Mr. G. Brettin's Slow Motion Leg Hump

filip00

I love seeing this project progressing! Good work, can't wait to see it on the road!

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ride epic drive epic

gbrettin

Temps have started to thaw, and spring is just around the corner. I'm committed to getting my car up and running over the next few months, so I've created a detailed list to help me stay on track. The tasks vary in difficulty, which conveniently matches my fluctuating schedule. My priority is to get the car mechanically sound before diving deeply into perfecting the finer details. This is challenging for me because I prefer thoroughness, but it's the only realistic way to ensure the project actually reaches completion.

Starting from the top—I had to refresh my memory a bit:

I decided to pick up new rear tires because the actual size of the Mickey Thompsons was over 29 inches tall. I opted for Toyo TQ 315/35/18R and had them mounted professionally at a tire shop. Initially, I considered doing the installation myself but wanted to avoid risking any damage to the wheel paint. Paying a professional with the right tools turned out to be the best choice—definitely worth it.

Next, I discovered that the top hat on my Z1 two-piece rotor was slightly bent on the driver's side due to previous curb impact. Unfortunately, when I contacted Z1 for a replacement top hat, they refused to sell it separately. This was frustrating, especially since I'd already purchased rotor blanks, effectively wasting money. Choosing practicality over perfection, I installed O'Reilly rotor blanks on the front to maintain momentum. It is what it is.

At Auto Dynamix, I'm part-owner of a crimp machine, which makes converting lines to crimp-style fittings significantly easier. My first project using this method was the scavenger pump line, and the simplicity convinced me never to return to non-crimped fittings. I've placed a substantial order for additional fittings, and they should arrive soon.

This past weekend, I thoroughly cleaned the car's underside—again! Thankfully, the remaining debris had dried significantly, making it easy to remove using compressed air and wiping everything down carefully. Of course, I couldn't stop there; I also scuffed and sprayed the underside with Steel-It coating, addressing a few lingering scratches in the process.

With the car up in the air, I took the opportunity to finalize the transmission shifter, wiring, torque converter, and cabling. The shifter required special attention due to accumulated mud, so I scrubbed, cleaned, and lubricated it meticulously before reinstalling. At this point, the car has essentially evolved into a complete resto-mod project.

gbrettin

Ok, I did a whole bunch of stuff to my car and I can't remember everything- which I'll say is a good thing because that means I was "kicking names and taking azz"... yeah. I'll run through a quick summary.

Air to water lines were ran for my system. I decided to use the water box and forgo the radiator for now. I'm trying to keep everything simplified so that I can get my parts bin running. That doesn't mean cut quality. Not at all. I'm cutting out unnecessary rabbit holes that I LOVE to do. More like a love hate because I love the results when I am done; but, I normally set my self back months due to high standards I hold myself.

1.) The drive shaft was installed, but the overall length was too short by 2". SO... I had to basically get a new drive shaft because the mid section had to get replaced. This is annoying because I had originally needed to shorten the drive shaft by the same length.

2.) Outlaw shifter has been mounted. There was grime and dirt everywhere so it was cleaned and lubed to remove the swamp... the gift that keeps on giving.

3.) Air to water lines ran but not mounted. Waiting on P clamps so that I can mount the tubing under the car.

4.) Removed spare tire mount and painted trunk. Used a finger sander to buzz off the pinch welds and used spiteful rage to knocked it out with my mini sledge.

5.) Used edging around the metal surfaces where the diff pokes through the trunk. This is required so I don't slice my hand or lines.

6.) Mounted the water box and BMW water pump in the trunk... then removed it so I could paint, add cork isolators for the tank to sit on.

7.) Added fluids for transmission and engine. I accidently used some of the most expensive transmission fluid on the market because I raided Auto Dynamix's stash. Grabbed fluid that was intended use for 3000hp cars. oops.

8.) Mounted rear tail lights. They look great with the over all look with the car.

9.) Mounted my swirl pot. Had to cut off the overflow mount and then hard mounted the swirl pot to the chassis. Worked great!

10.) cleaned and painted most of the under side. I used a higher volume air hose to blow out the chassis... I managed to blow out 99% of the hardened brisket. Like I said, the gift that keeps on giving.

There's a lot of smaller stuff that happens in-between all that. like... strong use of swear words. But, you guys get the point. I'm getting down to the short list now.





loctite and mark important items (visual inspection stuff).




New length - Note how much further the yolk goes in.

This means the front can now talk to the rear:










I went through A LOT of nuts/bolts to ensure the threads were nice..



Important to use nylon nuts so that they don't vibrate loose.





