It appears that Ed os as much a wizard with fiberglass as.you are with steel. I fear the combined.forces.
It appears that Ed os as much a wizard with fiberglass as.you are with steel. I fear the combined.forces.
mndsm wrote: It appears that Ed os as much a wizard with fiberglass as.you are with steel. I fear the combined.forces.
We're making plans.
Designed the air pan for the Sunbird.
Sorry for blowing the dust off of this thread .... I was asked a few questions.
Dan, end of page 5 thru end of 8.
Wow, super cool! 
http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/1405-pontiac-pro-stock-astre-trailer-stash/
Cool! A big block in that little thing is just nuts!
Work has begun, making our Sunbird into a more serious drag car. We are planning to participate in a local index race, that is inspired by the discovery show Street Outlaws. We have multiple friends that participate in this race, and we figured it's about time we take a shot at it. One of the issues with the car when it was originally put together was transmission bell housing clearance. Therefore, we are starting with modifying the firewall.
And Done!
I still love this car. And I am excited to see it get even more insane!
SilverFleet wrote: I still love this car. And I am excited to see it get even more insane!
It is one of my favorites. The car is very comfortable to sit in. Not something you can say very often in a small car with a full cage.
Our goal will be 9's, NA, Street tires, thru the mufflers.
Interesting how you modified the modifications.
Jerry From LA wrote: Interesting how you modified the modifications.
The welds are all butt welded at the bottom and lapped about 1/16"-1/8" at the top in order to minimize the weight. Had to leave the lower section a little long in order to "fit" it in. The top was more predictable since it run straight(er) vertically. The toe boards are not at the same angles and being they were not 45 degrees, it was easier to leave the piece 1/4" long and trim to fit.
It looks like you also took a hammer to the tunnel once you got it all in there.
Jerry From LA wrote: It looks like you also took a hammer to the tunnel once you got it all in there.
At the dip stick relief - yes. When the car was put together the first time (At a very frantic pace in order to get to Florida) the T400 was used where the floor and firewall were stamped for a T350. I had to make a blind cut and peal the pie pieces up into the passenger compartment. When then the new shield relief went in, I was not going to chase the dipstick relief. One - it was not worth the effort, and two - it is out of view when the E&T are in.
Jerry From LA wrote: It looks like you also took a hammer to the tunnel once you got it all in there.
And yes I know the paint ran. The temp dropped 30 degrees and it looks like poo. The whole firewall and engine bay will be "finished" during a winter freshen in the next 2-3 years.
Only you will know. Hard to see when the car blisters down the track.
Jerry From LA wrote: Only you will know. Hard to see when the car blisters down the track.
Because Race Car.
Work continues. Since you saw it last, we have installed the 356ci engine. Also, we made a custom serpentine belt setup. I really proud of how it turned out.
The tensioner is from a GM truck LS engine, with one of the ears cut off. The pulley is from a V6 4th generation Camaro with the 3 bolt V8 pattern drilled into it. The alternator is of unknown origin, at least to me. My dad might know better.
We plan to run a remote mounted water pump, which is why the one mount for the alternator ties into the water pump mounting point. More on that soon to come.
In case you guys missed it, I took this car to the challenge this year. It was a little different than when it went in $2014. It had a turbocharged LS.
It was awesome to race Ed Malle off the trailer. Our setups were very similar. We both had Aluminum 5.3L's. He had a TH400, I had a TH350. He had nitrous, I had an intercooler. He had a 72mm turbo, I had a a 59mm turbo. I had test time, he had very little. On paper, it was an even match. After I strapped Dad in and watched his 9.53 pass, and I walked back to the Sunbird, and Ed pulled up next to me, and asked if I wanted to race. I smiled, and accepted. You can see how the race went below.
Obviously, I was very satisfied with the results, but I still wanted a 10. I tried 3 more times that night, but kept encountering tire spin issues. I did not get a 10, but seeing my dad go a 9 was way more satisfying than the 10 could have been.
When we got back home, we went to the track in challenge form, and I discovered some things about the car. In Florida, the car felt lazy in third gear. I found that the car was encountering knock. I think the knock sensors are just too sensitive, something I still need to adjust. I pulled some timing, and that fixed the issue. The other thing I noticed is that the reason that the car was having traction issues was because the boost comes up so fast on this car, it blows the tires off. I found that a more gradual application to the throttle brought the boost up in a more controllable manner, and allowed the car to hold traction. The results were hitting the rev limiter way before the finish line, and a 10.80 pass at 126.7 mph!
This past weekend, we decided to make an upgrade. The car will not make anymore boost. The bleed valve is turned all the way up. The puny intercooler needs to go. We picked up the monster intercooler seen below for $100. It is roughly double the size. With a little modification, we made it fit the hole.
Some buddy's helped us out with the gear change. We are now running 3.27 rear gears. Having a lift must be nice!
With the most recent mods done, we took the car out for a obligatory test run. IAT's are way cooler. Can't wait to run it down the track.
SICK!
Mr. Lee said:SICK!
Not any more... A little blast of Sunbird is good for what ails ya.....No Really....Instant feel good ... just add throttle....
1.53 - 60' on 3/17......making progress.
TheV8Kid said:Work continues. Since you saw it last, we have installed the 356ci engine. Also, we made a custom serpentine belt setup. I really proud of how it turned out.
The tensioner is from a GM truck LS engine, with one of the ears cut off. The pulley is from a V6 4th generation Camaro with the 3 bolt V8 pattern drilled into it. The alternator is of unknown origin, at least to me. My dad might know better.
We plan to run a remote mounted water pump, which is why the one mount for the alternator ties into the water pump mounting point. More on that soon to come.
Bumping these pics up again because everyone needs to see how nice that alternator bracket is. I'm using that as inspiration for an alternator bracket I need to make in the next few weeks. Top shelf.
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