Yeah I've heard that Painless harnesses are anything but painless... 2 years ago I rewired my 83 S with an American Autowire harness made for 70's GM full size vehicles and while I was able to get things to function like blinkers, wipers, headlight motors and such, I was not at all happy with how the thing came out. Ended up trashing it, chalked it up to experience and put a modified/stripped/simplified stock harness back in. Much happier with it.

As for that axle, it sounds like that guy is a joke. It's a shame to see a vendor who's been around so long end up pulling that crap. Hopefully you get it worked out.

 

I can't blame the harness really. I'm not a wiring expert by any means. it could be a little easier to follow probably but I'm also marrying the GM harness to all my Mazda stuff. the GM steering column worked well but I wish I could have wired up the wiper/washer controls in the column instead of a separate switch. I might be able to figure it out eventually but to be honest, I'm tired of spending time on it. it works. The only things I still need to wire are the windows which seem pretty straight forward and the backup light.

I had to tell him I was going to cancel and magically I have a tracking number. Still not feeling confident the axle is shipped. Yea, I can't believe he treats his customers like this and still has a business. be the last time for me. I could have had a Currie or Moser in a couple weeks. I would have had to weld all the bracket on but I could have handled that. oh well live and learn I guess. I would advise anyone against dealing with him.

 

Wiring is done! all the gages even work! started putting the interior back together. that carpet was supposed to be a dark gray. looks brown to me. I'm just going to have to live it for now.

started it up yesterday. I had to move the oil sending unit to the front of the engine. it was stopping the distributor from being able to rotate enough to get the timing correct. runs great now. Got a couple valves making noise which I kinda expected. I'll do a quick re-lash and it should be good. it's loud. I'm going to try a Flowmaster HP2 muffler. it will fit under the sideskirt and should be a bit quieter hopefully.

Front end is all buttoned up except for bleeding the brakes.

Now I just need that axle. That's turning into a nightmare.

 

He gave you a tracking number and it still hasn't gone anywhere? wtf!

 

Ok I just found out it shipped yesterday. At least it's shipped.

 

Glad you finally got it, where are you getting your driveshaft from?

 

I don't have it yet. Could take 3 more weeks to get it. But at least it's on it's way. I haven't decided where I'll get the driveshaft yet. I'd like an aluminum one. Got any suggestions?

 

You can get reasonably priced shafts from Coleman Racing and from Pit Stop USA. They sell custom shafts to length that use 1310 or 1350 u-joints. I have to use steel but you can get Aluminum and Carbon Fiber too from both of them.

I am currently running a Precision Shaft Technologies drive shaft and had a Wiles Racing Shaft before that. The Wiles was a nicer piece and was very smooth. The verdict is still out on the PST shaft.

Also looked at shafts from Denny's Driveline. They do more street car shafts.

 

I have a Granny's shaft I got used that I had shortened by a local shop and a new slip yoke put on. If you want aluminum I would go with scott's recommendations

 

Denny'y driveshaft has an aluminum shaft 3.5 inches dia for 1350 u joints. Its under 600 bucks with the slip yolk. Worst part is it takes up to four weeks for them to make it which, lets face it, will be longer. So I'm looking at another 2 freaking months before I get to drive my car. This wait is the hardest part.

 

Probably a naive question, but you seem pretty hugely capable (talked about making your own axles) so could you fabricate your own drive shaft? I am probably oversimplifying it.

 

I can and have. But this time I want aluminum which I don't have the setup to weld at the moment and the balancing I can't do. At this point I would rather leave those up to the pros. I'm seriously thinking about running the stock rear axle until the new one shows up. More work and I'll have to baby it but I could make sure the clutch works etc. I did make the driveshaft for that setup using a 1310 yolk on the front and the factory 81 u joint on the rear which is what prompted this entire axle debacle. Have you seen how tiny that u joint is?

 

I've got a non-boosted, stock Nikki, rats nest installed 12A. And, I'm assuming, a tiny yoke to go with it.

For me, the "nitrous button" equals turning off the AC

 

haha. The 84 85 is bigger but from what I understand they are not replaceable. I'm seriously thinking about NOS myself. It's pretty cheap horsepower.

 

Here is my solution for the shifter. Actually worked out much easier than I at first thought. Simple plate with a shifter boot. The shifter is in the perfect position for me. fox body mustang shift lever 15 bucks shipped off Ebay.

