This is one of the reasons I was so interested in the exhaust, I didn't see any good way to get a crossover to fit and wonder about sound.

The tailpipes look fine under the rear, is there plenty of clearance with full articulation?

Do you get traction when you get on it, or are you just blowing the tires off?

Sounds like fun regardless!

Yeah, wait till you put the LS in it, you wont have any tires left.
I loved pushing it to 6500 down the front straight and lettin her wind down, just simply addicting. I left with a 1/2 quart high on oil, came back with the oil at the full, after running 7 sessions at 20 min each.
I love my Speedtech stuff so far, now what to do with the rear, i''m leaning DSE.
Got any plans for the final rear choice yet?

Yea, pretty much no way to get the crossover in. The car still sounds awesome at 4500+ so I'll just keep it in that range :thumbsup: The overall fit of the pipe's isn't too hard and I have 1/2 height body mounts. Going under the axle is very simple and has plenty of clearance everywhere. Funny how it's more of a mental thing knowing that you are not "supposed" to run exhaust that way....

At this point I'm bowing the tires off but in corners it feels stable. It will be interesting to see what happens when I start tuning on it.

I'm excited about the LS but not about spending more money :G-Dub:

When i'm at the track I usually keep the revs at 5-7k. Most of the time I leave the day with my oil baked and down ~10-15psi. Scared the hell out of me the first time I did it. I was using Royal Purple and it never regained pressure. Now with Redline oil the pressure at least returns after it cools. Not that it matters since I change it after a track day anyways.

I already have the Speedtech rear parts on the car. I don't think I'll be changing it anytime soon. Both DSE and Speedtech are nice but I think it's much less work to get the Speedtech parts installed vs the DSE. Mine took forever but if it was only the TA install I think it could have easily been done in 1 weekend

Totally forgot you did the TA. Man the memory. Keith at Custom Works is trying to get me to use the ta, but i dont want to do my exhaust for the fourth time.....so??????
But from what i understand you will be very happy with that setup though.....hope the front fixe is easy.

I'm pretty much decided on Speedtech for the front, but the rear.....
Not sure.

The 69 has a q-link, thought I would do something else....

Anyway it's fun to see you guys hammering the cars around after all the trials and tribulations!

I'd start with taking it to a frame shop, too. Maybe a higher end place will be willing to take the time to look at the car and give you some options. That would be my approach anyway.

Your issues have me thinking I might need to build a brace a weld it in place before I go and cut my upper mount apart to add coil overs. Only problem is I have the car completely together and don't really want to take it all apart. I've got a while to go though. I'm working slowly on the SFC's now and have the rear suspension to do first too.

You can brace against your engine block if you needed too. If your headers are on you can go to the flat surface between or above the primaries.

Remember even if you are braced watch your temps. If you have to hammer the support out after its done something isn't right.

Hey Steve,

I'm trying to figure out some measurements for my rearend and wheels.

Do you know your rearend width, hub face to hub face?

And what backspace on front and rear wheels?

I dig the shallow lip:thumbsup:

Scott,

Here are the dimensions.

It's difficult to read the invoice from Speedway for the axle but from what I remember I narrowed the axle 1" on each side as compared to a stock axle with LS disc brakes installed. The measurement I see on the invoice is 59 3/4.

Here are the specs for the wheels. I am also running a 1/2" wheel spacer on the rear. I was nervous of the interference on the inner fender due to the flare so I specifically went conservative on the BS so I could adj with the spacer. With the PS2 test tires the fit was much tighter than the RE11's I'm running now


Attachment 48444

Thanks bud,

Looks pretty close to what I came up with, Frickin tight in there....:superhack:

This weekend I modified the UCA mounts a bit and took the car out for the first real test.

For the mounts what I decided to do was to cut the bottom weld on the front of the factory mount and bottom of the Chicane mount. I then cut another ~1/4" out and bent the factory mount outward ~1/4". I then welded it all back in place. I took it to the alignment shop and it's still not at the -.5 to -1 degree target but is closer at -1.5 on both sides.

After finishing this up at ~ 730 sat night I cleaned and prepped the car for an autocross the next day.

Attachment 48641

Attachment 48642

Attachment 48643

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Attachment 48645


The autocross was fun and interesting. Day started out very nice but a bit overcast. I was working the 2nd group and running the third (of 3 groups) so I was excited the course would be cleaned up. A total of 169 cars were running so it was a full day.

