The Official Hot Rod Thread - Part 3: Money Pit Anonymous

[thunderchicken]

Well today wasn’t a TOTAL waste I suppose. Figured out some more parts I need to order. Bummed that we couldn’t get further. Quickly running out of non-snowy weather.

Yeah while it sucks the number of days without snow potential are dwindling, don't let it get you into a rush to get it done. Might be just as well off to keep working and get it on the road in the spring

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Yeah while it sucks the number of days without snow potential are dwindling, don't let it get you into a rush to get it done. Might be just as well off to keep working and get it on the road in the spring

Oh its getting done before Thanksgiving. I’ll lose sleep if I have to. We had some clearance issues between the rods and the cam. Emailed Comp to see if they had a small base circle cam with my same specs. If not, it’s all coming apart to grind on.

 

[femurphy77]

Just wait till you start plumbing stuff with braided stainless hose! Hooking up my power steering/hydroboost I've got close to $200 in fittings and hose and I've yet to plumb in the cooler.

 

[thunderchicken]

Just wait till you start plumbing stuff with braided stainless hose! Hooking up my power steering/hydroboost I've got close to $200 in fittings and hose and I've yet to plumb in the cooler.

Plumbing with stainless hose .. Two words... Dry sump. Plumbing a wet sump engine is gravy work, nothing to it but to do it. It all adds up and all the small parts cost more than we realize and they are often forgotten until they are needed

 

[churchmouse]

Oh its getting done before Thanksgiving. I’ll lose sleep if I have to. We had some clearance issues between the rods and the cam. Emailed Comp to see if they had a small base circle cam with my same specs. If not, it’s all coming apart to grind on.

It was not a wasted day as we did learn/remember some things.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

It was not a wasted day as we did learn/remember some things.

Haven’t heard back from Comp yet but I’ve been scouring the internet and the only small base cams that they offer are radical drag racing profiles. BUT Howards does offer a retro-fit hydraulic roller kit with a small base circle. I’m looking for one that closely matches the specs of the one I had.

Unless you’d rather take it apart and grind rods...

 

[churchmouse]

Haven’t heard back from Comp yet but I’ve been scouring the internet and the only small base cams that they offer are radical drag racing profiles. BUT Howards does offer a retro-fit hydraulic roller kit with a small base circle. I’m looking for one that closely matches the specs of the one I had.

Unless you’d rather take it apart and grind rods...

I really do not want to grind. It will be the rod bolts that we are grinding on. Not the rods. I seriously do not want to weaken that area.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I’ve found one that is basically identical to the comp cam except it’s a 112 LSA instead of 110.

 

[churchmouse]

I’ve found one that is basically identical to the comp cam except it’s a 112 LSA instead of 110.

That is not all that bad.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

That is not all that bad.

Yeah the benefits of the cam package outweigh those 2 degrees in my opinion.

 

[jeffsqartan]

As far as budget goes... Yeah, it's tough to keep it in order.
Staying on budget requires REALLY good planning and a STRONG will.
When I built my first compound turbo setup, I technically didn't have a budget. The goal was to be cheaper than 90% of the kits out there.
I was able to purchase two turbos and plumb them together for just under 2k. Most kits were $1,500+ without any turbos.

We'll see if I can do that again with the Mustang lol
I wanted to do a full turbo setup for 1k or less. Turbo, plumbing, injectors, fuel pump, tuning... All of it.
The more I looked at it, I was gonna be a hair over 1k once I made 30 trips to the hardware store while plumbing it.
And then I talked to some guys who suggested I use a PIMP XS, which is based off of a Mega Squirt computer. And 3x more expensive than what I originally planned.
So now my goal is full turbo setup for under 2k. My current spreadsheet has me at $1,450 before plumbing/little things that are gonna soak up the rest of that cost.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[churchmouse]

As far as budget goes... Yeah, it's tough to keep it in order.
Staying on budget requires REALLY good planning and a STRONG will.
When I built my first compound turbo setup, I technically didn't have a budget. The goal was to be cheaper than 90% of the kits out there.
I was able to purchase two turbos and plumb them together for just under 2k. Most kits were $1,500+ without any turbos.

