Dreamin Ta's
 

Cut out almost all of the bad spots
in the trunk prepping for the new
Fuel cell. Fab time next

Bob

Looks great, Bob! You're making me want a Firebird even worse now...

Dreamin Ta's
 

So the ridetech 4 link is almost done
Decided to ditch the rear seats as they
weigh 20.5lbs and will more than likely place
the battery in the back seat area

Weight savings so far
SS tank vs alum 25.5lbs
rear deck lid 23lbs
fuel pump (new one is in tank) plus battery tray 14lbs-have alum box very light
rear seats 20.5lbs

Gives me 83 lbs savings so far and that is not counting
the insulation I removed under the seats and behind,
the rubber trunk liner (that thing was heavy)
old steel cut out of the trunk-doing alum panels and alum framing

Car started a few years back without a 5 point bar or subframe connectors
at 3710 now down to 3355 and betting less once I am done with fab etc
Trying for 3200lb range... 355 lbs off the car so far

Bob

Nice work, Bob!

Dreamin Ta's
 

I finally got motivated and finished the Ridetech 4 link
installation..

Bob

Looks good Bob. :thumbsup:

Keep us 'Bird fans posted going forward.

Sweet. What u crossin- with this summer? that? or that mid-engine thingy?

Dreamin Tas
 

Mike,
Hoping to get the Firebird done before Goodguys
and then try to dial it in this summer.. the Mid engine
thingy is always the backup... will be at Crows for the
Park Memorial on the fourth of July weekend
I also may try to do Fresno SCCA events a few times
as they run 5 times in the morning and then tweak and
fun runs in the afternoon so 10 runs in a day help you
figure the changes you make on the car

Now trying to figure out how to fit the Sway bar as
it needs to be modified

Bob

Looks good, Bob. Would it be easier to reroute the exhaust instead of build a new sway bar?

Dreamin Tas
 

Trey,
Yes I may reroute the exhaust but was hoping to deal with
that later.. tips are just a bolt on right now

Might have to just shorten the bar

Bob

Dreamin Ta's
 

So I've been laying low unti I get my hip replaced
So finally spent some time looking for my Farm Truck
Took a trip down to Bakersfield and made the deal on a
1963 GMC truck. Full of patina with a rebuilt 350 and gear drive
Plans are to lower, disc brakes and shorten the bed
Just want a cruiser instead of all the go fast stuff

Bob

Nice score, Bob! Good luck with the new hip. When does it go in?

Dreamin Ta's
 

Trey,
Thanks... going to see the surgeon tomorrow and will see how soon
I can get things going

I figure while recovering I can figure out a lot of things on
what to do on the truck, watch videos, get parts ordered etc
My wife is going to be watching me so I don't start working
on things too early:)

Shop down the street from mine is Slabsides and they have
a couple of these old trucks slammed etc... got me wanting one
even more every time I drove by... They have the logo on the
side of the truck.... I am thinking of doing one for mine Benz Sidezzz
Lots of my friends called me Benz or Benny

Bob

Sounds like a good plan to me. Good luck, Bob!

Dreamin Ta's
 

So after almost 13 years it was time to pull the Pantera
Engine... it is a dart block, brodix headed 400" motor
Might use my Bryant crank and destroke it to 366" or
just up the size slightly from the 400"... not sure I want
to give up the torque although my buddy says an 8500 rpm
short stoke engine is killer... still on the fence

It will get a compression bump to 11/1 and a solid roller instead
of the flat tappet and finally go to shaft rockers... will see what
it looks like in the tear down

The Green Pantera in the background is my buddies that will be
receiving an SVO alum 427 short block with Afr heads so it was
time to keep up with the Jones:)

Bob

I have had MANY engines - small block big inch strokers.... big blocks.... high revving and everything in between.


What I look for in a STREET motor is torque at Low RPMS.....


What I look for in my track cars -- QUICK REVVING (meaning lightweight internals and flywheel/clutch etc) -- and they don't start running until 3500 RPM and smooth out about 4000 RPMS..... Race gas/high compression.... but they don't have to rev that high. I shift the Mustang at 7,000 RPM's even though it makes power to 7,400. I also rebuild it after every season. It's a 355 cubic inch Ford R block.... and makes 590 hp and makes 486 TQ at 5300.... and is still making 434 TQ at 7,000


My dyno pulls START at 4,000 RPMs



Talk to Tony Borello at Borello Race Engines - (530) 333-4752 - He's in the bay area

Dreamin Ta's
 

Thanks Greg
Would love to make it a race/track engine only... problem
is I do drive it a lot on the street so that is telling me keep
the torque with the stroker... my buddy back east who builds
a lot of cars and runs them put a destroked motor in his Pantera
and loves it....We ran together briefly at Texas world speedway
until he had a clutch line blow.. He does street drive it but not
sure how much

Bob

That was my point ---- if you want to enjoy it at all on the street -- stick with low end torque - because that's what's FUN to drive....


I would absolutely HATE my high strung race motor on the street.... it would be AWFUL. But on that track -- sings....

Build for a broad power band, Bob. There's no reason you can't build an engine that pulls from about 2000 to 6500 with 400 cu inches on hand. Now, you may have to lower your power goals overall to achieve this but you'll still make plenty of power for the street.