During the end of the first group a huge storm came in and dumped rain. The course turned into a lake. It was enough to were the 2nd run group was knocking down cones with water splashing instead of actually hitting the cones. Luckily the rain stopped, sun came out and the course dried in most areas by the time I ran. Overall the course was fun and designed by a Vette driver. It was basically a 3 straights with 3 180's tying them together and a tights bend at the beginning and end to slow you down. It was fast and well suited for my car.

Attachment 48647
Attachment 48646

First run I went very slow. Fastest speed when the course was dry was ~39 sec and I ran a 48.132. I just wanted to feel the car and how it responded to the turns. I never left 1st and never even touched the brakes.

2nd run match the style of the first but I picked up the pace a tad. Still never left 1st but did touch the brakes. The car had little to no rear grip. I slid through the entire course. It was fun but not what I expected. When using the brakes I realized that I don't have a lot of confidence in them. I ran a 46.396

3rd run I decided it might be good to shift to 2nd gear in order to reduce the torque on the rear wheels. Unfortunately the engine tune wasn’t ready to support this and the car bogged pretty bad and then gave too much power. I ended up spinning in the last 180. I ran a 60.293

4th run I went back to the original plan and decided to begin running the hell out of the car . Luckily the engine has no issue spinning over 7K so I rapped it out pretty good. Basically I drifted 50% of the course. The slaloms did feel nice and I could see a big difference in how the cars takes to transitions. I ran 44.64

5th and final run I decided to really go for it. Basically drifted through 70% of the course and it was actually pretty dry by this time. One thing I did notice was the predictability of the car. I was confident hanging the car out and driving it hard. I used the brakes some but mostly relied on the engine braking. I really need to look into the brakes more. As far as the steering I was getting a bit of a push but the car really responded we’ll to backing off the steering angle and letting the tires grab then inputting a little more. Last run I ran 43.838 and ended up #1 out of 44 novices. Not a bad end to the day...

Attachment 48650

Changes to be made

Brakes - I have not run a manual setup before so I need to get used to it. I’ll try to bleed the system 1 more time. I also think I need to change from a 5-1 to a 6-1 pedal ratio.

Shocks - I ran the shocks ~75% on the firm side. I spoke to Jay at Speedtech today and he recommended the exact opposite. Next even I'll run them ~25 % firm and see how it changes. He said that’s how they ran the Nova (25-50%) and with the lighter setting I will get more weight transfer and better grip.


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Dude, awesome. That thing looks GREAT!

And sweet $5 trophy. Thems the best! :D

:trophy-1302:

Nice going Steve :thumbsup:

Feels good to get her out huh? Looks good too, the stance and those rims...nice

Glad the car feels good to you. Good luck getting it sorted.

Is it ok that you have the UCA bolt holes slotted like that? I would think the UCAs could move up the slots given enough force.

Right on, way to go, undefeated with the new set-up!

Great job. BTW, car is looking really good also. :thumbsup:

Fantastic write up Steve!! And yeah - we know how that rain can come in and dump Texas style!! OM!!


Glad you had a great time - because at the end of the day - that's what counts most.

Now go check your welds for cracks.... LOL

Nice work!!

More ass to seat time will do you good. Play with the settings and see where it takes you. Only way to nail it down.

It is a sweet little trophy, I feel like I'm 12 again.....

Felt really nice to get out of the garage and run her. Thanks for the complements.

Funny thing about the rims. Since all the changes, the only noticeable thing from the outside is the rims. It's funny how now I have many people mention how much money I must have in the car. It's really crazy how much of a difference a set of wheels can make


Pretty sure it won't take too long to get sorted. I've signed up for every autocross and track day I can through the summer so I have to get it done quick....

The UCA mounts are meant to be slotted. As per the directions from Speedtech, its a necessary step with the installation...

Now I just have to keep the pace. Good part is it's really only me and Carbuff in the CAM class at the local autocross so once I'm out of the novice class I'll at lest have 2nd place....

Thanks a bunch. Would be nice to be back in Cali running with you guys, perhaps some day I'll get the car back that direction.

It was lots of fun. Hopefully this is the last of the big rains for the summer, at least on track days. With your daughter moving to town maybe I should watch the weather forecast to see when you're coming for a visit.


