Horse Power, Track Shit, Torque, Cubic Inches, Liters, Run What Ya Brung, Auto or Cycle

Stealerships...

Back out in the barn to escape the world for a few hours. Cutting out the old floor and prepping for the new one to be welded in.
Need to drill all the spot welds and peel back all the old metal all the way back to the transition pan and rear frame rails then up to the toe boards and fire wall. Cool that Dynacorn (and other companies) make all the replacement sheet metal for these cars.

Back in its natural habitat

Any of you guys have any experience with Backwater diesel engines? My Cummins needs a new long block and this is what my mechanic wants to use.

Seen this in the local Safeway parking lot. 67 Charger fastback.
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Scored a FAST intake manifold and big-ass Chinesium throttle body on eBay:



Should be a decent match for the 6.0L, 799 cathedral-port heads, and mild cam. It would have been nice to just use a TBSS/GMT900 truck manifold, but unfortunately that option won't fit under the deep B-body cowl.

Thought this was funny.

Stroked Hemi with cross ram intake, 4 spd (naturally), and 4.56 Dana. Looking forward to racing it this Spring.

Time to see what all the Coyote hype is about...

Been searching for a used S550 18+ vert, 6spd, perf pack car for a few months... no luck finding anything around the country that I was willing to pay for... called on a few and met with some odd responses "were in chicago, why are you calling us from Texas?" who the fuck cares, im willing to fly in and drive the car back... doesnt seem like people are interested in selling cars, but what do I know. Started to see some good deals on new so started to search. More money than I wanted to spend, but its what I wanted and the deal was easy to do.

24 GT vert, 6spd, performance pack.



Digital dash is pretty cool. Has like 6 or 7 different gauge cluster options.

Back in August 2020, I found a car in Ardmore OK I was interested in. Called the dealer, they agreed to drive it to OKC, I'd do paperwork on the hood, then drive it home. All that was left was financing; was gonna go through USAA but they asked if I'd finance through them and I said if the interest rate was the same I didn't care. "Sounds great, we'll have our finance manager call you later today." No call that afternoon, the next day, or the one after that. Finally emailed the sales guy with "Your finance manager doesn't care about selling cars to somebody willing to fly in out of state so I'm no longer interested, good luck." Immediate phone calls, pleas, etc. to reconsider but sorry man, a lost sale because of a dropped ball isn't my concern.

If an out-of-state potential buyer is talking about flying in to buy a car and starts talking like they are serious (five-figure down payment, financing already set up, telling you the day and flight they are planning to arrive on) perhaps get your shit together and make a sale?

BoilerUP said:

Back in August 2020, I found a car in Ardmore OK I was interested in. Called the dealer, they agreed to drive it to OKC, I'd do paperwork on the hood, then drive it home. All that was left was financing; was gonna go through USAA but they asked if I'd finance through them and I said if the interest rate was the same I didn't care. "Sounds great, we'll have our finance manager call you later today." No call that afternoon, the next day, or the one after that. Finally emailed the sales guy with "Your finance manager doesn't care about selling cars to somebody willing to fly in out of state so I'm no longer interested, good luck." Immediate phone calls, pleas, etc. to reconsider but sorry man, a lost sale because of a dropped ball isn't my concern.

If an out-of-state potential buyer is talking about flying in to buy a car and starts talking like they are serious (five-figure down payment, financing already set up, telling you the day and flight they are planning to arrive on) perhaps get your shit together and make a sale?

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I made an offer on a few cars with the caveat of "my offer has to take into account the cost of me flying in and driving the car home" which I accounted for about 750-850 dollars total... I didnt tell anybody I could fly for free. So my offer was about what it would have been had I been a local customer minus 750 give or take... One car the dealer was at 37.5k... I offered 35k. I received zero counter...not even a phone call. fuck em. The other couple at least said "hey we get why your offer is what it is, but we arent willing to go that low"... there's a different between "we arent willing" and "we cant" LOL... ive learned that.

3 of the dealers still have the cars 2-3 weeks later and they have all had them since Oct-Nov of last year... 90-120+ days sitting on lots... at some point I expect dealers to cut their losses and get out of the cars... they obviously are ok with the cars sitting to maybe eek out another 500-1000 bucks...

The dealer I bought this Mustang from was north of Little Rock. Guy says "we will meet you in Texarkana"... zero dealer add on's, very very low fee's, etc... will definitely do business with them again if I am in the market for another Ford.

