mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i will definitely take you up on this. your car runs fantastic on the stuff i can't wait to get this thing together.

izcain

We mix our own (for consistency) not to mention we cant find it around here much. We run a barrel of E-98 and blend it down. Nothing much to blending it down. It's been so easy that I have thought of converting the other car over to it.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

I heard there was a football game on this weekend, but I was busy in the garage myself, lol! Most of what I was dealing with Saturday was daily driver boring stuff, and I spent a good bit of time working on a hat order for my Mu11et Militia 3rd gen Camaro/Firebird car club.

On of the beautiful things about metal, is that when you screw up, you can go backwards, lol!



I decided making the tunnel removable wouldn't really benefit me. without some sort of sliding transmission crossmember/mount, it was just going to be a real pain to pull the trans from the top, and no matter how i played it, i couldn't get the trans into the car with the shifter attached going in from the bottom, so Plan B was to take shifter off for installation and removal. I'm actually pretty happy with the way this is turning out. Here's the cover I came up with for the shift rods.



Lots of controversy over this, lol. I mocked these up just to get a visual. They'll be a tuning/just-in-case aid and will be removed for some of the street car classes I have my eyes on. I think it's smart protection for my investment personally.


40 spline axles/spool from Strange showed up this week, as did the 3.5"x.120" aluminum driveshaft from PST. I believe the driveline is about as bullet proof as I can afford at this point





That's all for now. I'm going to try to swing by a Harbor Freight this week and grab a sheet metal brake so I can make the shifter box.

SG91camaro

been following this car for a long time matt and to say you haven't done amazing things would be a lie. this thing is going to be a bad A ride at dragweek!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

well, the new baby showed up friday i'm taking most of the week off to help get acclimated here at the house, and while i'm here i'm going to try to get a few things done, including putting a closet door in, and possibly pulling the transmission from the new mommy-mobile (a 2000 jeep cherokee we picked up for $500 with trans issues). we were very blessed that the delivery went smoothly and quickly (labor was only about 6.5 hours long and she only pushed for 17 minutes). the girls are healthy and happy, albeit very tired. once the wife is recovered and fully transitioned into being a stay-at-home mom, i'll be able to put the racecar and sidework into over-drive and really try to get some stuff accomplished. 2017 is starting off great

J. Chris Davis

iTrader: (1)

Congrats!!!

AlkyIROC

Honey, Can I go work on the car?

Wolfster14

congratulations Matt

RS Dragcar 357

I think this is amazing. Ive followed your builds and threads since your 305 12 sec days. You are an insperation and a talented guy. I usually dont post i read and take notes. I really hope things go well for you this season and i cant wait to hear more about the new engine. I wouldnt worry to much about the gear swaps for you it should be easy just dont wear your self down and fall asleep on the line .

Congratz on the baby Matt.

84-Z28-Canada

Congratulations! Also, watching intently for your car build progress. I aspire to run drag week one day, so I'm definitely taking notes. thanks for posting your progress so everyone can benefit, and best of luck when you run at the drags

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

things are slow going as you can imagine, but i got the shifter box basically made. i only tried 4 or 5 different designs before settling, lol! also the driveshaft loop parts showed up this week so that will be making it's way in the car over the weekend or so. i got sick for 3 days after the new baby showed up and that put a real damper on progress, to the point i had to reschedule one of the side jobs because i just can't justify getting the car out of the garage just yet.

here's the shifter box. i am going to have a local buddy make a top cover from aluminum on the mill at his work.



you can see here just how close it is to the seat.



in other news, i picked up a set of cheapy china built wheels for the street. the rears are surprisingly light at just 16lbs a piece. they're a 15x8 with 5.5" backspacing. the fronts are 17x4.5" and are a little over 20lbs a piece. no tires for the fronts yet so no full pictures, but i don't hate the way they look





more to come!

