Spdrcr

Got out ok. Smelled gas on the highway so I got off and popped the hood. Then the whole rear end went up all at once. Maybe the pump or a fuel line. Was running fine though.

… and … no more car

Here are some better pics of the grill. Will need a version 3.1 with better material. Also need to fix the top, I had trouble getting it where I wanted and clearing the hood. I also changed the power antenna. I did it for looks, but it actually works really well. (also, don't judge my workbench)

I am using this setup LS1 EFI Fuel Pump And Regulator/Filter Kit (speedwaymotors.com) It is not quiet though.

Been wanting to do something with this eye sore for awhile So I started grill making 3.0. My previous 2 attempts to make a fiberglass frame failed miserably. I am too cheap to buy the Skillard. Turned a piece of sheet metal in smaller pieces. Then made the little pieces into long pieces. Figured I needed more practice with the welder anyway. Made up some brackets and bent them into shape I was too cheap this time. My mesh is too thin. I will likely upgrade it later. Use my template. I had some old door trim we put on our cars to stop ding from the little helper. It worked great on the edges. And that's why we hoard stuff my friends. And that looks WAY better! Stoll not 100% but that gaping hole was so bad. I'll try and get better pics soon.

Okay, back to the reason I started this. Coilover ready to weld. Doesn't look too bad on there Don't make fun of my welds. Got my best helper to make sure we are all torqued down. And here we are. Want to go a smidge lower in the rear. But have this problem. Touches the ground when it shifts hard into second. I'll get it adjusted once it settles in some.

Here she is barefoot New steering arm boots Do these need replaced? I went with rubber here. I read about doing half and half with poly but couldn't get it back together. I am happy with new rubber. Well iIhad the mustache bar down to put in the bushing and paint it so I figured I should pop the diff cover off too. It was seeping a little and obviously hadn't been touched in many, many years. I really want to upgrade the brakes. I was on the fence for awhile but decided to save that project for another day. However, I couldn't justify not replacing the brake lines. Already has the calipers off so not too bad. Had to buy a new hardline from AutoZone since one had been put on with vice grips. I also upgraded the sway bars to BRAND NEW bars. Guaranteed to add 10-15 rwhp! They are new I say! ..... and while i had the suspension out of the way. Pulled the rear bumper off. Still need to remove the drip cover. I have the fill plates, just need to weld them in.

Couldn't put things back together without cleaning off some of that goop. Also added a touch of paint. Oh man! That second spindle pin! Literally the hardest thing I've done on a car. Ended up using a threaded rod on one side, a hammer chisel on the other, and alot of fire. What a pain!

Well I saw the condition of all the othe bushings. Just could not convince myself that the spindle bushings weren’t also 40+ years old. they are as hard as advertised. I mean wow. Just got one done today. One more to go. Had to make a homemade puller. Used a pipe and some all thread. The nut stripped so I had to get a coupler which is like the width of two or three nuts. I was able to get the spindle bushings out using my ball joint press like this. Got new ball joints and tie rods. Man what a hassle. Tie rod would not let go. pickle fork wasn’t fat enough. I know, what she said. Had to wedge stuff in there to make it bigger 🤪 got 1 front control arm off. Tried to press the bushing out but it wouldn’t budge so I lit it on fire. Gotta cut the outer shell out with the hacksaw. so dirty. A lot of years of grease built up.

Does anyone know if this is right? Should the bushing sleeve go metal to metal? also the new bushing sleeve is a smidge longer than the control arm.

Then shenanigans have ensued once again. I’ve had these bad boys chillin in the house for almost a year now. Silvermine. Started by removing the old shocks and springs. They came out pretty easy. took me a minute to figure out what this hunk of metal was. Vibration damper if you didn’t know time to cut some stuff. I tried just cutting through the perch and old shock on the first one. It is way easier to just use a pipe wrench to pop the old shock out first. make sure to cut enough down. I originally left extra because it looks like you should fill up the bottom bulge. If you do that, the coil over cannot thread all way down for lowering. what a mess. Told you shenanigans afoot well I intended to keep this project smallish. But look at this bushing! I have a set of prothane bushings. Doesn’t make sense to not do it.

Made up an intake. There is a handy hole already there. No need to cut anything.

Got the wheels and tires on. Ended up having to buy a smaller set of fronts. 245/45r16 and 255/45r16 bfgoodrich. Got some flares too.

Been a long time. I have mostly just been driving and enjoying the car when I get the time. Got a front air dam on. Need to make a grill and get it painted.

#18 is the AC control valve. When it receives vacuum it pulls on the throttle linkage to increase idle.

