well the plans for getting the car back to jersey are delayed. Health issues with the owner of the trailer and driver. I found a trailer to use but trying to get a truck to bring it back home lol

Kinda makes sense. Hoping the water pump is not fully spinning where it needs to be. Friend told me his old tensioner was easy to pry apart and put the belt on. The new one he needed a big breaker bar and took alot of strength to put the belt on. I know i used a small ratchet to move the tensioner ( meaning it took very little strength ) My fingers are crossed

 

Just got back from last minute "Operation bring the car home". She's sitting in my driveway! am so happy lol Ill take a pic tomorrow with a "Real" hood on it lol

 

My baby got her first mod in a different state :P

Question:

Alternator wire goes directly to the battery correct? I found it was hooked up to the positive distribution box thats next to the passenger side battery tray. I put it on the battery, and took her for a 5 mile spin, after she warmed up for 10 minutes and it didnt die....wondering if that was the problem

 

Single big wire goes to battery, direction differs between cars, but so long as it gets to the batt, your good. Simple test: check for output from Alt, should be over 14, or upto 14.5, than check for 14-14.5 at batt, if it is there your good!

 

Noob question seeing i hate electricity. Multimeter goes into the harness while its plugged into the alternator right? Prob 20 min after my last post i went outside and tried to start it and shes dead. I brought the battery back to the store, he tested it and said it took a charge but it was fluctuating? alittle bit. I ended up just returning that one and got the optimum deep cell, yellow top. I am taking the terminal off it while it sits incase something is draining it untill i check the alternator. Waiting on response

 

Just to confirm, you will be testing the thicker single wire coming out of the screw type terminal (black wire), everything stays plugged in, turn multi meter to 12 volt test area of the unit, black lead to ground and red to ALT wire. Hope that helps!

 

The car should stay running if you disconnect the battery. That's a good indication of whether or not the alternator is charging.

 

cool ill try both methods, ill keep ya posted. working on the hood at the moment.

Came home earlier after taking a friend for a quick cruise up the road and leaking coolant.. The radiator drain plug was extremely loose...I know for a fact it was tight. Might have to put something besides the T handle looking thing in there if possible

 

I still have a few of those annoyances on my engine. My cheapie valve cover gaskest don't match up the the AFR's OR the valve covers, so I get a drop or two of oil on the exhaust every once in a while. I've also got a few drops of coolant escaping, and my power steering "burps" every once in a while.

sometimes it takes a while to work out all the kinks!

 

stupid kinks suck! lol

My hoods on, not happy with it but its on. coolant leak fixed. Ran out of daylight to do the alternator check. Will do that tomorrow.

I took her for a quick cruise down a highway and ended up playing with a bike Only went a few hundred feet, still kept her under 6 grand, and he fell back. I was quite pleased. Not sure what it was but it was a big honda, looked more like a stunt bike though, but either way, ill take it :P

Now back to the drawing board with electrical and cooling! Seems am getting alittle farther everyday driving it, tomorrow ill go pick up a tensioner pulley and see what that does.

 

2 birds 1 stone killed today.

Long story short. Brown wire on alternator had no power. Apperently that wire is hooked up to a light bulb in the dash. I read somewhere if the bulb blows, the system wont charge. I cut the brown wire, and now i have charge. With the brown wire hooked up the battery read 8v. With wire cut its now reading 14.5 - 15.

I swapped wires from my fan blowing away from the motor, so now its working the same as my other fan. I took her for a nice cruise, sitting at lights the car didnt go above 180. Driving 55 she runs around 162 . Very good day today.

Now am going to be tackling the vibration at 1800-2100rpm. Its not the tires, and it does it in park. Leaning toward flexplate or convertor.

Oh and a different note. I took a ride in my buddys vega today, caged, tubbed, 406 sbc. Runs 11.2 @ 118 on motor, 10.6 @ 126 on 150 shot in second and third only, junkyard parts. My car seems very similiar in Power. And both sound the same his alittle louder seeing its true duals longtubes. But that just made my day also

 

Nice to see you had a good weekend!

What are you going to do with the vibration? You pulling the trans?

Can you remove the bolts from the converter to the flexplate first, and run it to feel if there's a diff? That could possibly eliminate one problem.

 

Thats where am going to start first and go from there. If it is indeed a torque convertor I might have to sit down with the wife and have a talk. 600+ for a new convertor, 300+ for a nice flexplate, Am up in the range of a T-56. Might have to think this one through alittle. I bought my trans for 900, am sure i can get 750 out of it, so theres a nice chunk toward the swap.

 

Congrats on figuring out your charging and cooling issues!

I think those estimates are pretty high for a flexplate and TC, but I'd love to see that beast get a T-56 anyway!