The interior and wiring is pretty much done. I need to put the passenger seat and harness in.

still waiting on the axle (of course)

I've decided on a Denny's Driveshaft aluminum 3.5 inch dia shaft. you know, when I get the axle that is.

 

I like that shifter boot. I need to do something similar. Since you still have to wait I would try to make everything else perfect on the car.

 

Yea I still have lots to do. I have to finish up the steering. my old rack had lots of play in it so I ordered a rebuilt fast ratio rack. I need to change the steering lines a bit. I'm sure I'll like it better.

I recieved the Flowmaster HP2 muffler I ordered. I'm going to stick that on and see if I can quiet down the exhaust a little.

I want to get the axle in so I can order the driveshaft. according to their website that can take 3 weeks or so. (which is probably more like 4 to 5, I have little faith in vendors time estimates these days) So now I'm into August before I can even drive it.

at least I can see the light at the end.

 

This thread... Just, wow. Nice.

 

Thanks! it's been a labor of love.....................and hate at times.

 

Ok, so I get the call from Fastenal, actually he had some number I'm not sure where it came from. Emailed me to get my actual phone number, so I just called them to confirm. "Your crate is here and ready for pickup." now I'm getting pretty excited. Been waiting since March. My son was also available to help so things were falling in place. Go to Home Depot to rent a truck because I don't think that crate was going to fit in the back of my WRX. No trucks. None available and none available for awhile. Ok plan B. My son had driven his Mothers CRV over. I got a mischievous look on my face and grabbed a tape measure and yes, it will fit! We drive over to fastenal and with a lot of grunting and man-handling we get it in the back of the CRV, get it home, hand truck it to the garage. now I'm REALLY excited and somewhat apprehensive as this entire experience has been fraught with dashed expectations and downright lies.

Crate looks a little worse for wear but so far so good. I crowbar the thing open expecting the bright light like when he opened the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Yes the axle is there, it looks beautiful in the light of day. It said on his website all axles come standard with a chrome diff cover. "It's ok" I say to myself, it's not important. Black still looks pretty in it's simplicity. Looks like the 2nd gen brake caliper brackets. Wrong yolk. supposed to be a 1350 u joint yolk. it's a 1330. "Ok" I say again to myself. 1330 will work I'm sure. I'm not drag racing it for the most part. still has the big studs. Wrong size, but they are long.

I'm sure my face must have looked comical if not for the gravity of the situation that sank in like a dark fog on a cold night. "Where the @%$% is the torque arm? And, where are the sway bar mounts?

Not in the crate. No torque arm and he forgot to weld on the sway bar mounts. So it's like getting an awesome RC car for Christmas without the remote control and batteries.

He assured me the torque arm would arrive separately this week. sorry but I'm not buying it. Why wouldn't you ship it together? Plenty of room in the crate.

So anyway, thanks for listening to the rant. I have the axle. It's awesome. I'm never going to break it. but, I can't mount it in the car until I get the torque arm. any bets on how long that will take?

 

That sucks! its a shame too cause it looks like he does decent work, must be scatterbrained or trying to rip people off. Good luck with the rest of it!

 

wow, that long of a wait and it's still not what you ordered. i've considered buying their rear end but reading your experience makes me want to reconsider that.

 

Honestly, if you can fab and weld I would highly recommend buying the correct width from Moser or Currie and welding the brackets on yourself.

I guess if you are willing to wait it's worth it? I'm still not sure because it isn't in the car yet. he did adjust everything correctly but the wait and the fact that he still didn't do it 100% correctly means I won't order anything else from him.

I't sad really, I wanted to help a fellow enthusiast and throw some business his way.

 

I received the torque arm Friday. so I have everything I'm getting from Granny's. no instructions. no sway bar brackets.

I fabricated brake like and sway bar brackets and welded them on over the weekend. Started getting everything cleaned up. Watts linkage gets new urethane bushings. New bushings for the lower control arms. Wow, what a pain to get those out after 36+ years. If I didn't have a press I would have resorted to burning them out probably.

My new rack and pinion arrived Friday as well. need to get that in and hooked up.

Won't be long now.

 

Your experience with that axle is really disappointing... It wasn't what you ordered, required fab work anyway, and took forever to get there. I had considered going that route with my drift car, but the hell with it, I'll just build the thing myself lol.

Glad you got it all sorted out though finally!