89' LX Hatch on the cheap

[LERM]

I went and raced the SCCA CAM Challenge event in Fontana. Outstanding time. The course was super fun. I got the equivilant of 4 "regular" events worth of track time in one weekend. Met great people, and enjoyed the company of those I already knew.

That said, I got my ass whooped.
I ended up WELL outside the top 10 in my class (which was my goal.)



Reasons why:
1.Driver. (Proof was in a friend jumping in the car after he had a mild part failure, and stomping on my best of 8 runs on his SECOND TIME DRIVING THE CAR EVER by a full second)
2. Tires. NT05's (which i'm running) are head and shoulders above the junk that my car came with. That said, It seems that the "new and improved 200tw tires" from Bridgestone and BFG are much better
3. General Setup. There is a laundry list of things that are not perfect on this $3500 race car. Tall gears, brakes locking up, "grab bag" selection of springs, shocks and sway bars... etc...

Solutions:
1. Driver- I learned a LOT at the CAM Challenge... but bottom line is more seat time. Good news there is that seat time is the fun part. I'm also going to try to line my schedule up with a novice school or something similar.
2. Tires- Well... i'm working on killing my NT05s. I have collected rims that will fit the biggest tire that BFG offers in a 200tw... but i'm thinking that a "stepping stone sticky tire" size 255/40/17 is in order. I don't want to be the guy with mile wide tires getting whooped by smaller tires driven by people that have figured out solution #1. Plus, I don't have time to make the body mods required to fit big steam roller tires right now anyway....
3.General Setup. This will also be ongoing. At CAM Challenge, the stand out set up items to me were brake lock up and gearing. It just so happend that I stumbled upon a complete rear axle assembly that had the potential to fix both those. Complete 8.8 with 4.10's, fresh trac-loc, and Cobra brakes.

"89" for CAM Challenge cause' for some reason keeping the SCCA numbers made too much sense...


Looks too much like it runs... lets take it apart again:


Poor beat up shop and the pickup atop the frame table BEGGIN me to leave the turd race car alone...


So, after the friction modifier stink settled, the car went from 3.08's to 4.10 and from gt brakes to Cobra spec rotors and calipers. I still haven't driven it with the 4.10s yet as my supply of crush washers was depleted. (yes... I shamefully tried the used ones only to find a serious leak... new crush washers tomorrow.)

[Josh@Ridetech]

Good work. I just stuck 3.73's in my car a few months ago. It feels nice but I'm thinking 4.10's would've been better for the autocross. You'll love the new brakes!

[LERM]

Been a busy last few months with no racing to speak of. (Well, aside from the beer soaked RC car racing in my backyard!)

I just scored some goods though.

"obnoxious"... The guy who labled my plans to run 315's on a fox mustang as obnoxious SOLD ME a 315/335 combo. Go figure.

I also bought some second hand, unused but slightly mutilated Tiger Racing fender flares.






Who wants to take bets on whether it's the panhard bar, the clutch or the trac lock that fails first!?

[68400BIRD]

Great build. I love how all of these parts just seem to fall into your lap.LOL Keep up the great work, it has been fun reading your thread. How is the house coming??

[LERM]

Great build. I love how all of these parts just seem to fall into your lap.LOL Keep up the great work, it has been fun reading your thread. How is the house coming??

Sure it seems like the parts "fall into my lap." I write it that way for the 1/100 chance my wife peaks at the laptop while i'm on a non home improvement type website...

House progress? (you asked for it, i'll keep it as short as possible... well... almost.)

Super short version: FU@#! Slab leak!> replumb>new kitchen>"some" fun entertainment/electrical changes> redrywall/texture everything but bedrooms and baths> floors throughout + just a few extras....

Pics version:















We're making awesome progress, but theres still plenty of green carpet in the bedrooms, the bathrooms are functional but dated, and our landscaping is best described as a dirt farm.

[LERM]

I've been given an extended paid leave from the house progress to get some progress on the go-fast toys... We'll see how long it lasts...

[NY337]

Woah! Nice house but most of all what's the deal with that 74 TA? Nice! On the lookout for a buccaneer read myself that's not an SD and priced to the moon.

[68400BIRD]

Looks like the house is coming along great. I would also like to see more pictures of the TA.

[Tomswheels]

I love Green T/As!

[bs46488]

Wow. You guys have been busy with the house! It looks great. The kitchen turned out really well. The sliding barn doors are a nice touch too.

Hope to see you guys around town.

[LERM]

Woah! Nice house but most of all what's the deal with that 74 TA? Nice! On the lookout for a buccaneer read myself that's not an SD and priced to the moon.

Thank you about the house. The pics are of the near finished highlights. We are still very much work in progress.

Looks like the house is coming along great. I would also like to see more pictures of the TA.

Slowly but slowly. I'm glad to get the go-ahead for garage time. I need it.

I love Green T/As!

Do you like blue ones too?

Wow. You guys have been busy with the house! It looks great. The kitchen turned out really well. The sliding barn doors are a nice touch too. Hope to see you guys around town.

Hey Weird Brian! (your self given name, dont blame me.) We have indeed been working like crazy on the house. It looks like you have near autocross-able cars. Come play.

To answer all the Trans-Am inquiries... I typed up an answer... and decided it was a build thread:

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/122316-The-Blue-Mistress-1974-Trans-AM?p=1203646#post1203646

[LERM]

To quote myself...

