Roadkill's 1983 Chevy Z28 - (Work Starts on Page 5)

[ianjpage]

Quoting: FUBAR

How did you get on with that Puller Kit?

Quoting: Roadkill

Yeah, great. Ian took the steering wheel off with no issues while I was doing something else.

As dean says it worked really well and pulled the wheel off no issue's - very good kit with all the various sizes / bolts etc.

[Andy]

Quoting: Roadkill

Holy $hit - 260 bucks for a bottle heater !  

No good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wizards-of-NOS-WoN-Nitrous-Oxide-Car-Bottle-Heater-/160669165250?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2568a0e6c2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wizards-of-NOS-WoN-Nitrous-Oxide-Car-Bottle-Heater-/160669165250?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2568a0e6c2

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Andy

No good?

It does work out a little cheaper ($260=£175, then there's duty and P&P) . . . but, looking at the fittings that come with it I'd have to buy some extra bits to connect it to my system.



It's really not essential as I don't plan to run the NOS yet . . . I was just hoping to get it all out of the way, now.



I must admit - the W.o.N connectors and switches are far superior to the cheap crap you get with N.O.S stuff . . . . I  haven't used any of the switches that came with the bits I've bought, opting to use those I fitted under Titsy's direction a couple of years ago !

[Roadkill]

Interesting . . . .

I thought I started pulling her apart in late 2006 . . . . . but based on :

Quoting: Roadkill on the 30th April, 2007

Uber productive day on Saturday (the 28th April 2007) !!!  

Dropped the axle off the car, stripped the brakes, panhard, LCA, and brake pipes off.

Removed the (nearly new) rear springs and shocks and cleaned them up as I'm sticking them on ebay, too.

The axle's in the Chav'scort waiting to go to either Hauser or Websters to have the LSD fitted . . .  

She's looking very sorry for herself at the moment but this is the beginning of something major and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

I actually started nearly SIX years ago, not seven.

Not as bad as I first thought AND it means it's STILL possible to get her finished within 6 years.



Have just fired a email off to Summit about my order.

[Titsy]

Quoting: Andy

We were talking about NOS on saturday at the Pod, one guy there was telling me last season his WOT switch either got stuck or the solenoid malfunctioned, I don't know the full ins and outs of how, but the result was the bottle not shutting off without him knowing, ended up emptying its contents into the inlet manifold.

I would suspect it was a solenoid stuck open as any sensible setup would have three electrical switch point to fire the solenoids: a master arm, WOT and finally either a driver switch for those who like to fly by the seat of their pants  or a window switch/controller that fires the solenoids in a certain rpm range, this can also be progressive to feather in the extra power rather than hit the drive-train with a sledgehammer....

Solenoids need to be regularly maintained and an in-line filter should be used to prevent any debris getting into the solenoids and making them stick open. If your really belt and braces then you can ad an extra solenoid in series with the nitrous and another extra in parallel with the fuel. this way if one sticks open on the on the nitrous line the other will still close. and if one fails to open on the fuel the other still will and you won't end up with a lean condition. the worst case scenario is that you end up running rich, which you'll notice fairly quick won't cause any major problems so long as you kill the fuel pump before it floods the intake. That said, regular maintenance and using filters should prevent 99.9% of potential issues.

[Roadkill]

The NOS kit I brought has an integral filter in one of the AN fittings for the Nitrous and an inline filter for the fuel, FYI.

I didn't use the fuel filter they supplied as I already run twin filters before the regulator.

Also FYI, Titsy, My bottle has the "Third gen" Hi-Flo valve and the blow-off adapter and blow-down tube was a straight bolt-on.

Apparently the cap and tube work on all 2nd and 3rd gen valves . . . the 3rd gen ones have "Made in Italy" stamped on them . . . .

[Titsy]

Quoting: Roadkill

Also FYI, Titsy, My bottle has the "Third gen" Hi-Flo valve and the blow-off adapter and blow-down tube was a straight bolt-on.

Apparently the cap and tube work on all 2nd and 3rd gen valves . . . the 3rd gen ones have "Made in Italy" stamped on them . . . .

Fair doos... I replaced my valves rather than just fit the blow-off adapter so I had extra ports to fit a pressure gauge direct to to bottle (so I know the pressure without having to open the valve to an inline gauge), and so that I should fit a pressure sensor/switch to run a closed loop bottle heater.

[Roadkill]

Yeah, that is a distinct benefit . . . the inline gauge doesn't bother me too much but the switch for the heater is a major plus.

[F Body]

Quoting: Roadkill

Saturday (the 28th April 2007) !!!

6 Years

Seems like only a year or two ago that you were doing burnouts at Billing

[Roadkill]

I think that was '05 !!!

EDIT - No more one-wheel-squeels anymore, though . . . .

[Roadkill]

Myself and Ian managed to get a few bits done yesterday before the rain came in and also fitted in a couple of hours this afternoon . . . .

So in no particular order :

Here's the (first ?) steering bracket I had made up :

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And here it is on the car (yes I know the engine bay needs a clean).

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No further progress on the steering except that the main column was removed today in order for an additional section to (hopefully) be welded onto the bottom (will make more sense later) . . .

Next up an update on the outside of the car . . . .

I don't think there's a picture of the new exits so here's one (obviously a mirror image the other side) :

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Also, because I'm a tart, I allowed one further addition to the exterior, badge-wise . . . It's pretty small and subtle :

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Here's the NOS bottle, gauge and blow-down tube fitted and finished . . .

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Here's the bottle with some clothes on :

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Next up, is the NOS system.  Now all plumbed, wired and solenoids dry-tested.  The recent addition is the purge kit (I ordered a new bit of pipe so I could route the purge-tube better).