This is my baby, 2021 Low Rider S, 114ci, Wood 22XD cam, Fuel Moto BMF air filter, PV3 + dyno tune. 117hp/128ft lbs.




And my slow as all hell DD, Gladiator Willys 6MT. Absolutely love it, but hot damn is it slow lol

rjacobs said:

Time to see what all the Coyote hype is about...

Been searching for a used S550 18+ vert, 6spd, perf pack car for a few months... no luck finding anything around the country that I was willing to pay for... called on a few and met with some odd responses "were in chicago, why are you calling us from Texas?" who the fuck cares, im willing to fly in and drive the car back... doesnt seem like people are interested in selling cars, but what do I know. Started to see some good deals on new so started to search. More money than I wanted to spend, but its what I wanted and the deal was easy to do.

24 GT vert, 6spd, performance pack.



Digital dash is pretty cool. Has like 6 or 7 different gauge cluster options.

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Coyotes feel a little lacking on the bottom end, but after 4k rpm, they absolutely scream. Coyote engines love any kind of boost with how efficient they are on the intake side. Boost makes up for the soft low end. If you are hankering for any engine performance upgrades, make sure the first thing you do is replace the powdered metal oil pump gears with aftermarket billet ones.

My buddy has a 2017 with the 6R80 automatic. First thing he had me do was the oil pump gears, then the Vortech supercharger. After that, the trans came out for a billet mid shaft, Exedy stage 2 clutch pack kit, Circle D converter, and Kooks headers. Easy 850hp recipe on E85.

gigamortis said:

Coyotes feel a little lacking on the bottom end, but after 4k rpm, they absolutely scream. Coyote engines love any kind of boost with how efficient they are on the intake side. Boost makes up for the soft low end. If you are hankering for any engine performance upgrades, make sure the first thing you do is replace the powdered metal oil pump gears with aftermarket billet ones.

My buddy has a 2017 with the 6R80 automatic. First thing he had me do was the oil pump gears, then the Vortech supercharger. After that, the trans came out for a billet mid shaft, Exedy stage 2 clutch pack kit, Circle D converter, and Kooks headers. Easy 850hp recipe on E85.

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This gen4 motor "supposedly" doesnt have OPG issues... supposedly... supposed to be the same setup as the late GT350/GT500 motors which again "supposedly" addressed that...

And 3.73 gears with this 6spd REALLY help out with the low end.

Its a convertible so its hard for me to want to do anything crazy power adder wise... if I did anything it would be straight to a whipple. They have the ability to tune them since Ford gave them the keys so to speak. I will likely add an H-pipe. Car has the Active exhaust which seems OK. Might do a Corsa as they have their new active exhaust out, but an H-pipe will probably get me the sound I am looking for without breaking the bank.

IF I keep this car past warranty and IF the trans gives me issues it will be getting a Calimer trans and a Vengence clutch. I'll likely do an MGW shifter on it in short order, but the factory shifter isnt terrible. My buddy said it felt much better than his S550 shifter did.

So far I have only installed my radar detector blend mount and mirror tap as well as a screen protector from The OCD Plug... I dont even think I am going to get the windows tinted as this will basically only be a top down car for us.

Heading back to Barber this weekend, inspect my rotors on the car and think "They are heat checked to hell but no signs of cracking to the endge, I can probably get another event out of them" when the angel on my shoulder says "Its a six hour drive each way, do you really want to risk it when Giros are literally sitting in the box over there?"

Probably the right call.

yea heat checked rotors could last a weekend, 2 weeks, 2 minutes, etc...

And your car aint light.

On the slotted rotors, when the slots are gone they are trash. GENERALLY the slots are cut to a depth that is "min thickness" for the rotor. So its easy to inspect them and no real need to measure them.

But im glad my track car takes 75 dollar rotor rings!

Consumables when tracking a 3900lb car be like

RGS88 said:

This is my baby, 2021 Low Rider S, 114ci, Wood 22XD cam, Fuel Moto BMF air filter, PV3 + dyno tune. 117hp/128ft lbs.

And my slow as all hell DD, Gladiator Willys 6MT. Absolutely love it, but hot damn is it slow lol

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I need to get my gladiator out in the wild. It usually just gets parked at pinkberry. I do leave one tire on the curb to demonstrate how much flex it has though

BoilerUP said:

Consumables when tracking a 3900lb car be like

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Time to get a Miata... Consumables are measured in YEARS not days... 2 seasons on rotors...sure... a full season(or 2) on tires...not a problem. A full season(or more) on pads...yes.

