Ricochet Fabrication Pictures and Tech
CHASSIS
Frame / Manufacturer - Jim Meyer Racing Built frame, Custom built utilizing 2x4 .120 wall frame rails tied together with 1 ¾” .120 wall cross member & “K” member supports, frame was stepped to get the car to sit as low as possible. Car has been lowered 7” in front & 6” in rear over stock.
Front suspension - Independent front suspension featuring D.O.M. steel 1” .120 wall upper & 1 ¼” .120 wall lower A-arms fabricated by Jim Meyer Racing. 78-88 B-Body Spindles, 1” swaybar, QA1 adjustable billet aluminum coil-over shocks. Track width 59”. A-arms, swaybar & bracketry chromed.
Front brakes - Baer Track system, featuring 13” cross drilled & zinc washed rotors, PBR calipers
Rearend / Ratio - Ford 9”, narrowed 6 inches & centered in the car, Randy’s Ring & Pinion set up the Strange Aluminum Center Section with 3.25 ring & pinion, & truetrac posi-traction unit, 31 spline Dutchman Axles
Rear suspension - 1 ¼” D.O.M. 156 wall urethane bushed parallel 4 link rear suspension. 1” D.O.M. 156 wall wishbone locater. 7/8” sway bar. QA1 adjustable billet aluminum coil-over shocks. Four link bars, swaybar, & bracketry chromed.
Rear brakes - Baer Track system, featuring 12” cross drilled & zinc washed rotors, PBR calipers
Master cylinder - Baer Racing
Steering box - Flaming River Rack & Pinion
Steering column - Late model Chevy truck shortened 3 ½”. I used this column for couple reasons, I wanted a square shaped column to fit the dash better & have that modern look. Other benefits include, hi-beams are now in the column & off the floor & ignition key in column.
Front wheels & tires - 17x7 Boyd Coddington LS Fury soft lip design, 4 ½” backspace mounted on Goodyear Eagle 225/45-17 GS-D3, Custom made “Ricochet” center caps by Ron Clark.
Rear wheel & tires - 18x10 Boyd Coddington LS Fury soft lip design, 4 ½” backspace mounted on Goodyear 295/45-18 GS-D3, Custom made “Ricochet” center caps by Ron Clark.
Gas tank - I eliminated the spare tire well in the trunk to accommodate a bigger fuel tank. I had Rock Valley Antique Parts Limited, build me 23 gallon Stainless Fuel Tank. I had them install a Holley high pressure fuel pump inside the tank. I then polished the tank to a mirror finish.
Other chassis items - Frame completely smoothed & welds filled. Once the body work was completed it was painted PPG Deep Black. The rearend & spindles were coated in PPG Deep Black after they were ground smooth. Brake lines were custom made by Scott Jones & myself using 3/16” stainless line. Used 2 lb residual valves front & rear, Baer proportioning valve. Fuel lines also bent up by Scott Jones & myself using 3/8” stainless line both on pressure line & return line. All lines were than polished. Lines supplied by Pure Choice Motor Sports. All hardware on frame is 12 pt grade 8 chrome supplied by Gardner Westcott Co.
ENGINE
Year and make - 1972 Big Block Chevy
Displacement - .030 over 454 (now 461 cubic inches)
Machining / Assembly - machine work performed by John Gianolli at Reggie Jackson High Performance in San Bruno, California. Assembly done by Scott Jones & owner.
Crankshaft - Factory Steel Chevy
Rods - 3/8 Rods w/ ARP wavelength bolts
Pistons - Keith Black Hypereutectic - 9.5-1
Camshaft - Schneider Hydraulic Roller - .550 int .560 exh lift, 230 duration @ 0.050, 114 lobe centers
Water pump - Meziere Billet Mechanical
Cooling fan - 2 - 13” SPAL electric fans pullers, 1710 CFM each
Radiator - Be Cool, custom built to owner specs, 14” tall & 42 “ wide
Alternator - Street & Performance Polished 120 amp & Low mount bracket kit
Heads - 1968 Semi-open chamber heads, pocket ported & gasket matched
Valves / Springs - Manley 2.19 intake, 1.88 exhaust, Crane Valve Springs, Retainers & locks
Rockers - Crane Roller Rockers
Valve covers - Moroso Polished Aluminum
Manifold / Induction - Arizona Speed & Marine EFI
Air cleaner - 2 - K & N air filters, each one mounted inside the factory vent intakes behind the headlights, route through custom core support into the throttle body
Ignition / Wires - GM HEI with MSD 6AL, Taylor wires, Auto-lite Platinum plugs
Headers - Owner modified Rodworks headers to fit in Jim Meyer Chassis
Exhaust / Mufflers - 2.5” mandrel bent exhaust, flow master mufflers, all work by owner
Other engine facts - Balanced & blue printed, Clevite bearings, Sealed power rings, Milodon 9 qt. Oil pan, Melling oil pump, ATI balancer, billet timing cover, custom made billet pulley’s machined by Meziere Enterprises, engine & transmission polished & painted body color. All accessories were mounted down below. All wiring and plumbing are out of sight for a clean look. All hardware on engine & transmission is ARP polished stainless 12 pt., mandrel bent radiator hoses painted body color. Motor made 486 H.P. & 538 lbs of torque. I wanted the motor make plenty of power but most off all be very driveable & dependable.
TRANSMISSION
Year and make - 1990 Turbo 400, built by Lee Myles Transmissions in Oakland, California
Converter - PDQ 2400 Stall converter
Shifter - Lokar
Trans mods - Heavy Duty 34 element sprag, Trans Go -2 shift kit, Kevlar Bands, Hi-energy Friction disc’s
Driveshaft - 3” drive line built by South Bay Driveline in San Jose, Ca.
