so i accidently bought a car and started a challenge team last night. have questions.

In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:

Unfortunately, there is no realistic way to get it back street enough for cam. Just too far to the racecar end of things.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

I dunno. I'm looked at some of the Goodguys cars as well as a few scca cam cars and several have race interiors that are slightly upgraded with Creature Comforts and that seems to pass muster. Do you have it titled where you could register it for the street? That seems to be a controlling Factor

I haven't had a chance to look through the entire post, but I'm hoping you plan to use AMC's Nurburgring livery!!!

In reply to WillHoonForFood:

I feel honored. Your first post is my thread.

And you are local!

In reply to Dusterbd13:

+1 for his screen name!

I had no idea AMC had a Nurburgring car?!

Yup. Team highball. Won that class that year on bfg radial t/a

Challenge Budget: Car/parts $200

Donor Lincoln town car: 410

Engine crossmember: 120

Sold transmission crossmember from Lincoln: 10 Sold rear axle from lincoln: -50 Scrapped what was left of lincoln: -89

trans cooler: 2

Engine swap: 5.0 plus 300 boot

Sold kelstar wheels-200 (cant recoup more than we spent)

2x2 angle iron, tractor supply 12.05

Brand new Watkins glen nascar slicks and wheels, which were bought for $50, and promptly sold to Dallas dad for $50 and some weld wheels with really old drag slicks. So, slicks were $0, but $50 taken out of the recoup limit.

6 5/8 heim and jamb nuts, as well as threaded tube for the front suspension: $65

Pair of aluminum seats, $40 and on;y usng 1 so $20. .

Sheet of flame retardant high density foam $10

Fire suppression system parts (not included in challenge budget. But ive had 2nd degree burns on the boys before, so were getting safety gear come hell or high water)

Solid steel lowering blocks, with the holes drilled to offset the rear axle rearwards. $5

1/4 plate, scrap metal yard: 7.50

Mustang convertible mounts 22

Bending plate cost 25

Swedged tubing, ebay: 31.90

Threaded adjusters and 650lb springs, SRI performance: 65

2 used billstein shocks, pull-a-part: 14

Cage materials: 271.40

Spool welding wire: 33

Leaf spring sliders: 40

Clamps for spring adjusters: 23.59

Adjustable brake bias valve 18 (amazon)

2 cans of flat black spray paint (lowes project source) .97 ea

Half melted, used 21 circuit ez wiring harness cut from my duster after the mice chewed it up and it had a meltdown. $5 is what I was quoted as FMV due to the fact that copper prices are down.

Accessories and flexplate: see link in update

Battery cables and relays, pull-a-part: 12.75

Steering box, pull-a-part: 27.50

25feet 3/8 steel fuel line, ebay: 25.75

Bypass fuel pressure regulator, ebay: 29.23

fuel pump: 23

Used mix and match nitrous kit: 32

Used cast coat aluminum paint: 3.50 (advance price is $7 new, and the can was half empty)

Two half cans of ford engine blue $7

3/8 plastic line clamps, lowes: 1.78

1/2 metal line clamps, lowes: 3.48

Throttle return springs and brackets: 5

3/8 2x compression fittings, 3x npt-compression, 1x t fitting from plumbing supply house: 6

battery hold down, oriellys 5.99

2x 36 inch 1x1 holey tube: 2

Driveshaft safety loop (dad bought it at an auction last week) 5

Tractor supply run for bolts and angle iron: 18.08

Wheels for monster slicks: 50 from facebook marketplace

Shifter material (going to retain the 7.50 number for now, unsure of what fair market value for this stuff would be)

Lower radiator hose: 14.82

Crimping a splice in power steering hose: 13.69

Oil filter: 4.17

Bucket of hose clamps (pull-a-part doesn't charge for these, so I added the admission charge to the yard): 1

Scrap chunk of 16gauge sheetmetal: .25

Suspension and 3.73 posi 8.8, offerup: 100

Traded ultralights and sun tach for pro-tach, mechanical 2 5/8 gauges and chunk of diamond plate from a 4x4 buggy guy down the street

Rear brake hose: Challenge budget exempt

Spark plug boot insulators, ebay, 11

Spring perches, amazon 17.49

Pipe standoffs (5) and 3/8 allthread, rhulens supply 8.22

Chunk of diamond plate: unknown. dad scrounged it somewhere, and said he got got for free. I just dont know where, or if I need to FMV it.

