Original pics, taken back in Sep. 2013.

 

Mustang destroyer wannabee

 

New paint, courtesy of my friend Tommy...
Courtesy + $700 + 4weeks wait...
Well worth it!
LeBra to help protect the front end next.
Rear smoked tail light lense covers after that.
Tint on all the windows lastly for body/show.

3/2014:

 

Much better what color is it?

 

Thanks!...
I asked for gun-metal grey...
It's actually very difficult for camera's to represent the true color. Most of them seem to favor the blue bits.
In real life it is more like a darker grey in dark light & lighter grey in better lighting... Some have said it looks like a common charcoal grey, but they don't know any better.

Also, I got the framerails on standby, ready for welding when I get my new job!

 

nice car man!
where in nc are you

 

Thanks!
Somewhere near the center.

 

Looking good. Who makes that cowl hood? Be careful using the LeBra, they trap heat and moisture which can lead to rust and paint issues.

 

I second this. look into a clear bra you won't even know its there and won't cause any moisture issues

 

It is stainless steel version, not the fiberglass. My body guru said it was good to avoid the fiberglass for some reason I can't remember now. The weight savings looked attractive, but I didn't want to bother with the hood pins in the fiberglass version...
The stainless steel 2.5" stainless steel cowl hood can be found on summitracing.com for ~$400US.

 

Screw the 'bra'. Terrible idea!

Been doin' research on moates PROM emulator. Very impressive.

I need a 383 block from GM performance Parts as a first step for an engine build with a T56 trans, and 30lb/hr injectors, then I can tune it on the fly no matter what the cam.

 

Such grandiose ideas and plans, lol. I decided to unearth one of my original posts here...

This year, I've followed these paths instead, modifying the rear axle, tires/rims and brake system (lots of pics in those threads):
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/brak...ette-base.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...p-carrier.html

Today, I've got to commit to purchasing the Eaton Truetrac differential carrier. This should/will complete my goal for this summer...

 

Subscribed

 

I decided against the Eaton carrier unit at this time, as the car sits most of the week. The reason I need this carrier is because the current Auburn unit is worn. With the stationary 2015 Corvette calipers, the rear rotors are rubbing against the caliper on slow,wider turns. According to sources here on TGO, when the cones in the Auburn unit wear, the axle endplay gets larger. Currently I estimate about .090" axle endplay. Anyway, headed into the fall I figured experimenting with the engine fuel curves and timing maps...
I just ordered Craig Moate's APU1 PROM Emulator/Burner!

 

Sh*t. Today I decided to get the Eaton True-Trac carrier unit too, along with the higher 3.73 ring and pinion diff gears.
One day a T56 is going into this thing. Dream big, drive careful is my current motto.
I'll avoid the LS2-3 path and build a 383 from scratch with Chevy Performance Parts, hopefully keep the original Lotus designed intake.

 

If you don't already own the parts, it may be cheaper to build a 6.0 L iron LS truck engine. Or buying a 5.3 and slapping a single turbo on. I enjoy my 383 and it has enough power for my needs but now a days even used sbc name brand aluminum heads are the same price as a 5.3 or 6.0 engine.

 

You have a great point, however the road I'm on isn't necessarily the one that's going to be the most HP for the $. I want to get down to the bare metal both in building the engine from scratch with CPP and in tuning the ECM with the Moates AutoProm and TunerPro. All in good time, first I'd like to learn abit about tuning OBD1 because it's gotta be pretty simple compared to some of the later OBD2 controllers...

So far I've had initial success with the AutoProm unit and TunerPro RT. I removed the original 27C512 Eprom out of my original 1227165 ECM, copied it to the buffer and burned the image to 1 of the supplied 27SF512 FLASH memories. Plugged the machine tooled socket into the ECM and plugged the newly programmed 27SF512 into the socket and the car fired right up! 10 minutes total time for a tuner n00b. Now on to emulating and screwing with some values with the engine running in real time!

 

I can't remember if Rbob has his setup able to run mass air but his setup is wonderful for someone in your position. I used the Moates products and was never thrilled with them, which is why I went to MegaSquirt. If you're sticking with sbc go ahead and get a ready to build core from Summit or a new aftermarket block. Everything is machined and checked already so the chances of having a bad block or something out of tolerance is not likely.

 

Surely I can do some simple beginner mod's to the EEPROM in order to take advantage of the fact that I use 93 octane.
I'd like to tinker with the Moates programmer till I get my funds built up...
Anyway, some pics. First under the hood. Been awhile since I did comparison pics against the original. Got a UMI strut tower brace in there and also a 4-core all aluminum radiator.