BODY
Body style / Material - Bel Air 2 Door Hardtop
Body mods - Eliminated louvers in front fenders, shaved hood, shaved trunk
Hood - Factory Steel modified, Eliminated bullets & humps in hood, both sides finished off & work completed by owner.
Grille - Owner made, 16 gauge steel, perforated oval openings & power coated semi gloss black. Factory bumper bullets cover the end of the grille where it meets the fenders. So when I eliminated them that left a 3” gap on both sides, that is why I had to fabricate my own grille.
Bodywork - Trent Jones & Joe Stockdale at Bay Area Customs in San Jose, California
Paint type / Color - PPG Custom mix by Bay Area Customs
Painter - Trent Jones, owner of Bay Area Customs
Detailer - Color sanded & rubbed by owner
Headlights / Taillights - IPF Projection Headlights & LED tail lights in factory housings
Bumpers - Custom built front bumper with bullets removed & all bolt holes filled & studs welded from backside. Rear bumper is off a Nomad eliminating the license plate off the trunk. All bolt holes filled & studs welded from backside. All work performed by Classic Parts Unlimited. Owner fabricated bumper brackets.
Other body items - Body remains factory in shape, however, smoothed up by eliminating a few things. I mini-tubbed the car to accommodate 18x10 wheels & get the car to sit right. I cut out the original firewall & fabricated my own recessing it back 4” to clear motor. I also fabricated my own inner splash panels and inner fender wells. I fabricated the core support (shortened 5” from stock) enclosing radiator and air conditioning condenser. Fabricated air intake system inside core support that picks up air through vents behind the headlights routing it through core support into the throttle body. I modified the factory hood to & created a flat hood with no bullets or humps. I also had a custom front bumper built by Classic Parts Unlimited eliminating the bullets off of that as well. I also welded up windshield wiper holes & Classic Parts Unlimited made lower windshield moldings for a smoother look. I welded up all holes on trunk lid. All of the stainless moldings are the original pieces off this car & were polished by Classic Parts Unlimited. All hardware on body is polished stainless button heads supplied by Gardner Westcott Co.
INTERIOR
Dashboard - I found a wrecked 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII. I took the dash, console, seats, door handles & other misc. pieces.
Stereo / Speakers - 1200 Watt Stereo system utilizing Sony CDX-90 head unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475 4 channel amplifier driving 2 sets of Diamond Audio Hex Series S600A components front & rear, Phoenix Gold ZX600 2 channel amplifier driving 2 - 10” Phoenix Gold X-MAX subwoofers enclosed in 2 custom built boxes behind rear seats. Installation done by Nu Concepts Custom Audio in Citrus Heights, California
Air conditioning - Vintage Air, Compressor mounted on frame with owner fabricated bracket, plumbed by owner
Wiring - Ron Francis Kit wired by Owner
Steering wheel - 2002 Chevy Truck
Seats - Front - 96 Lincoln Mark VIII tracks & frames with Full power & Lumbar support, Ward Auto Interiors sculpted & designed everything else from scratch,
Rear seats & rear console fabricated from scratch.
Upholsterer - Barry Ward at Ward Auto Interiors, Orangevale, California
Material / Color - Ultra leather, light cream & palomino
Carpet - Palomino Italian Wool carpeting
Other interior items - 5 cases of Cascade sound deadening material installed. Lincoln door handles, dome light. Owner fabricated the dash, console & seats to fit. Ward Auto Interiors did everything else. Roadkill Customs, Orangevale, Ca fabricated dash & console pieces. Power window kit supplied by Specialty Power windows. Power window switches hidden under ash tray door. Other features include power locks, keyless entry, power seats, lumbar, tilt column, & tinted glass.
SUPPORT
I was fortunate to have some suppliers help out on the project, below you will see a list of names:
-Baer Racing Brakes - Phoenix, Arizona - 1-602-233-1411
-Classic Parts Unlimited - Kent, Washington -1-253-872-5272
-Gardner Wescott Company - Northville, Michigan -1-800-521-9805
-Madmachines - Marysville, California - 1-530-701-6301
-Meziere Enterprises - Escondido, California - 1-760-746-3273
-Randy's Ring&Pinion - Everett, Washington -1-877-349-1367
-Roadkill Customs - Orangevale, California - 1-916-989-0999
-Spal Advanced Technologies - Des Moines, Iowa -1-800-345-0327
-Specialty Power Windows - Forsyth, Georgia -1-800-634-9801
-Vintage Air - San Antonio, Texas - 1-800-TO-COOL-U
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
I have been very fortunate & have received great reviews & awards since being completed. Below is a list of awards at major shows & articles “Ricochet” has been featured in.
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Oakland Rod & Custom Show 2003 - 1st in class, outstanding paint, outstanding detail-
Super Chevy Show 2003 - Phoenix, AZ, - 1st in class 55-57 modified, ISCA Award of Excellence, & “Best Car of Show”-
Super Chevy Show 2003 - Pomona, CA, 1st in class, ESPN Award of Excellence & “Best Car of the Show”-
Invitational Show only to Fresno Autorama hosted by “Blackie Gejeian”-
California Classic in Fontana - Top 20 Gold Class of the show-
Cover & center spread of Popular Hot Rodding July 2003 dubbed the “Homebuilt Masterpiece”-
Look for upcoming spread on Super Rod magazine & Super Chevy