mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

Had an interesting life event Tuesday. My position at work was terminated as a result of a corporate restructure and I was not offered a position within the company to stay on board, thus I got to go home early yesterday for the first time in my professional career anywhere.

My resume is updated and already in the hands of a few prospects for a new 9-5 type position somewhere, but of course this does give me a little time to ramp Walter Racecraft up some, so parts sales and chassis/exhaust work will increase at least for the interim to supplement what was lost. I did have an interview today that looked pretty promising so we'll see how that goes. Very exciting about the possible changes!

rgauder

iTrader: (1)

Good luck Matt.

fbodyfreakls1

Good luck man! Hope everything works out how you want it to! Especially financially. I just made a change as well, and change can sometimes be scary but it always works out! Wheres these damn dyno numbers already lol I'm dieing over here!!!!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

so just to update, the interview that i had back 2 weeks ago now was actually very promising, but we've had a hard time coming to an agreement on salary. i sent my final offer to them today and have the attitude of if they don't take it, i'll find something else. Dad has some work for me to do over the next 2 weekends for MotorManiaTV outside of my normal responsibilities for them and I will be able to maintain some income that way for a little while, all while being aggressive on trying to get another new 9-5. honestly, if WRC and MMTV take over, i could very well be better off. it's difficult and scary to try to do that though.

thankfully i have plenty in the garage to keep me busy and i decided to try to clean up the mess i have in the engine bay on my car before i built the exhaust, so i chopped the frame rails off right at the star of the wheel wells. i love the way it turned out. the exhaust looks awesome now too.



a cool side-product of these super tight fitting headers: the engine can be pulled with them installed.


now that the big car show we go to is over (yes, i took the car with no engine or front bumper cover, lol!) i can focus on some other parts of the car. i own all the stuff i need for the rear axle updates and i will move forward with that now, including the wheelie bars (i'm stoaked about those, lol).

engine updates: we are still waiting on pistons. things are slow there. we'll get it though.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

so the photobucket debacle (if you don't know about it, google it) had me pretty frustrated and i wasn't sure what i was going to do. i decided to use just another free web host for now so that the pictures could continue. I have no idea if i'll be able to repair the older posts in this thread or others or not yet. I could, but it would take way more time than i have these days.

I got the job at ATI Performance Parts in Baltimore and start tomorrow. that was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. this will allow me to focus the side work/parts sales back into the car again and i can try to get this thing back on track.

I got back into town this past monday from a two week trip to Ohio and Tennessee to help mom and dad's business some while I wasn't working. this allowed me to keep the money flow thankfully. I have spent the majority of my free time in the garage since then and have the wheelie bars fitted, which of course required custom brackets which i cut out by hand, lol!


I also got the anti roll bar built. The parts are from PA Racing, per usual.


with as low as the car is, i had to clearance the ttop well for the bars. i'll patch this soon.


something of real interest! fully assembled 40 spline axles with rifle drilling and flange lightening are 1lb 1oz lighter each than my solid 31 spline axles. totally blown away by this!


fuel system is updated with -8 return. pretty happy with the way this turned out.




that's all for right now. i may update more later tonight as i am hoping to get a few more things knocked out before the end of the day.

J. Chris Davis

iTrader: (1)

Nice work!

AlkyIROC

Always nice to shave off unsprung weight but 40 spline stuff isn't cheap either. You'll need a Fab9 diff next.

Wolfster14

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

it seems social media has really move over to facebook and instagram instead of traditional forums, so i have a lot of what i'm doing posted over there, however i will keep these threads going at least through the end of this year if possible.

started some mock up of the clutch hydraulics. i'm a little frustrated about having to use hydraulics instead of a real racecar type pedal setup, but honestly, i'm out of time/resources so this will have to do. looks like this will fit, but have to get the trans back in the car to make sure.



fuel pump mount is all done. i'm pretty happy with this.



in an attempt to keep things from moving around too much, i've welded the seams on the strut towers. this just seems like a good idea.



pause for life for a second. seems like i can't get a weekend in the garage without huge interruptions these days, lol. this weekend's interruption was brought to you by the drive belt tensioner pulley in the dryer exploding.



this might be a distraction, or it might be for my sanity. trying to get things cleaned up in the bay. i was never satisifed with the last brake line setup, and the line going to the rear was messed up (not beyond function, but it needed to be redone). so, here we go, lol



and i got the radiator hung. pretty satisified with this too. more parts coming this week. hope to have the engine bay in paint and the rearend reassembled.



speaking of rearend, we have a new strategy. i will be seeking out a 29.5-30" tall street tire, and running a set of 4.57's. after how this year has gone, we just haven't been able to do enough testing and practicing of the gear swap, and i know it's gonna be a problem if i try to do it. so, 55 mph cruising speeds it is.

