The most recent mechanical upgrade is the addition of tall spindles and 12" disc brakes. That job was completed on
11-12-02.
The tall spindles lowered the front of the car nearly two inches using the stock springs and shocks. I think the stance looks
just about right.
I was able to get a decent alignment with the original upper a-arms, but I wanted better.
I just can't justify spending over $400 for tubular arms, although there are some very nice ones available if you want
to spend the money.
I decided to fabricate my own tubular arms to get better camber and caster from the tall spindles.
Those arms were installed on 1-3-03.
Above are pics of my kids, Jordan and Sarah. Jordan likes to look under the hood,
and Sarah wants to drive.
This is a picture of the fresh engine and transmission about to go into
the car in March of '02. I was planning to just install the Vortec heads, and
replace the cam. I pulled the engine and began work on March 13th.
As luck would have it, when I pulled the cam out of the engine, the cam bearings
needed to be replaced. In order to do that, the rotating assembly
had to be removed. I found a few score marks on some rod and main
journals on the crankshaft, so I ordered a new Summit crank,
had the cylinders honed, and replaced all the bearings and rings.
The entire rebuild had to be done within seven days, and the clock was ticking.
It was a tedious job checking all the bearing/journal clearances,
checking all the ring gaps, weighing the piston/rod assemblies, etc. But
it's well worth it knowing that I did all the work with my own two hands.
The engine was installed and started on March 18th, 2002 and break-in
driving began the next day. I'm very pleased with the results. So pleased, in fact,
that I'm working on a stroker 383 with 6" rods. The rotating assembly is just waiting to be balanced and
installed in a fresh block.
A Crane Powermax mechanical tappet cam is in the car now. Here's a link to the
cam spec card.
Not only does the cam pull harder in the mid-range to higher RPM's, it also gave me some extra unexpected torque down low!
If I'd known it would work this well, I'd have installed a solid cam long ago! I'll never run a hydraulic cam again.
I owe much of my success with this project to the great bunch of guys
at
I wanted a '68 Chevelle and needed a small pickup. This was the perfect compromise. The car has
undergone many changes since then, and the changes will probably never come to an end.
It's currently pushing somewhere around 400 horsepower and through extensive testing and tuning I've
managed a best of 25 mpg on the highway! (I bet you thought I was gonna post a 1/4-mile ET. Sometime soon I hope.)
Since switching from the Carter AFB to a Holley 4150 Vacuum Secondary, my best highway MPG is 21. That's driving
at 70 mph with the solid cam mentioned below.
I recently moved to Corpus Christi, TX. There's a lot of good saltwater fishing in the immediate area, so that's become a new obsession with me. Being a novice saltwater fisherman,
I needed all the help I could find to catch fish (Especially with the 2004 warm water temps in the fall). I discovered these rattling jigheads that work really well. The inventor and manufacturer
is also a great saltwater guide in the bays around Rockport, TX (The Trout Scout). I highly recommend his products and services. He was able to help me catch fish when even the experienced anglers were having trouble.
Here's a link
to his site:
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