british newbie

[Derek69SS]

Way cool T/A!

My fiance wants a firebird... I could go the easy route and get a 98+ 6-cyl auto and make her perfectly happy, but, what's the fun in that? I love the look of those early 2nd gens "Honey I'm going to build you a car... It's going to have huge horsepower, and a 6-speed, so I'll have to drive it for you too"

[hotwheels]

i know where there is one at here in wyoming........probably pick it up fairly cheap.....think it's a 74 with that grabber hood........car is taken apart and just sitting there.......last time i talked to the guy, he was askin 1k for it......

[Streetking]

Sweet T/A!!

SW

[Mean 69]

Welcome aboard, Nigel. I'm also a new member, but recognize several of the folks from other similar (but not nearly as cool) forums.

The T/A looks terrific, nicely done. Additionally, as you no doubt probably know, the 69 is basically the most popular base muscle car on this side of the pond, a fine choice for your latest project. I see that you are intending on racing it, which is even better in my opinion. Is the sanctioning body historically "correct" in terms of the suspension setup you will run, or do you have liberty to stray beyond the basic stock configuration?

My hat is off to you for taking on a project that will no doubt require parts that are "hard" to get over there. When you hit a bind for finding something, there are plenty of folks here that can help you out.

Cheers!
Mark

[evilzee28]

Hi Mean '69 how ya doing? glad you liked the T/A, but hopefully this one will be better The car is being built at the moment & will run in our HSCC (Historic Sports Car Club) in the Roadsports class. There are limits to what is allowed to comply with the rules. Engines must be standard original for the year, ie if it wasn't fitted you can't have it. However, modifications to compression, cam, headwork etc are free. I'm going to be running a 350 with 2.02 Fuelies (heavily worked) 12.5.1 compression with quench, FIA race cam (big x large, very special one off grind) Performer RPM, (has to be a dual plane) An aaaaawful lot of blueprinting & strenghthening of the engine, 4 speed with 3.28 rear gears. Engine will be producing approx 450-470 bhp with a lot more torque.Should rev to 7000 or so, now I know it's not exctly G-Machine stuff or the sort of HP you guys are producing, but it's "built" to race for 30+ minutes at a time & live to tell the tale, plus it's gonna be street driven. The suspension has to run stock front arms, but with poly bushes.Shocks will be Koni multi point adjustables. The rear springs are stiffened & has an antiroll bar fitted. Front springs are 1500lbs / side. Brakes have full competition pads & linings, ( My mates Mustangs discs glow cherry red when he's racing with the same pads).His Mustang is based on a similar sort of set up as mine will be & is easily able to outperform Subaru Impreza's & Mitsubushi Evo's on the track in a different class, so it's not exactly a slouch.I posted a question on the "brakes" part of the forum asking for comparisons between aftermarket & standard style brakes but haven't had a single reply, his brakes are awesome. The wheels for racing will be Minilights with Yokohama 032R's, whilst for street use it will run 17" or 18" alloys of some description, not too sure about that yet. Body will be black, full cage, full interior, all the chrome & badges renewed, with a dark grey metallic painted underside with dark grey hockey stick stripe, with the suspension painted gloss black.

Thanks for making me feel welcome guys.

[Steve Chryssos]

I love the way you guys talk/write over there! Welcome to the club. Sounds like a great project. The rules sound in line with US Vintage racing--which is to say: strict. Is there an open or unlimited class as well?
/Steevo

[evilzee28]

Originally Posted by streetfytr68

I love the way you guys talk/write over there! Welcome to the club. Sounds like a great project. The rules sound in line with US Vintage racing--which is to say: strict. Is there an open or unlimited class as well?
/Steevo

Hi Steevo, Yeah, we've got a few. Rolling Thunder is an unlimited class with big/small block Camaros,Mustangs, Galaxies, Falcons etc Some of the Falcons were raced back in the day by the Alan Mann racing team & run in his colours of red & gold. A lot of the cars run quite a lot of fibreglass panels etc & are an awesome sight. We did have a class called Anglo American challenge which saw Aston Martins & other Brit cars racing against American cars, this was very good to watch & was very close racing. You'll be glad to hear that the American cars won more often than not.