Misc crap (zipties, sheet metal screws, wiring terminals, used toggles, nuts and bolts, etc. Pretty much the little oddball crap that goes into every build that I had laying around from over the years) 50

Starter solenoid: 12ish (placeholder till I find the receipt or a cheaper one)

2 inch glasspacks, chunks of 2 inch exhaust tubing, and a little bit of stainless 2 inch: steves buddy: 15

Tow hook: 3?

Steering wheel from swap meet 5

Quick release, ebay: 19.99

New challenge budget total: 1774.57

Ok, when last we left off, it was running with fuel system problems. In the course of troubleshooting, I killed my cheap used pump. Son of a....

So a new fuel pump is in the budget, and the problem was that of the TWO filters that were in the car when I bought it, the one I grabbed was defective. The seal where the two halves of the case were crimped was leaking air, not allowing the pump to generate suction for prime. Before I found this, I tried everything else, including relocating the pump lower. It stayed lower after the fix. I'm going to try to pull the dead pump apart and fix it. Well see if im successful, as it would be nice to take money back out of the budget.

[URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170505_210947_zpshkckvptn.jpg.html][/URL]

We also built an exhaust. Due to the constraints of the trans crossmember, driveshaft safety loop, etc, we decided it would be easiest and best to do sidepipes. Steve bought a pair of used glasspacks and some 2 inch tubing from a co-worker that changed his design, and scrounged a couple of chunks of 2 inch stainless. We used bends from the old x-pipe 2.5 system, cut, welded, and hammer-fit until we got an exhaust. There were a couple of hangars we cut off the car when doing seam welding that we repaired and reused as well. [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170505_204656_zpsaq2ecb5s.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170505_204700_zpsprgjvdz2.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170505_225033_zps8dft4fge.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170508_161730_zpszcrtx9l6.jpg.html][/URL]

While Steve was doing this, I was working on tire to fender clearance, and parts pile consolidation. Figured it was time to radius. I almost felt bad cutting these fenders up. Almost.

I also added the prototype tow hook dad had made for his c4 race car. He gave it to us, and I really wanted to add it. So its located on the passengers side through the front valance, and retained with the bolts that hold the idler arm to the frame. The next morning, since I needed the lift, I pushed the car outside. I also washed it, as this damn thing got me dirty just looking at it. [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170506_113247_zpsxz75eqtf.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170506_113504_zpsuxb51dzt.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170506_124625_zpsprsnsflz.jpg.html][/URL]

Next day we worked on this was Sunday. What started as getting the old axle squared up enough for a test drive (iso-clamps wore out, and allowed it to shift around) turned into getting the 8.8 in, shortening the driveshaft another inch and changing the rear yoke to the explorer one, building custom leaf springs, and ....

The short of it is, the explorer axle at stock width is almost designed for this. The factory explorer spring perches line up almost exactly with the inside of the factory AMC leaves. Which means that when you add the spring perches, you can just sit them directly outboard of explorer perches, and the axle is square and centered up in the car. Problem here is that there's no room to get u-bolts down by the explorer perches. Notch the corners, flap wheel a little bit, and bobs your uncle. I also took the time to build higher rate leaves. I used the mail leaf from the AMC with the axle pin hole bored out a little bit, and the two main leaves from the explorer. The big fat bottom leaf from the explorer was left out, and the top leaf was as well. The explorer second leaf lines up almost exactly with the front spring eye of the AMC leaf, which should be very effective for combating wheel hop. I used the explorer axle plates underneath, the explorer u-bolts, and plan to adapt some used bilstiens from the scrap pile (took them off my elky after 10k and threw them away, as they are about dead. They were used when I bough them from the junkyard 4 years ago...) another note is that with the stock width explorer axle, the front and rear track widths are now exactly equal. I didn't plan that, but ill take it!

Anyway, heres pictured of the finished product. [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_131302_zpsqiew7mlu.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_190726_zps17wkac4x.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170508_161656_zpsybgwehjy.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_190713_zpswj0nsfrc.jpg.html][/URL]

While we were buttoning up the rear end, Dallas and the new teammates came by. He got majority custody of all three kids. Which is the greatest thing to happen in this entire build thread. Honestly, I could kill the project here, and still call it a complete success as he stayed sane and emotionally stable throughout the whole ugly mess. That was the overall goal when I started the team, even greater than going to the challenge or becoming internet famous.