87v6Bird

iTrader: (1)

I, for one, am enjoying following along here. I don't utilize any social media and really hate to see the affect they're having on the various forums I'm a member of. I don't feel they convey information nearly as succinctly.

I understand that posting everything takes time though and you want to get to the largest audience possible.

Best of luck with the rest of your project!

Wolfster14

Never thought about the seams on the strut tower till you mentioned it.
Not a bad idea at all Matt.
Thank you for sharing.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i did the bottom seam too, but did that after i took pics. today i'll be spending some time getting the rest of the old paint stripped and getting the firewall shaved.

AlkyIROC

I've never welded the strut tower seam but I did run tubes from the front of the strut tower down to the front of the frame rails. The plan was to also run tubes from the back side of the strut tower to the roll cage but I never got that far. Nothing fancy. Just something to add a little more support.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

monday night i had an accident in the shop. while using the wire wheel on an angle grinder, the wire wheel caughtt he edge of a piece of the engine bay, ripped out of my hands and ricocheted off my face. it was running unfortunately and it road rashed my cheek up pretty good, as well as tore my lip. so i took tuesday off from the car.

however, here's where the engine bay is now. pretty happy with this.



hoping to have that in paint soon.

in other news, i got a new set of wheels and tires for the rear. 15x10 draglites with 6.5" back spacing for $150, then a set of 265/75/15 tires from the used tire shop down the street for $80 mounted and balanced. these are 30.6" tall. it should kill some rpm for sure. they're tight, but they fit



i spent the majority of last night getting the shop organized and formulating new plans of attack. here's to hoping for more progress soon!

Wolfster14

I am sure that hurt like hell, but glad it was not worse. The bay looks kick ***, cant wait to see it finished.

Andy-Z28

Hey Matt, looks like the project is coming along smoothly, well except for that upstart wire wheel.

Last time I was on here you were going to make the car bulletproof so you could just load the car to go to a race and not have to do anything to it during the week??

Congrats on getting the job with ATI down the road. Great transmissions from them.

I'll be watching the car coming along, great info in here as always.

Long Live 75/80.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i slaved all weekend. end result:



this week includes running new brake hardlines, getting the wiring figured out for the couple circuits i need to add for street equipment (wipers, horn, turn signals), getting the racepak in the car, a few gauges, and getting the rear axle all put back together. a ton of work truthfully, but i think i can do it all over the next week and this coming weekend, so long as i stay diligent.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

well, good news



also, fresh white paint sure makes that purple pop!



i put the center section back in the rearend for the 2nd time this week when i realized the locking tabs for the side adjusters on the center were sitting next to my bench vise, lol. everything is in place now though and ready for fluid back there.

next big item for this week will be brake lines. i'm hoping to knock them out tomorrow after the girls go to bed.

AlkyIROC

I need my front end to look that stripped down. I don't need it to look pretty and shiny but the tubular parts look good.

Time is running down. Hope you can get it finished. Unlike last year when I was watching it live online, I got a job now and will only be able to watch the highlights this year.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

the majority of the infrastructure to the car is done, just gotta reassemble.

Andy-Z28

Wow Matt that looks nice, very clean front end. Purple and White is cool, my HS colors. You work quick, wish I could get through lesser items as quick as you manage to do much bigger things. I'll be starting my upgrade project soon, looking for a Ford 9" in the parts wanted section.

Sorry I missed the beginning of this thread, whats your deadline, when is Dragweek? Oh I see now early Sept.

Good luck,
Andy

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

weekly update. the engine bay is all basically done, and i've got the car rewired and added a few circuits for some street equipment. i was able to secure a front set of draglites for $125, and got new tires on them today for another $90. we are in the 11th hour and there is still a ton to do. Being a 1-man-band is making things go very slowly. I do have good news though, the engine is home
here's some pics, then i'm off to go do more work.



tinzy aronson would be proud

Wolfster14

As always man looking sharp, and your little one is cute as hell. Looks like she loves to help Daddy out.

fbodyfreakls1

Progress looks awesome Matt. Excited to see what that engine makes power wise and how it performs at the track. My combo isn't too far from what you have got there. Your light years ahead of me tho so I'm definitely in for the action! Any plans to dyno the set up? Car looks great as well, as usual sir. Congrats on the job as well!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

updates are slowing because honestly, i just don't have time to keep up with everything, and i apologize for that.

