Laying down The Law

We as a country do a lot to try and curb the acquisition and use of "non-sporting" rifles(that is, military style rifles), particularly imported ones like the AK.  There is a subsection of the Gun Control Act passed in 1968 called 922r.  Basically, it says that any imported "non-sporting" rifle can have no more than 10 imported parts from a list of 20 parts set down by the AFT.  On the AK 47, there are 16 parts that qualify for the 922r compliance list.  For my build, using a US made magazine, I am well in the clear with only 7 imported parts from the list.  If I switch to a metal imported magazine, I am right at 10 imported parts and will switch out the pistol grip for a US made part to bring it back down(although it is still legal with 10 imported parts, I like the extra buffer).  So that there is never any question, here is a list of the 922r compliance parts in my AK, along with country of origin:

1.  Front trunion, Polish made

2.  Bolt Carrier, Polish made

3.  Bolt, Polish made

4.  Gas Piston, Polish made

5.  Buttstock, Polish made

6.  Pistol Grip, Polish made

7.  Upper and Lower Handguards (Both count as 1 part), Polish made

8.  Barrel, US made, AK Builder #H1-31

9.  Receiver, US made from AK Builder flat, #B1-71

10.  Muzzle Device, US made, Tapco #AK0684

11.  Hammer, US made, Tapco #AK0650single

12.  Trigger, US made, Tapco #AK0650single

13.  Disconnector, US made, Tapco #AK0650single

14.  Magazine Body, US made, Tapco #MAG0632

15.  Magazine Follower, US made, Tapco #MAG0632

16.  Magazine Floorplate, US made, Tapco #MAG0632

Interestingly, it's only with rifles that it matters.  Pistols and shotguns don't need to follow 922r no matter their origin.  If I had made the receiver so that a buttstock couldn't be mounted it would qualify as a pistol and even though it's the exact same gun, I wouldn't need to worry about 922r(or the 16" minimum barrel length rule for that matter).

Message Received

Onward to the last bit of building the AK's receiver.  The last pieces of the puzzle are the rear trunnion/stock tang and center support.  Like everything else, these require some special tools.  Well, actually not, all you really need is a hammer, but it'll look nicer with some better tools.  The tools in question this time are both rivet sets.  The first bucks are for the rear stock tang.  They're made from 1/4" steel with some 5/16" dimples in them to form the rivets.  While you could just hammer the rivets over, the rivet bucks make for nice domed rivet heads.

With the stock tang and rivets in place, with one buck on the back side you start by hammering the rivets down far enough that they lock into position.  You can also see in this pic that I painted the inside of the receiver under the trunnion, so I don't have any bare metal that can rust.

Then, using both bucks, squeeze everything together to form the rivet heads.  A hydraulic press would be nice here, but I don't have one so the vice works.

Once everything is properly squished, you should have some nicely domed rivet heads. 

The very last piece of the receiver it's self is the center support.  It's essentially just a long rivet with some steel tube around it, and keeps the receiver from bowing apart.  You've got to be careful with this one, it only goes in one way.  The pre-formed side MUST go on the right side.  Instead of a full dome, it's got a flat head that is necessary to clear the safety lever.  If you put it in wrong, you'll have to grind the head down to clear the safety.  You can also see in this pic where the welds are for the inner rails.

The process is the same as the rear trunnion, hammer to set, then to the vice with a dumpled buck to finish forming the head.

And there you have it, the hard part is done.  After a few hours and several special tools, we're left with a complete AKM barreled receiver.

The Mighty Stick of Justice

Behold the Mighty Stick of Justice, righting wrongs around the world!

The wrong in this case is the hood on the Viper.  Like many Gen I and II Vipers, the hood springs on my car aren't the greatest.  They will hold the hood up ok as long as the car is level and there is no wind.  Jacking the car up or having the slightest breeze blowing from the front will cause the hood to come crashing down.  It definitely can't be left unattended at a car show or cruise night for fear that the hood could slam down on somebody.  So, I decided to make a prop rod.  Traditional prop rods going from the cowl to the hood look bad.  It's a Viper, no matter how fancy the prop rod is, it always looks out of place.  Mine is much less obtrusive.  It's made from a 1 1/4" wood dowel, and is 24" end to end.  The top side is notched, the bottom is ground at a slight angle, and it was primed/sanded/painted so that you really can't tell it's wood.  The top end hooks into the hood hinge like so:

The bottom end wedges into the conveniently bare spot of the frame seemingly left open for just such a devise here:

When it's installed, it blends in with the rest of the engine compartment and is virtually invisible to "regular" people.  At the last cruise night I went to, I asked everyone who looked at the car if they noticed it, and the universal answer was "No."

It holds the hood rock solid and is wedged in such a manner that it can not come out on it's own.  The only drawback is that you need to remember to take it out before trying to close the hood.  I've found that it's not much of an issue because the hood doesn't budge with it there.  As soon as you touch the hood and it doesn't move, you remember that the Mighty Stick of Justice is in place.  It also stores conveniently behind the seat. 

New mounts

Yeah...it was time for new engine mounts...  The drivers side mount was literally separated into two pieces, and the passengers side mount was torn most of the way through.  The engine in the Viper was being held in place primarily by gravity.  After drying my tears from the cost of the purchase, I set about installing the new Woodhouse mounts.  It's a pretty straight forward job on a Viper, jack up the engine, slide the old mounts out, and new mounts in.  I did have a little bit of trouble because the suds on the new mounts are slightly longer than the originals and I couldn't jack the engine up any higher.  There are some very good how-to's on the internet, so I won't go through it step by step.

I did need some new heat shields though.  There have been reports of people melting these new polyurethane mounts, though they are primarily cars running headers.  The stock shields don't give full coverage to the mounts.  There are a few different options for heat shield material.  What a lot of people don't realize is that cardboard has tremendous insulating properties.  Because it works so well and is easy to work with, I decided to use some cereal box cardboard for mine.  First I cut out the shape of the shield I wanted.

Then, I installed them on the motor mounts.  I put the printed side out because the glossier surface will help reflect more heat.

No, I'm kidding.  I used the cardboard as a template for some stainless steel shields.  I made them in a rush, and quite frankly they look like garbage.  I made them before taking the car apart using the new mounts as a guide and guessing at the rest.  They are over sized and not made very well.  While they will get the job done, if you saw them in person you would gouge out your eyes in horror.  It's shoddy workmanship like this that people are OK with that makes me cringe when I see it on many "look what I made" type posts around the internet.  I'll soon be making a set that fits better and actually looks decent.  Here's the new shields next to the originals.  Note the utter lack of quality and file it under "How not to make things for your Viper."

As many people have noted on the Viper forums, there is slightly more vibration in the car with the new mounts.  It's most noticeable at idle, and isn't enough to bother me.  The whole car feels more "solid" driving down the road without the engine flopping all over.  It shifts much better too, the shifter used to move back and fourth 1/2" when I got on the gas.  Now it stays in place and shifts like it's supposed to, though there is still room for improvement.