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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » i'm very sick, nobody talks me out of anything

June 5, 2009 8:47 p.m. patgizz Dork

that's not right - why that's not right at all! why is there a thunderbird wheel on the back of a grand prix when they obviously have different bolt patterns? you can't do that! hmm, it looks like the trunk is popped, we should look a little closer.

oh no, someone let this lunatic have a sawzall. he went and cut out the spare tire well - crazy person. i'll never understand why they let someone who talks in the third person about himself on the internet go weilding a reciprocating saw like this is someone else's project that he stumbled upon.

long story short, i was going to sell this car - AGAIN - but it fell through. god knows how bad i felt about getting rid of it the first time, then getting it back a stripped non rolling shell. so it's for the best. what the hell else would one do with the gen 3 small block drivetrain and t-bird IRS they had for it?
June 5, 2009 8:51 p.m. 2002maniac Reader

how much does that weigh compared to the original axle? Looks cool!
June 5, 2009 9:20 p.m. Volksroddin HalfDork

As my 4yr old daughter would say "hell yea".
June 5, 2009 9:28 p.m. patgizz Dork

above is the product of me having an extra hour before bed yesterday and half an hour today trimming stuff up to get the cradle to sit where i wanted it. almost looks like it was made to be there - apparently the RWD ford MN12 platform and FWD GM W-body platform have the same spacing on the rear framerails.

no idea on the weight. the original setup is heavy but not this heavy. this is the mockup stuff, my buddy pulled me a mark VIII unit from the yard for 80 bux so i can get the 8.8 diff, more aluminum parts, and disc brakes. the only part that'll eventually remain in the car is the subframe itself.

so tomorrow morning i need to finish up today's job for a few hours, then it's car time all afternoon. i'm bringing home the recycled cage and driveshaft tunnel from my old camaro and the tubes and channels i've got stashed in my dad's barn and busting out the welder, i plan to have it sitting on the ground this weekend - i'll build the mounts for the subframe then pull it out and hit it with the wire wheel on the grinder, then get it in place so i can start up front which should prove a tad easier since i'm not starting from scratch.

since buying the house i'm a tad short on car money so i'm taking the opportunity to put together the piles of parts i've been collecting for the last few years. when some more car $ flows in from scrapping my parts cars i can finish up the evil 40 pickup and fix the fueling issue on the vette, so for right now i need to do free things, and i've got literally everything to put this car together down to nuts, bolts, and brake hoses, all in rubbermaid boxes and labeled on the shelf in the garage so i figured it was time to get cracking.
June 5, 2009 9:45 p.m. P71 Dork

That is the coolest thing I've seen all week!
June 5, 2009 10:55 p.m. Schmidlap New Reader

My first reaction was "you had to cut up a Grand Prix Turbo to do this", but then I read your post again and read that it was a stripped, non-rolling shell when you got it (the second time), and I changed my mind. Nice job - this is a cool project.

Bob
June 6, 2009 7:23 a.m. minimac Dork

Great way to get all of your "stuff" in one place!
June 6, 2009 1:04 p.m. Goldmember Reader

minimac wrote:

Great way to get all of your "stuff" in one place!

Its a hell of a lot easier to move/store your stuff
June 6, 2009 8:20 p.m. daytonaer Reader

patgizz wrote:

and fix the fueling issue on the vette,

Whats wrong with the 'vette?

I pulled the pump from my c4 to change the sending unit, probably took 15 minutes. A standard walboro 255 should fit in there no modifications, no need for 'vette specific parts.

If it's the injectors, I've been running Ford sourced Bosch injectors for two years now with no problems.
June 6, 2009 11:13 p.m. patgizz Dork

daytonaer wrote:

patgizz wrote:

and fix the fueling issue on the vette,

Whats wrong with the 'vette?

I pulled the pump from my c4 to change the sending unit, probably took 15 minutes. A standard walboro 255 should fit in there no modifications, no need for 'vette specific parts.