That being said, we added his three kids to the team. His oldest (Sparrow) was the dedicated lug nut installer . [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_171047_zps9s5oatoe.jpg.html][/URL]

She also wanted to model the new smaller steering wheel and quick release setup. [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_181706_zpsc7uplsil.jpg.html][/URL]

This was made from the 5 dollar grant wheel from the swap meet, the cheapest splined quick release ebay had to offer, and a chunk of an old s10 steering wheel. Problem I ran into was that the quick release is 6 bolt, 2hich nothing else is. Except a trashed s10 steering wheel from a first gen s10 has a 6 bolt chunk in it that can be removed. Then throw it in a bench vice, bend it around a good bit to change the spacing of the 6 bolts, and bolt the quick release to it. The splines of the s10 wheel fit the AMC perfect, ironically enough. I suspected it was a gm sourced column, and apparently I was right. Anyway, the grant wheel was 5 bolt, not six. So, I eyeballed it square, marked the holes, and drilled it for the 6 bolt pattern in through bolt style. It works. Makes the steering wheel too close to the driver, and makes it where we can move the seat back a few more inches, helping weight distribution. So, overall ill call it a win.

Last thing we really did is watch Steve be a freaking Leonardo davinci. He took bits and pieces from the scrap metal bin, some bolts, a grinder, and a welder and MADE perfect adjustable mounts for a backbrace to the cage. The dude is freaking macgyver mixed with Einstein. I don't know how he sees this stuff in his head and just makes it. Absolutely amazing to see. [URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/user/dusterbd13/media/amc/20170507_190717_zpsoal7q6wm.jpg.html][/URL]

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Ain't Budget car race car building a hoot? I mean seriously, it is sort of fun seeing how cheap you can get by. You've done an amazing job thus far.

Thanks, ovid. Im trying to justify to myself redoing some of the stuff to see if i can make it better and cheaper....

Dusterbd13 wrote: In reply to WillHoonForFood: I feel honored. Your first post is my thread. And you are local!

What can I say, your build is awesome! I saw it posted on GRM's facebook and had to reach out. I've got this weird dream of building an AMC Eagle with Spirit bodywork and the N-ring livery as a sort of alternate history AMC Group B rally racer.

And whoa, I AM local! Need any help on your challenge team? I've been itching to get involved, and haven't found anyone local.

In reply to Crackers:

Thanks!

Yes sir, and they were very successful! Here's a great article on it.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/amcs-one-two-finish-at-the-24hours-of-the-nurburgring-719362564

(Sorry about the multiple posts guys, still trying to figure out the forum)

LOL, with James Brolin?! That was worth the read.

Yeah, the Nuremberg cars were awsome. Theres even a documentary on YouTube about it. Im on the cell phone, or I would link it.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Yeah, the Nuremberg cars were awsome. Theres even a documentary on YouTube about it. Im on the cell phone, or I would link it.

Cool. I found the youtube documentary. Wow. Narrated by a young James Brolin who was one of team drivers. They finished 1st and 2nd in class and 20th overall. Who knew?

Just realized my attraction to the original paint might be from familiarity. This has been sitting about 100 yards from our property for at least 15 years:

That thing looks mint!

The picture of your race car opened my eyes a bit, I've been overlooking the neighbor's car forever. There used to be another one next to it, but he got rid of it and this is the "good one".

As the voice of bad influence, i say go get it. Turbo 4.0 ho, 5 speed.....

Or a mopar small block magnum with a 5 speed.

Or really piss people off with an lt1, 4l80e, and flappy paddles.

I'll be sharing some of my own bad behavior shortly.

Dusterbd13 wrote: As the voice of bad influence, i say go get it. Turbo 4.0 ho, 5 speed..... Or a mopar small block magnum with a 5 speed. Or really piss people off with an lt1, 4l80e, and flappy paddles.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter

Dusterbd13 wrote: As the voice of bad influence, i say go get it. Turbo 4.0 ho, 5 speed..... Or a mopar small block magnum with a 5 speed. Or really piss people off with an lt1, 4l80e, and flappy paddles.

Or 2JZ.

Little side note: this car got me banned from an amc forum.

Im kinda proud of that.

Crackers wrote:

Dusterbd13 wrote: As the voice of bad influence, i say go get it. Turbo 4.0 ho, 5 speed..... Or a mopar small block magnum with a 5 speed. Or really piss people off with an lt1, 4l80e, and flappy paddles.

Or 2JZ.

nonononono... If you do an import inline six, it needs to be a BMW mill. then DEFINITELY do the Nurburgring livery..

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Awesome! Why'd they smack you with the ban-hammer?

The note referenced the "sacrilege " of putting a Ford engine in, as well as "ruining a valuable piece of amc history "

I may have replied something to the effect of "if that pisses you off, look what i did to a classic el Camino and duster!"