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Leaving everyone with a mad case of blue ***** by posting a pic like that with no further info. 91-92 Birds YJ's are some of my favourite cars, tell us more!
Those cars represent three best friends in college with their dream cars. That’s my beloved 91 Formula. I believe that picture was taken some time between 1995 and 1996. She was a tuned port car with a five speed, although she had rear drum brakes. That was my buddies RS (shh ... it was a six cylinder but at least it was a manual) and my other buddies Jeep.
An inattentive driver on a two lane road totaled the car to my dismay shortly after that picture was taken. I replaced the car with an 89 Turbo TA but that car never really clicked with me.
Fast forward some 20 years and I find myself with a gutted non street legal 370Z that I use for track days and instructing on road courses (my home track is Summit Point), an Excursion to tow and a 2007 Honda Civic as my daily.
As much as I love my 370Z I have always seen it as a tool to get a job done. I have never really had an emotional attachment to it. But my old Formula has always had a firm place in my heart. For the past 10 years I have been secretly scouring the internet for a replacement (trust me honey, I am not looking at cars…really just ****).
My intention was to find a 91 or 92 tuned port five speed car. My goal was originality and leaving it exactly as it was when it rolled out of the factory. However, it became apparent that any car that fit that description was asking for astronomical prices or was sporting 22 inch rims (raising instant concerns about the owner).
I have replaced motors and transmissions so I decided on a new strategy. Find a 91 or 92 with as clean a body and chassis as possible with the intention of swapping the motor and drive train in the future. Again trying to recreate an original factory car.
Then I came across Chanrahan’s 91 Formula for sale on TGO (I think that’s how you guys abbreviate the Third Gen Forum). The thought of having a 91 Formula with a 500 horsepower 383 stroker was intoxicating. I knew at that point any thought of being satisfied with an original factory car was a lie.
I actually bought that car, and it still is listed as sold (I do not know if he decided to just keep it or if he found another buyer). Unfortunately, after some research I discovered that it would be impossible to legally import it into the United States and I had to cancel the sale.
Fast forward to Easter Sunday, I saw Turbo Steve’s advertisement for his 87 Formula. Sure it had the older nose with the bumpers, but that would be an easier swap than a motor or transmission. And it had, gasp… a 383 stroker TPI setup with…wait for it…A T56 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION! OMG!
Sorry for the excessive display of emotion…
Long story short. It’s mine now! Just waiting for transport from Florida. I will update this post and my future plans for the car when it arrives.
That is sweet. Usually not a fan of painted intakes, but I like that one a lot. Bring that car a bit closer to earth, a new set of wheels (Hawks 17in black GTA's!), and you'll have a seriously mean looking Formy. Also, what's under the tarp in the background?
That’s a picture sent by the current owner in Florida. Not sure what’s under the tarp but he is a editor for fastest streetcar magazine so I bet it’s pretty nice. My ETA on the car is approximately May 21. This is going to be the longest month of my life.
To fill in the time while I wait on my car I guess I’ll take the opportunity to introduce myself a little more. Here is my other ride a 2009 370 Z ( and you can see my Excursion photo bombing the picture ).
and I know, my garage is a disaster.
Fast forward some 20 years and I find myself with a gutted non street legal 370Z that I use for track days and instructing on road courses (my home track is Summit Point), an Excursion to tow and a 2007 Honda Civic as my daily.
As much as I love my 370Z I have always seen it as a tool to get a job done. I have never really had an emotional attachment to it. But my old Formula has always had a firm place in my heart. For the past 10 years I have been secretly scouring the internet for a replacement (trust me honey, I am not looking at cars…really just ****).
Looks legal to me it has plates on it
good luck finding non Aero bumpers they're like hens teeth! I've found 2 fronts one in Buffalo that I bought and one more I'm trying to get
Looks legal to me it has plates on it
good luck finding non Aero bumpers they're like hens teeth! I've found 2 fronts one in Buffalo that I bought and one more I'm trying to get
Leaving everyone with a mad case of blue ***** by posting a pic like that with no further info. 91-92 Birds YJ's are some of my favourite cars, tell us more!
