so i have a little update:budget first:1 inch drop coils: were 30 bucks. no longer on truck, so were down 30. 2 inch drop blocks: cost 30 bucks. so total remains the same.went out to the Tarheel Sports Car Club autocross at Maxton airport the beginning of the month. about halfway through the day, i was turning the same times as novices in WRX's, so we were doing great. caught a lot of shit about how high the truck was from the safety steward, though.on about my 15th run, hotlapping the piss out of it, i noticed coming off the first roundabout that i had no oil pressure whatsoever. 0, zilch, none, not even a damn flicker of the needle moving. i figured that at that point the damage had already been done, and i might as well get my last Banzi run in. had my fastest time of the day, and FTD for the novice school that run. brought it in, still running, and notmaking anynoise. figured it was probably a bad gauge or something, but decifded not to risk it. had to be drug home by my father on a flatbed trailer. turned out that i had a piece of the teflon tape i used to seal the threads on the sending unit plugging the hole in it. DAMMIT!!!!so no money fix there. while i was underhood, i took care of the boring on the intake for the 4.3 TBI (traded a wiring harness for a dart to my machinist for the gaskets, machining, and throttle body), fixed the leaking distributor O-ring, deleted the EGR, Cruise, and extra wiring, and generally cleaned up. dunno how much weight i got rid of, but its at least 15 lbs worth of crap. i also decided that i had coaught hell for ride height for the last time. so we went straight into the dirt for ride height. took my stock 2.8 coils, cut one full turn outta them, and threw some 2 inch blocks in the back. according to my measurements form my bbuddies 91, its about a 3/5 drop now, and handles much better than before. the UB machine UCA's accomadated this much spring drop with room to spare. i know the geometry is suffering right now, but after i find some stupid cheap 2 inch spindles, ill go back to 1 inch springs, tall LBJ's, LS1 brakes, etc and have better geometry again. i also had to cut the bumpstop brackets fromt and rear to have it dribvable. rides really good, and looks killer. (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture392.jpg)(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture394.jpg)(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture401.jpg)(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture403.jpg)i have also now started on phase two, now that the chassis, ride, reliability, and safety are where i want tham. thats the part of the program where i make it look halfway decent. friend of mine donated the leftover Bondo, spreaders, spot putty, sandpaper, and primer from where he just got done doing his truck, and another friend of mine who paints cars for a living will be spraying it and goving me the paint. hes taking all the different leftover black cans of basecoat that he has, mixing them all up, and shooting it. it will be black, just not entirely sure what shade. ill have to buy the clear and a case of beer for him. so this is my first real attempt at bodywork, and i think is coming along pretty good. (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture397.jpg)(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture396.jpg)(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/dusterbd13/Picture395.jpg)Michael
welcome to the 3" coil drop club. haha
1804.87 is the new grand total at the moment. 366.70 for paint, 19.26 in exhaust supplies. since the last update, ive painted the truck, swapped on some 245/50/16 BFG G-Force KDW's, refinished the IROC's, and put the blazer buckets back in, alson with some interior work. in the interior, i traded my black handles and cranks for some chrome, finished dying the arm rests, a-pillar trim, dash cap, bpillar trim, etc. reglued the center pod from where my hot glue didnt hold, and am planning on finally covering the headliner soon. 2.50 for fabric from wal mart. ill add that in when im done. the body work was supposed to be a deal from a buddy. i was supposed to buy the clear and a case of beer. i wound up buying base, clear, tape, paper, and PAYING him by the time it was all said and done. not what i was expecting, but still a hell of a deal. just more money to get me to the challenge, which puts me out of tall lower ball joints, drop spindles, C4 vette front brakes, IROC rear disc, and headers. so i wont be that competitive. but i think i can still go. i still havent got my brevada grille back from the painter. he forgot about it. thats why it currently rocks the oversprayed sonoma grille. also, the rear axle in it is ****ED. so this weekend im swapping in the axle from the parts truck. pics: and some pics of parts for after the challenge:50 dollar hedman long tuibes:c6 Z06 brake cooling ducts: 14 a pair from GMIROC rear disc. 50 bucks, with caliper rebuild kits, metal lines, and a five gallon bucket. lots of extra bolts were included free!! and lastly, my new axle:
I see no pics! I thought you were getting rid of the cop truck a few months back. Glad you didn't.
but then again, im the guy in the truck. always have been the guy in the truck.
for the stock belts, i learned a trick from the auto-x guys.- jerk the belt so it locks- suck in your gut- jam it into the latchthe belt stays locked in place the whole run. works great for auto-x...might be uncomfortable for a track session. try it out when ya get a chance.
im the guy driving, and the passenger is my instructor, who also happens to be my father and the guy that taught me most everything i know about wrenching and driving. its a wonderful bonding experience to hang out with your dad, build and hammer on cars, and then talk about things to cook and how to make your marriage better. i just hope that i can be half the dad to my daughter that my father is to me.