 

And almost time to weld in the UMI SFC's

 

The 383 build continues. AFR 210 Comp ported heads are the last major purchase. In the meantime buying some performance parts I can transfer over when it comes time to transplant this OEM305TPI...

UMI SFC's are in there. Will take some pics soon.

Also installed a high torque mini starter last Saturday. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...nistarter.html
Very pleased.

Today, just got in the OBX Racer SS304 long tube headers, which were reviewed here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...longtubes.html

Will be removing the A.I.R. pump and manifolds and installing these headers on this OEM305TPI soon.

I don't like the collector reducers. Collector is 3" and is reduced to 2.5". I'm going to see what I can do to resolve this issue.

 

2.5" header collector is fine. Dual 2.5 exhaust will be enough for a n/a 383. Dual 2.5" going to a single 3" may or may not be a problem...

 

Removing the manifolds on this 305 wound up being more difficult than I remember. Last time I put on short tube headers on my 1986 sport coupe 20 years ago wasn't such a problem. Jeezus time F's with us old folk....

I'll install the OBX longtubes when I install the 383.

I made the last big purchase of this build in the form of the AFR210 competition ported cylinder heads just now!

Raced this car a couple times while noticing shift points with a Stage x(forget which one I installed) B&M shift kit. It will keep the engine screaming to almost 7000RPM before shifting into 2nd, but remember this is 190HP, lol. It chirps going into second at high speed. My old 1986 SC had a 350 with short tube headers and B&M shift kit. It would chirp always going around corners, even at the lowest speeds (had an open diff back then, probably for the best )

Got some black lugnut covers. Thought I'd share a pic. Ordered silver IROC-Z door panel stickers and center wheel caps. Losing the red center caps...

 

Got the silver center caps for the rims. Also put on the silver IROC-Z door emblems. Was a breeze with soapy water and included squeegee from Hawks. Paid $80. Of course this morning I find "official licensed" door emblems from decalking.com for $40. Not sure if they come with the squeegee tho, lol.

Here's some pics with the protective coating still on. Gotta let it dry for 3 hours before removing. Took all of 15 minutes to do.

 

The protective coating was difficult to remove after even 4 hours in the shade. Instructions said to let sit 3 hours. If I had a next install of these emblems, I would try a hair drier or heat gun to rapid dry the glue and evaporate the soapy solution. This was my first set so I can't say 100%, but there's gotta be a better way than the included instructions...
Then I wiped excess water away from the emblems, very carefully. Some air bubbles were resistant. THIS last stage is THE most difficult.
We'll see how long these emblems last!

Looking at the last pic in my last post, I'd like to smoke the tail lights, tint the windows, rear @10% and fronts at 20%. Then it must be lowered 2" front and rear. Lastly, all this is for looks in order to motivate me to transplant the 305TPI with my custom 383, I'm looking into white lettering for the tires in order to remain true to the IROC brand.

 

Going forward with permanent whitewall tire stickers from Tirestickers.com. They had a reasonable price for 8 stickers, 2 per tire @$110. All they say is 'continental' in the same font as the original blacked-out continental lettering.
Seems like I'm the only one on this forum going forward with white lettering... Maybe I'll start a trend. I think It'll look cool, especially in video!

Also, ordered more parts for the 383 build: Oil pan, HV oil pump, and Summit cat back exhaust. Details later.

 

Dropped the 880 Block, forged Scat crank, pistons & H-Rods, XFI292 cam, LS-7 lifters, double roller front timing set & Comp Cams cover, new cam/rod/crank bearings at the machine shop. I decided to pay them to assemble the short block with my chosen parts. They agreed and seemed mildly interested. They were especially concerned about my cam choice, decking/compression ratio and the lift associated with the XFI292...

In process of applying raised white lettering to the 295 35 18 and 275 35 18 rubber. 1 tire took about 45 minutes.

 

I'm choosing a new pic for my sig, 1 of the next 4... Getting motorvated for my 383 build! Not too much left: Pushrods, Rocker arms, 7730 EBL P4, fuel reg and lines, valve covers, crank bolts, harmonic balancer (non balanced) and more...

383 Engine Build, 2015 Corvette 4-piston Base Brake System, all around, by BBU.
Soon suspension mods I'll make... Build links will soon be in sig, instead of knowledge is horsepower. Progressing...

 

Good job! Keep it up! Definitely look forward to where you go with this.