quarterbooty

I thought about it, but I saw so many high marks for the Lee 670 boxes that I just planned to go that route. What kind of setup are you guys using? It looks really trick. How does it feel (if you have yours on the road yet)? BTW, I like the SPC uppers and tall BJs that you went with. How long were you on the phone with Marcus? Nick

Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys! Fronts are 4.75. The rears are kind of odd. The driver side is 6.25 and the passenger side is 5.75. The rear portion of the wheel opening lip was tighter on the driver side, and I didn't want to cut on it (car was already painted), so I decided to go with the mixed backspacing. Apparently, this is more common than you might think. At least that's what the guys at Driverz Inc indicated. The difference in wheel lip width isn't noticeable, and both wheel wells are filled out this way. Of course, down the road selling these will be somewhat of a challenge, as someone will most likely need to rehoop one of them. Nick

Hey guys. I don't post here often, but I just got done making some major changes to my car that I figured were worth posting about. I've owned my '72 since 2003. It was definitely a 10 footer when I bought it, but over the course of several years and a lot of hours it ended up like this: It was basically a resto mod to this point. The drive train was modified and upgraded, but the car remained stock appearing. The suspension and brakes were redone, but not with anything elaborate (Hotchkis springs, Hellwig bars, Metco trailing arms, poly bushings). It rode nice, but that's about it. The brakes left much to be desired, but that's expected when you're pulling less than 10 inHg at idle with a vacuum assisted booster. So, combine the sub-par handling and abysmal braking with an "it's never done" mentality, and the result was big overhaul (for me at least!). I replaced the front suspension with control arms and spindles from Detroit Speed. I also went with their sway bar and coilovers (550#/in spring rate). Build quality and fitment are both top notch. For the front brakes, I went with the C6 Z06 setup from Kore3 (6 piston monoblock calipers and 14" rotors). I can't say enough positive things about Tobin and their products. The biggest problem I had during the entire brake system upgrade was stopping a leak on the original combination valve proportioning fitting. I pulled the valve apart to eliminate the proportioning function (now using an adjustable Wilwood in the rear line), and I had it apart a few times before I got the right o-ring and sealed it up. Out back, I elected to keep the Metco trailing arms and Hellwig sway bar for the time being. I did install Detroit Speed's bolt in rear coilover kit to match the front and get the ride height adjustability. Rear brakes are also C6 Z06 (4 piston monoblock calipers and 13.4" rotors with the Kore3 drum-in-hat parking brake assembly). It took me forever to decide on wheels and tires, but I eventually settled on Rushforth Super Spokes with Nitto 555s. 18x8s and 245s up front and 18x10s with 285s out back. Here's how it looks now: Here's the engine compartment. It's a 383 with a forged Eagle crank and H-beam rods, JE pistons with 11:1 CR, AFR 195 Eliminator heads, a 242°/248° 0.584"/0.579" Comp hydraulic roller ground with XFI lobes on a 110° LSA, Holley HP carb, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, MSD ignition, and the list goes on. It's nothing special, but it runs good and gets out of its own way. I did toss the vacuum booster in favor of a hydroboost unit. It's a relief not to have to stand on the pedal anymore. As for alignment specs, here's where I'm at (nominally): Caster: +4° Camber: -0.4° Toe-in: 1/16" The car handles great, and it's much more fun to drive now. Not that it wasn't before, but there's a lot less "work" involved and it's definitely confidence inspiring. The ride is firm, but I wouldn't describe it as harsh. It actually handles like a modern vehicle. I'm planning on a 600 steering box upgrade soon. The old 800 just feels mushy and doesn't provide any road feedback. Let me know what you guys think. I'd be happy to provide more information or detail on how this went together. Thanks for looking! I can't wait for Good Guys to get here so I can embarrass myself on the autocross! Nick

I have to chime in here. In my opinion, the A/F meters that just have LEDs to tell you which side of stoichiometric you lie are, well, worthless. Sorry, but there is no easier way to put it. I considered one myself, but ended up getting an LM-1, LMA-2, and MAP sensor setup. This is unquestionably the best set of tools that I own. Yes, it's expensive. But, you'll know exactly what your carb is doing. You can make quantitative decisions based upon objective data on what to change. An AFR of 14.7:1 is what is know as the stoichiometric ratio (for gasoline), where all the fuel and all the oxygen content in the air of the combustion chamber will perfectly balance each other out during combustion. In the O2 sensor world, this corresponds to a lambda reading of 1. Lambda values greater than 1.0 indicate excess air and are called lean mixtures. Lambda values less than 1.0 indicate excess fuel for complete combustion, and are called rich mixtures. The aforementioned LED style A/F meters lead the User to believe they always want to run at 14.7:1, which is certainly not the case. For example, at WOT in a N/A application, an AFR of ~12-12.5:1 is ideal (this, of course, will vary by application). WOT at stoichiometric could prove damaging to an engine. Conversely, one could safely tune his/her carb to deliver a mixture of let's say 15:1 during cruise. A mixture this lean is perfectly safe when the engine load is low. With respect to dyno tuning, you are only tuning for WOT and maximum power. Yes, this is good, but off-idle bogs and other tuning issues (e.g., erratic fuel delivery at main circuit onset --> emulsion system) will never manifest themselves. A WB02 unit like the LM-1 can aid one in resolving drivability problems. The LM-1 was very useful in helping me rid my car of a part-throttle stumble. If you really want to dial your carb in, consider an LM-1. Split the cost between several friends and pass it around. That's what Heckeng and I did. Although I don't like the Quadrajets, just buying a Holley and sticking it on out of the box is not a guaranteed fix. In fact, I'd be willing to bet it will run pig rich in the stock tune. Not only does this waste fuel, but excessive amounts of fuel will actually reduce power output. The point is, ALL carbs need to be dialed in to YOUR application. What worked on your buddies car may or may not work on yours. With the WB02 setup, you'll be able to watch as you tailor you fuel curve exactly to your liking.