All im doing to my car this off season is fluids and bolt checks... well I swapped rear ends to a different ratio, but that wasnt a necessity just trying to get some more speed out of it since the car was insanely lazy out of the corners.

Got an eye toward a fully prepped E36...40% the cost of my engine replacement to buy, FCP Euro warrantied consumables, 17" 245 Super 200s for less than a grand a set, etc.

But I'm so deep into the V at this point...

BoilerUP said:

Got an eye toward a fully prepped E36...40% the cost of my engine replacement to buy, FCP Euro warrantied consumables, 17" 245 Super 200s for less than a grand a set, etc.

But I'm so deep into the V at this point...

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Get an older Spec Miata. They are on marketplace all the time for 8-10-12k and usually come with at least 2 sets of wheels/tire, an extra engine(or 2) a spare trans(or 2)... You can spend up to like 30-40k on a really nice newer NB with fresh engine from one of the big 3 builders, race winning history, etc... but for older cars you can find them relatively cheap all day long.

One of the instructors at Ozark last year with Chin had a BMW of some kind(might have been an E36, but I think it was the next generation from that) never been in a Miata and didnt know what to expect. He rode with my buddy all weekend until Sunday afternoon when he rode with me. Our cars are similar outside of the suspension. The guy came away very impressed with what the Miata's were doing on track.

I run 245/40/15's on my NB. NA's take a bit more to fit that tire... but honestly at stock power(120-140hp) a 225 on a 15x9 is more than enough tire and likely faster than a 245. I only run 245's on x10 because of my brakes that wont fit under a x9 without running spacers which I dont care for.

I'm going to try to get out to Barber maybe at some point this year. If you are there ill let you drive my car. OR make the trek out to Ozark with us in May with Chin...

I rationalize it to myself by saying "At least I'm not paying the Porsche Tax" and "Its cheaper than an airplane".

BoilerUP said:

I rationalize it to myself by saying "At least I'm not paying the Porsche Tax" and "Its cheaper than an airplane".

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The "porsche tax" was a big part of why we bought a brand new mustang...

60k brand new Mustang vs. 60k 10-12 year old 911 Cabriolet(not even an S) with a PDK that if it blows up is 15k minimum to replace... Dont even think about a manual for 60k, they add 7-10k onto the price... its dumb.

Short block is finally completed. Working on the heads now. Sometime in April/May for completion.

I'm running a few weeks behind on the Impala's motor, so I had to pull my lead mechanic off his other project to provide some help buttoning up the timing chain. This was a much-needed break from learning lessons about how "free" ATVs aren't always a great bargain, and what happens to carburators and electrical systems when stuff sits outside for a couple of years. This is obviously stuff he needs to know but isn't going to get in school.

We took a break from wrenching to visit my brother-in-law, and ended up in Daytona Beach for some sort of big local stock-car race. My boys now have a better idea of what "the big one" means on super-speedways, and what it's like to root for a driver for 192 laps only to see him get punted into the infield due to no fault of his own. That's racing...

Been there twice because a friend wanted someone to go with him.

Vroooooooom!
Followed buy dirt and debris for the next 12 seconds.
Wait about a minute and it starts all over again.
200 laps later, you fight hours of traffic to drive back to the other coast.

Exciting.

Mike Casselton said:

Been there twice because a friend wanted someone to go with him.

Vroooooooom!
Followed buy dirt and debris for the next 12 seconds.
Wait about a minute and it starts all over again.
200 laps later, you fight hours of traffic to drive back to the other coast.

Exciting.

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We had fun; sorry to hear that you didn't. My boys enjoyed the spectacle leading up to the race (we got to see the Thunderbirds take off in formation from the airport, and then they did several flybys before the checkered flag dropped). The middle stretch of the race was a bit boring so we wandered around, but the last 25 or so laps was good racing with the expected paint-swapping right at the end. Traffic was very well managed; I think it was less than an hour from the time we stood up from our seats to the I95 on-ramp.

All in all, it was a great experience - not one that I intend to regularly repeat because this isn't my preferred form of racing, but if the opportunity presented itself in the future I'd happily go again.

I'm more of a F-1 kind of guy.
I watched NASCAR up until they quit having cars with real bumpers.

And you hit the nail on the head.
Right up until the last few laps, it's mostly watching guys drive around a big left hand turn.
That's not fun.

