Calikid, approx how long did it take for the suspension to settle down after the install of the intrax springs and poly on your red GT? I just did the Intrax springs, full poly, new ball joints and sway bars on my GT. The rear is sitting down at a nice height but the front only dropped maybe an inch, probably still about 1/4-1/2 inch higher than the rear still though.
------------------ Fiero- mild 2.9 160hp Caprice- wild 383 500hp --Adam-- ASE Certified Technician IM AOL: FieroGT5speed
also, when you cut 1 coil from the intrax springs, did you cut it from the bottom or top of the spring where the coils are spread out more? something tells me i may be doing this as your car looks nice the way it sits
I can't honestly remember if it was top or bottom, work was performed at Evola's Service while car was in for other stuff. If I remember correctly, the fronts were pretty evenly wound for the 87 GT, my direction to the shop was that I wanted a further 1 inch drop on those springs, and to remove 1 coil on the end with the least impact to angle on the spring to seat. I'll give them a call tomorrow, see if they remember.
also, when you cut 1 coil from the intrax springs, did you cut it from the bottom or top of the spring where the coils are spread out more? something tells me i may be doing this as your car looks nice the way it sits
On the fronts only, 1 full coil was cut from the "Bottom" of the spring.
Damn Nice car dude... and I didnt know why people were comparing you and I when I made my first few posts on HP/Build ideas but you know whatever there will always be the nay sayers... and also thanks for all the great links and company contacts as I too need custom half shafts made for my fiero and also
nice car wish I culd get anything Carrol Shelby signed the pen he used at a Barret Jackson auction to sign on of the last real original cobras was sold for over $10,000 so that makes your car a museum piece... and damn near priceless BTW the car he signed had people offering over $1,000,000 for it and he declined selling after the signature...
Thanks Jack ! A couple Automobile Appraisers I know have said that Carroll's signature will add a little value to the car, but not as much as Shelby Series Vehicles he's signed.
Running stock '88 control arms, never found a good reason to switch to tubulars. Tubular control arms and rear cradle may still be available from "Held Motorsports".
Cradle in my car is custom fabrication, known as a "break-away" design. It has an additional mid support member, and the left side of the crade can be detached to drop the trans for clutch changes. It has less "flex" than stock design, allowing the rear independant suspension to do it's job better.
[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 04-11-2008).]
Cradle in my car is custom fabrication, known as a "break-away" design. It has an additional mid support member, and the left side of the crade can be detached to drop the trans for clutch changes.
First of all, this is not a V8 Archie Conversion Kit in this car (just don't want anyone making an assumption that it is).
I don't have enough pictures of the cradle to show you all the details and craftsmanship that went into it. This cradle was fabricated by Keith Huff, formerly of "Fiero Motorsports" in LA CA. I have one picture that shows the "third support member" that runs fore/aft (welded) on the cradle. It is designed inline with a custom fabricated Trans/Engine Adapter Plate that bolts directly to the third member. Both Front and Rear Corners of the Cradle are heavly modified with bolt design joints (don't have pictures to show all the fine details), that clamp in the vertical plane and horizontal plane. The joints are reinforced with welded back stock along with tubular steel welded in for bolt clamp load support. All bolts are high strenght steel with torque prevailing nuts. The Trans/Engine Adapter Plate (not shown), is a two piece "sandwich", two seperate plates fastened together (similar to one pieces off bread directly on top of each other (total thickness approx 5/8 inch thick). The reason for two seperate thickness of alum plate has to do with starter mounting. The reason I brought up the Trans/Engine Adapter Plate is that it not only supports Eng/Trans, it adds structure to the cradle, and all taped thread points in the plate are high strength steel heli-coiled (permanent locktite used when installing heli-coils into plates). Everything, Engine/Trans/Cradle is solid mounted, no rubber, or urethane used, but you'd never know it when taking a ride (has fooled quite a few people). If I ever get to a point where I need to pull the engine, I'll have the cradle cleaned, repainted, and take more shots of the assembly. I also don't have any pictures of the engine mount on the right side, but it's designed very well.
Has been a pretty lazy Summer for me, adding a few pics to keep out of the closet. I did end up switching the 245x40 profile G-Force KDW2's (9.2 dry traction) off the rear, and went with the super sticky G-Force KD's (9.5 dry traction) in a 245x45 profile to match the fronts 215x45 KDW2 for sidewall. When I had the 45's on front and 40's on rear it just looked a little off, the KD's on the rear keep the rear end glued coming hard out of a corner, where the KDW2's felt just a little loose.
Lightened photo to show tires.
[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 09-28-2007).]
