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Car is now painted matte black metallic. Wheels painted bronze with new 255/40/17 Falken Azenis 615 track tires. For now this thing is done. Gonna try and enjoy it this summer before a rear gear change come fall.
Just can’t leave the car alone. UMI torque arm, Koni sport struts, Raybestos s-groove rotors and Hawk pads installed. Now I’m done for this year. Have an autocross event in a couple weeks. I have been able to take the car out a few times so far to a cruise and a car show. Looking forward to putting some more miles on.
Update: Ran the car at UMI Autocross challenge last weekend. Car did well and handled great. I did break an alternator at the end of day 1 and had to scramble to get a new one but had it fixed that night. Day 2 went good with no issues. Won a few prizes including a $225 Summit gift card. With encouragement from my group of racing friends I have decided to manual swap my car. Only a T5 but I still have the 305 in it so it will be better than the automatic. Still have a few more car cruises and shows to hit this year so fall will start the swap. Can't wait to row some gears next year!
I have purchased all the needed parts for the manual swap including a sweet MGW shifter. Also purchased UMI adjustable caster/camber plates. Some health issues with my wife have set me back on starting this project. Car has not moved since end of August. I have no garage to work in so living in central PA things might be on hold till spring. For the time I drove it this past year I'm very happy with what I have done and the feedback I have received from people. It's not even close to being a show car. I have built it to be a track/cruiser car. Looking at some new seats as the 4th gen ones are kind of worn out and not the greatest for harnesses.
Car is in hibernation for the winter but that doesn't mean no work will be getting done. Have purchased a 350 from a friend and a set of aluminum heads from another. Goal is 300-375hp. Nothing to wild as the T5 won't hold much power. The 305 just doesn't have enough power for me and everything just came together at the right time to do this. Looking forward to seeing what this car will do next year on the street and autocross course.
Have cleaned up the heads I bought. Just a set of speedmaster aluminum heads 64cc chambers 2.02/1.60 valves 1.6 aluminum roller rockers with 7/16" screw in studs and guide plates. They have been previously ported and polished. I have lapped in the valves and they are ready to go on the short block. Purchased a Comp cams XE274 high energy cam and lifter set. Engine should be good for around 425 tq and 425 hp. A little much for the T5 so I will have to be careful till I can upgrade the tranny. Looking forward to spring to get it all installed. Also getting some other wheels ZR1 reps in 17" x 11".
Update on engine project. Mostly assembled had to order the correct pushrods before we went any farther. Will be finished up this weekend and ready to swap in the car along with the T5 transmission. Hoping to have it all done by middle to end of May.
Fired the engine last weekend. My buddy has a run stand so we broke in the cam and made sure we had no leaks. Engine sounds good and had no issues other than a valve cover leak. Next weekend will start the process of engine/trans swap. Can't wait to see what this thing can do. Will have more photos of the tear down and swap as we do it.
Car went on it's maiden voyage Saturday. Pulls hard in first 3 gears. Have some wiring and carb issues to work out but very happy with things so far. Still need to do the 3.42 gears this weekend and then we'll see what it can really do.
To say this car has come a long way is an understatement. Car is now done with complete drivetrain swap. Rebuilt 350 pushing around 400hp T5 transmission and 3.42 gears. This car is so much fun right now! Still a few bugs to work through but it runs great. This will be a great cruiser and autocross car.
Have had the car out a few times. Ended up ditching the Edelbrock carb and bought a new Holley. Purchased UMI caster/camber plates and buddy gave me a TA performance rear end cover and another set of ZR1 chrome wheels. I now have 4 sets of wheels for the car. Going to adjust the valves this weekend and fix my exhaust that's rattling against the sfc. I changed the oil a couple weeks ago and looked good from break in. Very little glitter and almost none in the filter when I cut it open. I will post the specifics of my engine build soon. Next big test will be an autocross in a month. Gonna be a learning experience with at least twice the power and now being a standard.
Well this years autocross did not go as planned. First run on day one went good car felt fast and handled good. Got back in line for run 2 and car wouldn’t start. Starter was heat soaked. Missed 3 morning runs and got it ready for afternoon runs. Decided to let it run in line. Big mistake. Car started to overheat but was just about ready for my run. Went to move up in line and brake pedal went right to the floor. Brake fluid boiled. I guess I should have guessed the cooling system needed an upgrade with the new engine and need to move my brake lines away from the headers. New parts already ordered.
Just about time to put the car away for winter. Upgrades for winter are install new Procar seats I purchased a month or so ago. Might redo my gauges and console. Did not drive the car as much as last year. Hopefully will drive it more next year now that all the major projects have been completed.
Some things going on this winter. New set of Vision 149 17x10 wheels and new Procar seats. Still have some other things to do but to cold for that right now.
I finally got my overheating problem fixed. Those new Spal fans did the trick. Took it out yesterday in 95 deg heat and it never went over 195. let it idle in my driveway after my drive and it sat at 190.
Finally able to update since UMI autocross challenge. Car ran great all weekend. I did have a spin and ruined a tire as it caught the inner lip of the body and shredded it.