 

Shhhhhhh, the wife doesnt know that! Man, i thought we were friends lol

I called 4 convertor dealers, all within range of $550-900 for custom built ones. Flexplates i seen on summit for 300+ for heavy duty ones. If i can get away with cheaper yet still good let me know and show me a link

 

Well $600 is the cheapest you can get a TC, and $800 for a good one is not at all unreasonable, but don't pay more than $200 for a flexplate! Still $1000 when you add it up.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7My5hLWP4

Wifes first ride in the car. Was doing around 40 or so. Cars too damn loud to stay in it. Am also getting a taste of what gas is going to be. Am guessing, 4mpg lol

 

Saw the vid! she's working well, sounding pretty crisp. Are you happy with the tuning so far, much more tweaking or you think she is there?

The wife must be impressed with your mileage!

 

Needs alot of tuning. It still has a hesitation, and cruising with very little pedal you can here the tone go up and down.

Not sure what my fuel bowls should be set at. Right now i think the front 2 are 3/4 full, and the secondaries are under 1/2 full.

 

Went playing today. This morning i was all disappointed because i felt third could have alittle more power. Well she was put to the test tonight. I couldnt back down, he started it and wouldnt leave me alone :P

2011 shelby

I thought it would be an awsome comparision seeing i have no clue how fast, or what power am pushing. So i gave him the jump, instant car length, when i got traction in third it was over. I pulled to his rear bumper then got out of it.

4th seems wierd, though i wont play on the streets using that gear, ill see if its slipping or its just my imagination. Ill find out after the car goes in for carb jets, timing, and dyno tune. Am going on a cruise the end of the month then she's going in for some numbers.

Am very pleased, had to share

 

Thats good, the Shelby's are no slouches!

 

update ls4gxp?

 

.

 

None lol 2 days after I played with the Shelby I got stopped for cracked windshield, no inspection, and a loud car..... its been parked since. I just got back from Bermuda, I need to recover from the trip then get into it again.

I did get a quote for $300 for someone to come to the house and replace the windshield, all molding, and new wiper blades, sound reasonable?

 

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Couldn't tell you if that price is good or not, we typically pay double what you guys do for car parts.

 

The mind is a turning again.

Been looking at a couple of turbo kits, Question is. Can i swap out pistons to lower my compression enough to run turbo? Or are my 65cc heads going to nix the whole idea.

I would take 5psi over nitrouse, and ive seen a few complete kits for sale for our car


Incase anyone is wondering whats my progress.....Same as before, car is just sitting lol I"ve noticed a rocker tap on the passenger side, need to get them adjusted again, and still need to work on the vibration, i havent done anything for awhile. I just recovered from my bermuda trip, Beer alone cost me $500 and am not a drinker! LOL :P

 

No clue why, think i read somewhere that rockers might need adjusting after break in occurs, not sure if its true or not, but yes, the noise is getting louder. Since my last post about the shelby, i only had her running once untill she reached 160 then i shut her down, i dont want nothing to break lol

 

Lol, doesn't take long for the mind to start wandering does it? Mine is wandering as well!
I love turbos , perhaps, a turbo GTA for the wife?

Your 65cc's should work, just need a flat top or dish piston, your usually better off with smaller chamber heads and a flat top than a dome wth huge chamber heads, assuming the 65 cc heads and flat tops can bring the compression down to the desired level.
Either way, your tearing it apart again! I would concentrate on getting yours working well, get the suspension where you need it, fine tune the engine, rear diff, tires..... your in the 11's.

I always thought the hydraulic lifters take up the slack once the pre-load is set? I would take a look your self, could be a lifter leaking down between drives? Does it clack when warm or cold?

 

I would work with what you got for now too.

Thinking about turbos is a natural progression for most of us, but I know for me, I will experiment with a cheaper engine than my 383!

 

UPDATE!!!!!

Well am happy and sad at the same time. Went out yesterday and spent $500 on my startup kit to work on my car lol. Seeing am 230 miles away from my uncles house where the car was built i had no choice.

Got her up on stands today, not planning on doing anything else. While laying under it i said what the hell, get to work. Had the mind set of taking the trans completely out but decided to just take the bolts to the convertor out. Now i herd theres enough room to move the convertor back with the trans still hooked up, and i herd not to try to start it because you can really screw something up. Well after taking the bolts out i noticed 1/4 inch of play from convertor to flexplate. After pondering for awhile i said screw it, zip tied the convertor away from the flexplate and started her up................






wait for it

















wait for it
















SMOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No vibration what so ever. Being cautious of having it on jack stands, and having the convertor only 1/4 inch from the flexplate i brought her up to 3 grand with 00000000000000 Vibration Time to go shopping!

 

I hope you found the source! I wonder though if it can still be further down the drive line, such as; drive shaft, rear end, or trans?

