Tonight was just not fun. Not fun at all. Before doing anything, I verified that Brandwood provided the wrong attachment for the cable shifter. I have no way of connecting the main gate cable to the trans shift rod, as they drilled the hole for it wrong in the connector they sent me. This isn’t a huge deal – just a simple screw on part that will take 2 seconds to replace…once a new one arrives.

It took way too long to get the transmission mount/rear frame member in place and bolted, and then once I finally got the transmission into it the FFR provided holes in the mounting bracket did not even line up. Nice! I egged out the holes and managed to get the bolt through, though. For future reference, it is much easier to get the trans mounted by putting the bracket back in first, then trying to get the trans lined up in the bracket.

With the trans in place I tackled the passenger axle. This axle was a real pain. It’s a tight fit to get it in, and then it was even tougher to line up the bolts + cv spacers + axle mount holes. Tonight was extremely frustrating to say the least. I am glad, however, that the trans and axles are in, and a clearance issue I had with the starter last night was fixed by getting the trans mounted properly in the rear frame/trans mount.

Next up on the list is some wiring protection (need to protect the wire looms by the headers from the heat) and hose organization, then I will start securing tunnel panels and get the passenger fuel tank hooked up. I also need more heavy duty hose clamps for the water pump connections.

Earlier today I finished the clutch pedal mod by placing some good grip tape on it. It looks pretty ‘factory’ now.

Tonight I started out by cutting the water pump hoses to length and then connecting them to the 45-degree fittings. Much nicer. I also started reconnecting the water pump corrugated lines – I decided to use better hose clamps for these connections.

After that I moved on to installing the driver-side axle. This was pretty straight forward. The passenger side will go in after I install the starter. I also noticed the trans/engine was off-center by a good amount, but after I slid in the rear frame member/transmission mount it centered up pretty good.

Lastly, the fuel crossover hose was installed on the fuel rails.

Tonight I installed the 45-degree fittings into the water pump outlets and re-installed the pump. The hoses will now be able to run freely without being kinked by the frame.

Josh finished the clutch pedal already so I primed and painted it – just need some good grip tape and it will look good as new. This mod will free up a bit of foot space in the footbox.

The axles are assembled and ready to go.

I decided to install the remaining footbox carpeting on the passenger side. I wasn’t looking forward to doing these pieces, but I found the Super 77 spray adhesive stays very tacky for a very long time, so you have plenty of time to work with the carpeting – just be patient and keep your fingers clean. I find that spraying small areas of the carpet at a time works best so that you don’t have to try to fit in the entire piece of carpeting in at once.

Tonight I started the assembly of the rear axles, but stopped short of completing them when I realized the older manual I am following shows axles that are totally different than the new redesigned axle shafts that came with the kit. I want to be sure I have the boots on the right ends before I fill them with gunk and seal them together, etc.

After that I clecko’d in all of the interior aluminum panels for drilling. Fun! If anyone out there considering this build thinks the aluminum panels look incredibly confusing in how they are arranged and fit together – don’t be worried. They really only fit together one way and if you label them it really is a piece of cake to put them back together.