Speaking of checking the car. I did put it on stands before the event and checked everything out. It did look pretty good. Before every event I like to give it a good check. Overall everything looked good with the exception of the rear brakes.

I noticed a ring of grease on the outside of the rotor, ~1/4" into the brake pad. It's really odd because the hub seal with the floater is on the inside. I'm thinking I might have overfilled the axle with fluid but not sure. I ended up pulling the hubs off and repacking the bearings/resealing them. Along with cleaning everything. Since going back together I have't seen the same thing again. I also spoke with Ken at Speedway and he was stumped by the issue as well. He did mention the need to torque the axle nut to 30 ft/lbs so this time I was more car full and torqued it. Good thing I have a 2 3/8" socked already....

Thanks Steve. Obviously, I haven't gotten to that point in my build cause I had no idea.

Are you using synthetic grease?

Congrats on the win. That's a nice little trophy.

Now that my car is somewhat done, we need to get together with our cars some time.

I'm running Red Line grease and gear oil in the axle....Why do you ask???

FYI - I'll be in the bay area next week for work and am going to try to come by your shop and say thanks for all the little tips you've helped to provide.

I agree. If nothing else I'm looking into some track days at MSR in Houston. You down to join?

Im not sure why but from my experience the synthetic stuff seems to flow better which includes getting past seals.

We had a few issues in the past with several cars were we would end up with grease on the wrong side of the seals. so we switched back to regular petrol based. Not sure but the issues stopped. Some of them ran the same seal.

There is no scientific basis behind my experience just from what we have noticed.

If you talk to the reps they'll tell you to never run synthetics in your rear end. It's too slick.


A8. Clutch chatter occurs when the clutch cone engages and disengages rapidly in the differential case. It causes no damage and can be cured by using the correct oil and friction modifies. Clutch chatter is caused by the difference between the static (non-slipping) friction coefficient and the dynamic (slipping) friction coefficient. When the difference becomes too great, the clutch cone cycles between the two (sticking and slipping), which creates the noise. Friction modifiers bring the static and dynamic friction coefficients closer together to minimize chatter. Auburn recommends using Auburn limited-slip additive (#504102) with a high-quality non-synthetic 80W 90 hypoid ol



GL-5

This classification is also common and can be used in all axles, even in severe conditions. This oil provides the best overall protection, so just buying GL-5 rated oil for all axles is recommended.

I've heard this before. I'm running a locker in the rear, do you think it still applies since I don't have clutches?

This morning I changed the setting on all the shocks to ~25% all around from ~75%. Now the car is very comfortable to drive and there is a noticeable change to the rear grip. It can still break them loose but not as much. I haven't launched the car hard since I was driving to work but certainly better. I'll keep playing with it.

Only issue found is the rear tire rubbing some times with the softer setting. I think I need to look at getting a 1/4" rear spacer to swap out for the current 1/2"

Where is it rubbing and how much space do you have between the tire and inner well?

I'm in. It will be my first track day though, but who cares. I build the car to run track days.

Next one up at MSR (thru driver's edge) is next weekend. Next one up is first weekend of October, but that falls into FW Goodguys.

There is maybe 1" at the inner well were the flare starts. It only really rubs when the car is articulated.

I din't realize it was next weekend. I'll check out the site and see if there is still space to join. Let me know if you sign up.

I'm not sure about next weekend. I doubt I will sign up as the wife is out of the country for work the next 2 weeks, and I will be home with the kids.

A little update on the brakes and the overall project.

Last week I ordered up in axle tube seals and installed them over the weekend. this also gave me a chance to pull the pumpkin out and make sure everything was looking good. I installed the seals and pulled the hubs apart one more time to repack the grease. In general the install took a while but was uneventful. I also cleaned off the pads and rotors really well. It was a snug fit for the seals so hopefully I don't have to pull them out anytime soon...

I also changed out the 1/2" rear wheel spacers for 1/4" spacers. After I got it all together I took it for ~10 mile drive to check it all out. Got home and sure enough more grease was on the rotors. Good news is the outer tire was not rubbing anymore. Plan was to head to an autocross on sunday but after seeing that I opened up a few beers and called it a day....