I know we all speak the same language, well sort of, but I didn't realise I wrote or spoke different to you guys

[Mean 69]

USA, and Britain: Two countries seperated by a common language!

A good friend of mine has a 67 Camaro race car, and although his motor wouldn't be allowed in the class you describe, his chassis setup sounds like it is basically the same as what you need. One thing that might help the car out a bunch, in the rear, is a Panhard Rod or Watt's linkage. Sean's is fitted with a Watt's, but many of the Trans Am vintage cars on this side of the pond also use PHB's with apparent good success. He also runs the vintage era brakes, and has had some issues with them, mainly with seals letting go after longer events (i.e. the same duration you describe). When they work, they work really well, but he has had reliabilty issues that he is still battling. One other issue is brake hop in the rear, we are going to bring his car to my shop in a few days to fit an upper link to use in conjunction with the leaf springs. This is relatively common in the racers here too, but it is tough to get specifics on what works, when you ask the owners either they don't know (in the predominate case of the very wealthy guys who have their own crews), or won't tell you their secrets! Strange. Anyway, I can see a bunch of collaboration between his car and your project, might help you get there quicker.

I have to agree with Steeve on the accent/writing style. Steeve has a pretty good pen himself, but it is clear that you can tell the difference. In fact, I read in my own mind with a British accent! Americans can be very bland in their writing, and unfortunately, too many of them have trouble writing properly, at all. The coverage of F1 over here is usually done through Speed Channel on our cable TV deal. Two of the announcers are from England, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett. I assume you've heard of Hobbsy! Some of the best coverage and commentating out there. Hilarious too.

Great stuff,
Mark

[evilzee28]

Originally Posted by Mean 69

USA, and Britain: Two countries seperated by a common language!

A good friend of mine has a 67 Camaro race car, and although his motor wouldn't be allowed in the class you describe, his chassis setup sounds like it is basically the same as what you need. One thing that might help the car out a bunch, in the rear, is a Panhard Rod or Watt's linkage. Sean's is fitted with a Watt's, but many of the Trans Am vintage cars on this side of the pond also use PHB's with apparent good success. He also runs the vintage era brakes, and has had some issues with them, mainly with seals letting go after longer events (i.e. the same duration you describe). When they work, they work really well, but he has had reliabilty issues that he is still battling. One other issue is brake hop in the rear, we are going to bring his car to my shop in a few days to fit an upper link to use in conjunction with the leaf springs. This is relatively common in the racers here too, but it is tough to get specifics on what works, when you ask the owners either they don't know (in the predominate case of the very wealthy guys who have their own crews), or won't tell you their secrets! Strange. Anyway, I can see a bunch of collaboration between his car and your project, might help you get there quicker.

I have to agree with Steeve on the accent/writing style. Steeve has a pretty good pen himself, but it is clear that you can tell the difference. In fact, I read in my own mind with a British accent! Americans can be very bland in their writing, and unfortunately, too many of them have trouble writing properly, at all. The coverage of F1 over here is usually done through Speed Channel on our cable TV deal. Two of the announcers are from England, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett. I assume you've heard of Hobbsy! Some of the best coverage and commentating out there. Hilarious too.

Great stuff,
Mark

Hi Mark, good to talk with you. I'm glad you said "British accent" as most people class everyone from Britain/UK as being English, I'm actually Welsh & live in Wales just outside the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. Hey, any help with information would really be greatfully recieved regarding car set ups etc. My set up is going to be pretty similar to my friends '69 Mustang because we know it works, so,...if it works on a Ford it'll be awesome on a Chevy huh? Yes he's had an awful lot of issues with keeping brakes to work, even down to having thicker backings for the brake pads machined & the possibility of using stainless steel parts ie backing pads & caliper pistons or ceramic coated parts to stop heat transfer to the seals.

The one thing I have noticed with most American email replies is they're extremely short, to the point & don't always answer the questions you ask & don't even say why they don't answer them lol My biggest problem is expounding on what I'm trying to say ( you only gotta read how carried away I got on the posting (Jodys projects) about paintwork problems. Got waaaay too carried away trying to explain things...............Have a good day! (thought of in an American accent lol )