We'll see if I can do that again with the Mustang lol
I wanted to do a full turbo setup for 1k or less. Turbo, plumbing, injectors, fuel pump, tuning... All of it.
The more I looked at it, I was gonna be a hair over 1k once I made 30 trips to the hardware store while plumbing it.
And then I talked to some guys who suggested I use a PIMP XS, which is based off of a Mega Squirt computer. And 3x more expensive than what I originally planned.
So now my goal is full turbo setup for under 2k. My current spreadsheet has me at $1,450 before plumbing/little things that are gonna soak up the rest of that cost.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Boost is very cool. And boost is also very spendy.

 

[jeffsqartan]

Most definitely.
It seems to be easier at low power levels. I'm only shooting for 350, maybe 400 to the rear wheel.
My limiting factor will definitely be my injectors. I want something fun, but controllable on an autocross course. I figure if I try to go turbo to 500+, lag will be a bigger factor. Not to mention the new engine that I'll need to handle that power and not split in half.
IMO, cheap boost by way of junkyard parts and DIY building/tuning the setup is similar to the old school hot rodding when they'd pull heads and intakes and port them in the garage.
Way more satisfaction than buying a set of AFR heads and slapping them on. Yeah it works, yeah it's still cool, but to say I make as much or more power for the same or less money as your HCI car, and I did it all myself. That's why I like it. It's pride.

 

[femurphy77]

It is fun turning wrenches, working thru problems and making forward progress. That's why I changed direction on the Gal and decided to concentrate on rebuilding/upgrading the front end and brakes for awhile. I've stalled on the engine long enough and will have to be coming to a decision there in the near future; come on 4,19, 33, 54, and 60 *9!!

 

[churchmouse]

Most definitely.
It seems to be easier at low power levels. I'm only shooting for 350, maybe 400 to the rear wheel.
My limiting factor will definitely be my injectors. I want something fun, but controllable on an autocross course. I figure if I try to go turbo to 500+, lag will be a bigger factor. Not to mention the new engine that I'll need to handle that power and not split in half.
IMO, cheap boost by way of junkyard parts and DIY building/tuning the setup is similar to the old school hot rodding when they'd pull heads and intakes and port them in the garage.
Way more satisfaction than buying a set of AFR heads and slapping them on. Yeah it works, yeah it's still cool, but to say I make as much or more power for the same or less money as your HCI car, and I did it all myself. That's why I like it. It's pride.

When we were deep into these things we called it Budweiser engineering. ! and my 3 racing buddy's, 3 cases of ice cold bud, a pad of paper, pencils, straight edge, plumb bob and a string line and we could and did build about anything.
We set right most of the issues in the engineering universe.

 

[jeffsqartan]

When we were deep into these things we called it Budweiser engineering. ! and my 3 racing buddy's, 3 cases of ice cold bud, a pad of paper, pencils, straight edge, plumb bob and a string line and we could and did build about anything.
We set right most of the issues in the engineering universe.

I'd love to buy a few cases of beer and just sit in a garage and listen to some of those stories some time. I know that there's a ton I could learn.
Too bad I don't like beer. So maybe a couple cases, a bottle of rum, and a 2 liter of Pepsi lol

 

[churchmouse]

I'd love to buy a few cases of beer and just sit in a garage and listen to some of those stories some time. I know that there's a ton I could learn.
Too bad I don't like beer. So maybe a couple cases, a bottle of rum, and a 2 liter of Pepsi lol

If only I still drank adult beverages...

 

[thunderchicken]

If only I still drank adult beverages...

Who needs adult beverages? Pepsi or an ice cold Coke is fine by me. Lol

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Engine assembly party next Saturday at Mouse’s!

 

[bobzilla]

Got the fuel system plumbed and wired. moved the pump to the outside of the frame rail, which moved the feed lineabout 6 inches farther from the header.

Also learned that Chevelle headers fit, but you can't use the truck filter. Had t opick up a shorter car filter. Spent the last half of the weekend sick so nothing else got done.