My 69 Chevelle NASCAR Project

[chichirone]

Awesome build. One of the most entertaining threads on the forum. I could watch those videos over and over. The nasty growl of the exhaust is hard to beat. Intoxicating. Well done.

[linkstar69]

Well done. Sounds like you're going to have a fun time dialling the car in too

[shortrack]

Chevelle makes GTSpeed

http://gtspeed.us/2014/12/09/this-69...nascar-engine/

[Bob in St. Louis]

That's awesome. I love your car man.

[shortrack]

[Razorhead]

updates ?

[turbog8r]

it will be a street car for sure.......and yeah the tires will be hanging outside the body like above car which has 14" wide tires on all four.....OH YEAH!!!.....the white car above is a Limited Late Model (LLM) with a 65 chevelle body on it istead of a Monte carlo or Fusion, Intepid or whatever......it has the stndard modern LLM set up under it....... (you guessed it!!) a 2nd gen Camaro front clip (sound familiar?) with all the standard racecar/PT stuff like big brakes, tubular A arms, quickchange etc......this setup has been in use for years.

one HUGE question that this car answered for me was the wheelbase question......I measured my 69s wheelbase and came up with 111", the stock 65 chevelle above in stock form will be the same......the WB on a stnd stock car is 105 and that is what the white car is......Ive been wondering about having to lengthen any chassis I bought but after seeing the car above Im going to do the same as this guy did......eff it!!....we'll go with 105 and adjust wheelwells accordingly.....doug

Hey Doug,

Sweet build man! Where did you find the wheelbase for these info? I've done some searching but haven't had much luck... Thanks!

[shortrack]

No real updates. Even with my custom oil pan it drops oil press badly in the turns may have to go to a dry sump......Turbo- I too had conflicting info on wheelbases. I finally took my tape measure and measured the wheelbase on my stock 69 Chevelle, came up with 111". Nascar's come in two wheelbases 105 and 110, Xfinity/Busch & Cup. I bought the Cup chassis at 110.

[seancarole]

No real updates. Even with my custom oil pan it drops oil press badly in the turns may have to go to a dry sump......Turbo- I too had conflicting info on wheelbases. I finally took my tape measure and measured the wheelbase on my Chevelle, came up with 111". Nascar's come in two wheelbases 105 and 110, Xfinity/Busch & Cup. I bought the Cup chassis at 110.

Didn't see one maybe a masterlube or other 3qt accumulator could solve the low pressure issues? A sump would be best but hole new ststem =$$$$ and with the oil cooler plumbing it could be a easy cheap fix. Love build

[shortrack]

Didn't see one maybe a masterlube or other 3qt accumulator could solve the low pressure issues? A sump would be best but hole new ststem =$$$$ and with the oil cooler plumbing it could be a easy cheap fix. Love build

As a matter of fact an Accusump is in the works

[shortrack]

Some updates....back in Nov 2015 someone pieced together a couple of pics and they ended ou on FB Speed Society almost 80,000 likes whoa!


https://www.facebook.com/SpeedSociet...3&notif_t=like

[shortrack]

Last Nov I had the heads pulled for a freshen up. Engine builder found a crack between two of the cylinders. The one side already had a sleeve. Engine taken further down builder showed me some places where the crank had been repaired.....*&#%!!! So in March a new replacement Dart Iron Eagle block and complete Eagle forged rotating assy was ordered and assembled. Took 3.5 mos to get the block BTW. Mid August I got the completed engine back

[shortrack]

Ok....got the engine all in and everything connected. Installed the Moroso 2 quart accumulator. The Dart Iron Eagle 434 block has a remote oil filter set up as there is no oil filter boss on the block like a standard sbc. So as instructed I plumbed the accumulator into the return line coming back from the filter and oil cooler. Mounted the tank behind the passenger seat with a manual shut off beside the shifter.

The engine builder came over and personally supervised the initial engine start up at my shop. He pulled the distributor and primed the engine for prob 5 solid min. He pulled the cap and verified operation of the distributor advance mechanism. Two slow hits to the floor on the 830 double pumper and it fired instantly. After the smoke cleared a bit he adjusted the idle mixture. We ran the thing solid for at least 20 - 25 min. 60 psi oil press, 200 oil temp and 180 water temp with the fan on. Idle 2200 rpm Instant throttle response wow! No smoke from the breather. After awhile he took over the throttle duties from under the hood, I saw 6000 a couple of times. He said to change the oil, take it out and drive it like a white man for the first 15 min or so then have at it.

