The Beginning Stages of Assembly
Well, it’s all on us now. Once we got the Vega back from McIlvain Race Cars, all the work we can’t do (body work, chassis work, paint, carbon) is done. Now it’s just on us (us being me and Chris Estep) to bolt it all together and string some wire. If you’ve kept up with my racing schedule much recently, you probably understand that the Vega Resurrection has taken a bit of a backseat – I’ve been too busy touring the country! While we haven’t made huge strides, we’ve made some slow, steady progress! Here are a few of the latest updates.
We’ve started covering up some of the beautiful carbon work from McIlvain Race Cars in the trunk area. When we’re done, you won’t be able to see much of it at all behind the hatchback partition. Included here is the trick fuel cell that Jeff Hayes fabricated for me, which includes the main alcohol tank, plus a separate tank for gasoline to use with the nitrous system. Said nitrous system comes from our friends at NX, in the form of their 4150 Conventional Gasoline System that is adjustable from 100-500 HP (it will have the big pills in it). Missing from this photo is a pair of Optima Batteries, which we’ll order from JEGS as we get closer to completion.
Chris fitted the factory carpet in the Vega, which took a little cutting and massaging to accommodate the back half, tunnel, and electronics – I think it turned out pretty good! As you can see, we did our best to continue the carbon trend throughout: Richardson Boyz made us an awesome custom steering wheel. The shifter we chose is the ELITE Outlaw from Biondo Racing Products, which will be outfitted with a Dixie electric shift solenoid. And we had our K&R Performance Pro-Cube Delay Box and separate dial board controller dipped in carbon illusion finish as well. Note: the K&R Pro Cube does have outputs for our dual dial boards, so there’s no need for the separate controller (it can automatically display the dial-in from the delay box on the dial boards)… But I plan on doing some Footbrake and No Box racing as well; hence the need for the stand alone controller.
Speaking of the steering wheel, this unit from Richardson Boyz is a fully functional work of art. They literally went back and forth with me on CAD drawings to determine where I wanted each button placed, and the types of buttons that I wanted to use. In case you’re curious: the top bulb transbrake button is on the top right (I prefer these Dedenbear buttons. Just inside of it is the bottom bulb button (I use the Adjustable HS, commonly referred to as the “Harrington Switch.”). The bottom right is the bump down. And the left is “Mo,” to reference my old buddy Curt Harvey, who once told me that we could all benefit from NX because sometimes, we all just need a little “Mo” horsepower.
Admittedly, the original Fiberglass seat and cover look a bit outdated and out of date. Upon further examination, however, you see why it has to remain a fixture in the Vega. This is the original Don Hardy seat cover… Circa 1974. Does your Vega have a Don Hardy seat cover? I didn’t think so. Mine does.
As I mentioned in the last edition of the Vega Resurrection, McIlvain Race Cars sealed up the front end and made us inner fenders from carbon as well. This wraps around my existing radiator, fan and shroud setup. After a few discussions with Matt Tinnin at Tinnin Race Suspension, he talked me out of making a huge investment in my front struts, and convinced me to let him revalve and update my existing strange double adjustables. Note: Matt did these a few months back, right before he closed the doors on Tinnin Race Suspension.
That’s it for this week. In upcoming Vega Resurrection updates, look forward to a detailed look at the drive train for the revamped Vega, as well as some wiring details as we dive into that phase of the project!