3rdgenmaro

iTrader: (9)

Looks good. And Congrats!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

registration was today. it filled up in 6 minutes.








i'm in



the weight lifted off the shoulders from getting that confirmation screen was intense, lol!

skinny z

Sweet.
And good luck.

zz17iroc

iTrader: (4)

I am so happy for you Matt and I know your going to have a great time.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

thank Craig. I hope things are going well down there. I miss racing with you dude.

fbodyfreakls1

I'm in to see the results of this whole deal. I been watching your car for awhile and I'm sorry the t56 didn't work out. I hope I have better luck!! Hope to compete in 2018 drag week and for sure if not 2019!! Putting a 300 shot on mine to make sure it's competitive!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

Yup, it's been a learning experience for sure!

Some goodies showed up late last week. The header parts started trickling in




We ran the combo through pipemax and came up with a double stepped primary and a merge collector for absolute best performance. I'm waiting on the mandrel bends for the primaries yet, but things are moving along there.

The driveshaft loop needed to be addressed since everything has moved around a good bit. I decided to get a universal ebay kit and make it fit like I wanted to and I took care of that this weekend as well.



I have since put some gussets where the bolt tabs weld to the tubing in the frame and have blown it all back apart for paint. I'm very happy with how this stuff has turned out so far.

We were having some problems with the baby calming down sunday or monday (can't remember now it all runs together ) I decided to introduce her to the SpeedMu11et. she calmed right down and went to sleep. I hope I end up with 2 girls that love hotrods even half as much as I do (because anyone loving them as much as I do is clearly unhealthy!)


Lastly, I got the tunnel mods all buttoned up. Very glad this part is done




Jim and Reid at VRE, Steven at Cam Motion, Martin Smallwood and myself hammered down the cam specs finally. The 4 of them all had their rendition and we decided that all 4 would perform basically the same (peak numbers all within 6hp and ranges moved all within 2-300 rpm, so it was really splitting hairs at that point). Since everyone was so determined that their grind get used, I decided that we would allow chance to decide the fate, and proceeded to flip 2 coins (a penny and a quarter). Both landed on heads and a cam was chosen. It will forever be referred to as "PHQH"

That's all for this morning. I'll update more as things come along.

In the meantime, I'm putting together some cool swag so keep an eye out for that!

fbodyfreakls1

How did you like working​ with Martin? Plan on having him spec my cam and having cam motion grind it, hear there cores are the shitz lol

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i have been working with Martin on and off for 6 years or so now. it's ALWAYS a pleasure.

zz17iroc

iTrader: (4)

We sure did have a good time at the track! Well I don't get the chance to go as often as I like, the grudge racing here gets on my nerves. But when I see the progress you are making, I get motivated again.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i'm glad to hear you're getting some motivation again! an no lie, the grudge race scene down there exploded. how is SDR doing now with new owner/management?

the weather here has lost it's mind. it was 70 thursday. friday? well....



it is frigid cold this weekend too, and looks like we're going to get a possible 10"+ of the white stuff monday night. in the mean time, i have 2 days worth of kerosene and am in the garage as much as possible this weekend to try to get a few more things done since i have 2 cars supposed to come over for sidework soon.

the rest of the headers showed up


also, built my trailer hitch/chute mount. i have to build 1 more of these as one of the guys that is bringing his car over wants one, but mine is done




i will need to build the actual chute pack mount still, but waiting on that for a little later.

hoping to get more done soon, but about to have to work on some paying gigs, lol!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

last night i couldn't help but think about a story i read about a guy last year breaking his parachute mount that was doubling for a trailer hitch, so this morning after breakfast i made a brace. this brace rests against the back wall of the car and should help bear some of the load of the trailer.



i may be able to start on the headers soon.

zz17iroc

iTrader: (4)

I couldn't tell you how SDR is doing because I haven't been there in over a year. Well as far as weather in concerned, it's going to be a little cooler here this week as well.

I see your building another set of headers.

