boodlefoof

There was a first gen Camaro that was being done by the folks at Gale Banks Engineering (http://www.bankspower.com) that was phenominal. They flared the original sheetmetal to give it a great look. Having trouble finding it on the web now.

McLeod makes a shifter relocation kit for the GTO T-56 so that you can mount the shifter at the forward inspection plate site. It is kind of pricey, and that moves the shifter significantly forward.

Sorry, I focused on the issue of you possibly being swindled and failed to address the question about whether it will run on 93 pump gas. I don't think it will run well at all on 93 octane. Lack of hardened valve seats aside, the engine (if actually an L76) is running at an 11:1 compression ratio.

Make sure it is what he says it is before you buy it!

If you really want to do it cheap, just pour eight or nine hundred pounds of concrete on the floorboards. If you visit a construction site doing concrete work, they're happy to give away the leftovers that have passed their prime for foundational useage. Of course, you might have to raise your seat position and pedals a little bit...

Schram seems to list these for sale pretty frequently. I've seen them up before.

I'll give another vote for Tidewater Z in Poquoson. When I had a Z32, I took it there. They really know their stuff. I had a similar starting problem with mine at one point. Turned out to be a bad water temp sensor (right at the front of the engine, you can't miss it). When faulting, it will read as though overheating and it gets the ECU all out-of-whack.

I've been considering building a super-high-mileage machine quite a bit for the past five or six years. Now, with gas prices going up... I've been thinking about it more and more. The basic concept is to take the lightest possible platform and put in an already efficient engine. So, my thought process has taken me to something like a Mini or Audi 500 or 600 (all of which weigh around 1400 pounds or less). The nice thing about these is also that they are old enough (1960s) to be easily modified without running into problems with emissions laws (at least here in VA). They aren't the most aerodynamic possibilities, so I am open to other recommendations for possibilities. In stock form, these will put down 40-50mpg. Then, I would plug in either an efficient motorcycle engine and gearbox or possibly the D15Z1 engine from a mid-90s Civic VX. The motorcycle engine combo would probably shed some weight (a nice plus), but these engines weren't really made to pull 1400 pounds and therefore might be overburdened. The VX engine is a nice possibility because it already gets 50mpg highway while pulling a 2300 pound Honda. It is certainly up to the task and would probably see a bit of a mileage improvement with close to a thousand fewer pounds to pull.

I will throw in a vote for the original ('60s models weigh the least) mini or something like a Fiat 600. Both cars weigh around 1400 pounds (or less) and swapping in the motorcycle engine and trans would probably drop a few pounds. I've been considering doing a motorcycle engine/trans in one of these and using it as a commuter car.

Now that is pretty bad. I think the Tercel is about as anti-performance as you can get... Might as well be a Geo Metro.

So, just to help me conceptualize, you're talking about putting a small spoiler at the front of the cowl? Seems like it should help. You could always rake the windshield too. http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zroof4.html http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zframe3.html

Good point Jerminator. With how light a car it will probably end up being, it probably won't be an issue.

Your original post mentions mountain driving. If you're going to be doing a lot of hilly driving, just consider while planning your modifications that lack of low-end grunt could be an annoyance.

Unfortunately no. It was scratched off like most.

Yes, it is the type 99. It still has most of the accessories too. It is down at the new house we just bought... will try to snap a pic when I'm down there early next week.

Awesome collection!

Can't wait to see you start the fabrication and assembly! What have you decided to do about seating position with the new longer drivetrain? As an FYI, McLeod makes a shifter relocation kit to move the shifter on that T-56 forward to the front inspection plate if you run into problems in that regard.

No pics, but I have a WWII Japanese 7.7mm bolt-action rifle that is pretty nifty.

I recently bought a very nice used two-axle full flat bed car hauler (15' plus a 3' beaver tail) with a 6,000# winch and tool box installed for a very nice price. Thought about building my own and figured I could probably do it for around $750 or less in materials (already have the tools), but then tack on a few extra bucks for the winch and tool box. However, when you can find one already done for less than twice that... sounds like a good deal to me. Also, when building your own you may run into issues getting plates for it. In VA, if you have a home-built trailer you will have to jump through a few hoops and have a policeman come and inspect it and affix a VIN to it. My father-in-law recently went through this.

Wow Lason! That is looking pretty slick!

Hi all, Well, with a one year old and with another baby due any day now, my wife and I are looking at minivans. We're looking at the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Dodge Grand Caravan. We are a little price constrained and so the Caravans look pretty attractive. Both my and my wife's family had caravans in the 80s and 90s and never had any of the horrible problems that I hear people talk about, so I'm not quite sure about the prejudice against these cars. Anyway, we came across an odd advertisement for an '01 Caravan with only 70 miles on it. Curious if anyone could run a carfax. VIN is 1b8gp45361b147221. Thanks in advance anyone.

