Build Thread 1978 Fairmont. I bet somebody back home’s thinkin’…I wonder why he don’t write..?

Happy Belated Birthday Mike.

You've reached the Fork in the Road, so to speak.

1) Sell it and relax with Kate and never worry about the stress and aggravation of car building again.
2) Enjoy it as is, answer the repetitive questions of the who, what, how, and why every time you take it out, enjoy instant tire frying boost and a pretty damn fast street car.
3) Take out a 2nd mortgage and keep building the pss out of it. More huger turbo, more bigger injectors, more better tuning, transbrake, buttons for staging, bumping in, boost builder, add nitrous to spool the huge a$$ turbo you put on, swap to slicks at the track....oh and basically create an undriveable (enjoyably) street car.

Wait...that's the sermon you've given others...so you should know it. The trick is to balance on the razor's edge between fork 2 and 3. Fast as $hit car that you can drive TO and FROM the track and still enjoy that ride, not just the 1320 ride.
But.....I don't have to take out a 2nd to keep building the piss out of it..:shrug:

Im thinking about getting rid of some weight responsibly..by replacing certain things..only I don't quite know what to really expect as a potential weight savings.
If I:
Change the stock k member and lower ca's for tubular.
Change the a2w intercooler and all of its complexity, (rear radiators, water reservoir, electric water pump) to an a2a unit.
Rebuild the tork troll ( as planned), and make the new one "F body" style out of round chromoly tubing.

I have no idea how much weight that shaves w/o having to compromise..but let's say its 150 lbs..

Then its a 3250 lb car/ driver, and its still just as driveable. It lets me fix the still leaking oil pan, make a prettier, potentially stronger torque arm, ....and im still gonna do something about the turbo.
 
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Gut the interior....drill holes all over the structure...in non- structural parts....90/10s....rebuild the troll...big turbo....a little hit of nitrous....more fuel....e85....and hate your ride to and from the track.

If you want a racecar then build one to do racecar ish with. You've got a nice show and go....don't loose focus. The racing world is a sea of broken egos...and empty pockets. Chasing fast is expensive...and never enough. I thought you shook this addiction years ago.
 
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Gut the interior....drill holes all over the structure...in non- structural parts....90/10s....rebuild the troll...big turbo....a little hit of nitrous....more fuel....e85....and hate your ride to and from the track.

If you want a racecar then build one to do racecar ish with. You've got a nice show and go....don't loose focus. The racing world is a sea of broken egos...and empty pockets. Chasing fast is expensive...and never enough. I thought you shook this addiction years ago.
Ok...point taken.

But at the same time...I didn’t go through the whole conversion headache to put that 2j in the car only to have target power goals of a warmed over LS, for the sake of reliability.

Or i woulda just put an LS in it.

Sunday was a bitch slap for me. I know now that there will be a trade off to make it faster....but it’s gotta be faster than what it is... With my new “Be glad it is what it is“, tempered by the “stop being a pissy lil bitch” power goal......7.0 is the go.

SO.........
A 7.0 car is a high 10 in the 1/4...Without question, a blazingly fast street car.
If the Monster weighs 3400 lbs with driver,..the car needs to make 505 hp to get me there. ( Not unrealistic)

I now know that weight shaving regimen is fruitless..losing 100 pounds means it only takes 490 hp to get there instead of 505..

Id rather add a pound of boost, instead of trying to lose 100 pounds of weight.

So, the turbo has got to get me there.
 
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The turbo supplier is closed for the week...( something about being closed for inventory)...
With that being the situation, i’ve no choice but to do my own homework looking into why my car runs like it does..
( aka...slow)
This has been linked before...kinda my initial inspiration for doing what I did..

I spoke with this guy quite a while ago...he told me that they put the right turbo on the thing, but initially had to limit power because of the weak factory trans behind it. His aspirations we’re for 700 hp, after converting over to a 6 speed manual.
His engine in the pic...is dead stock excepting the exhaust manifold......and the 67 mm turbo..Mine is 57 mm...5/16” smaller.

I now know that even changing the exhaust housing over will probably not give me what i need....What I need is a 67 mm twin scroll turbo with a .67-.81 exhaust housing...

That..should fix me...no change in drive ability...maybe a little lag..but when it starts making power, it should pull my eyes out, and make up for a “less than” off the line performance
 
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Turbo turbo turbo ....

my buddy made 905 through a t56 yesterday on e85 . They couldn’t go further because the turbo became the issue and was out of steam . Bet it’s every bit of a 650-700 whp on pump .
Don’t over think this one too far . Yes it will make less because of the 80e but that car has a lot of potential without making it a race car .

Baltic Supra ( check YouTube ) made it Into the high 7sec zone consistent low 8 with a full weight mk4 Supra which is a pig and a a340 auto behind it . You can go whatever your definition of fast is for this car .
 