Wolfster14

As Always, very nice work Matt. Way to go that extra mile.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

started header fit up this week the passenger's side is all mocked/tacked up and waiting final welding and i have started on the driver's side.





i realized i bought way too many bends for the bigger steps and not enough for the smaller first step, so i have to get more bends, and ship back what i didn't use.

in other news, i ordered my front street tires from Jeg's. some 28x6-17 s/r radials from Mickey Thompson. Jeg's boxes these to keep fedex/ups from charging them a non-box fee. well i guess fedex lost one so i gotta deal with that monday when things open up. how they can be shipped at the same time, be tracked as reaching each location at the same time, and getting lost between the main MD depot and the local depot for delivery is beyond me. hopefully it shows up soon.

also had some hats made up. i'm selling them for $24/ea shipped. these are a 1 size fits most and use a velcro adjusting strap. if anyone wants one, pm me

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

This week has been mostly spent working on a side job that came over Monday evening, and pumping out steering shafts, so progress has slowed, however i did get the driver's side header about half-way mocked up before i ran out of material. headers should be fully mocked up by the end of the weekend, then i can figure out what i'm going to do to final weld, though that may not happen right away.

over the winter i comissioned a friend's wife to draw me a cartoon for the SpeedMu11et to be used on shirts and maybe stickers and stuff. i'm really excited about this as it turned out exactly as i was hoping the new shirt design turned out great and i am doing a pre-order now so get with me if you'd like one! they're $25/ea shipped for the first shirt and $20/ea for each additional shirt within the same shipment. 3xl and larger add $3. i'm hoping to place the order in about a week, the order process takes about 2 weeks, then i'll get them shipped out from there. so about a 3.5 week turn around from today is expected.



oh! almost forgot. the dimple die tool i got for Christmas from my cousin Chucky was finally put to use this weekend. i used it to restore a little integrity to the inner fenders, and give it a neat look too.



more to come

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

valve covers showed up. i need more space for the new rockers, and spring oilers to keep the springs happy on the street since the cam is pretty big on lift. these are beautiful.





driver's side header is all tacked up now too.



the headers turned out great in my opinion, and visually very similar side to side



plug access is excellent as well. will get final welding taken care of soon as the front plate has to go to the engine builder and i need to finish up what i'm doing with it first, lol.

i'll have more to share soon i hope. another side job is here so that's taking priority right now.

AlkyIROC

I have to make fun of the headers. They're going the wrong way!! I have less room on my car for forward facing headers than rear facing headers.

It's an added cost but get them coated. Some sort of ceramic coating is well worth the price. I've abused mine and they still look good even after getting oil stained. Some scotchbrite pads and they still clean up.,

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

been a little while since my last update. been doing some side stuff to help cover the cost of this years operation, lol! anyway, i did realize that the input shaft support i was going to use with the original type input shaft speed sensor for the logger just isn't going to work. between the stack height and the fact that the sensor just won't go in the hole of the bell once installed in the input support i figured i'd explore more options. good thing i did. gforce offers an optical type speed sensor that uses the teeth on the input drive gear as the reluctor wheel. it was justa matter of taking the trans back up to gforce and having them drill, mill, and thread for the sensor.



bubba at g-force getting down to business.



guts!


and sensor all installed and trans back together



I also borrowed a tig welder and am going to try my hand at welding these headers myself. it's been 13 years since i had a TIG torch in my hand, and that was only in a classroom setting. The good news is, i can weld these pieces of scrap together without blowing them apart and it looks like the seams will definitely seal! However, the welds are fairly ugly and i'm going to practice a good bit more before trying to do the headers themselves.



pistons arrived at the builder. Wiseco knocked these out of the park (yeah i know that's a JE box, but wiseco was who was commissioned to build the pistons)



once the headers are fully welded and the exhaust is built, the front motor plate will go to the builder for accessory placement, and i will start more on the bay itself to get it ready. got a few show car type things i want to do in the engine bay, lol. mainly just cleaning everything up, do some welding on the strut towers to clean and strengthen them, and generally get it ready for a repaint. (engine bay only).

here's to forward motion!

izcain

It's to bad your far away matt I would buy one of those chute brackets from you also lol

Good work it's looking good!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

UPS ships anywhere in the world

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

So a few things happened this week. I've been busy with sidework and honey-do, but the a couple parts trickled in

Sportsman Racepak showed up! If anyone is looking for a good guy to deal with, give Don O'Neal a shout on one of these. he's been very helpful/knowledgeable in this part. I'll ONLY be monitoring engine rpm, driveshaft rpm, and input shaft rpm for now for tuning the clutch. i'll add a dash and other sensors later when the money relaxes some.



also picked up some coils from Daytona Sensors! i'm really pumped about these. I was beginning to worry about the stock coils in the RPM range we're looking at so this should help with that.



the fuel system also needs a slight revamp since the engine will need more volume anyway, but then the fact we're going to e85 and will require that much more i figured it would be a good idea to put a real pump on it. 440 gph? that should do it Patrick at Pro Systems recommended his pump for this project so we got that too.