If it's the injectors, I've been running Ford sourced Bosch injectors for two years now with no problems.

dunno yet, borrowing my buddy's fuel pressure tester this week. pump runs when key on but no start, then i can start it on ether and it'll stay running/drive but it's sluggish and some of the injectors are very noisy. no matter what i'm doing a new filter and a new walbro 255(because i've got one), my buddy brought over a bag full of ford yellowtop injectors last week.

i brought home the main hoop from the camaro's cage and it fits rather well in the grand prix. i've got to make a platform for it that ties into the rocker and rear frame rail(and connect it all up under the car like you would subframe connectors on a camaro, mustang, etc...). then i can build the rear subframe mounts directly off the cage and tie it into the stamped rear rails of the car and nothing will go anywhere. i did a little more locating of the whole rear assembly - it's looking less complicated than i had orignally envisioned, but i've been planning a RWD gm w-body conversion for 7 years now so i did alot of drawing and engineering, measuring, and finding the proper parts for the job before i ever thought of diving into it...

tomorrow i hope to build the platforms for the main hoop and get that and the tubes down to the rear rails welded in so i can start making brackets. i was hoping to just move a factory fuel tank back under the trunk where the spare tire well was but the cradle occupies too much of that space so i'll have to find a proper fuel cell or possibly a tank from something else that is a different shape.
June 7, 2009 1:53 p.m. dean1484 Dork

Sir,

Since you are obviously use to talking to your self in the third person I have to assume that you here the "voices" as well.

They tend to say things like putting a 300TD motor in to a Miata is a good thing. So your little project here is .. . . Well . . . Normal?
June 8, 2009 1:30 a.m. Appleseed HalfDork

I was hoping to see the V-8 under the hood. Challenge car, anyone?
June 8, 2009 8:10 a.m. Gimp Dork

um... you could just finish my Camaro for me.
June 8, 2009 9:17 a.m. Apexcarver SuperDork

Gimp wrote:

um... you could just finish my Camaro for me.

+1 finish his camaro

(come on he cant go back to his 318ti after codriving a cobra replica)
June 9, 2009 7:58 a.m. patgizz Dork

Gimp wrote:

um... you could just finish my Camaro for me.

call me around after work time one of these days
June 13, 2009 4:35 p.m. patgizz Dork

oh crap, someone gave this guy a welder!

no stands, no jack, no wood blocks, no ratcheting straps. just the goodness of tire sitting on concrete with the car's weight on the springs. my buddy brought over a pair of mark VIII springs and i popped them in and it is beautiful.

still to build shock mounts on the car and finish weld(the underside, i always hate overhead welding so i save it for last) the crossmember/mounts. and make a top plate for the springs, which are sitting perfectly flat on the framerail on a big flat pad where the original rear cradle bolted on.

front happens next. i'm about 4 hours into things at this point.

and the vette - well - i'm getting PO'ed at it. i have 44psi cranking - no issues getting fuel to the rail. so i'm either not spraying from the injectors or not sparking. starting on starting fluid leads me to believe i'm sparking while cranking - so i need a noid light to see if it's telling the injectors to fire.

and i ordered a radiator for the 40 pickup - that was the big hurdle(finding cash for a radiator).
June 14, 2009 9:34 a.m. fornetti14 Reader

Wow, this looks interesting! Keep the updates and pictures coming!
June 14, 2009 11:01 a.m. patgizz Dork

fornetti14 wrote:

Wow, this looks interesting! Keep the updates and pictures coming!

tony - sorry i never got back with you on the caravan brake parts. i managed to pull the stuff out a couple weeks ago, the rotors were not replaced so they're not worth shipping but the 1 day old pads are there and if you still want i'll mail them up to you.
June 21, 2009 11:52 a.m. patgizz Dork
June 21, 2009 12:10 p.m. Grtechguy SuperDork

looking good.
June 21, 2009 1:06 p.m. PaulY Reader

Oh snap, LS motor! This thing will be wicked when it's done. What are you doing for front suspension, stock minus cvs?
June 21, 2009 2:33 p.m. patgizz Dork

In reply to PaulY:

yes - but swapping knuckles side to side to move steering to front, and i've got a fox body rack to use since i'm in the middle of cutting up a mark VII for parts.
June 21, 2009 3:33 p.m. Wally SuperDork

Will the Mark VII knuckles bolt up to the GP struts? I think that would give you bigger front brakes if I remember right.
June 21, 2009 7:30 p.m. patgizz Dork

nope, totally different stuff. i actually have knuckles off a 96 lumina which is a direct bolt in and gives me another inch of rotor diameter.

i checked the entire fox body k member but don't need to go reinventing the wheel here, i'm already re-engineering enough.

i did sawzall the crap out of the lincoln today
June 21, 2009 7:51 p.m. Junkyard_Dog Reader

patgizz wrote: i did sawzall the crap out of the lincoln today
Great stress relief isn't it? I wonder if they'd let me destroy a car in the crush line at the Junkyard for $5......

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