This is a piccy to show the routing of the NOS line from under the car (FYI, Titsy) :

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Here's some others :

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Air cleaner back on :

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Purge-tube poking out of the hood :

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Lastly the door cards test-fitted a second time . . . This is a spare so ignore the rough drilling ! :

http://s30.photobucket.com/user/Roadkill-Auto/media/IMAG2313_zps0a9ae61a.jpg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">

[ianjpage]

coming along well, won't be long till it drives on the road, well to the first speed bump anyhow lol

[Cunning Plan]

I'll be interested to how you finish off the interior door-top where it meets the window.

[Roadkill]

Ahhh, yes.  You will.  

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Roadkill

I think that was '05 !!!  

Must have been '06. Alex was born in July '05, but he was at Billing when you did the burnouts.

[Roadkill]

Fair enough.

Unfortunately I had to work late last night so only managed to fit in an hour or so on the door cards . . .

Got the driver's side all drilled, filed, de-burred and rubbed down ready for paint . . . got the initial drilling done on the passenger's side (there's one less hole this side which will save me a good 10 minutes)

Hopefully, weather permitting, I should have both ready for paint and maybe even painted tonight.



I also dropped the main steering column into the fab shop for some "work" yesterday to try and solve/reduce the steering woes !

Lastly, got an update from Summit - the bits I need are now scheduled to be with them mid JUNE !!! - 3 months after they originally said, so clearly I'm p!ssed off and intend to attempt to cancel the order.

[Andy]

Rk - out of interest, how much did you pay for your LT1 engine? Seen a 350 4 bolt main, and I'm thinking it'd make a nice project, just no idea how much these things are worth.

[Roadkill]

Effectively I got paid for my LT1.

Myself and Rob acquired a LT1/T56 powered Firebird for something like £1,100 (so £550 each) - which was a good price.

After breaking the car for parts (Rob managed to get good money for most of the parts) it ended up only owing me £250-300 at most.

I then sold my old 305ci and freshly refurbish T5 plus some other crap for £1300 !

So.  You could say someone paid me £1000 for me to have a LT1 & T56 !!!



A "fairly standard" 350ci you should be able to pick up for around £400-500 depending on condition/age/included goodies etc, etc . . . 4-Bolt's are more desirable but I've not noticed them really demand anything more, money-wise.  

Gen I SBC's are more common and have far more goodies available for them, but Gen II's (ie the LT1) are lighter (if from an F-Body) and use slightly more modern techniques to achieve more power.  They often tend to be cheaper as they're an "unknown" to many (who oddly seem to loathe them) but the bottom-end's are basically the same.

I've never regretted going with a Gen II - especially as Manual transmissions seem more common with these.

Don't forget also, the a 2-bolt can quite easily be made a 4-bolter especially by someone who knows his way around tooling.

EDIT - It's said that a well prepped 2-Bolt 350, with cast crank is good for up to 500-600 Hp.

Unless you're going forced induction or adding serious giggle juice I wouldn't worry.

[Andy]

Just saw it going on Rods'n'Sods, only in Oxford, 4 Bolt, comes with all the accs, for £500. I'm curious.

Thing is, I have no idea, even I do build one up, how the hell to intergrate it with my car. Will keep researching on Thirdgen.org!

Not exactly a well written ad:
http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/stuff-sale/chevy-350-4-bolt-main-block-79322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/stuff-sale/chevy-350-4-bolt-main-block-79322

[Roadkill]

I'm guessing yours is a centre-bolt valve cover type at the moment ?

These are basically what the LT1 is based on . . . The Gen I has the much squarer valve covers.

Anything's do-able, though, I'm not sure an older SBC would work if you're running all the smog stuff ???

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

Unfortunately I had to work late last night so only managed to fit in an hour or so on the door cards . . .

Got the driver's side all drilled, filed, de-burred and rubbed down ready for paint . . . got the initial drilling done on the passenger's side (there's one less hole this side which will save me a good 10 minutes)

Hopefully, weather permitting, I should have both ready for paint and maybe even painted tonight.

cool sounds like good progress overall though!

Quoting: Roadkill

Lastly, got an update from Summit - the bits I need are now scheduled to be with them mid JUNE !!! - 3 months after they originally said, so clearly I'm p!ssed off and intend to attempt to cancel the order.

WTF they really are taking the piss now, they just seem to be putting it back and back...wonder when you would actually get it if you left it!!

[Roadkill]

Will be sending Summit an email tomorrow assuming I get the time.



Anyway, I got the other door card ready to go ... they're both scotch-brited, degreased and ready for paint.

Gonna keep my fingers crossed, hope for good weather tomorrow morning and try to paint them before work.

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Roadkill

Gonna keep my fingers crossed, hope for good weather tomorrow morning and try to paint them before work.

Well, cold, damp and windy isn't ideal for spray-painting but I took it !

Panels are painted and drying in a nice warm garage . . . I checked on them just as I was leaving and they're wrinkling nicely !



Here's a pic from last night - both ready for paint (driver's side at the top) :

http://s30.photobucket.com/user/Roadkill-Auto/media/IMAG2317_zpsd2c5ef3f.jpg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">

I'll give them until tomorrow night to harden . . . hopefully the weather's good and I'll get them fitted, then.

[Cunning Plan]

It amazes me how you manage to fit this all in

Impressive momentum to finish the project too.

I am still for the door-top finishing...

[Andy]

Scotch briting ally by hand has to be up there with the most annoying stuff to get on your hands.

Looking good though! Are you going with a crackle finish?