Lastly for the week, the car was dropped off at JSC Carbon and Racing Fabrication for some secret squirrel stuff (which i will reveal when i pick the car up ). this is the first time in 10 years i've left the car somewhere for work to be done. definitely a little separation anxiety going on! lol!



hoping to sit down and weld the headers up while the car is out, as well as get some more knocked out on these 2 cars i have here for side work.

fbodyfreakls1

God Matt I still can't get over how good looking of a sport coupe that is!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

thanks. it's rough around the edges. the paint is 10 years old and probably has had that many engines in it over the last 10 years so it has gotten beat up pretty bad.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

looking at the goals for this year and how much is changing and how much work is left to be done, i'm beginning to think i've bitten off more than i can chew. then i'm reminded of a saying my mother says: "how do you eat an elephant? one bite at a time!"

here's my bite for the weekend. passenger's side header is ready for final fitment and flange welding.



driver's side will be in the same state by tonight and i'll have done everything i can while the car is out at the secret squirrel shop. i'll get back on the side work as a result.

skinny z

I know the feeling very well and my lump isn't even close to seeing the kind of action yours has. (I call mine a solid 40 footer....)

The classic bundle of snakes. Looking good.
(Don't forget to sleep...)

fbodyfreakls1

Never had the pleasure of seeing your monster in person Matt but from what I can see I can't help but feel your a little modest you've done an amazing job with the car don't let anyone tell you different! From the flat hood pins to the wheels and everything in between, car is just a clean and bad *** looking. I know how it feels, when people tell me something I did looks good I'm just like, eh it looks alright lol being on the Creator end you always think, well I coulda done this or that etc. Nice car Matt hope to see it in person one day and I can't wait to see what that engine does!!!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i appreciate the kind words, and the encouragement is definitely keeping me pushing forward.

driver's side now looks like passenger's side.


not a bad looking pair


and while it's not anything really to write home about, i'm pretty dang proud of this. final 2 seams actually looked pretty decent



i've gone as far as i can without the car here so now i wait. back to slaving away on the side job, lol!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

got a sneak peek picture of the secret squirrel stuff. can't wait to get the car back now

AlkyIROC

So how did you determine the same length for each header tube?

fbodyfreakls1

Posting pictures of the secret squirrel stuff on Facebook but no love here huh? 😉

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i have to host it oh photobucket to share here, lol. it's a pain in the butt. i'll get it up before the end of the weekend. i'm also going to get the car on sunday and would like to take some pictures of it myself.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

length is determined by using PipeMax.

length is measured with a tape measure shoved up the tube.

fbodyfreakls1

Just busting your nads a little looks good on Facebook, the guys here will like it too I'm sure!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

car came home from JSC Racing Fabrication today! Secret squirrel stuff no longer secret if you're on facebook, lol. for those of you that aren't following along on there, here ya go! i'm way excited about this. these guys really knocked it out of the park!



ok, so the car is home, but no more real progress will be made till the big side job is done and gone. lots to do on both cars, but it's critical that car make it to the show/race at the end of june. My big event this year is drag week. i may very well sit the june show/race out unfortunately. gotta pay the bills though

Wolfster14

Very cool

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

a quick update. i did final weld the primaries to the flanges over the weekend. had a close friend from GA surprise me this past weekend by coming into town so very little got done, but the memories we built were worth it.

i'm going to probably start looking at frame rail mods to get the new exhaust over to the fenders this week. once i do that, i can pull the mock up engine and get to work on the body work in the bay.

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

Matt, you're full of crap. Your car looks good, we are our own worst critics.

AlkyIROC

That's what I always say about my car. It looks good in pictures and going down the track but it won't win any show and shines. Pretty and clean doesn't make it go any faster.

Compared to what was racing during drag week last year, your car probably looks mint.