I don't think the Americans called them YJ's. I think that was a Canadian thing because of a trademark in Canada for the Wrangler name
So I don’t even have the car yet but I’ve started getting to work. I plan on having multiple sets of wheels for this car and eventually will get 17 x 9’s (Ronal replicas or maybe black GTA as suggested above) but in the mean time I have ordered a set of the later style formy (turbo style or 20 spoke not sure how the refer to them on TGO) wheels.
From the pictures they look a little beat up and will need some cleaning, buffing, polishing, or something. However, before I reinvent the wheel (no pun intended) has anyone posted a definitive process for restoring these wheels?
FWIW I ordered a set of Ronal copies in Red through Classic Industries for a good deal - under 600 shipped BUT they have a long B/O time the metal colored weren't so long just saying watch Classic for discounts and they threw in shipping for free I expect 7-8 months or more for mine to be melted down beer cans and cast in China boy I hope the new Tariffs don't screw this up
OK. Seven days to go before my car is scheduled to arrive!
For a little background it was a former GM high-tech performance magazine project car And was also featured in Car Craft. The majority of the articles focused on the motor build for the 1987 Formula (lethal weapon) an editor purchased.
The articles dubbed the motor “sledgehammer“ because it was based on a Lunati stroker crank. They eagerly tracked the progress of the build from the bottom end to a preview of the high flow TPI setup.
Then. Nothing...
It actually took some digging to find out what happened. And of course that digging led me full circle to this forum to find a definitive answer. When they finally got the motor on a Dyno they could not get the Edelbrock high flow runners to seal. So they had to fall back on the stock runners to do the dyno pulls.
Turns out they never did a follow up article because they were disappointed with the results...
Only made 383 HP and 454 ft lbs...
I think I’m OK with that. And imagine the gains if I put a mini ram on it 😈
OK. Seven days to go before my car is scheduled to arrive!
For a little background it was a former GM high-tech performance magazine project car And was also featured in Car Craft. The majority of the articles focused on the motor build for the 1987 Formula (lethal weapon) an editor purchased.
The articles dubbed the motor “sledgehammer“ because it was based on a Lunati stroker crank. They eagerly tracked the progress of the build from the bottom end to a preview of the high flow TPI setup.
Then. Nothing...
It actually took some digging to find out what happened. And of course that digging led me full circle to this forum to find a definitive answer. When they finally got the motor on a Dyno they could not get the Edelbrock high flow runners to seal. So they had to fall back on the stock runners to do the dyno pulls.
Turns out they never did a follow up article because they were disappointed with the results...
Only made 383 HP and 454 ft lbs...
I think I’m OK with that. And imagine the gains if I put a mini ram on it 😈
Ok. It feels like months but ETA on the Formy is this Tuesday May 21st. To help pass the time I have been immersing myself in old magazine TPI intake shootout articles.
Long runner = torque monster
Short runner = HP monster
Could you imagine if someone fabricated a variable length intake (or more realistically a long runner short runner design manifold with a bypass valve that opened up +- 5500 RPM closing off the long runner and dumping into the short)... All the low end torque and then... bam! the engine changes attitude on the fly...
Yup thought about it many years ago then ford kind of did it with one of the mod motor intakes. Everyone pretty much just removed the stuff so it would flow more.
Wheels just arrived. So it looks like they sent me three rears and one front. That doesn’t bother me. Two are in remarkably good shape and two of them not so much.
I guess I learn something every day. I thought the only difference between the front and rear was the lip.
So is the generally excepted restoration process sanding off the clearcoat and following up with progressively finer sandpaper until you can polish them?
I guess I learn something every day. I thought the only difference between the front and rear was the lip.
So is the generally excepted restoration process sanding off the clearcoat and following up with progressively finer sandpaper until you can polish them?
What I’ve researched, havent done it yet myself, is that you can polish them to get a mirror/chrome finish but you cant really polish them to get them to look like factory. I’ve looked a little bit into having them machined back to factory but still dont know hoe close it would be. I myself am not a big fan of the high polish look on these wheels. I have started seeing more people have them powder coated about the same color as the center cap and they seem to look pretty good. Still no factory finish tho.
Ok. It feels like months but ETA on the Formy is this Tuesday May 21st..
So.....errrr.... Do you have an ETA update? I'm salivating waiting for her to turn up and she isnt even mine. You HAVE to tell us your first impressions ASAP.
05-03-2019, 08:42 AM
