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And that brings us up to today. The car runs, drives, and does all the things. I have been working on dialing in the tune, and keeping an eye on the learn tables. I initially had some issues with fueling, as it was running way too rich on startup, so much so that it would backfire immediately when you crank the key to start, since so much cranking fuel was being commanded. I've been datalogging and tweaking things here and there, and so far it's been running great. It'll get a real tune from someone who knows what they're doing on a dyno one of these days.
I've got the handheld mounted and displaying vitals, I also have the original fuel gauge wired up and working correctly. The original speedo is obviously cable driven, which is incompatible with a T-56. However, rather than go with something retrofit, I am contemplating using a conversion box that Jegs sells, to convert a GPS signal to a cable driven output for old school speedometers. If anyone has any experience with these, let me know!
So far it's been a blast to drive. It's massively overpowered for what it is, and I love it. I have a new windshield for it, but I am going to wait until I also have a new headliner to put in, as I read it's much easier to do the headliner with the windshield out. Then it'll need carpet, back seat refinished, package tray, door cards, you name it. Will update as these things happen!
Sweet! I didn't realize you already had gotten it that far. Great driver build, and I like that it's not perfect. It will turn heads regardless!
Thanks! Yeah, if there were to be a car to fully restore "right", this wasn't it. Instead I just wanted something to have fun building, and get out and use! Something that can take a beating, but also just jump in and go without much worry. So far, so good! We'll see this spring how it does at the track. I'd be pleased it if got anywhere into the 12's.
Man, my cam only SBE LS3 is in the mid to low 12's in a Camaro that weighs 4K with me in it. I'd be surprised if you're not deep into the 11's with your setup.
Now that it runs and drives, I can work at all the minor details as they come up. Things like the correct tail light bezels, correct trim pieces to replace the broken/missing/wrong ones the car came with. Weather strip, cowl seal, hood alignment bumpers, trunk seal and bumpers, all have been replaced so far, with tons, and tons more weather seals and randomness to go. Not to mention all the years of rodent overhaul.
Man, my cam only SBE LS3 is in the mid to low 12's in a Camaro that weighs 4K with me in it. I'd be surprised if you're not deep into the 11's with your setup.
Yeah I'll really be curious to see how it does. I've had a few cars at the track in the past, buy I'm by no means an experienced driver, not to mention it being a stick. If I broke into the 11's, I would definitely consider that huge win.
After driving the car for a while, I felt like I had better attack the timebomb of a trunk/rear frame rails before my fuel cell ends up dropping through the floor at 75mph on the interstate. I'm going to do this a bit differently than I'm sure most would think, and instead of replacing the trunk floor with a stamped reproduction of an original, I am instead going to build new rear frame rails from rectangular tubing, and finish the trunk floor out using sheet metal. I don't intend for this car to ever return to an original-like state, therefore there is no need for a $500 trunk floor.
Waiting until Monday to pick up tubing and sheet metal, but I at least got the rot cut out
Got some new frame rails and a trunk floor fabricated. So much better now, and it is no longer falling apart, not making noise over bumps, and I don’t fear my fuel cell is going to blow through the floor.
Nice fab - looks great. Are you getting any "oil-canning" on the floor? I would think you might need some bead-rolling to give it some strength. Or does the framing you put in work?
Originally Posted by draab2006
Got some new frame rails and a trunk floor fabricated. So much better now, and it is no longer falling apart, not making noise over bumps, and I don’t fear my fuel cell is going to blow through the floor.
I think thanks to the number of self tapers I drove into the frame, it's keeping everything nice and flat.
I also fabricated some brackets that come off the back of the new frame rails, to attach to the bumper. I found it odd that GM designed these cars without directly connecting the frame rails to the bumper, instead the bumper was only attached to the body. Now I feel like I could pull a boat with how rigid the bumper is, haha.
03-12-2023, 11:20 AM