The drive west across FL with the necessity to pass through Orlando makes the thought of anything east coast FL a no go for me.

roostercogburn98 said:

I need to get my gladiator out in the wild. It usually just gets parked at pinkberry. I do leave one tire on the curb to demonstrate how much flex it has though

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Buddy and I went out to The Badlands off road park in Indiana last year, it was a blast! Should be a bit more fun with 35s this time, hopefully a little less dragging and won't high center on the steep/rutted hill climbs.

Made my first stop to the Summit Racing showroom in several years. I really dig this build:



It's a Datsun 510 with a Mazda 13B rotary and a big-ass turbo (the description didn't give a size, but I think the smallest Precision Pro Mod is a 88mm). I love these little cars; this isn't how I'd build one, but it's very cool.

But the real gem is the stack of open-box returns in the corner:



There's the beginning to a project somewhere back there - would just need a few hours of looking to part numbers to start piecing it together. I showed a random harmonic balancer to my oldest boy, who then asked the very logical but misguided question "what if it doesn't fit anything that we own?". The kid's got a lot to learn about how car (and gun) projects get started.

E. Bryant said:

"what if it doesn't fit anything that we own?". The kid's got a lot to learn about how car (and gun) projects get started.

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You are spot on and I had to laugh. I've been guilty of this so many times and my biggest project starter (other than buying vacant land) was a near new Hi-Lift jack at a yard sale complete with a zippered neoprene cover to protect from the elements for $60. This single purchase led me to my 1984 LS Swapped CJ7.
Looks like you had an awesome time in Florida.....you have that kid pointed in the right direction.

Beat my previous PB at NCM on Sunday by 2.25 seconds with a 2:21.52.



I was and am beyond stoked...but also know overbraking some corners and overdriving others threw away a 2:20. I know the car's got a 2:19 in it on stock power with no aero and 200tw tires...but right now I'm the LIMFAC. #drivermod

I guess I’m getting back to this little project. 302 bored .030 over and a 331 stroker kit. The rotating assembly is at the machine shop being balanced as I type this. Custom ground cam and trick flow 11R heads ready to go. It’ll get a Holley Systemax II intake manifold and upgraded fuel system. I’ll probably go with the Terminator X management system mainly because I get a completely new harness with it. All going into a 93 foxbody.

This winter I swapped gears in my track Miata from 3.6 to 4.30. I put the 3.6 in when building the car in order to setup for a K24A2 swap, but im not doing that. Car felt lazy out of the corners. I had to relearn to drive the car... I dont KNOW that the gear change made any difference however. I feel like I turned a 2-3-4 gear car into a 3-4-5 gear car. I went out with 2 different instructors for some advanced coaching as well as check riding up to a more advanced run group. Both of these guys were legit race car drivers vs. the standard "novice driver" type instructor. The first guy says "why the fuck are you shifting so much" and I said "yea, im trying to figure shit out still with these new gears". He explained I am over braking a few areas simply to grab a lower gear when I can just leave it in the higher gear and the car will hold. I only worked on that one more session with a different instructor who agree'd with the first guy. My garmin shit out half way through the second session, but I think I put in a 2:21 which without an extra person is usually worth ~3 seconds on this track. Second instructor said I just need to learn to trust the car more as with the aero and the wide tires it will hold far more than I think. He said he only heard/felt one or maybe 2 places on the whole track where I was getting close to the edge of traction.

Took my neighbor out on the track 2 weekends ago also. He had a blast. He's got a C7 vette and I think I got him convinced to come run a weekend as a novice.

First time doing hot laps in the Camaro:

nikerret said:

First time doing hot laps in the Camaro:

View attachment 8376885

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wheres that at?

A couple pic’s from the past, lots of good memories helping my buddy on his race car team!

BoilerUP said:

I rationalize it to myself by saying "At least I'm not paying the Porsche Tax" and "Its cheaper than an airplane".

Click to expand...

rjacobs said:

The "porsche tax" was a big part of why we bought a brand new mustang...

60k brand new Mustang vs. 60k 10-12 year old 911 Cabriolet(not even an S) with a PDK that if it blows up is 15k minimum to replace... Dont even think about a manual for 60k, they add 7-10k onto the price... it’s dumb.

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The Porsche dealer decided I wasn’t getting a Porsche.

When I was car shopping my ten year old son and I went to several dealerships. We spent a whole day doing nothing but car shopping. Everywhere we went was great. Staff was friendly and showed us what we were there to see (the places that actually had stock). We walked into the Porsche dealer as a new Cayman was on my list. We stood there for around 15 minutes. Not one person acknowledged we had walked in the door. When we left we walked right by one of the staff, to my car (my third paid off vehicle, at that time). He, too, completely ignored our existence. We left and went to the next dealer, a friendly BMW dealership.