Giving this a spring bump. Looks like I'll be getting a little late start this season, left GM a month back, now working Aerospace and Defense. Hot job at this time is the MaxxPro design improvements, which has me traveling a bit. Have some new things on car I want to do this year, but it may be slow going.
[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 04-12-2008).]
Damn, you're only giving me 15 hp for Carroll Shelby's Signature, he said it was worth at least 25 hp !
The only signature darkhorizon will get on his car would be from the garbage man. He better stay in school a long, long time, maybe he'll eventually learn something.
Damn, you're only giving me 15 hp for Carroll Shelby's Signature, he said it was worth at least 25 hp !
The only signature darkhorizon will get on his car would be from the garbage man. He better stay in school a long, long time, maybe he'll eventually learn something.
Based on your record here at Pennocks, I can understand why Formula88 posted what he did, and I'm sure a lot of others understand as well. While I would have preferred neither of your posts had been entered into my "build thread", there isn't anything I can do about it, except respond.
darkhorizion, you yourself know you've dumped a lot of turds into people's threads, and your target is nearly eveyone running more cyclinders than you. Frankly, a lot of people are getting annoyed at what you post, and your rating bar is a clear indication of that. Formula88 didn't type "give this sucker a negative, and send him packing", He posted his opinion with a "rate accordingly" statement to it, there is a difference.
I would appreciate it if you'd discontinue posting in this thread, which is intended to cover changes made to my car. Quite a few people visit this thread to review the car, they aren't interested in little turd dropping comment posts, and they clutter up the thread. If you want to take pot shots at me, or the car, then start a New Topic in the General Section were it will get alot more attention, which you seem to need.
After many enjoyable years with my SBC TPI, I decided to make my dream come true and push the car to the next level. Currently I'm having a 355 cu.in. SBC built up, and HILBORN EFI Stack Injection being built to order for the engine, both having some upgrades over what's shown in the links below. Plan is to put a hole in the rear deck lid and have the stacks sticking out about 2 inches from the top of the deck lid. Each Stack will have a dome screen mesh, which is a new item from HILBORN.
Timing at this point is to have it in car and running by the middle of June.
My old engine isn't for sale, it's still got a lot of miles left in it, and may end up in my '87 GT.
I stayed with the SBC on the new engine as it will be a direct bolt in replacement, it's got a proven track record for durability, and there's an incredible knowledge base on the engine. Those are the main factors, not to take anything away from other power plant options, the SBC just seems to fit the theme of the direction I'm taking the car.
[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 05-11-2008).]
Update on progress made, long block should be completed this coming Thursday, Hilborn threw me a little curve on delayed shipment on the EFI system, but are promising to ship near the 27th.
Engine and Cradle out of car, doing odds and ends preparing for arrival of engine and injection system. List below contains the key ingredients of this heart transplant:
SMALL BLOCK CHEVY 4 BOLT BLOCK 355 CU. IN. (350 BORED/HONED .030) THIS IS A TWO PC REAR SEAL BLOCK BUT HAS A ONE PC RUBBER PAN GASKET UPGRADE GREAT FOR A BETTER SEAL. BLOCK PAINTED RED.
FAST XFI ECU MODEL FS301000, MAP SENSOR FS307007, CHARGE TEMP SENSOR FS307004, WATER TEMP SENSOR FS307003
FAST FAN/FUEL HARNESS FS301406, MAIN HARNESS FS301200, INJECTOR HARNESS FS301200, IPU HARNESS FS301300
REMOTE THERMOSTAT HOUSING, POLISHED MODEL EL128
8 DOOMED STAINLESS STEEL SCREEN FILTERS FOR RAM TUBES
NEW ALUM CORVETTE SHORT SHAFT WATER PUMP
NEW ALTERNATOR
STARTER RECONDITIONED
OIL COOLER W/THERMO FAN, installed in front of lft rr wheelhouse - controlled off FAST ECU
REMOTE OIL FILTER HOUSING AND LINES TRANFERRED FROM PREVIOUS ENGINE
Picture of the FAST ECU and a description:
FuelAirSparkTechnology-FAST- XFI Engine Management System
FAST (SpeedPro) Electronics offers the XFI Engine Management System. This state-of-the-art system allows the engine tuner to take precise control of an EFI engine's operating parameters. The XFI unit operates in bank-to-bank or sequential fuel injection mode that allows the sequential firing of each injector once per combustion cycle. Another XFI feature allows the system to run "closed loop" with feedback from a wide-band oxygen sensor. For the ultimate in engine power and efficiency, you can program each individual cylinders timing and fuel control.
[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 06-12-2013).]