Hello. I have the old radiator from my swap. It is not in great condition but I heard they can be recored. I don’t know if this is something anyone would want and thought I would check before I take it to the recycler. it’s free for local pickup. I don’t have the material to ship. Bristow, VA about 35 miles west of DC.

I don’t have coil overs. Bought some KYB shocks and was going to get the Eibach. They were out of stock and I decided I didn’t want progressive springs since they got mixed reviews. pulled up a bunch of threads on cut chevette springs. Problem is the price on those is super stooooopid. Not cheapies anymore. So I grabbed a set of Moog 80099. I already have the KYB so figure I’ll give it a go. If it doesn’t work out I’ll have to go coilover since options are so limited.

I am likely going to cut and weld the fenders to make the wheels fit. I’m pretty sure the front fenders are already repros. So really it’s just some off the back. Not like my car is even close to stock anymore.

Here’s inspiration. 245/45/16

Now comes the big tire decision. Right size, right compound, right price. I am deciding between a sticky tire like the toyo r888r or the fallen rt660 but am worried about mileage. I am cheap by nature and I know it will bother me to have to get new tires a lot. But how much will I drive the car? Dang tires will probably rot before I wear them out. my other choice is a performance summer tire. Like the BF Goodrich sport comp. not as sticky but more reasonable wear and cold weather capable. I won’t drive in the snow or anything but do like to cruise around all year. I may go to the track eventually but maybe not. I am thinking 255/50/16 in the rear and 245/50 front. I like the bit more sidewall of the 50 but again worry about rubbing. If I could make it happen I wouldn’t mind 255 front and rear but really don’t want rubbing issues.

Hey guys. I have had a go around with finding wheels in the right size, right style, right bolt pattern, right offset, right color and price. I purchased a set of JR19 wheels from a place that ended up being out of stock. they refunded my money but the British pound to dollar conversion changed during the weeks and I lost $50. Still fighting that. then I looked at other options and decided to go with 17” even though I think they may look a little big for some cars but great on others. After looking around I saw the Rota group buy info from like 7 years ago. That ended up being 17x9 -13 17x9.5 -19 and looked really good. the problem is the 17x9 for the front is rare. The one I found had a machined lip which I did not want. So I had to decide if 1 get the right size but wrong color 2 get the 8.5 -10 and risk being too small in front 3 get 9.5 -19 all around and risk fitment issues up front. But can rotate all around. the Rota are even available on Amazon. Tire choice is much better in 17 too. I’ve never seen a Z in person with 17 so it was making me worried. anyway I made a last look around and saw Driftworks had JR19 in stock so I did a calculator. Ended up ordering bronze 16x9 -15 16x9 -25 they have not come in yet. I also ordered 2” and 3” flares from Jendoza which haven’t come in either.

It’s a FM4L60exlb. It fit perfect. The hole in the floor is too big so I just put a plate over it. That gave a nice flat surface to mount. I did not have to cut the hole. Just drilled some holes for the plate to mount to. the shift rod had to be bent a little but that is simple and straight forward. I have not hooked up the neutral switch yet and I still need to get a reverse switch too. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Lokar-FM4L60EFXLB-Midnight-Floor-Mount-Shifter-4L60E-6-In,97618.html

Almost forgot to add this bit of drama I mentioned before. Ever since I got the car running from first start it would barely let me get on the throttle without choking out. I figured it was something in the tune or a misfire or something like that. I did throw it in right out of the junkyard. then I hooked up a fuel gauge to see how that was working out 27B1B531-8FAF-4312-AFC7-5030842F5445.MOV I’m no automotive expert but that fuel pressure seemed suspect Some gunk in there. Turns out that pretty K&N filter is not even rated for fuel injection. Some dummy ordered the wrong thing. It’s me. I am dummy. so I ordered an “expensive” $25 Russell filter fixed it! For about 5 miles. Started doing the same thing. So back to the gauge. Sure enough it was losing PSI again. problem was the Russell is not transparent. Is it clogged? I don’t know. so enter filter #3. WIX filter 2 for $6 on Amazon. Seems perfectly fine now. Been over 200 miles and no issues. Now that I can do full throttle the car rips right along. still a little rough in certain areas but I’m going to leave it since it is working.

Ok wow. This car is scary fast. And not necessarily in a good way. Remember way back when I installed that throttle cable? Well, I finally got around to adjusting it all the way. turns out I was only getting 1/2 throttle. 😲 I was unhappy with the 4l60e shifting but I thought it was cuz I don’t have a tune yet. Nope. Wasn’t getting proper kick down commands. When this thing downshifted from 4 to 2 and ripped, everything got sketchy real quick! Suspension and tires have moved up the list very quickly.

V8 in this little car? Doesn’t look like it to me.