Since I gave the car back to my Sister and Brother in Law (Rudy) this Sunday... a couple guys on here have been bugging me to do a build thread.
I'm not in the habit of showing my work... unless I'm using it in someone else's thread to help them... but I'm going to post this one anyway.
Backstory is --- they've had this car for 12+ years... it's an old drag race car and was built and raced in the '70's... and the work to make it a race car was less than stellar... Think "field stick welded" style. Well - after years of driving it, it needed a few things to make it safe to drive. The front end was shot... there were electrical issues... the rear end was leaf springs with bird cages - and the ladder bars where put on upside-down. The rear floors where covered in some kind of fiberglass and resin and screen. The ladder bars had beaten the rear floor pans to make their own clearance pockets... and the car generally rode like a lumber wagon.
The project - which started out to rebuild the front suspension - quickly went the way of most remodels... the old "well.. as long as we're here we might as well do X". That was driven by me not Rudy. I just can't stand to see something that needs to be touched - and not do it.
Remember while looking - that this is a complete freebie. My time - my dime. The car was a complete POS... and my goal was just to give it back to them in a cleaner - safer - road worthy version. Not a Roadster Shop SMOY version. I just wanted the thing to be a "decent" driver and function correctly.
The quicky list of what was done:
TCI sub
Slicked inner fenders
Slicked firewall
Rebuilt motor - a spare I had - long story because we ended up not using any of it... so a new 383 roller/stroker with great parts. 624 HP and 581 TQ @ 4000 rpms
New headers
New BowTie Overdrives Stage 3 700r4
New 2800 stall lock up converter
Bowler trans controller for the lockup
New driveline with 1350 joints
New Art Morrison Ford 9" with coil overs and panhard bar - 3:89 gears
New crossmember for ladder bars
New exhaust using 3" tubing and 14" Magnaflows
New Wilwood brakes and master
New Stainless Steel brake lines
New Recaro seats
New wiring
New stereo and amp and speakers
New dash and gauges
New column
New windshield - twice...
Patched floorpans as needed
I did all the work - including paint and bodywork as needed. We only worked on weekends when Rudy would come up from Portland to help. I felt he needed to be "part of" the project. AND I love him and love spending time doing car stuff together - which to me is the most important part of cars.
So it always starts like this....