1 trans swapped over to LS style and ready to go in the Beretta. I'm doing a video of that process at some point. You need a shim kit to get the clearance and preload right. This is the second "Beretta" trans to get opened up on that bench...I rebuilt a FWD 5spd years ago. haha
Also got a few things figured out and started final floor installation. Not a ton of progress in the last couple weeks, but it's still going forward. Couple more things came in while I was on vacation in Texas so I can jump back on it.

 

[woody01zf6]

Started mocking up steering and it's kind of a mother. Most of the RWD stuff has been going pretty well, but this is a pain in the ass! haha
Driveshaft came in and didn't fit...and I couldn't chuck it in the lathe to trim it down, so it went back to Texas to get fixed.

 

[woody01zf6]

Got it all connected from V8 crankshaft to rear tires. Put the Camaro clutch in it, fixed the trans yoke that Texas "fixed" and put it back on the ground.

The old man has to get a junk Cuda parted before Mopar Carlisle, so he needed his lift. The nerve!

Getting it outside really shows how high the front is with less weight in front of the tires. RWD distribution is so much better... Gonna have to cut the coils though.

Still fighting with the steering. And I'm at the point now that I might be cutting out the engine mounts I welded in to fit the rack better. I knew it was going too smoothly. haha

 

[woody01zf6]

Yeah, it's a little sketchy...but you can lift an engine from the bottom with a cherry picker.

I had to cut the engine mounts out and change them to make the steering rack fit better. After butchering the stock subframe, I welded some structure back in and made my rack mounts.
Once my rod ends and steering arms come in from Speedway, it should steer!

 

[Sperry]

I recently bought a low-miles 2000 truck LR4 that's drive by cable and the harness to go with it.

Clean-looking engine! What a project!

 

[woody01zf6]

Ok, it's connected from steering wheel to tires now. 6061T6 tie rod sleeves are done and just finished my firewall bearing bracket where the rack was and pushed it around outside. A lot easier with the tires pointing the direction you want and not flopping all over!

It does look to me like I have some reverse Ackermann, so the arms will need some more modification...bring the tie rod hole just outboard of the ball joint hole. Right now with the mostly unmodified Ford steering arms it is just inside the ball joint location. I just built a steering angle gauge to see where I'm at so I'll know what to modify. Looks like 35ish degrees of angle right now, but I'll know a lot better once I use my DIY gauge. And when I move the steering arms laterally I'll also move them down. They have a slight angle up at the current ride height, and I'm going to bring the ride height down by inches...so they'll need to be better.

 

[CarParts.com]

Ok, it's connected from steering wheel to tires now. 6061T6 tie rod sleeves are done and just finished my firewall bearing bracket where the rack was and pushed it around outside. A lot easier with the tires pointing the direction you want and not flopping all over!

It does look to me like I have some reverse Ackermann, so the arms will need some more modification...bring the tie rod hole just outboard of the ball joint hole. Right now with the mostly unmodified Ford steering arms it is just inside the ball joint location. I just built a steering angle gauge to see where I'm at so I'll know what to modify. Looks like 35ish degrees of angle right now, but I'll know a lot better once I use my DIY gauge. And when I move the steering arms laterally I'll also move them down. They have a slight angle up at the current ride height, and I'm going to bring the ride height down by inches...so they'll need to be better.

Just seeing this thread now -- awesome project! Always loved the Z26 Berettas! Nice job saving this one and making it even better