Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

The Cougar pulls nicely, but not as hard as my GTO. The GTO has more cubes and probably an extra 100 HP. I regularly trap over 110 MPH in it. The green Mustang was definitely chasing me down, but I think that was just an illusion due to his lousy reaction time. He would have had a couple of cars on me at the big end if he wasn't sleeping at the tree. My guess is that the Cougar is around 3700 pounds with me driving, while the GTO is about 4000 pounds.

The Cougar really needs a 4.88 gear to be optimal. As of now, I have to shift into 4th gear right at the 1000 foot mark, unless I want to spin it a little past 7000 RPM. The rev limiter is set to 6800 currently. Or it needs a 200 shot...LOL

Andrew

DW SD

what are the engine specs again? sorry, I'm sure i can go back. Is long block L92 or is that your GTO? I remember you have a bigger cam.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

This car has the LH8 5.3L with an ASA cam. The GTO has the L92 with vvt delete, LS3 intake, and LS7 cam.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Been smelling a strong fuel scent last couple of days. Opened the trunk and saw that all 3 (fuel sender, fuel pump, and filler) rubber seals were completely swollen and leaking. So it only took 3 tanks of 10% ethanol fuel to kill them. wow...Called Tanks, Inc. and they are sending me some cork gaskets that I am supposed to smear with some super special Permatex monkey spunk.

Also called Moneymaker Racing and talked with Alex. Super helpful, nice fellow. Discussed the ride quality with my dump truck springs and traction. I busted out my credit card and have a set of split leaf springs, caltracs, and u-bolt kit on the way.

Andrew

DW SD

I hope the split leaf springs work! I had the same dump truck springs on the back of my '51 truck with teeth jarring ride quality and ended up doing a triangulated 4 link conversion with double-adjustable coil-overs. The ride quality is great, now. But it was a lot of work

Interesting on the gaskets. I wouldn't have guessed that.
I guess that explains why the traditional AN hose rubber brakes down.

I liked the drag videos you posted.

67cougar4.8T

Hey, good job on getting your cougar up and running. Cam seems to have lots of lope. Love it. I haven't been able to do much to mine lately, to many side jobs to pay bills takes away from my fun time. I'll be back on my awd project soon. Thanks for posting the videos.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

No significant updates, but the Calvert springs and Caltracs will be here on Monday, but I probably won't be able to install them until next weekend. I also wired up the line lock solenoid and the 2-step rev limiter. The line lock is wired through a relay to protect the ECU from flyback current since it shares wiring for the 2-step.

I got a Hurst T-handle with a button. The button activates the relay that triggers the line lock. The button also feeds into a switch, when closed it activates the 2-step. This way I can do burnouts without the 2-step and then use both the line lock and the 2-step while staging.

Headed to Great Lakes Dragaway tomorrow with my buddy Shaun. Hoping to see Ken and maybe Bob as well. Hope I don't break anything...LOL

Andrew

RacnJsn95

iTrader: (4)

The track vids are so bad ***! I love the sound of it! Looks like a fun car!

kwhizz

Met up with Andrew at the Grove tonight......unfortunately I couldn't stay long enough to watch him make some runs......He ran a 13.18 @ 104 ......








Ken

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Ken,

It was my pleasure. I managed a 12.98 and a 12.96 @ 105 for my last two runs! Video to come.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Here is a 13.032@104mph pass...


The funniest part about going to the track was talking to the tech guy. He was very nice, looked the car over, told me I should get a real harness, etc...Then he asked me if I had a driveshaft safety loop, which I told him I didn't, to which he said that it's always a good idea just in case the u-joints let go, to which I said, "I don't have any u-joints." The look he gave me was priceless and then he said, "Now I have to take a look!" He got on the ground, then came up and gave me a puzzle look. I explained that those are CV joints and at my power level the odds of them failing are negligible, and even if they did, the carbon fiber driveshaft would literally turn into a fancy mop, without causing damage to the underside of the car or worrying about the car pole-vaulting. In terms of safety, it is much safer than any sort of metal driveshaft. The tech guy learned something new last night.

Andrew

Kharp

Andrew looks like we posted about the same time today. I welded and ran the grinder all day.............. being at the drag strip would have been so much better! Still enjoying reading about your progress. You should cruise on down to the Street Rod Nationals in a couple of weeks in Louisville, Kentucky. Be great to meet you and see the Cougar.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I do so love Louisville, KY. Such a cool town. I used to go there quite a bit when I lived in Bowling Green. I'll think about making the Street Rod Nationals...Do they even have room for cars like mine?

Andrew

Kharp

Absolutely: 1985 and older. Here is a link with some info.

http://nsra-usa.com/Events/Nationals..._EventInfo.pdf

More info can be found at NSRA.com

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

So today I had some time to install the mono-leafs and the Caltracs. The install went smoothly. This car is pretty clean underneath and I didn't have to fight with any rusted hardware.

The initial impression is that the car will ride 100% better. From what I gather, the mono-leafs are 225 lb/inch. With the old springs, when I pushed down on the rear fender it would barely more. Now, it moves quite easily, so the shocks can actually do what they are meant to do. Also, all the hardware that I took off, is easily 50 pounds heavier than the hardware that I installed. This will make a huge difference in both ride quality and performance.

I didn't have a chance to drive it because I noticed that my shocks were too long and I had barely any compression travel. This was all due to the old set-up and I had to install shock extenders to make it work before. Tomorrow I will get those shock extenders off, and take a drive and see how it works.

I ordered the "stock" ride height springs, and it actually lifted the rear by 1" exactly. I am OK with that, since the springs will settle some and take a set maybe 1/2" lower than what they are now.

More updates to come!

Andrew

HISS

iTrader: (52)

You'll love the Calvert stuff, and John has the best customer service in the industry.

MrSlinger85

iTrader: (3)

I love this car. Been watching the build for a while now. Those wheels turned out perfect. I live about 50 mins from Union Grove (I'm a FIB).

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I do indeed!!!

Thank you! I used to be a FIB a long time ago.

I have a few updates. The Caltracs and mono-leafs really solved my ride quality problem. The car is WAY more comfortable both around town and on the highway. I have the VariShocks set fairly soft on compression, but I cranked up the rebound because it car felt very floaty with the rebound soft as well. As I said earlier, the rear is sitting about 1 inch higher than it was before, and I am still not sure how I feel about that. It looks level, but I liked how it was slightly lower in the back than in the front before. From what I understand Calvert offer a one time exchange for ride height adjustment, which I may do still....

On another note, I remembered that there was a metal recycling place in town that has a drive on scale. I went there and the lady was super nice and told me to just drive on. With about 13 gallons of gas, the car was 3240 pounds. This was surprisingly low to me, but I think the mono-leafs and the Caltracs really shed some weight off the car. I swear that one of the old leafs weighs as much as both new springs and the Caltracks are much lighter than the Ansen ground grabbers that were on the car before. So my new race weight should be around 3500 pounds, or maybe even a little less if I only have half a tank of gas.

I am pretty excited to get back to the drag strip and see how she runs now.

Andrew

martsink

iTrader: (1)

You sir, are a champion! Absolutely love the build, and that engine is a work of art!

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Thank you for the kind words...

For those that needs visuals, I went from this:





To this:





Andrew