The Official Hot Rod Thread - Part 4: Burnouts for Distance

[churchmouse]

JJ is next episode. Nova is last. Should be interesting.

I like the concept. But the thing we are already seeing is “Nobody” in their early or Roots years could ever swing a rear end assembly like Kelly put in that “G” body and I do mean nobody. If a fella could swing a mono-leaf non-braced 12 bolt with a set of floaters and Lakewoods you were cock of the walk. You had to fabricate the bearing cap supports as no one was making a diff cover to do this.
We had to make all those parts/pieces. If this is what I understand to be a throw back they have already lost the essence.
Did Ryan Turbo his Chevelle.

 

[churchmouse]

You were talking about a Gremlin X up thread. Last week or so I spotted on in Kalamazoo. Pull up to a McD's next to where I was delivering. Pristine condition.

View attachment 215292

Pretty slick little cars for a copy of a high top tennis shoe.
That is a nice example.

 

[Bigtanker]

I like the concept. But the thing we are already seeing is “Nobody” in their early or Roots years could ever swing a rear end assembly like Kelly put in that “G” body and I do mean nobody. If a fella could swing a mono-leaf non-braced 12 bolt with a set of floaters and Lakewoods you were cock of the walk. You had to fabricate the bearing cap supports as no one was making a diff cover to do this.
We had to make all those parts/pieces. If this is what I understand to be a throw back they have already lost the essence.
Did Ryan Turbo his Chevelle.

I see your point. Just about every part is at the new builders/racers fingertips. All it takes is $$$.

Ryan's Chevelle has a factory(ish) LT-4. That's the supercharged C7 Z06 motor. With the 8 speed auto.

 

[churchmouse]

I see your point. Just about every part is at the new builders/racers fingertips. All it takes is $$$.

Ryan's Chevelle has a factory(ish) LT-4. That's the supercharged C7 Z06 motor. With the 8 speed auto.

Ok I remember that now. I knew it was pressurized.
Yes that’s the thing these days. Engineering is something many write a check for.
I was hopping to see some old school period correct stuff but like you said that’s just not possible.
Ryan’s car is slick. Kyle’s car might have something for it. That was a big under carb plate he hung on it. Look at the Solenoids.
Damnit I feel outdated.

 

[thunderchicken]

I like the concept. But the thing we are already seeing is “Nobody” in their early or Roots years could ever swing a rear end assembly like Kelly put in that “G” body and I do mean nobody. If a fella could swing a mono-leaf non-braced 12 bolt with a set of floaters and Lakewoods you were cock of the walk. You had to fabricate the bearing cap supports as no one was making a diff cover to do this.
We had to make all those parts/pieces. If this is what I understand to be a throw back they have already lost the essence.
Did Ryan Turbo his Chevelle.

No doubt back in the day you guys had to do some serious engineering to make things work.
While these builds are supposed to be a throwback to a more legit Street car the rules they all agreed to were pretty open. As we all know if there's not a rule against it, it's an area to exploit.

 

[thunderchicken]

Ryan's Chevelle is absolutely beautifully done as everything he builds is. He threw a fairly equivalently built rear in his car with either I believe 40 spline axles. The LME built LT4 he put in it, I don't recall too many specifics other than it was a crate engine and yes he put a Pro charger on it with I believe a 10speed transmission.
Kye's G-body build is probably stout enough to keep Ryan's hands full. That style 9" housing is becoming the norm now if a guy can afford it. The G-body and Foxbody cars have a very similar design being a triangulated 4 link. So with all the "stock" suspension classes out there these housings and the replacement upper/lower torque boxes with multiple holes is becoming common. Maybe not to start with but they often evolve to that point. Now, that plate system he threw on there is almost not even comparable to what was available 20+ years ago. The spray patterns are significantly improved. Those solenoids are referred to as trash can solenoids. Those things have a much larger internal orifice size to allow for much larger jet sizes to make big HP from a single kit. Nitrous is more old school than some other power adder options but the technology continues to improve.
Axe man may not have understood the rules the same way everyone else did. The car has potential to be pretty dang cool, but it doesn't really meet the agreed rules of having a "full interior". His is definitely a throwback type of build and is absolutely cool for how he seemed to keep things in check both in suspension and drivetrain. Not sure if he ended up going with nitrous or the pro charger for a power adder though. He was right for putting a SBF in that car. Other options might have been easier but cars of that age just seem much cooler when they aren't crossdressed. Not sure how much wasn't shown or told about what they may have done in terms of head work or cam. But, those heads looked more like a mild street design. I guarantee they are nothing compared to the heads on the SBF Kye bought from BES. And, those rockers looked like cheap Crane knock offs (based on what I've seen). I had some (dad did too) old Crane Gold series rockers years ago and the profile was not like what he used. Again a cool start to the build but it just needs finished better IMHO (interior, paint, front suspension etc). Maybe more has been done since what we saw was taped.
Will be interesting next week to see what JJ comes up with.