Before 315's and fender flares:
Run within' .5 seconds of Phillip Costco at a timed autocross event. (yea you...sombitch.)
Kitchen backsplash
1500sqft of flooring
Bar renovation
Drivetrain/suspension refresh of a 74' trans-am
get my basket case 53' chevy on the road.

Can someone please find a way to make me finish this list? Specially' the last one.

I achieved every one of these goals... EXCEPT THE FING LAST ONE. (well.. to be fair... i'm not 100% done with the T/A either..)

But... I scored some fender flares... and the temptation is far too great. The mock up pics were taken at El Torro while killing time waiting for our turn at the cones. These will be going into service as soon as the necessary hardware/adhesives/materials make it to my doorstep.


Some random cool shots...

turd racecar at speed... The GT bumper found its way onto the car a couple weeks back. I think the flares will make a total of 6 different colors on the car. When the flares are finished, I am looking forward to a proper single color paintjob. I'm thinking something WILD.... like white. Crazy right?


Not exciting to most, but this is what your morning looks like once every two years when you love a post-74' go fast car in CA... (Hell yea it passed. 100% legit on its own passed. Suck it C.A.R.B.)

[Tomswheels]

1. Kudos on passing CA smog. Had you chosen an 83 with a carb, it would feel even more like winning the lottery, which I have never won.

2. These fender flares were designed for a fox? They look like they fit obnoxious tire sizing surprisingly well.

3. When will I see this racing again (I don't like having the newest car in class, old muscle car racers look at my 1983 car like it's a Delorean in 1945).

[Josh@Ridetech]

To quote myself...


I achieved every one of these goals... EXCEPT THE FING LAST ONE. (well.. to be fair... i'm not 100% done with the T/A either..)

But... I scored some fender flares... and the temptation is far too great. The mock up pics were taken at El Torro while killing time waiting for our turn at the cones. These will be going into service as soon as the necessary hardware/adhesives/materials make it to my doorstep.


Some random cool shots...

turd racecar at speed... The GT bumper found its way onto the car a couple weeks back. I think the flares will make a total of 6 different colors on the car. When the flares are finished, I am looking forward to a proper single color paintjob. I'm thinking something WILD.... like white. Crazy right?


Not exciting to most, but this is what your morning looks like once every two years when you love a post-74' go fast car in CA... (Hell yea it passed. 100% legit on its own passed. Suck it C.A.R.B.)

Looks awesome! I love the new flares!

[LERM]

1. Kudos on passing CA smog. Had you chosen an 83 with a carb, it would feel even more like winning the lottery, which I have never won.

2. These fender flares were designed for a fox? They look like they fit obnoxious tire sizing surprisingly well.

3. When will I see this racing again (I don't like having the newest car in class, old muscle car racers look at my 1983 car like it's a Delorean in 1945).

1.It was liberating, and irritating at the same time. I have a 302 based stroker in the corner of my shop that made 380whp in my last mustang. It'd sure be nice to have it freshened up and plugged in place of my current motor... but its got quite the cam in it and I doubt it'd pass smog. Even with a very lenient smog rep...
2.The flares are indeed made for fox mustangs. I'm hoping to start hacking up my fenders sooner than later to start the install... but its hard to make the first cut since my car is so clean. ( LOL! couldn't even type that with a straight face!)
3.Hoping to come race and/or practice Oct 15/16. The buggy motor swap is still not done, and our first desert trip of the season is the weekend following that event...So, we'll see what my level of panic is at that point...

Looks awesome! I love the new flares!

I'm stoked on the flares. I can't wait to see the car with big boy tires on it. Slowly but slowly. I've started to pic at some of the body issues as well. I'd really like to hose the car with a proper paint job after the flares, but its so hard to prevent the snowball (you know the snowball well, I've watched you chronicle it on this forum). Still, I may just have to give the car a uniform primer or something.

[LERM]

So, I scored tiger racing flares for dirt cheap, but only because one of them had been cut up. The two dark pieces are all that was usable. I had always wondered how foil would work as a mold release. I covered one of the good fenders in foil to use as a mold. It seems to have worked well... Cross your fingers for me!

Started mocking up... And found that 315s on 18x11s don't want to be on the front of a fox mustang... AT ALL. It's going to take some fender pulling and swear words, but I think I can convince them...

[DrFraZZy]

That end up looking a lot better than I thought it would! I am really digging it. The rear tire size really hit it off the park! I love it!

[Z06killinSBF]

Have you seen the fox that Matt from The Smoking Tire owns?

http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2015/v...fender-flares/

[LERM]

That end up looking a lot better than I thought it would! I am really digging it. The rear tire size really hit it off the park! I love it!

Thanks...but... come on, no faith in me? OF COURSE it was going to look cool. Mama' always said that everything I build is amazing...

The rear is going to get flares as well actually. As it sits, the 335's in the back are touching the inside of the well. Obviously that won't do. I have some 98' mustang axles that will give me approx 3/4" per side wider from what i've read. If I can stumble upon a Cobra IRS for cheap enough that will make the rear even wider still.

Have you seen the fox that Matt from The Smoking Tire owns?

http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2015/v...fender-flares/

I've watched that car being built on his YouTube vids. That was one of the few cars i've seen with the tiger racing/chicaine23 flares mounted. (killer car...but I dunno about his $40k claims...unless he got HAD.) I plan to blend my flares into the existing body, so I think i'm going to end up using adhesive as the final fastening to allow for less filler.

[1965gp]

I remember trying to put 245's on fox bodies in college and your fitting a 335... awesome!