 

all faith in the world its the converter. IF it didnt happen in park and neutral then i would say possibly. though it could be something in the trans i guess. Only one way to find out though, change the converter and see. If i bring it to a trans shop i would spend alot more for a converter for a diagnosing i think, for them to tear it apart and check internals.

If by any chance it is not the convertor, then the car sits untill i swap a t56 to it

 

I think you have it, if it does it in park and neutral. What converter you using? Dont break the bank if you plan on swapping to stick!

 

i want a stick, but i already spent 900 for this trans and she shifts very smooth, chirps second under light throttle but it operates really smooth

I have specs on the whole trans build but nothing on the converter, no clue who makes it, no stamps on it, but am positive it IS a 3000 stall. I was looking at B@M holeshot, theres a guy on the board seeling an edge converter, Not sure whats good, whats not. At this point i dont want to spend 7-800 on a converter, i want to get one in there, change the windshield and get it inspected so i can just drive it. I would like to make it to the dyno and track before november lol

The turbo kit i was looking at sold should have jumped on it just for the future, but ill wait for another deal to pop up, not in a rush for that just yet, was an idea lol

 

I have not heard too much good with the B&M's when used in high performance applictions, they must be alright if they are still in business, and I suppose for the price they are okay.
Edges, precisions, yanks, continental are ravedabout on this site. I think Continental makes a very good converter at a good price. It gets difficult when you want 3000+ stall and lock up. You going lock up?

 

Was told if you have non lockup and want to goto a lockup you need to change a few things. So i will be going non lockup 3k

 

Well, that gives you more choices.
It would be nice if you can find a slightly used one for a decent price. Have to be careful with used crap as you know, a bad converter can come apart and take out the entire trans.

 

Trans is out converter about to be ordered. Am gonna go with the Edge series i believe. Also having someone come to change the windshield. She should be back on the road with a sticker in the windshield by mid aug. Also bought some rims with ET slicks :P Rim and tire weigh probably 10 pounds. Am going to run it down the track once the converter goes in then bring it for dyno/tune. Ill keep ya's posted

 

What rearend you have in there? lol!

 

10 bolt for now lol. Ill take it easy on her off the line lol

 

Good luck!


Whats the size and specs on the rims and what size are the tires?

I'm curious to know what I can fit under mine. 10.5's are a dime a dozen around here.

 

well the guy sleaved the rear, think thats what it was, built it for street/strip with richmond gears. Its a "built" 10 bolt, though the word "built" and 10 bolt only go so far and i understand this lol.

My friend has a zz4 350 with aftermarket heads, est 400hp runs 12.8 @ 111 with tires, his completely stock v6 3:73 rear has been holding up for almost 2 years now with a t5 trans.

Wheels are 15x8 centerlines, tires 26x10

 

I just spend time reading you 7 page journey on this build.Sorry to see the issues you have had along the way.I just wanted to compliment you on the way you posted the thread and info.I thought it is very well done.

I edited this to say I am in the process of building a 383 myself with a Howards Track Smart crank,Scat H beam rods,and Icon forged pistons.

 

So got some even better news on friday. I talked to a buddy and he recommended me calling a torque converter shop locally in jersey. Everyone he knows running in englishtown have all good things to say about this company.

I called them up, told them my cam specs was based around a 3000 stall converter, he can custom make one, give me 12/12000 mile warantee for street/strip application for 350 plus tax. I will going going monday to put a deposit on it to get the ball rolling!

Thank you, i have had alot of blood, sweat and tears, and money with the build, nothing went to plan, nothing went together smoothly ( except for the rear swap ) lol. It was my first "hands on build" from start to finish, and i can proudly say....I wont be doing it again :P

 

If they have a good rep with building converters than good deal.

Doing it again is what makes this an addiction, you wont stop!
I can see you putting a turbo or S/C this winter!

 

You'll get over it and build another one soon!

I have to say, when I did the v6-v8 conversion in my old Firebird, it was a real PITA. But this time around, when I started with a v8 car, it was much easier. I think the old 'bird was down for a total of about 3 months, but this time when I finally decided it was time to pull the 305, I had my 383 in and running in exactly 3 weeks!

 

ya i can see it too lol But as far as building a car from scratch and doing a v6- v8 swap...not gonna happen, ill make sure it was a v8 car lol

glad i wasnt the only one then lol i just thought my build was the build from hell with all the non sense problems i ran into

 

This won't be my last! I was just thinking how detroit can't build a "muscle car" these days that weighs in at under 4000lbs. I think and LSx in a Fiero could be my next project! Something that can run 10 sec NA on street tires and stock production power levels!

 

That would be a bad *** build....so when you starting? lol

 

Lol, I cant believe how you thinking along the same lines as me!
I have been thinking, and actually casually looking for a 'cheap' clean fiero gt for months now. I have loved those things since I first layed eyes on them back in 84'. Would have been awesome to see the model continue.