66 Chevelle PT build (ours)

[tommycomfort]

Great looking '66( wish mine looked this good ), Tom. Have you had a chance to see how well the new fans work?

We ran the car pretty hard yesterday at Putnam Park road course with no cooling issues at all. I think the highest it reached was 205* after a 30 minute session. Once it was back in the pits the temps began to drop rapidly to the point of the fans shutting off. (A first for our cooling system) I do plan if time allows to cut some holes and build some rubber flaps that will allow more airflow at highway speeds. It's on my list of things to do before leaving for SEMA / optima, but since it is cooling very well it is not at the top.
Tom

[COPO-RAT]

We also upgraded to BFG KDW's and went up in sizes to 275/35-18 front and 295/35-18 rear. I can't believe they really fit!

WOW! 275s up front?! That seems big. I was wondering how much tire I'd be able to fit under the fron of my '67, guess I don't need to wonder anymore. What kind of modifications (if any) were needed to run a 275 on the front? Also, what widths and backspacing are your wheels?

[wiedemab]

Wow - the 18's look great! I really wish I could make it out to see you run. I guess I'll have to wait to see you on TV!

[Bad94]

Well i just got word that they are in Nashville .

[COPO-RAT]

Just stopped back in to see if Tom had replied and I see two guys posted that are very near me. Howdy guys.

[tommycomfort]

WOW! 275s up front?! That seems big. I was wondering how much tire I'd be able to fit under the fron of my '67, guess I don't need to wonder anymore. What kind of modifications (if any) were needed to run a 275 on the front? Also, what widths and backspacing are your wheels?

Nothing too fancy with our setup. ATS/AFX spindles, BAER (C-5) brakes and 18x9.5" wheels with 6.5" backspacing. We did end up with a 1/8" spacer to clear the brakes but other than that... We do rub a little tire on the ridetech musclebar swaybar, but the last swaybar we were rubbing rim. Blah!

[tommycomfort]

Well, we made it to SEMA and have the car fairly cleaned up. Still need to finish the OUSCI decal package, but that can wait until the sun isn't beating down on the car.





Check out some of the trek pictures here:
https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...country-trek-I

[Bad94]

Glad to see you made it.

[tommycomfort]

Alright guys, I am now recovered from the trip, finally received all the pictures my brother-in-law took and am back at work (firehouse) so I can finally post. First off, let me start by saying how disappointed I am in my overall performance. Tied with eight other cars for 39th out of 52 cars is not so impressive. The whole drive home I kept thinking, if I had only done this different, or if I had sorted the car better before heading west, etc, etc. My Dad used to tell me that excuses are like belly buttons, everyone has one. Later on I learned how the saying actually went. To start with, my driving needs tons of improvement and I will continue to work on that, but for the optima event I had my current skill level and nothing more. On the mechanical side, I had the car chassis dynoed about ten days before leaving to dial in the timing and hopefully gain a little adjustment on the carb. I didn't post anything about the results before the event for obvious reasons, but the bottom line is the 454 made 278.1 HP at the rear wheels and 397.9 ft.lbs of torque. I knew it was very mild, but dang I thought mild like 350 HP! Oh well, the torque feels good coming out of corners, but a little lacking on straightaways.

Bottom line, we had the time of our lives. We left our place the Thursday before SEMA and headed down to Nashville to link up with Brian and Nichole Finch, Mark Owens and Bill Howell. Friday morning we took off with me driving the 66 and Debbie driving the truck and trailer. Throughout the day we switched off and had a blast rolling with the group. Saturday we hauled the car on the trailer all day since fueling two vehicles every time we stopped was staggering. Then after linking up with Mark and Stacey Turner Saturday night in Williams, AZ all nine of us loaded up in their new motor home and headed to the Grand Canyon Sunday morning. What a blast. After that we all headed the rest of the way into Vegas (driving the 66 again).

All said and done, this was the best vacation we have ever taken! What great memories and a bunch of new friends!

I'll shut up and post some pictures.

Sam and Bill Howell at the Grand Canyon


The whole group of us at the Grand Canyon


Sam and I working on new exhaust hangers at SEMA


Deb, Sam, Elvis and myself on the road ralley out to Pahrump


Lined up and waiting for the warm-up laps


A little off the line on the road course


Me telling the style judges "What's not to like?" Maybe that's why they lost my score...


