Steve your engine bay is a work of art. It will be a shame to hide it under a hood. Fernando Lamas would tell your engine that "You look marvelous!". :TU: :TU: :kodak: :kodak:
Keith, I would LOVE to get it done this year, but there's no way. I do hope to have it running to the point that I can drive it up and down my driveway and test some simple things before winter. Gary, I did gut the column. I have no idea how much weight I took out. All I know is that there is nothing in there except the shaft and a few bearings. lol Later, Steve
A few more shots from today. I needed to clean out the shop after finishing some oil pans, so I put the car on the ground and pushed it outside. I figured as long as I had it out there I may as well hang the rest of the glass parts on it and take a few pics. Notice how high the front end sits? I have the lightest Moroso drag springs available. (I think they are the #160's?) I'll let it sit for a while with some weight on them and see how much they take a set and drop. If they don't drop enough I'll need to change to something else ? Steve
Steve, I had the 47160's and had to cut them a bit for ride height. Looks like the car has to come down at least 4'' in the front and a couple of inches in the rear too. You know how low I like them........
Gary, Do you recall how much you cut off the coils? 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 coil? R & R'ing the coils is a PITA and I'd only like to do it ONE more time if possible. :laugh: The rear can come down without any problems as they are coil overs. I hate to think of putting coil overs in the front. I don't think that with a car like this they would be worth the expense vs a stock suspention car. What do you think about them? Did you ever try them? Thanks!!
Double adjustable coil overs up front ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GO. Go with something like the QA1 double adjustable "conversion" kit. A pretty good bargain for what you get. Get the light or medium springs. They will fit your stock control arms, and you can adjust ride height with a spanner wrench. The Moroso springs are junk. They last about a year, and then guys wonder why the car doesnt 60' anymore. I learned this the hard way.
Hey Jim, when I was looking at spings about 2 years ago, I thought I read on the board that a couple of members put the QA-1's on and because they didn't have as much travel, people actually went slower on the 60's? Maybe I read this wrong. The adjustable part of the deal certainly looks better than having to cut coils.
Steve, I remember a little more than a half coil to start.......It will be worth it. I have coil overs in the front no.I think they would be better if I had a bit more power but I have had my best perfomance with them.It just doesn't seem as consistent w/ the reduced travel.
Jim, I wish I could afford the coil overs for the front, but I'm trying to get the car down the track for as little $$$ as possible right now. I made a list of things that I can compromise on now and easily change later when money is easier to come by, and front shocks/springs are on that list. (only working 12 days per month pays the bills but not much more!!) NONE of the things that I'm compromising have to do with safety..... I refuse to cut corners there! I know the front springs/shocks can make a difference in 60' times, but with this car, if it runs 9.20's vs 9.50's to start with, I really don't care. There will be so many gremlins to work out that the front springs/shocks will be a minor fix. Gary, thank you for the info! I'll start with 1/2 coil and see how it sits. I know in the past I've cut the coils in my street/strip car and had bad luck. I installed the 190's and the car sat quite high. I removed them and cut 1/4 coil and the car dropped to the point it was too low. Wow, I was shocked! I hope to not experience the same effect with the 160's on this car!! If I didn't have to buy so many expensive components to finish the car I'd just "buck-up" and buy the QA1's, but I need to get this car done and I have to cut corners somewhere. Thanks, Steve
I'll be happy too Jim!! :grin: With 820 HP and 3000 lbs, it should run 9.50's with a set of FORD front springs!! LOL :TU:
A little progress is being made. I'm stripping the body and getting it ready for paint. The front frame clip is finished and painted. The headers are finished and ready for installation when the time is right! I'm still hoping for spring!!! ray:
Steve, Very impressive....thanks for sharing your hard work with us :TU: Have you decided on a color yet? Dan.
Thanks Dan. Yes, the original color on this Skylark is paint code 10 10, so naturally it's going to be an Apollo white (10 10) GSX clone. I just really like the way the white GSX's look and besides that it's an easy color to do. Thanks again! Steve
Looking Good Steve! I'm anxious to hear how it runs! I was hoping to have my stock appearing drag car done this year but that didn't happen either. Hopefully next year we'll both see some Track Time!!! I'd rather wait a little longer than cut any corners, sounds like you're doing the same! Keep us posted! .