About two months later, we were watching TV and there was a Porsche on the screen. Out of nowhere, my son says, “I hate Porsche”. This was surprising, since he has a fairly extensive Porsche Hot Wheels collection and likes to research all the model differences. When I asked him why, he said it was because no one at the dealership would talk to us. He then informed me he has convinced his friends that Porsche sucks. I’ve tried to explain the experience we had was not representative of Porsche owners or cars, as a whole, but it’s been a tough sell. I’m hoping I can bring him to some track days and meet some nice Porsche owners that will help change his mind.

rjacobs said:

wheres that at?

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Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.

nikerret said:

Hallett Motor Racing Circuit.

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ive been there many times... Be there again labor day weekend.

What kinda times does a 1LE SS Camaro run around there?

It's a much more technical track than its smallish size would let on.

Coldest shitters in the midwest...

rjacobs said:

ive been there many times... Be there again labor day weekend.

What kinda times does a 1LE SS Camaro run around there?

It's a much more technical track than its smallish size would let on.

Coldest shitters in the midwest...

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A good driver with good conditions is around the 1:24:xx mark.

But I’m not a good driver and I didn’t have good conditions.

My best time was a 1:35:8. Terrible.

I did two days. Our first session both days was with 36-38*F temperatures. My car has an indicator of tire temperatures. It didn’t show the tires got “warm” until the fourth session the second day.

My car only had 1,800 miles on it, when I got there. Not nearly enough seat time to really understand the car.

Over the course this summer, I’m planning a few more track days at various tracks. My goal it to get a lap at Hallett (CCW) in the 1:20’s. I’m just doing this for fun, my best days are well behind me.

nikerret said:

A good driver with good conditions is around the 1:24:xx mark.

But I’m not a good driver and I didn’t have good conditions.

My best time was a 1:35:8. Terrible.

I did two days. Our first session both days was with 36-38*F temperatures. My car has an indicator of tire temperatures. It didn’t show the tires got “warm” until the fourth session the second day.

My car only had 1,800 miles on it, when I got there. Not nearly enough seat time to really understand the car.

Over the course this summer, I’m planning a few more track days at various tracks. My goal it to get a lap at Hallett (CCW) in the 1:20’s. I’m just doing this for fun, my best days are well behind me.

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I run it in my Miata around 1:32 I think was my PB last year. Another guy with a similar car I think ticks 1:27's... thats about what Spec Miata's on Hoosiers run it also.

I need to grow balls into turn 1 as I am down like 8mph on my buddy...

There's a lot of parts of Hallett that you really have to know the secrets to. And its not necessarily a high HP track. Last time we were there I consistently would catch and pass a Boss Mustang... He was braking about like 5+ marker while I can dive into the 1.5ish marker and then throw the boat anchors out...

Im still learning my car and tend to over brake. I need to learn to trust my car more.

Heading to Ozark in May with Chin. Now thats a fun track.

rjacobs said:

I run it in my Miata around 1:32 I think was my PB last year. Another guy with a similar car I think ticks 1:27's... thats about what Spec Miata's on Hoosiers run it also.

I need to grow balls into turn 1 as I am down like 8mph on my buddy...

There's a lot of parts of Hallett that you really have to know the secrets to. And its not necessarily a high HP track. Last time we were there I consistently would catch and pass a Boss Mustang... He was braking about like 5+ marker while I can dive into the 1.5ish marker and then throw the boat anchors out...

Im still learning my car and tend to over brake. I need to learn to trust my car more.

Heading to Ozark in May with Chin. Now thats a fun track.

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On day 1 I was parked by a guy with a race-only Miata. There were a ton of Miata guys out there.

I never got over 110 MPH between turn 10 and turn 1. I have a PDR, so I can watch my failures after I’m done.

I’m not ready for Ozark. I want to know my car much better before I hit that one.

nikerret said:

I’m not ready for Ozark. I want to know my car much better before I hit that one.

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Ozark isnt that bad... MUCH MUCH MUCH tamer than it looks on video...

Its a VERY flowing track. All the Armco, if you hit it, you deserved to hit it. Its all in very slow speed section. Everything thats fast has plenty of run off and sand traps. I really dont think I have heard of any bad wrecks happening there.

We went last year. 3 of my buddies that went were scared shitless and I said "fuck you im going". After the first session they were like "its on like donky kong the place is so bad to the bone"...

The "this will be quick" engine build has hit 6 months. But there is progress.