70 GTO.....part 2

[Scott Parkhurst]

SD Man - that car is going to be kick ass.

I'm doing a similar '65. 601ci IA1 block with Butler wideports and EFi'd Wenzler tunnel ram made 740hp on the dyno.



My chassis is a Schwartz unit and I'll go 3-link, but I understand the choices you made and respect it completely.

I'm looking forward to seeing your performance numbers! I bet you are too!

[SDMAN]

Scott....Ive been following your project for quite some time. Buildups like these just seem to drag on forever.

I had a call today from the chassis shop. Cage, headers, driveshaft, torsion bar and frame work are DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! They got the mufflers moved back where I wanted them as well. Couldnt be happier.

Thats the good news.
Ive been working 13 hour days for the last 4 weeks (8 hours/day on weekends), and theres no way I can pick it up for a week. Im not willing to hire a tow truck to snatch it because Im paranoid I would never see it again. So it will have to wait til I can pick it up and trailer it to yet another shop for the start of final assembly. Thats the bad news. But, all this work means I can get a ton of stuff done once I get it back.
Pics soon.

[SDMAN]

Finally managed to get time to snatch the car from the chassis shop and haul it to the shop where it will all come together.

This last vist at the chassis shop saw a lot done. We finished the mods to the Art Morrison Max-G frame. The inner frame rails were modded to allow for placing the mufflers as far back as possible. All 4 of the frame openings for the exhaust pipe were made oval so my exhaust system will now fit. To make the NHRA happy, we put an 8.50 moly cage in it using the Alston parts that allow for removal of the door bars and rear cross bar. Removing those pieces makes for much more enjoyable street use. The floor got a pair of X braces as well. When you remove the floor and big chunk of firewall the NHRA has quite a few safety requirements. All of those were addressed. There is a full X in the roof hoop. Turned out nice.
Also added a drag race style torsion bar behind the rearend. Bolts to a pair of frame mounted spherical bearings and attaches to the rear suspension. This easily bolts off, as its not a street piece. Straight line only.
And finally, the headers. 2.250" primary tubes, nice thick (.375") flanges with 4 bolts per (we will mod the heads), plenty of room to tighten them, change plugs, no interference with anything else (starter, etc) and nothing hangs below the frame. The guys at Spintech fabbed us a pair of 28 degree bend/transitions that we incorporated into the header. These really turned out nice.

Let the final assembly begin!

[1971CHEVELLE]

Chassis looks good

[SDMAN]

A few more. This is an early prototype 2X4 intake base for the CV-1 Pontiac cylinder heads. This base can be configured with spacers and different tops for any size cubic inch, or dual carb setup (4150, 4500). Additionally, there is a flat top available and plenty of room to mount a throttle body on the front of it. Thats what I am going to do. Plumb it for injectors and use it as an EFI intake.
Since the real parts are not yet available, Jim was nice enough to loan me this prototype piece to do some real world height checking. As the pics show, it really does not extend much past the hood line at all. With a spacer, flat top and the throttle body on the front, the final setup might be 3" taller than whats shown in the pics. More than acceptable.

[SDMAN]

Well, its been 5 months since I last posted. Wish I had major progress to report, but Ive just been swamped at work. Im a consultant, and my average week so far this year is right at 60 hours. Doesnt leave a lot of time for working on the car. Mostly got a ton of little things done and out of the way.

But its not all doom and gloom. The motor is about complete. The CNC work on the cylinder heads and intake just took forever. But it was definitely worth the wait. At my valve lift (.700" net) we got 430 cfm on the intake, and with a 2.250" tube, just over 300 cfm on the exhaust. Based on these numbers, we expect the motor to be over 600HP unboosted! Tomorrow I will order a custom cell from Fuelsafe. We got the size/shape all worked out this past weekend. Will be right at 28 gallons. Im putting a Magnafuel 4303 pump inside the tank, so it should run cool and quiet. Magnafuel says that pump works just fine inside the tank.

Likely wont get a lot done for another 6 weeks or so. July and August in the Sonoran desert are best spent indoors or in the pool, and Im still crazy busy at work. Good news is, we hired me some help. In a month or so, when he gets up to speed, Ill have more time for working on the car. But I will be ordering parts so Im ready for a big push later this fall.

[Capown]

I know its been awhile but is there any update? This is one bad mofo!!

[SDMAN]

No. I wasn't in county lockup. It was medical related. And it all started with a simple mosquito bite. Some very nasty, formerly foreign diseases have come to our shores. Somewhat rare right now, but over time who knows. But its all behind me, and seeing as how I am getting back to working full time, I finally have the means to wrap this project up. I was able to get some things 'taken care of' from the 3 month hospital stay and during the 19 month home recovery. Long term stuff like new CNC'd custom cylinder heads, etc. But very limited. I went thru a ton of stuff I had laying around that I was never going to use and sold all that. So the shop has quite a bit of room. The car is going in for bodywork and primer in the next week. All the glass is on it (front end, wheel tubs, hood, deck lid,etc) and it all needs the standard work that fiberglass parts need. But its all VFN and Glasstek so its very well made and fits pretty good. But pretty good don't cut it. All the engine parts are on a shelve at the machine shop and assembly is scheduled to start by mid April. We have every part necessary except some things that need to be measured for like pushrods, etc. I was setting the car up with a 6 speed, dual disc clutch, tilton throwout and Quick-time bell, but I sustained permanent damage in the form of losing half of my right foot. So a manual is no longer an option. I have spec'd a very stout 4l80e and that's the first thing I plan on ordering. Fortunately, when we fabbed the trans tunnel we used a 4L80E cracked case because it was larger than the manual setup and we wanted the additional room.

Once I actually have something going, I will do a complete project update with some pics. Its good to be back.

[67GTO4SPD]

I'm a new member, but I'm a Pontiac nut, and I can't wait to see it. I'm glad you overcome your illness and look forward seeing that GTO.

[SDMAN]

This is a pic from late 2010. Lots more done, but it represents.

[67GTO4SPD]

Wow! Very nice! That is a mean looking machine!

[CodexGigas]

That Thing Looks Beastly!!!

[Reckn8]

Tom, good to see you back at it on the GTO. Stop by and see what is up with the Studpecker sometime !!!

[SDMAN]

Tom, good to see you back at it on the GTO. Stop by and see what is up with the Studpecker sometime !!!

Sure. Whats the best evening/after work nite? Fri?

[Zanie]

I'm glad you are on the mend!
That is an awesome GTO. Love the stance!
you should fire up your old thread. then you won't have to answer so many questions.

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...-70-GTO-part-2

[andrewb70]

Tom,

Great to see you back on the project. Do you mind if I merge this thread with the old one? As Dan suggested, it will make it easier for people to follow.

Andrew

[SDMAN]

Tom,

Great to see you back on the project. Do you mind if I merge this thread with the old one? As Dan suggested, it will make it easier for people to follow.

Andrew

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Sure, thats fine with me. I won't have much in the way of new pics or progress to report anytime soon with bodywork and assembly only just getting underway.

[Reckn8]

monday / wednesday /friday usually

[PhillipM]

Ya Tom. M/W/F. Would love to catch up. Been a long time.

Phillip

[andrewb70]

Hey Tom,

I am just curious, you mentioned using both Glasstek and VFN fiberglass. What components are from what company, and do you feel that one is somehow better than the other, in any respect?

Andrew