i love how you decided to mount the radiator. I really dont see the front flexing much, if at all. The kmember is not far behind the core support and thats a pretty rigid piece that also connects both frame rails

 

Thanks! We were all disappointed for sure. I am usually pretty positive, even I was shot after the dyno when it all broke. We had been working for so long (over a year) every weekend, and then didn't even get to see it make a full power dyno pull. Next year should be ******* awesome though!!!

How is your car doing.... That's what I though!!!


Thanks! Chris gets the credit for the radiator mount. I knew I wanted a cool way to mount it, something hidden, I think it worked out well. I think it will be OK, but it is something we will watch to be sure.



Sean

 

OK guys so time for an update to the TurboTa!

I have been working with legend racing to try and get my hands on one of the first new Dart LS next blocks. And we should have it beginning of march. We will also have one of Stef's first oil pans for the block. I will have a whole new bottom end which consits of Diamond Coated pistons and rings, Callies Ultra H beam rods, And a Callies Dragon slayer crank.

Also to go along with the new bottom end is a Garret Gt55 94mm Dual ball bearing turbo.

I am going to keep the old heads and valvetrain for now untill i can save up some more money.


Thank you for following along, and we will be posting pictures of parts, and the motor as it comes together, then of coarse photos of the car going back together.

Thanks, Chris

 

OK everyone, I am going to bring this back from the dead! Its getting close to racing season around here, and things are starting to come together. No new pictures quite yet, but they are coming soon I promise!

As you have seen we changed the turbo over to Garrett GT 55-33R unit that measures a nice 94mm on the inlet. This is a dual ball bearing, billet wheel unit that should work awesome on the new motor. All of the new and modified pieces of the turbo kit are out at Q.C. Coatings right now getting some fresh ceramic black, with silver ceramic on the inside. They should be back to us next week all ready to go.

As Chris said the new motor is going to be a monster! Steve over at Legend Racing in Schaumburg IL is putting together and extremely stout LS power plant. Its is based on the new (still not even out) Dart LS-Next iron block. Steve and Chris are very excited to be one of the very first LS-Next combos on the track this year. This bottom end is shaping up very nicely I must say Already on order, or waiting to go in, a Callies Dragon Slayer crank, Callies Ultra H-Beam rods, Custom Diamond pistons with all the tricks (extra thick skirt, ceramic coated on the sides and top, extra thick wrist pins, and so on), custom Bullet cam that was spec'ed by Steve at Legend. They settled on a displacement of 427 C.I. which is a good match for this turbo. This bottom end should be able to handle 2000+ HP

There is a handful of other parts that are changing around too, but I will wait to spill all of the secrets All in all this is going to be the best the car has even been from bumper to bumper. Since the last time the car was on the track it is almost entirely new! It defiantly wasn't planned that way, but the car will be much faster, much more reliable, not to mention more "finished" looking so it all worked out for the best.

We are starting to get close to putting everything back together. Once the block comes in from Dart Steve will masterfully assemble the motor, and Chris and I can get it back in the car and get to the track! It's been a massive amount of work since the last time the car made a pass. Last year was a huge let down at the end with all of the little problems that popped up. We are determined to come back better than ever! Look for some good updates coming soon, and some track times shortly after!


Thanks for following along though all of this!
Sean

 

I was just wondering about this car. I understand the last year being a letdown. Here too.

Can't wait to see the updated pics!

 

KOTS sr this yr huh?? Crazy **** u guys got goin on lol

 

It was devastating to be honest. The car had broke in June of 2011, and we started the major work in about October-November (going off of memory). We literally worked every single weekend though July, just to hit a mass of problems at the very end. I was completely burned out on the car for the first time ever. I pretty much just walked away and spent the rest of the summer going to different races and shooting pics. I am really just starting to come back around to it.

I know that sounds weird, but Chris and I have a unique situation. As I have pointed out many times its not my car, but as you can tell it is difficult to make that distinction sometimes. Chris is like a brother to me, and I treat him that way. I am VERY opinionated, and have NO problem letting that opinion be known no matter how its received. That can cause a lot of friction, especially when its about large amounts of someone else's money. Luckily he is tolerant of me and my opinions, and we can remain friends But the large amounts of money that this takes, and the countless hours working on it every weekend wear on you over time. Once there was a string of issues, it was the breaking point for us both I think.

We are past all that now, and things are moving forward again! I think we are both rejuvenated about it again, and now with Steve on board it is really help to push us forward (no pun intended).