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Fast on the street is relative to who is talking. I had a guy with a loud 2004 GT that everyone said was fast....just like the black s550 ( another loud car ). I pulled on both of them to 80mph. I did this with my bone stock ( except filter and filter housing )....19 ecoboost. Over 80mph doesn't happen for me on the street because of three things.

1. I'm over the hill
2. I'm a lil'wiser
3. I live in Virginia...over 80 is big big trouble in itself.
There's no need for anything above that for me. If you can't pull past my fender before that then you lost. With enough road something will always be faster...same with the track. I go to a bunch of events and support my race team...but refuse to put any of my cars out there. I know what will happen. My ego will get in the way...thousands will be spent....car will break ( multiple times )...someone will always be faster, I will get frustrated and loose interest. Getting beat in a car thats not powerful on the street is one thing....getting beat in a powerful car by a stock car is a whole different bucket of shame. You'll always get beat, Mike.

On a street car the bottom end pull is where its at. A 12 second car on the street is still fast.

Put the new turbo you probably have in the works on the car....get it a little more powah...and spend the winter customizing some more cool suspension stuff...and baby mods....don't forget body mods.
 
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Can you ever have enough powa? Doubtful. When it runs 9's, you'll be like, if I just advanced/retarded the cams 2 degrees, added 1 more psi of boost, let the tires down to 12psi, I could get an ATE second 1/4 mile time slip. There's a guy on turbo ford with a Capri and a 2.3t. Got it down into the 9.70s. Said that's it, I technically can't run 9's at NHRA tracks because I don't have enough bars and a comp license. Kept saying all summer/into fall I am not tearing my car apart to redo the cage....I'm not tearing my car apart...I'm not tearing my car apart. He still street drives it some.

Right now dash is out, bars going in. The temptation is real. It's just as bad as a drug addiction. Even when I was using my 85 as a shelf, I was constantly concocting another way to make it fast. Hell today I bet I've spent 2 hours looking at 2.3 ecoboost and if you can megasquirt it.
 
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Spoke with a dude at Boost Labs...( I shoulda listened to him the first time I was talking to "experts" :nonono:)

Back then, he was recommending a 64/66 t4 frame thing that was rated to 800-900 hp, supposed to be all in at 3500 rpm boost wise..and it was gonna cost 900.
I thought he was missing what I was telling him I wanted..Street car,....instant boost. 550-600 whp.

When I called work turbo and told that guy the same stuff he was like " I know just what you need...may need some tweaking after you get it going, but you're gonna love it...
And on street tires its pretty scary..but....
What good does being able to blaze street tires do for me?
Well...besides the smoke, the sideways driving, and the potential to lose it at any given second...
While talking to the guy at Boost lab, he literally told me how my car was performing after telling him that they paired a small frame exhaust housing with a 57mm compressor.
"I'll bet the thing didn't do anything past like 5500..right?"
:bang:
How'd you know?
" I'd also bet that if you put a pressure gauge in the exhaust at the turbine housing for every pound of pressure you're making at 5500 rpm, there's probably half that stopping that engine from exhaling"
You're engine is constipated.

Perfect...

I go on to ask him purely for my own benefit, " Are they gonna be able to fix this with an exhaust housing swap?"

Not really.

I was hoping you wouldn't tell me that.

"That engine needs more turbo w/o going overboard..the 64/66 I recommended will get you to your 7.0 when you put your foot on it depending on how well it leaves, and how good traction is, a 57mm is more suited for a modded 4 banger"

So..where does that leave me?
I really don't care to race it at the track, when I was there Sunday, I quickly came to remember why I stopped drag racing..
The old grudge racing days I used to enjoy have moved significantly upward..back then ( in the mid 90's) a 6.50 car was typical for just about anybody that had a fair amount of racecar sht on their cars..Now..a 6.50 gets its ass handed to it by a SC S550 mustang or Redeye Hellcat..that drove in the gate.

I AINT TRYING TO BEAT NOTHING.

Its now just a matter of finishing the equation so that it adds up..
1 2JZ + 1 set of 264 cams, + 1 set of 95 lb hr injectors, + 1 64-66 mm turbo + 23 psi is supposed to add up to 600 hp.

I Have all of the components...I have a healthy running engine..I expect it to add up.
 
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So when are you buying the parts?
Im waiting on Work Turbo to come back on Monday...the turbo is off. Im gonna take the whole hotside off, and find the exhaust leak. It wasn't leaking under the turbo like before, but there is a leak. You can hear it..and inside the car, you can smell it. ( And without open windows,you'd get a headache quick)
On Monday, im asking them to work out some sort of swap to the right spec turbo.
How that conversation goes will determine where I go from there.
 