Last week and this past weekend was crazy. The engine showed up and i shared that already. I spent some time figuring out what oil to use and I ended up being referred, by several people, to Driven Racing oil, which is Joe Gibbs with a new name. I talked with Lake Speed directly about it and he recommended the FR50, which is a 5w50 fully synthetic oil, after using his BR40 break-in oil. He also got me set up with some 75w140 for the rear. this stuff is killer. reading the material on it has me very confident in the oil. you can read more here. www.drivenracingoil.com


Saturday night before i hit the sack i sat down and hammered out a real list. This was everything i could think of before my eyelids shut, but i have added a few things since, and thankfully, began to actually cross some stuff off too.



the next order of business was the clutch actuation. honestly, this has been a bigger headache than the picture shows. all the aftermarket bells i've found so far use a clutch fork with a 9 o'clock position. well the thirdgen floor board is right in the way of that, and the factory t5 cars actually use a 7:30 position. I spent some time laying this out, trans was in and out a dozen times or more, and i finally came up with shortening the clutch fork, cutting a hole in the floor, and using this universal pull type slave, lol. it's a little hokey, but after spending some time getting the angles right last night, it's actually going to work really well.



yesterday, one of the most critical pieces showed up. you wanna talk about something that was worth the wait? holy crap this is a nice piece.



i also got all fluids in the car, brakes and clutch are both bled. I will be out there again tonight hammering away. i might just be crazy, but i intend to test this saturday

fbodyfreakls1

So what made you choose C&S for the carb if you don't mind me asking? Not bashing in anyway, I'm a carb guy and I'm letting somebody build mine. Just curious what made you choose them instead of some of the other options like Mark Sullens.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

we struck up a conversation about this project at PRI and he showed serious interest in being involved. whenever the company is excited about the project, it makes it easy to send the orders their way.

skinny z

Your dedication and perseverance are truly admirable.
I'm on the sidelines watching your progress and am cheering for you once you get into the lanes. (I'm also cheering for you now...)
Go for it Matt and don't forget your friends here at ThirdGen.

fbodyfreakls1

I totally understand and respect that was just curious, hope my question didn't come off wrong. Anytime I ask something like that I am always afraid it'll be taken as a bash or something of that sorts. Really excited to see this engine and the car for that matter in action!!! Keep it up!

J. Chris Davis

iTrader: (1)

Looking great and good luck! I'll be there as a spectator Monday at Cordova and most likely Wednesday at Byron.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i can't wait to meet everyone

i also can't wait to get a full nights sleep...lol. not that i'll have any of that during drag week.

gtpro700

Hey Matt, I've been a long time follower and love your projects and car. My car has been on the sidelines with life and a new kid so it's nice to come here and see your progrsss on your sick ride. Your work is top notch and love the updates. Keep them coming because they are inspiring to get me working on my ride again. Good luck on the car and can't wait for some pics and updates!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

i appreciate all the kind words guys! it's keeping me going

realized last night that i had made an under-educated mistake on the adjusters for the clutch. unfortunately this means the trans needs to come out and the clutch come off and full disassembled to repair. this is cramping my style for racing tomorrow. will be hitting it hard tonight and tomorrow and hopefully will be testing somewhere sunday.

Andy-Z28

Hey Matt, Mason Dixon will be open this Sunday. They are doing a Southern Bracket Racing Assoc points race but you can Test & Tune on points race days for $60. Excellent prep on those race days compared to the standard test & tune only nights.

Time runs start at 11:30.

AlkyIROC

I've done stuff like that when we had a local track. I was a 15 minute drive from the track. Went racing on a Saturday night with a different set of gears in the diff. Didn't like them so after Saturday racing, hauled the car home, took out the 9" center section and installed a different set all to be at the track for 8AM Sunday morning. Would have been much easier to have a spare center section but budget doesn't allow it.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

Friday night i spent the evening pulling the trans back out, pulled the clutch apart, and to my dismay, everything looked exactly as it should. perfect. i spent 4 crucial hours pulling this apart and putting it back together and i didn't need to, lol. oh well, it gave me an opportunity to learn the clutch that much deeper. these things truly are a work of art.