Next day I put the car up on stands and checked it out again. I didn't see any visible leaks from the seals so I decided to just clean the hell out of everything and try it again. I also noticed the wheels were actually rubbing on the inner wheel wells now... I was shocked since there is ~3/4" clearance. I assume under hard cornering there is a bit of body roll since the pan hard bar should be holding the axle very still

I picked up ~5 cans of brake cleaner and sprayed the hell out of all the rotors with focus on cleaning the vanes and the pads. I also decided to go ahead and use a butane torch to heat the pads in case oil/grease is embedded in the pads. Sure enough while heating them up I could see a slight amount of oil bubbling out of the pads. After al this I also bled the brakes one more time to ensure it was completely solid. I bolted the wheels back on and went for a drive.

Sure enough the brakes were MUCH better. The pedal was more firm and the car really slowed under hard braking. I got them a little warm but I don't think it was enough to put some real heat in them. I got home and sure enough no oil on the rotors... SUCCESS... ( I also followed this up with a commute to and from work...still no oil) :D

In other news it's time to spend some $$$ :G-Dub:

I found someone who wants the current SBC for a decent price. It's coming out this weekend....:superhack:

This means the spending spree is about to begin for the LS swap.... I'm working on a plan for the swap now with a goal to get it done over July 4 holiday so the car is ready for a Track day July 19. It's very aggressive but that's my goal....

At first I was thinking to buy the complete Holley kit but after seeing some install threads I'm not willing to take my chance with it.

Next thought is to work with Speedtech and see what they have. I spoke with Jay and they are working on the kit now. He says they have the headers at the shop and are working to build up some custom first pass pedestals. He's going to contact me later this week to update me one how they are proceeding with the fitment in his car..

If Speedtech doesn't work out in time I think I've decided on this setup.... Any feedback is appreciated....

Kooks headers

Dirty Dingo Mounts

Factory clamshell engine mounts already being used

Mast Oil pan with oil cooler setup (maybe Speedtech or others)

Trying the factory 2010 Camaro accy's - most likely need to move the aLt.

Retain current radiator and elect fans

PSI wiring harness

Spectre air intake (not sure if others are better)

6AN braided fuel lines with Vette regulator near fuel tank

Swapping fuel tank - either a used Ricks tank, Tanks Inc or ATL fuel cell -- debating

340 or 400LPH fuel pump

Quicktime bellhousing

Factory Flywheel and clutch (for now)

Speedtech Hydraulic clutch bracket with factory style clutch and throwout -- May use a Tick setup...

First off --- Good to hear you got the bug worked out!! Good job!



Secondly.... I want you to meet my daughter. She's spending all her time at SW's... LOL So either email me or get her contact info from SW. She's living at the Domain... and could use a cold beer. :>)

Thanks, getting closer. I'll be interested to know what the next bit of fun on the car will be.... it's always something...

Typically most fathers tell me to stay AWAY from their daughters but in this case I'd be glad to meet up with her and grab some beers. I think you have my number but if not I'll IM it to you.

Thinking of... I assume your going to need a new shed in Austin for your visits with her. I know you wouldn't want the rig to sit in the pouring rain that always follows you. It would be difficult but I'd be happy to watch it over while your not here so the rodent population stays in check. Only thing I ask is that you keep it within 10 min of downtown please.......

HAHAHAHAHAHA great reply!


IM me -- I was sure I had your number but only had email... she's a "texter"


Gwen and I will be showing up at a race track near you -- TMS -- in October. I might snow.

Vaporworks.......

Crap! Finally something we agree about - other than how you look.....


Vaporworks for the win.

+1 for Vaporworx.

You'll love the LS engine. It's the way to go IMO. What kind of motor are you going with, crate LS or junk yard set up?

X3 on the Vaporworx setup. My Ricks is nice, and the other two you mentioned are good as well, but the Vaporworx is great. If i had it to do over again, Vaporworx.

At t-hill last month, i experience two "just" hiccups at turns 12/13/14 at a half a tank, maybe it was 1/4 tank, you wont have that problem with the Vaporworx.

So, i'd recommend the SW headers, i just didn't like the way the Kooks came across the top on the drivers side (iirc). Hopefully Speedtech can come through with the kit. My Dynatechs fit fine, a little low, but fine. The Hooker stuff for the newer 2nd gens has another 1" of ground clearance and dont have the flange in the way.....

But the list looks good. Should be straight forward. I used the Holley mounts (per Keiths recomendation) but i'd use the Wegner or Vintage set up in the future, keeps everything well above(the power steering) the pitman on our
cars.