The short list

gbrettin

Got the water box mounted, and it turned out really nice. There are a few things I’d do differently, but most of the parts were already on hand. The BMW Bergstrom pump was only 40 bucks—been saving that one for years. The water line? That’s been collecting dust on the shelf too.

You might’ve noticed I shifted the electrical forward. Now I’ve got a lot more room in front of the mid bar, which is perfect for mounting everything related to the ECU. It’ll be super easy to access.

I’ll probably fab up a carbon fiber quick-access panel later—that’s finish work. But that doesn’t stop me from getting this thing going the right way.

I really liked how this turned out.

gbrettin

Dropped the rear subframe braces off at the powder coater this week. I’ve done enough business with these guys that I told them coating wasn’t really necessary, but I asked for a quote just to humor myself. Turns out they’ve got a new media blaster and wanted to test it on my parts—so the price came back stupid low. Hard to mess this one up, so they’re going for it.

Underneath the car, I cleaned up the water lines and re-mounted everything using the original mounting points. A few zip ties later and they’re solid.

The remains of the old duckbill wing are gone. I used adhesive remover to clean up the area. Burned a couple spots in the paint, but I’m not sweating it—the car’s getting a wrap or respray eventually.

Swapped out the oil feed lines for black-coated lines. The braided line was a hazard waiting to happen—could’ve eaten through paint or anything it rubbed against. New lines are correct lengths and routed cleanly. While I was in there, I tackled the rat’s nest of wiring in the battery area. Cleaned it up, and that freed up space for the remote power steering reservoir.

Made some updates to the wiring too. Rerouted the 1/0 gauge from the starter to the alternator so it can safely carry 200–400 amps. Added a short 1/0 ground to the cylinder head. Yeah, it’s all mundane wiring stuff, but done wrong, this is the kind of thing that makes a car go up in flames. I’ll add plastic covers later to protect from abrasion once everything’s tested and running.

Tried to mount the Seibon carbon fenders… they fit like garbage. Not thrilled. I really want Varis fenders, but they’re spendy and I already have these. I’m working with my body guy to make these fit—even if we have to fab our own mounting tabs. He’ll be mounting all the body panels at once, so yeah… I’ll be that guy driving around with multicolored panels for a few months. Could be the whole year. Whatever. Progress.

Wrapped things up with a brake bleed using AK370z’s method from the forum. Then dropped the car down to the ground to check the new rear suspension height.
DIY: How to Bleed Your Brake Fluid Using Motive Power Bleeder 0117 (AK370Z)

There’s way less tape on the windshield now. Still waiting on crimp fittings to finish up the coolant, fuel, and power steering lines. Once those are in, I can tear off a few more pieces of tape and keep moving forward.

Next up: Repair hot side and fab cold side.














A good crimp with out the sheathing... I had to re-do the end.

Spooler

Progress is good. Keep at it.

gbrettin

This part of the build was stuck in my head way too long, so it feels great to finally get it knocked out. I made a mountain out of a mole hill getting the drive-by-cable done.

My TSR Mustang race pedal was already mounted up, but adapting it to work with the Motion Raceworks throttle cable meant drilling out the pedal's eyelet just enough to press-fit the aluminum cable insert. The insert locks down with a nut and a couple of Allen set screws, making the whole thing super solid with zero slop. Honestly, it's crisp and feels way nicer than I expected. Pedal height and pressure are absolutely perfect—not even remotely a downgrade.

The Motion Raceworks cable passes cleanly through the firewall, routing right into the Icon manual throttle body mounted to the Shearer Fab ultra-low-profile intake. Everything just worked—no fighting, no forcing. That alone felt like a massive win.

Lastly, I wanted to securely mount the Motion Raceworks overflow tank next to the swirl pot. Without a 3D printer handy, I grabbed some scrap plastic, epoxied it together, and shaped it into a simple cradle insert. A buddy of mine is working on a custom leather strap that'll cinch it all together without resorting to zip ties. I'll 3D print this later.

I really want to get the radiator lines done before doing the cold side. The fittings have been on backorder.

gbrettin

I received the subframe brackets back from powder coating and they look amazing. With that back, I was able to finish the underside of the car by getting the brackets installed with the GKTech W brace.

Ran into a bit of a snag with the air-to-water cooling system — the original pump started leaking, so I grabbed two more off eBay thinking I’d have backups ready to go. Turns out all three pumps leaked from the exact same spot once plumbed in. Looks like a manufacturing defect in the sealing area.