Then saturday we thrashed. When i say we, i mean myself, my cousin, and a good friend Scott. i was able to get the car all together minus the hood on saturday, and closed up shop just a little after 2am. I am incredibly satisfied with how this all came together. i went live on facebook for first fire. not sure how to rip that video off and put it on youtube just yet. will look into that.



sunday morning we got up early and i grabbed the cut-off wheel and the hood, with probably a little more zeal than most would have. i have a philosophy when it comes to modifying stuff: "it doesn't work at all like it is now. the worst that can happen is i make it still not work and have to start over". i've done all sorts of stuff to all sorts of projects. ruined some parts, and made other things infinitely better. as is the case with this hood. it turned out great!



we made it to the track and managed to hit the line 5 times. the first hit was soft on purpose and the data was useless. The second hit i broke the throttle cable on the 1-2 shift. it pulled the little plastic clip that goes into the top of the pedal right off the cable. i mcguivered it back together using a small machine nut that i cut with a pair of dykes, slid over the cable, swedged, then shoved inside the plastic clip. worked amazing. #becausedragweek

the last 3 passes were good enough to count as my partial passes of an IHRA license but was not able to get the final 2 full passes in.

a very very sloppy outing truthfully, and short shifting on a conservative tune i still made a 138 mph pass.

taking tonight off. i need to rest up. then it's off to get the street manners and trailer stuff hammered out!

RS Chris

Looking really nice. I've always been amazed at your fab skills and overcoming problems. Good luck getting it lined out.

Andy-Z28

Drag Week 2017 starts Sept 10th. 5 races and 1000 miles of road driving.
About 400 total cars in 18 classes. 119 cars in the Street Machine Eliminator class.
11 cars in the Super Street Small Block Naturally Aspirated class.

Todd Kleemann 1990 Chevrolet S10
Nathan Clabby 1973 Datsun 240Z
Robert Admire 2005 Pontiac GTO
David Barry 1964 Chevrolet Nova
Matthew Walter 1990 Chevrolet Camaro
Neal Hedgepeth 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Joshua Norris 1967 Chevrolet Nova
Bryan Hansen 1966 Chevrolet Nova
David Reid 1970 Ford Mustang
Corey Pant 1974 Plymouth Duster
Bryan Thompson 1962 Chevrolet Nova

It's getting close!

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

Hey, Matt, I was going to come to the first night of drag week and see you but my back just won't handle it, so I'm going to have to just wish you luck now. I hope things go smoothly for you, and more than anything have fun!

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

got new slicks last week


also got the interior back together wednesday night.


did this thing too. i had a light left over from my interior lights and i decided to stick it to the inside of the tunnel for clutch tuning


finished up the trailer as well. it cleaned up nicely i think.


yesterday i took the car for it's maiden voyage. i'm late to the party and didn't put many miles on it, but it survived the trek. the tune needs some work but i think we can get it hammered out on the road without too much headache. it seems like mostly timing related that are the issues. i snatched a picture of it wearing the street shoes. there's just something about draglites that i love. glad i got these. wish i had more time to work on those front wheels.



as of tonight, all our stuff is loaded and i think we're ready to hit the road in the morning. i don't think i'll sleep much out of excitement honestly, lol.

AlkyIROC

I'm surprised the small trailer isn't enclosed.

I was thinking about that yesterday. Big race coming up and probably has a lot of butterflies in the stomach.

I hope you don't get too rained out. Lots of moisture heading north.

J. Chris Davis

iTrader: (1)

Didn't make it to Cordova Today, but just saw you run in the live feed! I'll be at Byron for sure on Wednesday. Fast third gen!

AlkyIROC

I'm too lazy to look for it right now and I'm at work. Can someone post the link for the daily live feed.

J. Chris Davis

iTrader: (1)

It's on the Motor Trend channel on Youtube. It just finished for today so it is just the recording from Day 1 now. Nothing live again till tomorrow morning.

AlkyIROC

Day 1

6-1/2 hours of day 1 video. The first 30 minutes is people talking into microphones then a bunch of commercials. First car down the track at around the 45 minute mark.

AlkyIROC

Jumping through the video, I found at least 1 of Matt's passes at 5:11
Looks like some issues on the starting line but still runs a 10.50.

He's up again at 6:02. This time gets a 10:17

Wish I had the time to sit and watch the entire video.

skinny z

Good stuff Mat. Keep it going.

AlkyIROC

I was watching some of it during my lunch break today. Managed to see at least 1 Alberta car in competition.

Day 2

izcain

The mile an hour is good. It looks like it makes good power up top.

Hopefully he can put together some quicker passes to be in the running.


Good job man! Keep cranking at it!

AlkyIROC

I did a quick jump through all of day 2. The 55 Chev near the end of the video that pulled a huge wheelie onto his trailer hitch then blew both front tires and bent the rims as it bounced down was crazy.

Although I may have missed it as I was jumping through, I never saw Matt making a pass. Is he still in competition???

There was at least one drag week record set today. The first naturally aspirated car into the 7's running a 7.99.

Results from day 1 have been posted online.
http://st.hotrod.com/uploads/sites/2...PM-Results.pdf

Matts best on day 1. SS Small Block N/A class is 10.175 at 137.83 which isn't bad. It puts him in 6th place out of 9 in the class.
As of yesterday's results he was still in competition.