Remember the conversation a few months ago about "cutting up" my GS. Well, I tore into it, but held the cutting to a minimum for now. Again, thanks for all the advice back then. Probably the biggest "cutting" I did was just selling off all of the original parts that I had been saving for "someday". That day just ain't happening any time soon. So, here comes the pictures. The first thing I did was pull the motor and tranny. I had to repair a leaking drain plug hole on the engine. The tranny got a rebuild, a transbrake, and an Ultrabell. While I had the engine out I also trimmed the front springs to get a more favorable (read: cooler!) ride height. Here's the pics after the engine and tranny went back in:
Next, I started on making the rollbar into a rollcage, adding light seats, and other little things. Here are the in-progress and somewhat finished photos:
Then I added the fiberglass hood. I ordered it from Glasstek and I was very impressed with the quality. I got it in less than two weeks, too. For now, I'm going to move my Stage 2 scoop over to this hood. I might do something different (cowl?) later. I don't have pics of the hood, yet. Now I just need to mount the new slicks and try it out.
Nice job Jeff. Its great to see progress pictures. Looks great. What are the details on the drivetrain? Thanks
Looks Great Jeff !!!! A couple of questions for you: 1). What did the car weigh before and after the upgrades ? 2). What front springs did you have in the car ? 3). How do you have you tach. mounted.....did you fabricate a mounting bracket to go in-between your instrument cluster and dash pad ? Thanks,
Thanks for the kind words guys. The drivetrain is: 462 ci Buick, TA Stg 2 SE heads by Gessler, solid cam, 14:1 comp, SPX intake, Dominator. Trans is a TH400, t-brake, Ultrabell, 9" converter from PTC, flash stalls about 4800. Rear is a 12-bolt with 4.10's. Before the changes it weighed about 3550 with me in it. I haven't weighed it now, but I took out factory buckets and the steel hood. I figured I net lost about 100 lbs. I have always had Moroso 4160's in the front. I guess the first set had settled. When I put new springs in (same type), the front sat too high for my tastes, so I cut off one coil. I just hope it doesn't settle too much. The tach is mounted to the rollcage A-pillar bar. I welded a short piece of 1/2" tubing to the cage bar and mounted the tach to that. The Kirkey seats are the economy drag model - 15 1/2". I kind of wish I had ordered the Pro Street seat, but it's not worth switching. The picture in the Jeg's catalog is the Pro Street seat. It's kind of misleading. I have two seats, I just haven't mounted the pass. side yet. Thanks again. I plan to run it next at the BOPC race in Gainesville, FL this year. That's the track where I ran my first 9-sec pass. It yanked the front end about 3 feet (no kidding!) back then, and that was footbrake. I'm a little cautious of what the t-brake might do to the car at that track. It should be fun! Have fun.
Looks good Jeff. In the words of my buddy Gary K., everything you did was tastefully done. Nice job. Looking forward to seeing it fly in person in G'ville. See you there.:3gears:
X2 Fast cars on a small tire is the way to go. :TU: Looks very nice. Is that a radial slick you're running? Is the cage chrome-moly? My car is going to get a similar transformation this winter.
Thanks guys. Yep, I've always liked the small tire thing myself, too. The tires in the pictures are an old set of M/T drag radials, 295-65. I had those on the car for a local 6.50 index class (1/8 mi.) They have since changed the rules to allow slicks, so I'm ditching the d/r's. In case you're wondering, the d/r's don't last long. The fast guys get 20 passes out of them. I got about 30 passes on mine. I looked long and hard for a slick that will fit my car with the wheels I have, and will work on a 3400 lb car with a transbrake. I considered the 29.5 x 10.5 Hoosier radial, but I know from experience that radials aren't as consistent as a bias on a marginal track. A bias 10.5 x 29.5 won't fit in my wheelwell at the ride height I have (I tried it). So, the next best thing was a Goodyear 29 x 10 bias slick, in a D-3 compound. They say it was built for 3000+ lb cars. I run mainly 1/8 mi, so the extra RPM's aren't an issue. I'm not sure there will be much difference in RPM's anyways because radials don't grow like a bias will. Maybe they will be about the same on the big end? I'll keep everyone posted on the "testing" outcome. The cage is all mild steel. It's actually the same rollbar I had, just added a holo bar and a-pillar bars. I think Cr-Mo is overkill on a bracket car. You don't really save much weight considering the price difference. On a serious heads-up car I can see why, but for what we do, I dunno. I'm thinking someday I might notch the rear frame to get a little more room, but still keep the stock suspension. I'd like to get a full 29.5 x 10.5 bias slick in there with a good 1/2"-1" of clearance all around. But, that's another project for another day. In the mean time, I need to get the hood painted, and find someone to make the nose trim in fiberglass. Maybe an enclosed trailer, too. There's always something..... Sorry for the ramble. Thanks again. See you all soon. Have fun. Jim Rodgers - I sure hope you're bringing a car to race in Gainesville. See you there.
Have you tryed a hoosier 29x10.5w that is what i run last year it works great it is a stiff side wall I wish it was a little talller but did the job:TU:
I just switched to Mickey Thompson 28/10.50X15 stiff sidewalls (3055s). Car went from a 11.22 in BG to a 11.07 in Reynolds. 60' dropped from a 1.62 to a 1.50. Beech Bend and Silver Dollar have always been very close in both ET and 60' times for me. Can't wait to see what it does in Gainesville next weekend. I would think you could fit something like these under your car with no problem. Looking foward to seeing everyone in Gainesville!!
I looked at both of those you suggested. Any 10.5w tire won't fit in the wheel well. The biggest section width you're going to get in a '70-'72 GS is about 12.5 to maybe 12.8. Most bias-ply 10.5 slicks are 13.2 or 13.3. The only way to get that in is to raise the back of the car up off the tire. I didn't want to do that. The 28 x 10.5 are too short for what I wanted. I firmly believe in having the tallest tire you can fit as well as the widest. More sidewall helps it hook. I'm not telling anybody else what to do, I'm just telling you what I wanted for my car. Thanks for the input. Have fun. See you all in Gainesville!!!!
Jeff all your mods look real good. Hope you have good luck with it... And this is for all you big tire hatters, HAVENT YOU HEARD BIGGER IS BETTER :Smarty: !!!!! TORQUENSOVER....
