Garage update, and front suspension & hubs installed

First, a very important garage update. The floor is done! We finished coating the floor of the first bay, Zac installed the baseboard trim, and moved everything back against the walls. A few update pics of the garage before the motorcycle lift and all of the motorcycles moved back into the first bay (they were crammed into the 3rd bay while the work was going on).

(Click photos to enlarge).

My FFR build is taking place in the 2nd bay in the middle, where it's easy to reach the rack of boxes. Hard to believe the garage is now this complete. We have a few things left to do (another row of lighting and a drop ceiling) but at least the garage is to a point where everything major is now in its place, the floor is done, and we can now work on projects.

And now back to the build. With the F panels painted it was time to silicone and rivet them in place. The seasons have changed and it got cold in the garage, so for the next few months of pictures I'll be in my Dickies.

In anticipation of my build, Zac bought me an air riveter a few years ago. I finally got a chance to use it!

These are now, officially, the first parts installed on the car. Major milestone!

With the F panels in place I could now bolt on the upper and lower control arms.

This pic signifies another major milestone. First FFR cardboard box empty and in the recycle bin! Box 22 was the first to be emptied.

Next, I assembled the Koni shocks and started the install onto the car.



The spacers were too large to fit, so I called in the assistance of Machine Shop Boy. Zac put all the spacers up on the lathe and turned them down so they would fit. Yay for Machine Shop Boy!

 Koni shocks and spindles installed.

Next, the front hubs went on. These had to be torqued to 225 ft-lbs (I start having trouble torquing around 100) so I called in the assistance of Brute Force Boy, who had to put his body weight into it. Given that he's 80 lbs heavier than me, I think this was the correct call. I'd rather these be the correct torque than have my front wheels fall off. However, I was able to handle the dust cap installation without an issue.

Look, a front end! At least parts are going on the frame so that the innocent passerby can now differentiate the front of the car from the back. When you have a naked, black, spidery looking frame in the garage, most people have a hard time telling it's a car.

At this point, Box 1H just had steering components in it. I repacked those into Box 15 (a smaller box), re-labeled it, and sent big Box 1H to the recycle bin.

Next on the list is installing the front brakes, and installing the rear end. The rear end is still sitting on a furniture dolly under the back of the car, so it will be nice to get that bolted on.