KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

Are they enforcing the engine diaper rule out there yet??

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

no, but good point. i'll look at that as well, lol.

KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

I know they are starting to crack down on it back here, and you got the 11.0 break covered pretty easily.

I am looking at them right now and think I will end up going with a DRE.

heavy_chevy29

DRE is the only way to go. he will build you a custom diaper or you can buy a standard one. i thought i needed a custom one. i filled out the spec sheet and submitted it. got a call the next day from Dennis. he told me to just use the standard one. it will save me time and money. my issue was that i have 2 inch primaries on the headers and they run real tight to the block and standard motor mounts. he told me it doesn't matter, he puts flame retardant material that will withstand up to 3000*F(i think thats the correct #). my DRE diaper lays on one of my primaries and i see no signs of it compromising the strength of it just discoloring.

i remember when the rule came out. i was a little annoyed like most other racers. i thought, great, thats one more thing i have to buy(thankfully they don't have to be re certified). it wasn't until i saw a few motors blow up and not spill a drop of oil on the track that i was sold on it. now every time i see and oil down i get pissed they didn't have diaper. we put a lot of time and money into these cars. play is safe and run a diaper.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i'll put that on the list for this winter for sure then. i'm probably not going to do terribly much to the car, just make it repeatable.

camaroracer21

iTrader: (1)

x2 on Dennis from DRE. My pop runs a DRE diaper on his Monza and I have a DRE diaper on the list for this winter. All the racers we talk to say Dennis is a class act and very responsive.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

should i start a new thread regarding updates and changes over this winter? looks like i'll be going back into it pretty heavy again, lol.

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

No, then I'll have to take time out of my busy schedule and find your new thread. Just keep posting your updates on this one, makes things easy on me.


Looking forward to seeing your cage install.

zz17iroc

iTrader: (4)

It doesn't matter, I'll still read it!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

a decision has been made. i'm not re-registering my car for next year and it is to become a dedicated racecar.

KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE!!!

skinny z

No more "strace car".

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

unfortunately. i don't know if it'll be longterm or just for now. it was a hard decision honestly, but with the focus being on the racing only right now, and with our growing family and still getting a handle on my new job, i just think this will be better.

1986Z28OWNER

iTrader: (1)

I've sent in my resignation on being your friend.

skinny z

Ouch. That's harsh!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i got a side project in the garage right now, but did go get this over the weekend

RS Chris

Something tells me that aint a monkey bar set.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

well the car finally made it into it's spot for this year's updates. also, had a cool gift show up that should help with the data analysis portion of this. it's an older autometer 34 channel data logger. i'm pumped







disassembly should begin this weekend.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i got more done this weekend. it was cold out, but the little kerosene heater was pumping and i made a big fire in the fireplace in the basement and it was manageable with a couple of thermal shirts and jacket. the car is now pretty much stripped down where i can really see what i'm working with.



these boxes are HEAVY, lol! i'm thinking of different things i can do about this.



empty

skinny z

THIS should be interesting.
What will you monitor? I would think: MAP, AFR, RPM..how about drive shaft speed, IATs..? 34 channels. Lots to watch.
Yeah. In THIS part of the continent we're above freezing surprisingly for this time of year. I'm making a go of it in my (so far) unheated 2 car garage. Heads, cam, fuel pump....it's down right balmy here with my coveralls, toque and gloves.

RS Chris

Feel bad for you guys. It's 68 deg. and decent. But you guys are getting it done, so good luck on that.

no green

When I re-wired mine, I pulled almost 10# of wire out of the factory harness, and kept the lights and power windows... a little wire weighs more than most think.

looking forward to the cage build, that's my next winter plan.

Good score with the data logger, I've been looking for a deal like that myself.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i've got a lot brewing right now on this. i am probably not going to use that logger, for many reasons. anyway, if anyone knows of someone looking for some gauges, i am unloading a few of mine.

Sport comp playback tach pn 3966 with shift light pn 5334
Sport comp 120 mph speedometer pn 3987
Sport comp oil temp pn 3543
Sport comp vacuum gauge 3484
Custom gauge panel for 4th Gen firebird dash. Gauges are in excellent condition visually and functionally. Retail for gauges and shift light only are 720. Will take 500 shipped to lower 48.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

so i got to looking at some issues i had with the rear wheel well. well, one thing led to another and.....





these are just preliminary cuts to see what i'm working with.

tub and spring stuff should be here this weekend. will order rear shocks soon as well.

RS Chris

Took me a second to realize you cut the cage out. Looks like things are about to get real. Good luck.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

well, i didn't get everything done i wanted to this weekend, but i also had ZERO idea how much work was involved in the mini tubs. my cousin Chucky, whom i've been helping build and maintain his car over the last couple of years came up yesterday and helped me get a few things hammered out. so long story short, here's some pictures of what we did.

all cut out



had to go get some steel. this break/shear was huge. totally picture worthy



wolfe spring kit and summit tub kit waiting install



added some 1x2 to the inside of the frame rail to help with support



then boxed it all in with 1/8" plate to make sure it's strong



lca's waaaaay offset now



checking fitment with the biggest thing i have laying around at the moment: 345/40/17 on a 17x10.5 with 7.5" backspacing.



this monster is 13.25" wide

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

inner skin in





and passenger's side so far:





hoping to finish the tubs up over the week and get started on the cage maybe by next weekend.

skinny z

THAT looks great.