[shortrack]

Ten quarts of Mobile 1 20/40, a new Wix filter and a shakedown on a Friday at Shannonville Motorsports Park near Belleville Ont. Its 1.5 hrs from me, Its where I spent 80% of my motorcycle roadrace career so Im very comfortable there. However it ended with a flat on the trailer on the way down. lol FAIL! By the time that was sorted out track time was over.

[shortrack]

The second attempt, four brand new tires on the trailer the following Monday got to the track no problem. Bedded in a new brake pads and a new clutch on the paved track service road beside the track although the instructions that came with the clutch said take it easy for 500 miles

The checklist went well. Charging system good, water temp good although it does not like to sit still for long, even with the fan on Clutch felt good, Brakes? Its a full race Nascar Sprint Cup pad set up. When the brakes are cold they are not good. Its kind of like when your driving a car with power brakes and the car stalls while driving, you have to stand on them to get them to do anything and even then its pretty ****ty....kind of like that. Oil temp good. Shifting....bad. Get stuck in 3rd gear, Doesnt matter too much theres so much torque. I finish the two laps going around the track BRRRAAAPPPP BRRRRAAAAPPPP! Call down to David in the States explain the problem and he tells me how to fix it. Takes awhile but i get it done. Cont....





- - - Updated - - -

[shortrack]

I was a little disheartened when I found out everything in the old shortblock was basically junk. I asked David why dont I just bolt the just freshened heads and new camshaft onto one of these 350 or 383 shortblocks you see for sale and be done with it.

He said "Oh so you want to build a Winston Cup engine!!....thats what you're doin'...with those big ass cyl heads and that camshaft a 350 will do NOTHIN' until 5000rpm and you better build it to turn 9000!....you will HAVE to have a dry sump as no wet sump will allow you to turn that kind of rpm and stay together....the car will become very gear sensitive in the rearend and the transmission. If you dont have the right gear in it you will find yourself trying to come out of a corner out of the powerband and BLAHHHHH...nothin'!. Been there man' No keep the 434 I like it if you dont have just the right gear in it it wont matter it will torque its way out till it gets on it....."

OK well, that settles that. thanks

[shortrack]

back to the shakedown: I fix the transmission and boot around the parking lot while three other groups take turns on track, seems good . So we have a big long look over the car for any leaks as good as we can on jack stands, none. Everything is still bolted to the car, nothing seems to be gone or hanging off, nothing loose, ok!

So next session we'll pick the pace up. Get out there, step on it....shifting is good, great actually . But on some of the long right turns the the oil press drops to 20lbs...not 0 like it used to before the accumulator installed but still not good. Left turns are MUCH better However it handcuffs me on turning the wick right up for some fast lap times but so be it. It did allow me to go fast enough to get some heat in the brakes and man do these things BITE! wow! Last time I had the car out, under braking the whole car would shudder violently and dart from side to side. Did neither of that today thumbs up!. Cont....

[Bob in St. Louis]

Cool. So cool. Wish I'd have been there for some of that.

[shortrack]

After a couple of my warm/hot laps I could detect a very slight chatter in the front end and a bit of a vague feedback in the steering wheel right at the apex in one turn in particular.. A slight push. Went in and raised the track bar a round and a half went back out GONE! front end glued to the track. ****ing awesome. A very easy car to drive fast, tons of feedback. As you approach the limit in the turns it will start to slide just a bit giving you lots of warning long before you get to the BIG slide where you end up off the track. Cont....

[shortrack]

Not to say the thing is a p uzzy by any means. There is a slow corner leading to the longest straight. A cool Steve McQueen powerslide on the exit transitioned into both rear slicks exploding in wheelspin in a nanosecond as it came on the cam. Before I could back off I did two big giant fishtails that took up the whole width of the track. Got out of that and was all good ..... Ok,....I consider my self warned Last session out it developed a miss in the ignition but there was only a few minutes left in the day so I came in and we loaded it up. All in all not perfect but very good overall. David came up with a plan to fix the oiling system. We'll see if we can get back out this year.

Heres a few stills from the vids that refuse to download.