I went full caveman with the RTV on one of them and gave it a full 24-hour cure. That one seems okay (for now), but I did try sealing another with only an hour of dry time — and sure enough, it started leaking too. I put together a quick IG reel of the water flow if anyone wants to see the setup in action.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIov1...RlODBiNWFlZA==

On a better note, I got the carbon seat mounted in the driver’s side. Thought I lost the original hardware, so I picked up some clean new bolts… only to find the OEM ones the next day. Still a win — the fresh bolts pop against the black rails. The brackets were custom fabbed by the previous owner’s shop and I cleaned them up with a quick respray. Hit the seatbelt buckle with air, WD40, lithium grease, and polished the plastic with Plasticx. It honestly looks brand new now.

Getting the OEM seatbelt working was a big deal for me. Despite what the car looks like, it really is a drag and drive STREET car. I will get a harness hooked up later (and retain the lap belt).

At this point, the car is nearly ready to head to Auto Dynamix for final wiring, exhaust and intake fabrication, and dialing in the body panel fitment. I just need to get on their schedule. Until then, I’ll keep knocking out the small stuff while I can.

I'm very happy with how everything is coming together. It's technically a new car... sucks that I have a salvage title now.






I added a thin coat on the flat spot too.





NOTE - I used a big backing washer and a locking nut.

gbrettin

Picked up a new miter box and got to work finishing the cold side piping. I must have actually learned something over the years, because I knocked it out without a single miscut — which still feels a little wild, honestly.

My goal from the start was to avoid pie cuts, based on some past lessons learned. I pushed both pipes out as far as possible to the sides to mirror each other. Packaging constraints were dictated mostly by the alternator location and the swirl pot. Ideally, I would’ve loved to tuck the pipes tighter to the frame, but moving the alternator or swirl pot wasn’t an option (hard no).

Each joint is cut to sit perfectly flush so the welds won’t pull the tubing around — another lesson learned the hard way from past projects. It might look simple in pictures, but it doesn’t take much to mess up angles once you start stacking cuts.

The end result?
Basically a giant chrome handlebar mustache.

Both pipes were dropped off to get welded at Auto Dynamix in Kalamazoo, MI (local performance shop)

gbrettin

Been slammed with work lately, but I’ve managed to knock out a few things — with some much appreciated help from friends.

Keeping this post simple:

-- The cold side is now fully welded.
-- Fenders, bumper, and headlights are fitted.
-- The boost tubes fit perfectly with the turbo placement.
-- Rear Z1 bash bar w/ jack point swapped out OE crash bar.

The passenger-side turbo is clocked a little differently than the driver’s side. I’m not thrilled about it… but I’m also not about to re-fab the up-pipe just to chase perfect symmetry. A cookie will be awarded to anyone bold enough to scoff at the imbalance.

The car is now rocking a fresh NISMO plate and is fully insured. Power steering lines have been crimped, but I’m still waiting on one suction line from the remote reservoir to wrap that up.

The to-do list is getting short. I’ll keep buttoning up what I can over the next couple weeks. Next major move: getting the car to Auto Dynamix. I'd like to have it out and about by June… but at this point, I’m not holding my breath.

EDIT - Had to order new OEM calipers because the old OEMs were seeping a little. I want a bit more confidence scrubbing speeds doing 165mph in the 1/4mi.

gbrettin

Buttoned up a few more crimped lines: return lines leading to fuel pressure return (needed to be PTFE), power steering lines, and turbo return line from collector.

Turbo couplers are on, they give a lot of flexibility paired with the Motion Raceworks wiggins clamps.

This pig is ready to take to Auto Dynamix for a few final touches. I'm on the waiting list and will likely be a few weeks. I'll try doing various small things leading up to that, but nothing significant (although it all matters).

Probably not going to see any updates until it's running. Pretty wild to think it's about that time! I can't believe I've done this process twice. Don't expect any hero numbers coming off the dyno. At this point I'm more concerned with enjoying the car with some drivability.

Any questions- feel free to throw them out there.

Spooler

Joining the glad it is running crew soon I see. Enjoy the car. You can turn it up any time at a later date.

sx moneypit

gbrettin

Took care of a few small things since the last post: Mounted the battery, re-mounted my driver's side turbos because a few bolts were not in, grounded and ran some wiring, added some fluids, fixed leaks, nut and bolt checks. ... The small stuff would have been a larger afternoon of fixes at Auto Dynamix if I didn't do them. Not what I wanted the shop to take care of while it was in, so I took care of the odds and ends.

That being said.... I took the car in for final wiring, exhaust fab, CO2 hook-up, and dyno tuning. Am I out of the mix? No way. I took the week off to help finish! I don't 100% say it will get done when I plan anymore, but I'll sure give it hell.

Tow truck company sent their veteran (much appreciated).


That's a fat azz....I really like how the car looks!


Finally got a nice roller picture.

Spooler

Need some gaskets on those turbos. RTV won't cut it.