 

[jeffsqartan]

I see your point. Just about every part is at the new builders/racers fingertips. All it takes is $$$.

I don't know if others feel the same, but I feel that true hot-rodding is dying out to manufactured rodding. Anybody can go order a parts kit and assemble stuff. It's true hot-rodding to build the parts yourself, or make the modifications yourself. However, I personally think too many guys will shame others for doing it on their own. "Well you're not a pro, you're just gonna break stuff. Spend the money and do it right."
Obviously know your limits, just seems that a lot of guys out there shame others for doing it their own way, which is a bummer.

 

[Bigtanker]

Wow. Steve takes the engine down after all of the rods broke. Amazingly, the block, crank, heads and cam can be saved.

 

[thunderchicken]

I don't know if others feel the same, but I feel that true hot-rodding is dying out to manufactured rodding. Anybody can go order a parts kit and assemble stuff. It's true hot-rodding to build the parts yourself, or make the modifications yourself. However, I personally think too many guys will shame others for doing it on their own. "Well you're not a pro, you're just gonna break stuff. Spend the money and do it right."
Obviously know your limits, just seems that a lot of guys out there shame others for doing it their own way, which is a bummer.

I tend to disagree somewhat.
Hot rodding is about building cars, driving and enjoying the cars, friendship made in the process and getting others involved in the hobby.
If a person has the time, resources (tools & equipment), and skill set to build the parts they need then that's great. Many people lack in at least one area when trying to take on a car build. Those obstacles (along with money) often results in people giving up on the project and selling it for something more modern or turn key. Having the ability to order pre fab parts that look and fit well with minimal work saves time, requires less resources and opens the door to keep those with less mechanical or fabrication skills involved in the hobby. Not to mention in some cases it takes a bunch of guess work and problem solving out of the equation that again many lack the ability to figure out on their own.
I would rather see people bolt on parts and pieces to make the car their own than to just write checks and swipe cards for someone else to build them a show quality piece.
I've been around the car scene my whole life so I probably sound like a jerk. But, I'm not easily wowed or impressed anymore. I look at a home build and I appreciate the time and hard work put into it. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue because I see stuff that's just not quite right (or safe). Other times I see stuff that in my head I have to wonder...why. Why did they do that when they could have done _____ and made things less complicated.
Sometimes spending the money to do it right is a wise investment. Like brakes as an example. I never understand people who just throw mismatched parts together from a scrap yard to build a brake system. Spend the money and capitalize on the R&D work already done for you.
Don't get me wrong I won't shame someone for doing it their way but sometimes their way isn't safe for them or others on the road.

 

[Bigtanker]

Well we scored a save this morning. Rather than drop the $90 for a new drive wheel, we are just going to swap the clutch and chain to a #35. The 420 size parts are boxed back up and has the return label on it. The new set will be ordered shortly.

Throttle cable and rear tires/tubes and he'll be in business!

 

[gregkl]

Sometimes spending the money to do it right is a wise investment. Spend the money and capitalize on the R&D work already done for you.
Don't get me wrong I won't shame someone for doing it their way but sometimes their way isn't safe for them or others on the road.

I'm like this. I see projects some people do and I wonder why they would put the time and effort (and money) into whatever it is I'm looking at. Someone posted a pic of an older El Camino with a Superbird front snout on it. It was done well. Very professional and I'm sure it cost a lot of money but I look at it and see it as a wasted effort. But that's just me. I'm sure the owner (and others) thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

And on the other end of the spectrum are the guys that spend beaucoup bucks on building a pavement pounding monster, but do portions of it with bailing wire and duct tape.

I know I am OCD on how I work on my stuff, but if I can't afford a proper brake system, then I may as well pick another hobby that I can afford to do right.