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The Thanksgiving WGAF Daily Chronicle

Laying in bed this morning thinking about next week, and wondering if they’ll work with me to make it right.
At the same time thinking that one way OR the other,....It’s gonna be made right.

So, since it’s idle mind time for me, knowing what I want/ need in the way if a turbocharger now,....the various scenarios pop into my head.

1. Work Turbo changes out the turbo.
*I’m good.
2. They let me “ upgrade” the turbo, and give them that tiny wheezer back for a “ nominal fee”.
* It’s still good.
3. They don’t, and now I have to source the correct piece from somewhere else.
*I‘m not good.

If I have to get another turbo from somewhere else I can either go back to the guy that gave me the right advice in the first place, and bleed off another 1000.00 on the correct premium turbo, OR I use the spec and try to find a Chinee turbo for a 1/3rd of that. Needless to say, I’ll be pissed, and stuck with a turbo that reselling will result in at least a 50% loss.

So, i’m gonna go with the opposite of my normal expectation, and hope that they offer me one of the two above scenarios..which will bring the engine to a place where I hope to be satisfied with.
That’ll add about Two Hundred Horsepower to the current monster power level, and give me the 7.0 that is the new “ GO”.

And once that is behind me on Monday....and depending on the amount of money that may or may not cost me...
Im gonna beef up the rear to tolerate the anticipated power.
And that’ll be the second call I make.
To Moser.
I’ve decided on 31 spline axles, and a Detroit trutrac. I’ll also cut the ends off the axle tubes, and put 9” ends on the rear..I need a little extra sidewall clearance on the tire’s, and I have about 1/4-3/8”...so I’ll split that.
I was set on a Detroit Locker, but it’s more money, and for the life of me couldn’t figure out why I’d do that instead of the trutrac..so.. @revhead347 ‘s advice gets through to me.

Lastly,..The Tork troll is holding up to the current power level, and the front mount appears to be working great. If rwtq also goes straight up 200 more pound feet along with the power goal, I’m wondering if he is up to the task..

This is what I’m planning in case he isn’t.
1606403369393.jpeg

Just like the F body that this is taken from, Ill build a tubular version that fits the Monster. Obviously, instead of running under the rear like typical Fox body t/a‘s do, this one will run beside the driveshaft just like it does on a Camaro. This will be another conversation I’ll have with Moser though, and depending on what they tell me, i may just buy it as is, or make my own, or scrap the plan altogether.

If i build one though, It’ll be tied into welded brackets at the top and bottom of the center section so that I can integrate something more like this one, designed when converting the weak IRS out of a 2004-2006 GTO to a SRA
1606404645378.jpeg
 
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Yesterday was spent looking for, finding, and hopefully fixing the exhaust leaks I’ve been smelling and hearing since putting on the tiny wheezer. There was evidence of exhaust leakage at both the inlet and outlet of the wastegate.
I believe that the dome on the gate was hitting the firewall, and that was holding it off just enough to prevent a good seal.
At this point in the build, all I could do to fix that was to beat the firewall with a hammer.

* You can imagine for your own selves how that looks now.

As a measure of added insurance, I also used the same methods i usually take when extra insurance is required......
I glued it.

I started down the path towards fixing the hack job on the rear quarters..
20201126_141922.jpg

20201126_141835.jpg

I didnt take a before pic on the driver side, but you still get the picture using the passenger side just the same. This is only the start before I add more metal that will turn this " mudflap" into more of a little wheel flare.
If that doesn't go as planned, itll fck up hours of work. Unlike regular mud flaps that are usually screwed to the wheel well lip...I have nothing to screw to there. I had to make it attach to the inner wheel tub, which required that I make a piece that follows the inner tub, and then welded that to the flap.
The next thing I do will be the metal that transitions onto the lower quarter, and that will be where the mud flap coukd turn to crap. I’ll have to get out the freakin TIG, and attempt to weld thin gauge steel on an outside corner..( I’m bad at that). If successfu, and it don’t warp all to hell, it’ll be held on by rivets on the inside in the wheel well, and 3m double-sided tape.( hopefully)
Once I get it mocked up to the point of a good fit, smoothed and worked enough to paint, ill seal the inside quarter with seam sealer, paint the flares body color, and smooge it onto the body.
 
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While I wait on the turbocharger issue to resolve itself, I started down the path towards upgrading the rear end.
The thing is advertised at 772.00 ( which is on par for how the Detroit piece is retailed) I got the one above for 550.00. The Detroit Trutrac is available for right at 500.00. For 50 bucks, and just because i’ve always wanted one, i decided to get the locker instead.
1606568212534.jpeg



Monday, i’ll order the axles, bearings and the housing ends....Then i’ll have to either decide to pay my Trump lovin friend to setup everything, or try it myself.
 
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