I love the power band on my 383 LT1. Pulls great everywhere yet cruises no problem at 2000 rpm on the highway. Even pulls up hills in sixth gear from 55 mph without issues. It rips to 6500, too. Constantly having to ring out the engine to go is no fun.

On a side note, damn does your car look good.

Dreamin Tas
 

Trey,
The 400 that I pulled has been one of the best engines
I have ever had... I run it to 7500, it has low end, top end
and with the 5 speed that the Pantera came with I just slightly
bumped up the top gear. The car cruising at 165 in the SilverState
still was only 5700 rpm. My biggest problem has been trying to make
my firebird close to this car... not an easy thing as they were at
one time 700 lbs in weight difference... Bird has been on a diet again
so will see how much I shaved this time

Bob

Sounds like it's a hell of a motor then. I'd just refresh it and call it good.

Dreamin Ta's
 

I went by the engine builders shop on my way home today
He was pulling the last of the pistons. Good news is the bearings were
so good he said he could almost reinstall them. Cylinders are good,
going to send the crank out to double check for cracks and straightness
Rods will be checked but are lightweight La Billit kyrptonite so bomb proof
Pistons are good but dished and I want to kick the compression up from 9.5/1 to 11/1. He is talking to Kasse about another engine and will discuss mine next
regarding the solid roller cam
180 Headers dropped off at Sanderson today... Next to Brizzo's shop

Good news so far. Also going to run an O2 sensor as things were a little rich and giving up some HP

Bob

Dreamin Ta's
 

So finally got the motor dropped in yesterday
Had to do some cleanup in the engine bay, etc

I installed some DEI Lava rock vinyl at my chassis brace
area (gold color material in the pic) due to cracking of the
bondo etc that was done around the braces... so instead
of repainting the engine bay will give this a shot.. hopefully
it holds up under the 180 headers.. my buddy has some on
the underside of his fiberglass deck and around his fuel cells
that are really close to the headers

Now to hook up all the misc hoses etc... good thing it was
run and the cam is broken in

Bob

Break-in is not required for roller cams..... Just sayin'


Looks good Bob.

Dreamin Tas
 

We decided to stay with a flat tappet... worked for 10 years
on the old engine...

We upped the compression by a point plus, flowed the heads and had George
at Clay Smith spec a new cam after talking to me a bit
Cam is a little less lift but 10 degrees more duration
I wanted a little more on the top end and really could lose a
little on the bottom end-trying not to blow the tires of the thing
Pistons are Racetech lighter units with a light wrist pin
Just honed it .005 and reconditioned the Kryptonight rods,
Polished the crank, new oil pump, rockers and all new exhaust valves
and that was it

We will see if it does what I want
I also fixed the problem I had with the clutch hanging
up.... The shaft that the throw out bearing was riding on
was buggered up and then it would scrape up the throwout
All new pieces and I cut a relieve in the throw out for grease
so it won't happen again

Bob

That's a gorgeous picture, Bob. Congrats on getting it back in the car. Now, don't be shy. What kind of numbers did the engine make?

Dreamin Tas
 

Trey,

Only run on a Test stand to break in the cam
and make sure there were no issues
Old motor had a twin that dynoed out at 587hp
Mine has a better carb and the 180 exhaust helps
a lot... I was looking for something similar but with
a little more at the top to keep up with those damn
GT3's that just recently started pulling away slightly


Bob

Ah, ok. I thought it had been dynoed already. Thanks Bob.

Dreamin Tas
 

Pantera engine all installed.. sounds pretty
good but did not drive yet as it was raining.. maybe tonight

Thunder Hill test in three weeks with Checkered Flag Racing

Bob

No mufflers or resonators? Good luck, Bob!

Dreamin Tas
 

Trey,
The exhaust actually has a 10" glass pack..3" straight thru with a
megaphone on the end.. it used to be 104/105 so I could run Laguna
on their 105 days...
With the compression bump and new cam it is now louder and deeper
so have a set of 18" glass packs... again 3" straight thru showing up today
but will dump into a 4" turn down.. hopefully that will get to 103 db

Going to Road America to run with a few other Panteras at a Shelby Event
this summer and they have a sound limit of 103 db... never have had an
issue at Thunderhill with the 105 exhaust but I do not run with the Shelby
group up there.. they seem to monitor it more..103 requirement

My straight thru exhaust actually hit 109.7 db at a Laguna open exhaust day

Bob

OK, I see them in the picture now. I was thinking there's no way you didn't have mufflers but I didn't make them out the first time through.

Thanks Bob

Engine bay looks really nice!

Dreamin Ta's
 

Posting a picture for Lexus Tech of my
1970 firebird seat tracks

Bob

Wedge Engineering?

That's who I have in my car holding my Recaros down.

How's the TA coming along, Bob.

Dreamin Ta's
 

Trey
Not much work on the Ta lately
Hoping to get back on it soon

Bob

I know that feeling. I'm slowing making progress on mine. I guess a snail's pace is still faster than nothing. Can't wait to see what you have in store for the car.

Dreamin Ta's
 

So I am checking out the cars the other day since
I have not been at the shop for a week or so due to the holidays
and found this Matchbox in my Display case.. one of my buddies
builds Model Airplanes along with doing a bunch of other fabrication

It has my wing, graphics and is sealed in a Matchbox plastic case
I thought it was pretty cool.. some guys have too much time:)

Bob

Very cool!

That's really neat, Bob.