My Brother-in-law Don, Kaytlin and Sam


This is me holding my new L&H Kustoms spindles for the wagon (more on that later) and Chris Jacobs telling me "Parts aren't going to help you, your driving stinks..." Well, if not that's what he should have said.


All loaded up and ready to head to the hotel

[Zanie]

Cool!

Thanks for sharing!!!

[Bad94]

Even tho you finished 39th, you still have to hold your head high for building a car that was able to run with that class of cars. Its not about winning its about having fun and sending time with family and friends.

As for power, thats why i ended up putting the junk pile built LT1 into the black camaro, im working on another motor set up for the Nova.

[tommycomfort]

Even tho you finished 39th, you still have to hold your head high for building a car that was able to run with that class of cars. Its not about winning its about having fun and sending time with family and friends.

As for power, thats why i ended up putting the junk pile built LT1 into the black camaro, im working on another motor set up for the Nova.

I agree, having the time of our lives with family and friends is priceless, but doing well still holds much value. I would like to say this winter would bring an LS to rest in the engine compartment, but I think that will end up waiting until winter of 2011/12. Maybe a better distributor, carb and aluminum heads this winter to get us by. Remember, Deb not only wants serious progress on the house remodel, but wider tires and more motor in the wagon for next season. All I need is 28 hours in the day and I will get caught up! (along with hitting the lottery) Maybe I can home school Sam so he can help me out....
Tom

[tommycomfort]

Cool!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Dan,
Good to meet you out there! Glad to post the pictures and will post more once I sort through them.
Tom

[69projectKAOS]

love the chevelle, by far one of my favorite body styles. i definitely have to get my camaro down to one of these road course events, they look like a blast to drive and the decal kit would look sweet on my car lmao. -Dom

[tommycomfort]

love the chevelle, by far one of my favorite body styles. i definitely have to get my camaro down to one of these road course events, they look like a blast to drive and the decal kit would look sweet on my car lmao. -Dom

Dom,
You really need to make some of the events. More than the road courses and auto-x's, the people are just fun to be around.
Tom

[69projectKAOS]

yea i do, the thing is i live in ny and my car is nothing compared to your car and half the guys that i saw in the pictures and videos. lol maybe ill see all the pt guys at one one of these days. -Dom

[tommycomfort]

Here's a funny story. Deb and I had a little bit of free time this morning after our dental check-ups so we decided to drive the Chevelle up to Quinlin Automotive (our machine shop of choice) to talk to the owner about ways to make more power. Aluminum heads and a hydraulic roller cam seem to be the stop gap until we can do the LS swap. OK, none of that was the funny part of the story. On the way back I looked up in my mirror to see the red and blue flashing lights of a lawman. Believe me, I really don't drive fast anymore unless I am trying to keep up with Bill H. or Brian F. on a road trip. So, sure enough he was pulling us over and I was positive that other people were going faster than us and I started thinking that I really should have taken the OUSCI decals off since it looks like a racecar right now. I usually fair well with law enforcement since I show them the respect they deserve (being a firefighter and in the National Guard helps too). So, I put my hands on the wheel and waited for him to walk up. His words were something like "you can take your hands off the wheel, I just want to look at your car if you have time". Now I've said before that the biggest compliment I can get is when some stranger honks his horn and gives me a thumbs up going down the road, but this topped that. He did apologize and said if we were in a hurry we could go, but he was all about seeing every aspect of the Chevelle and in fact owns a 66 himself. I only wish I had taken a picture of us pulled over to post on here. It was an excellent car conversation and he plans to bring his Chevelle by my firehouse in the near future. Good times!
Tom

[wiedemab]

Now that's a pretty cool story.

[youthpastor]

way cool story thanks for sharing- Chris

[srh3trinity]

That is a cool story. My brother in law is a deputy and a big car guy. I will have to ask him if he has ever pulled anybody over to scope out their car. I have him talked into going a different route with his Fox body Mustang build. He was going with a built 351 and C4 for straight line action and now going with a stroker/T5 and suspension upgrades to make a better all around car that can go AutoXing from time to time.