 

[femurphy77]

Hey guys I need your opinion; I'm ready to put the rearend in the racecar back together. I pulled the pumpkin off the shelf and even though it's been covered there's still a fair amount of storage dirt on it. To clean it I thought about setting it on something in my parts cleaner and hosing it down thoroughly then blowing it out and letting it dry. After it's dry I figured I'd pour gear oil on, in and thru it while rotating it thru slowly to pre-lube it prior to putting it in the rearend.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Hey guys I need your opinion; I'm ready to put the rearend in the racecar back together. I pulled the pumpkin off the shelf and even though it's been covered there's still a fair amount of storage dirt on it. To clean it I thought about setting it on something in my parts cleaner and hosing it down thoroughly then blowing it out and letting it dry. After it's dry I figured I'd pour gear oil on, in and thru it while rotating it thru slowly to pre-lube it prior to putting it in the rearend.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I’d let ‘er eat. As long as the bearings are fine and it’s clean and lubed, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

 

[thunderchicken]

Hey guys I need your opinion; I'm ready to put the rearend in the racecar back together. I pulled the pumpkin off the shelf and even though it's been covered there's still a fair amount of storage dirt on it. To clean it I thought about setting it on something in my parts cleaner and hosing it down thoroughly then blowing it out and letting it dry. After it's dry I figured I'd pour gear oil on, in and thru it while rotating it thru slowly to pre-lube it prior to putting it in the rearend.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I would just hose it off with some brake clean and hit it with some shop air to make sure it's good & dry. Then just slap it in the housing.
Now, once assembled and full of fluid I would roll it around a couple times to get a coat of oil on everything.

 

[Brad69]

So modern performance is very different than yesteryear in some ways.

You send files over the internet to a tuner that tweeks the tune.

The aftermarket response is counted in weeks when a new model hits the market.

The modern cars have far exceeded the legendary cars of the 60’s. Bone stock the top dog’s are running in the mid 10’s that was S/S class in the 60’s.

One thing didn’t change you need $$$ to go fast.

 

[jeffsqartan]

Update on the Saleen.

1 - I thought I wanted to swap a Cobra IRS into my Mustang. I can assure you, after dealing with one, I'll pass. The process for removing the diff is so stupid. Pull the drive shaft, pull the half shafts - which includes pulling off the calipers and hubs, btw, then undo a brace and drop the whole thing out.

B - whoever built this diff a couple years back must not have torqued the bolts right. Cause four of them were loose, which is probably why it was leaking. Unfortunately, the pattern also looks wrong and, worst of all, I think my buddy's last test drive wore through the coating on the gears. I'm not a gear expert, this looks bad to me. Like, get new gears bad. The second picture shows how "much" fluid was in it when I pulled it.
What do you guys think?

 

[d.kaufman]

Definitely needs a new ring and pinion

 

[Jaybird1980]

Update on the Saleen.

1 - I thought I wanted to swap a Cobra IRS into my Mustang. I can assure you, after dealing with one, I'll pass. The process for removing the diff is so stupid. Pull the drive shaft, pull the half shafts - which includes pulling off the calipers and hubs, btw, then undo a brace and drop the whole thing out.

B - whoever built this diff a couple years back must not have torqued the bolts right. Cause four of them were loose, which is probably why it was leaking. Unfortunately, the pattern also looks wrong and, worst of all, I think my buddy's last test drive wore through the coating on the gears. I'm not a gear expert, this looks bad to me. Like, get new gears bad. The second picture shows how "much" fluid was in it when I pulled it.
What do you guys think?

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Yeah, they need replaced. Running without lube will do that.

 

[jeffsqartan]

I'm waiting on the guy to call me (he works nights). Someone rebuilt these for him two years ago. Shame.

Gonna see if my father in law will help me get it rebuilt. I think my own car was good enough, but I didn't like the tools that I used and I know he has pro stuff. This will be much easier to get to him, too.

 

[femurphy77]

In the process of putting my car back together I've ordered several things thru Amazon.com. It's convenient, easy, typically quite a bit cheaper than other options and can have it at my door overnight in lots of cases. So I'm putting the rearend back together and I find the wheel seals don't come close to fitting, my own fault really because I usually check the part numbers myself to avoid these issues.

Anyhow I go to Amazon.com to process the return and since Amazon has told me in the past to just dispose of items that cost as much as 50 bucks I fully expected them to tell me to do the same with the $3.75 each wheel seals or print out a QR code and drop off the seals at the UPS store.

Not this time Buckwheat; they want me to package up the seals, apply a shipping label and send them back via the local UPs store. Having nothing to ship them back in I was somewhat miffed at this change in procedure BUT I found a box that Amazon had used to send something to me. LIGHT BULB!

Here are the two, wheel seals prepped for shipment, on their dime of course.