A few upgrades for my '78

pancake said:
I added a tire diameter calculator to the page. Remember that this is just for estimating.. it's in the ball park, though.

Once again.. This calculator doesn't have a damned thing to do with the inaccuracies of the factory gauges. It calculates speed by considering engine RPM, tire rpm, and tire circumference. I realize that tires are not perfect circles and there are many variables to take into account like vehicle weight, inflation, growth, etc.... but your typical consumer tire likely doesn't grow 2 inches unless you've hit warp drive and are moving into a new galaxy. The miniscule growth is not going to skew the numbers enough to invalidate the numbers.

I just did some checking on bias ply min growth slicks for drag racing. Hoosiers will grow about 1.5" at 60 degrees F and 3" at 100 degrees and 5" at 100 degrees and 180 mph. A typical passenger tire isn't going to see anything near that.

And this gearing calculator is digital. What if it lies to you?
Click to expand...

numbers lie.... don't believe me - they even have a term that means lying with numbers....


it's called "statistics"
 
pancake said:
Yep. Someone actually wrote that book. Its at home so i cant find the author.
Click to expand...

Damn shame my eyesight is so shitty these daze, it takes a mag glass for me to read a book anymore, much less a phone directory....

oh well, :crap::crutches:
 
Well after battling my ineptitude and the gross, borderline negligent ineptitude of the guys at the local parts store, i got the motor in and started for the first time. And then it puked coolant out of the heater hoses. You see, i just bought 3/4" replacement sincethat is what i took off the car.
urns out that one is 3/4 and the other is 5/8. Oops.

I also had one fucking hell of a time finding the right belts and starter. The alternator belt needed to be long since i have tall valve covers. 4 trips and a length of twine later, i naied down the right length.

I had a summit mini starter on hand but i couldnt get it to fit. I tried three off the shelf starters and none fit. So i figured out ineeded to trim an 1/8 inch of material off of the mini starter to make it work.

My neighbors surely appreciated the open headers so im going to wait til 9pm and firs it up again.


http://s428.photobucket.com/albums/qq1/e_newhouse/?action=view&current=2012-09-02_15-13-50_989.mp4
 
Last edited:
pancake said:
Well after battling my ineptitude and the gross, borderline negligent ineptitude of the guys at the local parts store, i got the motor in and started for the first time. And then it puked coolant out of the heater hoses. You see, i just bought 3/4" replacement sincethat is what i took off the car.
urns out that one is 3/4 and the other is 5/8. Oops.

I also had one fucking hell of a time finding the right belts and starter. The alternator belt needed to be long since i have tall valve covers. 4 trips and a length of twine later, i naied down the right length.

I had a summit mini starter on hand but i couldnt get it to fit. I tried three off the shelf starters and none fit. So i figured out ineeded to trim an 1/8 inch of material off of the mini starter to make it work.

My neighbors surely appreciated the open headers so im going to wait til 9pm and firs it up again.


http://s428.photobucket.com/albums/qq1/e_newhouse/?action=view&current=2012-09-02_15-13-50_989.mp4
Click to expand...

WHY does SO much of the above sound SO familiar???

:suicide::sos:

Poor Chuck, my neighbor, I working on this fucking POS A518 Chrysler tranny for my stepson....and so I am working on it out in the garage with 100% humidity and 100F or damn nearly this AM, sorting through the usual bullshit, and so there is Chuck behind me grinning silently as I"m cussing up a storm, alone.....so I eventually spot him and so he comes up with a idea of using the corner of the table and THREE C clamps to get the damn clutch piston return springs back under control......
 
Last edited:
Today i went out and sorted the vacuum lines and installed new carb feeder lines since i have been plagued with leaks. I need to buy one of those hydraulic flaring tools.

My electric fan didnt turn on and that pissed me off... then the water neck started leaking and i decided that id had it for the day and started drinking beer. This damn car is a pain in my ass. Well, really the pain is that all parts have to be ordered since the local parts shops only stock mr gasket garbage.

So again i wait....

On a positive, i heard it through my magnaflow exhaust and immediately decided that magnaflow quality is nice but their sound is too damn quiet.
 
pancake said:
Today i went out and sorted the vacuum lines and installed new carb feeder lines since i have been plagued with leaks. I need to buy one of those hydraulic flaring tools.

My electric fan didnt turn on and that pissed me off... then the water neck started leaking and i decided that id had it for the day and started drinking beer. This damn car is a pain in my ass. Well, really the pain is that all parts have to be ordered since the local parts shops only stock mr gasket garbage.

So again i wait....

On a positive, i heard it through my magnaflow exhaust and immediately decided that magnaflow quality is nice but their sound is too damn quiet.
Click to expand...


I have a set of Magnaflows on my '72 and they sound decent, not too loud

not an issue....unlike some ricers down the street....

:shocking:
 
I agree SBG! Side pipes are the answer
I want black ones but i dont want painted steel... so i want to get a set jet hot coated. Or maybe ill get those obx side pipes and painf them black.
 
Last edited:
It finally moved under its own power. The electric fans are working right and keeping the temps under 200 while idling. Front end is way out of alignment because i replaced the balls joints, tie rods, etc... i need to figure out how to line it up myself or find a good shop in fort worth.

Will it hurt anything to remove the hood insulation? My air cleaner lid is just barely touching it.
 
So I added a few more parts.. 550lb springs up front and a 355lb composite monoleaf in the rear.

I picked up an SPC Fastrax alignment tool through Summit and set my front to -3/4 degree camber and toe to -1/16". I know some people prefer more camber than that and I tried to split the difference of the Guldstrand recommended toe settings. I went up the road with it and it tracked straight.. and it wanted to turn so much better than it used to. Plus it rode soooo much better. I can see how some guys want the 420lb spring in the rear. My highly advanced butt telemetry said the rear of the car was just a hair softer than the front. I also have the rear ride height issue with the TRW springs so I need inch longer bolts.

I plan on adding the SPC adjustable upper arms and the howe long ball joints as soon as I can.. And I still have to drop the trailing arms, do the johnny joint mod, and install the VB&P heim joint strut rods.

The idle circuit is still a hair on the rich side. I received the innovativ wideband o2, just haven't had a minute to install it since I've been trying to get the car rolling and I had this awful eye infection for the past 10 days. Eye infections suck.
 
I have the lightest spring in back, might as well be sitting on the bump stops because the moment you hit a pebble, you're on the bump stops. I'm getting a 420# and the adjustable camber rods... hopefully that will help balance the car... right now, SOP feel is the back is moving and the front isn't.... although I'm not using as stiff from springs on my car.... it will be interesting to compare to yours.

I'd have told you not to get an eye infection, they suck, but no, you had to do it yourself just to see (yep, I just punned you) :D:hunter:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top