New YouTube Channel...PegasusGT500.tv

New to the blog is the new YouTube Channel PegasusGT500.tv. I will be posting various videos and updates of all things automotive as well as fun video game videos and more. Attached is a sample of the upcoming videos. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxjhhfDXslU

http://www.youtube.com/pegasusgt500

Getting to the "Fun Stuff"

      Building this car has been an eye opener and quite honestly a wallet opener. While I enjoy the thought of driving this car very soon the reality is it's still not ready and still a little bit away. These past 2 Fridays I've been going to our weekly Friday night "Cruisin' Grand" locally in Escondido California. It's just so much of a tease going to these things but motivates me that much more. Cruising in my best friend Jay's 1967 Camaro is definitely a way to go in a bit of style. The best part these Friday night events is the signs posted up literally everywhere "Parking for American pre 1974 cars only." This still doesn't stop the "new muscle" from cruising by and I still dont understand why the slammed Acuras with with the fart can exhausts even show up but thats a whole other story.
      Starting this with getting a few parts back from powder coating. I got the Edelbrock Super Victor 351W intake manifold blasted and then coated grey which will match the intercooler piping for some continuity under the hood.

     Next on the list I had the turbos intake side coated black I really wanted a sinister look under the hood.

     Here is where she stands as of December 2010. Motor is in suspension is in the works and buttoning up on final details. Still a lot more work to be done but progress has been made.

   While working on rear end installation the pumkin (gear side) had to be painted up. I chose this grey as it is a high temperature paint and fits well even though it's going in the underside of my car. A little primer and a little paint went a long way and cleaned it up nicely. This paint would be used a few months later to fix my paint guy's screw ups.

     Working with our friends at Direct Sheetmetal in Santee California they made me a custom x-baffled fuel tank set up for the Eleanor side fuel inlet. We are still working with the piping for the tank before stereo work can be completed.

     A few shots of rear end installation 

    Alright everybody when I said this is the "Fun Stuff" I'm saying now this is where that fun begins. After having the engine mounted and verified all of my clearances it was time for the first turbo mock up with this engine. We used another 351 block when building the turbo kit and now we would see how everything looks with the freshly powder coated parts and my new custom valve covers. And what a day it was at this point I was VERY EXCITED :)

   A shot of my ceramic coated headers next for these bad boys would be heat shield wrapping

   It's rare in this business to find "real genuine people." I've run into several people who don't give a damn about the customer who at the end of the day is putting food on these peoples tables. I still dont get it! During my posts the people who's names I publish are the real deal. These people get my recognition and I will gladly turn business their way because of the way I've been treated by them. Steve Heye over at Heatshield Products in Valley Center California is another one. He helped me out quite a lot in getting the right wrapping for my setup and hopefully in the future we can be working on other projects. I purchased through them their Lava Wrap line. This has a really nice carbon fiber weave with the weave being made out of crushed volcanic rock. If that isn't a conversation starter I don't know what is. Here is the end result of a frustrating morning getting these wraps around my twisted spaghetti of headers.

    Now it's time for Pegasus to get some shoes. The folks over at Raceline Wheels in Garden Grove were kind enough to make us a custom set of their Raceline GT2's. Ordered in a Brushed Aluminum face with black accents, chrome lip and chrome center spinner they are the perfect addition to the overall appearance. In the next few weeks my wheels should be here and finally dressed with BF Goodrich G-Force KDW 2's. But in the mean time they sent me a mock up wheel to verify all of my clearances.

Here is a teaser shot of what my wheels will look like 

And here is the mock up wheel mounted

As you can see from the next two photos I am becoming a happy camper

     Now showing the rear end installation complete with springs and brakes

   

    Robert installing the Headers for the last time with RTV High Temp Sealant on the headers and turbos while I was prepping for paint.

    And I conclude this post with the disappointment of classic car building just to put things back into perspective. My paint guy was lazy and cut corners which I now have to fix. Rather than putting time into properly prepping the car he taped over my drip rails and sprayed over them. With this completely bone head maneuver it was up to me to repaint this piece. I'm not really concerned with how the paint looked I just wanted it sealed. This part of the car will be covered up with a chrome molding so I needed to sand to bare metal and prime and paint it. I needed just one coat primer and one coat paint otherwise it would be a bitch to install the molding.

Here is what I had to work with. The car was Highland Green before and you can see that with this photo

    Here goes my overly excessive masking and prepping for paint as I cannot deal with any overspray at this point. First few pictures are of primer followed by final paint and clear coat.

     With these final photos the blog is now current day as I am home still stinking of paint. The biggest piece of advice I can give anybody is if you are doing a car like this let paint and body take their time and do it right. Dont pay for the mistakes that I have made. This is my first car restoration and it's a learning experience for me. I do have a lot of guidance but things can still go awry, but in the end I know this car is going to bring me a lot of fun.

Jason