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, great job Matt. I like how you added the supports before boxing it back in. You planning the rear bars to land there again?

Those 345s look awesome in there.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

yes, definitely going to land the rear bars as close to directly over the spring as logistically possible. this actually means moving the landing point over about 6" from where it was. of course my rear carpet is already cut for this placement so hopefully the new placement isn't too far away, lol. i might just have to ozite the rear area entirely to get the coverage i'm hoping for.

the 345's do look right at home in there, and i may consider something like this for a street set, lol, but i'm not going to commit to anything there yet since i haven't even renewed the registration on the car this year. i DO intend to get to dragweek one of these years, that's a dream of mine for certain, and having something like this for between tracks would be ideal.

no green

Great idea, seeing how thin that is make me want to put some metal on mine. Yikes...

Great job on the fab work!!

Wolfster14

As always, very nice job Matt. It will be very interesting to see how much your car improves when it is all done. Maybe I did not see it in the earlier posts but are you going with a full cage?

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

THANKS! yes, full 10 pt. front strut bars in engine bay are yet to be determined.

Wolfster14

That should make a huge difference in how your car works. Might be staring at the sky when you launch.
Cant wait to see it finished.

zz17iroc

iTrader: (4)

Matt, that looks really nice man! Keep up the good work.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

This weekend was pretty full. I wanted to make progress on the car, but also had some other irons in the fire. Thankfully i got to spend about 6 or so hours on the car this weekend. i got the passenger's side tub fitted into place and spent some time working on deleting all the unnecessary bracketry. I got a ways to go on that yet, but every little bit helps.





man them big meats look good back there, lol!





also got a new dash i'm hoping the end product comes out half as good as what i have in my head

STREETDEMON

I love the Bird dashes! Great progress Matt.

no green

Looks great, Matt!

I'll put up some pictures of my dash to give you some ideas.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

yes please!

no green

Here's a couple old ones I have, I'll try to get some more when I get it back together.

The wiring you see runs the whole car, the factory harness only runs the lights, horn, and power windows.

2013






2015

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

awesome! thanks for the pictures. definitely gives me some ideas

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

I have my brother-in-law's pick up truck at the house right now. It came over a while ago cause it needed a front end rebuild and a clutch. it has been a downright nightmare. everything is rusted on it, and the combination of metric and SAE fasteners on this thing is baffling. it's a 2000 dodge dakota. i'm surprised it has much of anything SAE on it honestly! Anyway, i really wanted to get a chunk out of it as it's been at my house going on 2 months now. i'm sure he's going to want his truck back. with the exception of the tune up, that thing is basically done, so this week/weekend i hope to be focused and get some serious work done on the car.

I was able to get a few things done though. I seam sealed the interior side of the tubs. i still need to do the exterior side.







i also was able to get all the stubs from the old rollbar removed and ground down. Lastly, i was able to place the main hoop and rear bars for the new cage



I got a couple goodies in the mail. new steering wheel and the new SmartSpark LS by Daytona Sensors. I had thrown around the idea of going to the Holley HP, but I just can't justify the cost. This box is very capable as far as carbed ls engine management is concerned. I can't wait to get it figured out.





added bonus, the new Daytona Sensors box weighs less than the MSD box i'm taking off the car

no green

looks good.

Wolfster14

You will like that wheel Matt. Good and sturdy, the yellow line is handy for knowing your wheels are straight when they are coming down.
Especially with your hang time.

heavy_chevy29

I may have missed it but whos wheel tubs are those? how do they fit? I'll be mini-tubbing mine this summer.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

tubs are summit brand 36" tubs.

got some more done this weekend. mostly i learned that i have to take everything into account for bar placement, lol. managed to cut my first a-pillar bar too short

anyway, here's some progress pictures.

this thing is nice to have




pretty confident these will pass certification




windshield was broke, so i pulled it to aid with the front bar placement. broke it more pulling it, lol


got the driver's side a-pillar placed and i'm very happy with it.




halo hugs roof and gives me plenty of helmet clearance

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

I'd pass those welds. Nice work!

GreggymacZ28

What welder were you using for these welds? They look really good!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

Hobart Handler 140. argon/co2 of course. it's a very versatile little 120v welder. it'd done everything i've ever asked of it. i spent a good bit today welding up old bolt holes in sheet metal today too, so it can weld all the way down to 24ga.

GreggymacZ28

I've read about you using this welder in the past, wasn't sure if this was the one you used for the cage. Very nice work! That is one good welder.