One thing I have heard is that a cf driveshaft is very sensitive to road stones and things like that. If you get a nick/scratch in it, the shaft will begin to delaminate and eventually come apart on you. I've heard people recommend putting some sort of driveshaft shield in place to prevent stones from hitting it.

www.colemanracing.com www.lefthanderchassis.com Enjoy!

Here is my take. It is not as glowing as some above, but in the interest of helping your wife I hoped to add some constructive criticism. I am not a professional musician nor am I the world's best singer. However, in the past I have directed and been a singer in musical theatre productions, college a cappella groups and "have-a-day-job-but-want-to-earn-some-money-on-the-side-or-just-love-singing" singing groups. Some of these groups were good enough to perform at very well-known venues (and get paid -albeit not a king's ransom- for doing so). While in these positions, I conducted auditions of hundreds of men and women. From what I have heard, your wife is a decent singer. She has the basic tools to sing with a small group, but will need to work on a few things if she hopes to be a feature soloist. Trust me, this is not a harsh criticism (and yes, I am picky). There are many people (especially women) who think that they are excellent singers when they are, in fact, terrible. Your wife is not one of these. First, let me say that the business of being a singer is difficult. The pay is poor, the competition is stiff and the time commitment is significant if your wife wants to make a career of singing. I find it to be a better hobby than a profession myself... so I became a lawyer... basically the same but the pay and job security are better. With respect to the competition aspect, the samples you posted do not particularly distinguish your wife from many other aspiring singers who are committing their entire lives to the pursuit of becoming a professional singer. Your wife seems fairly solid on the pitch part, but could stand to develop her voice more. A good (emphasis on good) voice instructor could make a marked improvement. Here are a few observations I have on where your wife could stand to improve: 1. Confidence: In order to be a very good singer, your wife will have to be completely confident in what she is doing. This is not to say that she must feel as though she is the worlds best singer, but she must let it all hang out. Do not fear mistakes. Simply know the note and let it come out. It sounded as though she was holding back in much of what I heard. She sometimes did not come in strong on her pick-ups and sometimes did not fully sustain long notes. I also did not feel the passion for what she was singing. In a gospel context in particular, this is paramount. 2. Breath Support: Your wife's low-mid range is very pleasing to the ear. This range requires little breath support. When your wife gets goes up the scale, she kicks into her upper register (head voice) somewhat early. She has a very clear head voice, but there are times when singing the higher notes in the chest voice will be more appropriate (particularly in a song such as Amazing Grace). Additional breath support will come with increased confidence (#1 above) and with further practice to extend the chest voice register. With confidence, your wife may be suprised how high she can sing without jumping into head voice. As an extreme example of the change that can come into play here... some of you may recall the first Sister Act movie. In that movie, there was a young petite nun whose singing voice was a mere whisper. Whoopie Goldberg encourages her to increase breath support and use her chest voice. The results are self-explanatory. 3. Raise the pallet: In your wife's upper register, she begins to sound more nasal. She closes her throat to produce the higher pitch, rather than doing so through increased breath support (#2 above). This quality is often heard in bluegrass and some country, but the majority of industry listeners will mentally deduct points for it. Additionally, singing in this fashion puts additional stress on the vocal chords and can lead to reduced endurance and (in worst-case-scenarios) the requirement for long periods of vocal rest to allow damaged chords to recover. 4. Phrasing: Taking the same words and singing them with breaths and emphasis in five different places will dramatically change the impact of the words being sung. By conveying each phrase more effectively, even a song that is performed without great technical skill will become a much more meaningful and touching song. Just something to think about after working on #1-3. With confidence and breath support, your wife will better be able to sustain long phrases and place emphasis where she wants to rather than having the emphasis driven by breath support. Harry Connick, Jr. is an excellent example of being able to change the entire character of a song by placing emphasis on certain words and only pausing to take a breath in certain places. Here are a few suggestions to help with the above observations if she decides that a vocal instructor is not the way she wants to go: 1. Listen closely to others and emulate. Now, you have to be picky in who you sing along with. To build the breath support and lifted pallet discussed above, I highly suggest that your wife buy Eva Cassidy's CD "Songbird." Based on the demo songs, it sounds like Eva's type of music might be up your wife's alley. She unfortunately passed away a few years back, but Eva is a stellar example of breath support and confidence. Pay attention to the uses of chest voice and head voice and the times when either is appropriate to convey the feeling of the song. 2. Build confidence! Go out to a kareoke bar and get up there and rock! Don't worry about what other people think. Select a self-empowering song (Perhaps "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benetar - use only chest voice) and cut loose. Act the part as well. Don't stand staring off into space with your hands folded when singing a powerful song such as this. Reach out to the audience and draw them in. 3. Sing lots and lots of scales. Through practice, the range will expand, breath support will increase and the voice will become more versatile. Hope this is helpful. Good luck to your wife. Knock 'em dead!

I wonder how much weight they figure that they save? With the turbos mounted above the engine though, you're placing all of the weight that there is pretty high up.