No KOTS this year, maybe some grudge racing after though We will still have the same 4 bolt heads, which will hold us back from really cranking it up. We will be running a lot better than last time it was out, but there is a LARGE learning curve now since the whole car is almost new.


Sean

 

What sean said

But this year i feel like i have finally surrounded myself with the right people to just have the car work, and work well. Eric @ midwest chassis has always had the car going straight, hooking with **** rear shocks, and built a bullet proof rear end.

My origonal th400 sucked, but now i have Chuck @ FLT working with me and doing the upkeep on the trans!

And lastly Steve Roden @ legend racing will be building the bad *** bottom end, keeping the motor fresh, we will be cutting apart oil filters, taking precious care of my new Bad *** bottom end.

Sean, Eric @ midwest, Chuck @ FLT, and Steve @ Legend THANK ALL of you! The car would not be what it is without all of you!

Chris

 

No thanks needed! I almost forgot about Chuck @ FLT!!! Not only did he already rebuild the trans, AND fix some issues that he found (and showed Chris while he tore it down in front of him), he wants to put it on the dyno again (was already done when it was rebuilt) just to verify one small thing before the car goes together. No guessing that it was right, or trying to remember back, no BS at all! Just get it back over here, we will strap it to the dyno, and we will KNOW 100% that it is perfect before it goes in the car! THAT is the kind of people that we want helping us with the car HANDS DOWN!

It's gonna be a good year


Sean

 

Chris and Sean we are very glad to be a part of your program for 2013 and for many years to come. I know you will be more than satisfied with the results when it starts coming together!

 

Can't wait for some pics! What made you choose the Dart block over the LSX block?

 

Thanks for the pics! Super nice build!

 

I know, I know! Pics are coming as soon as I have something worth taking pics of. Chris and/or Steve are the best to answer the block question, but Ill take a stab at it anyway. For one, its Dart vs GM...I'd go Dart Also the Dart is supposed to have a stronger lower half, and better oiling than the LSX. Last the Dart isn't Orange :p

Thank you! More pics will be coming soon (I hope)


Sean

 

The reason we decided to go Dart block was rather simple. Dart has been known to make a top notch product for years, we use their product in everything from street engines to 2000+hp race engines. The block eliminates the inherent windage problems cause by the skirted main design, and gives us more oil pan options with better oil control.

Aside from potentially being one of the first to have one of these blocks out and running, it was just a chance to do something different than the norm. Which is what we are all about.



*and it's not orange*

 

It's time for another update, this time with pics! We are still waiting on the block, but some of the parts are rolling in. I guess we can go in order, for no particular reason.

First up is the cam. It is a custom ground billet core by Bullet Cams. I have no idea what the specs are, but I know its a BIG improvement over the old off the shelf cam that was in there before.




Next came the pistons, rings (no pics), and wrist pins. The pistons are custom made by Diamond Pistons with a thick deck, thick skirts, and extra material around the pin. They also have gas ports, and are coated on the top and sides. The rings are total seal, but that's all I know about them.







And some shots of the super thick pins, which I believe are going to get sent out to be hardened.






And last up is the Steff's oil pan! This is the second production piece for the Dart LS Next block, and it is work of art. It holds 8 quarts, is baffled all over the place with rubber so that noting can get stopped up. They also added in the drain for the turbo where we asked them too, so its all good to go!

Here it is next to a regular LS pan on the right, you can also see the drain in the front









That is all for now. Sorry for the cell phone pics, I will have good ones once the block comes in. The block should be coming soon,and the Callies crank and Callies rods should be with it. It's starting to get exciting to see some parts showing up, now we just need the big one As always thanks for following along!


Sean

 

Also all the turbo stuff is back from ceramic. I have cell phone pics but I will wait for Sean to set up a photo shoot!!! Thanks for following, Chris

 

I almost forgot (OK I did forget) to add the pics of the turbo kit back from coating! We only kept one pipe untouched, so this is pretty much the entire turbo kit. Again we have to give a big shout out to Q.C. Coatings in Utica MI. Bill is the man, and as always has gotten us exactly what we wanted in amazing time! If you need anything coated (ceramic or powder) be sure to give them a shot, they will not disappoint! I will get some better pics soon showing off how great everything looks, but for now here are some cell phone shots.





OK, NOW we are fully up to speed! I should have another update in a couple of weeks, and hopefully that has some shots of the motor going together as well.


Sean

 

Pins are being sent out to be Microblued, they are already hardened.

 

looks really good guys. good luck this go around. Any hp goals or et goals?

 

Yeah, what he said The exact process/goal was lost somewhere between you to Chris, then Chris to me.


Sean