Carla's King

A new update, I was reading up. On an rv forum and some guys made an electrical system much like I want in there rv. Using some of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001P6FTHC There 12 circuit fuse blocks, and fortunately before finding out about them I had drawn a wiring diagram for a new fuse box that I'd be needing with 6 main lines and a total of 18 split lines. For instance I'd have one main line for my seeing lights, and from there it would split into 3 other fuse lines the main line being the main fuse and the other 3 being backups. Example. First fuse distributes the 12v power to the other 3, forthis example let's say each of those 3 fuses are tied to 30 amp circuits I would install the 3 fuses with 30 amp fuses and the first line fuse would be a 90 amp fuse. So in theory. That line when activated ( high beams are switched on which. Would supply current to my headlights ((inner lights on the chevelle head lights)) and high beams ((outer lights on the chevelle head lights)) and tail lights... Each requiring no more than 30 amps a piece. In the event that any of them attempt to draw significantly more amperage than what is needed or if they all begin. To draw more power in unison, I can save the lights and sacrifice the initial 90 amp fuse. This is all theorizing of course. I don't think I'm an electrical prodigy or anything but I think that would work for my application or at least it would have but since I found that blue sea fuse box thing I think ill just integrate two of those little bastards up under my dash somewhere

@Monte70Car, I'm building a custom fuse block/distribution block, for the purpose of keep the wiring neat. I'm also angling the dash where the gauge cluster is forward. Instead of angling the gauges back and recessing into the dash. Its going to contour outward (pictures will explain more once my fiberglassing is finished) also I need to redo the light wiring for the head lights tail lights and high beams. Windshield wipers I did not think of and thank you for reminding me (facepalm) now I have to find a place to put that switch on the dash... Also as far as things I've removed that you listed, I do not have a horn, a/c unit or heater, also am missing all my interior lights, the glove box light doesn't work, most if not all of the gauge lights don't funtion, and I also removed my headlights pull switch and replaced them with 2 toggle switches. And the hole in the firewall will have a new plate welded on there which I will use to mount my 3 train horns... @Andreas, Thank you for the explanation, I have the steering wheel off guess I just got to dismantle more before I get to it. Ill try and do that today. @Mo's70MC, Trust me, its really not that much :-/ my engine bay literally has just the motor... No horn, no smog unit, no a/c unit, most of everything that isn't completely necessary has been removed already by the previous owner. So my main concerns are going to be the alternator, starter, and a few things in between. @Black07ss, Don't worry I planned on using the ash tray portion of the dash to house a few pairs of ear plugs :-P @Mo's70MC Again, I can't see the picture but here's a description of what's removed so far. Dash, a/c, steering wheel, front and rear seats, back deck, carpet, headliner, and basically everything from the inside of the vehicle. I'm taking this oppurtunity to redo the wiring, and sand/prime the inside of the car, then I'll add dynomat to the roof, floors, doors, back deck, and firewall. Then ill be getting some black carpet from home depot to lay on the floor. So far, that's what I have planned and will be doing all of that within the next 2 months. But as soon as I'm done with the dash I will be posting up pictures... And I do have to thank you Andreas, your the motivation for everything that I'm doing from you LLC customs posting of that chevelle. God once I figured out how they did it all, my mind started cart wheeling!

Well in theory that is exactly what I'm doing. And thank you for the reply. I have a fuse box that I built for my 95 camry that I never finished but can use for my monte. Has fuses for, stereo, headlights, high beams, fog lights, tail lights, led's, amp fans, and 4 auxilary fuses that I haven't decided what to use for yet, probably going to use them for each door popper, and the hood/trunk. Or put both poppers on a single fuse and use one for the inverter for the heater I plan on installing (a cheapo one from wal mart fabbed into the bottom of the passenger side dash for my fiancee who always seems to be cold, even in 100 degree whether) All the wires that I need to keep will be re ran, and redone, but I have about 100 ft of 1/0 battery wire, and 150 ft of regular wire spanning from 6 gauge all the way to 18 gauge that I planned on using for my camry but now have left over and would like to use before it oxidizes and my 800$ invest ment of wire goes down the drain. Not to mention doing it all by hand I can run the wires whatever way I see fit I've looked at the wiring diagrams online and in my 70-72 chilton manual but. Can't differentiate needed by uneeded cuz so much in my car has been removed. As far as the functionality, motor, drivetrain, and gauges I'd like all of those to be mechanical. Which leaves me a ton of room to hook up all the electrical components my heart desires. Any idea as far as which wires I can do without from the inside of the cab? Color wise? I don't have the electrical system hooked up so I can't use a volt meter to check. And also, any idea how to remove the cylinder lock mechanism for the key? I plan on doing a push button ignition set up and need the cylinder lock, and steering lock mechanisms out. (Learned that the hard way in my camry, installed the push button and drove to the store, first turn I made the steering wheel locked on me and I nearly went through a liquor store. Not fun...) Thanks for the help Andreas

Hey yall its been a while, and I need some quick help. Long story short, drove car to cali, broke down around texas, either the cam went flat or the carb power valves went out idk yet, but I'm doing the electrical and dash work, modding the dash and installing 8 mechanical gauges, 2 boost gauges, fuel, volt, water temp, oil pressure, speedo and tach. But my concern atm is the ac unit, ill work on the wiring later. I want to remove all the tubing and piping from the ac. Well basically I want all of it gone. I've begun dismantling the engine bay unit but am having trouble with what exactly CAN be removed. (If someone could get a pic of the monte engine bay and circle all the ac stuff that can be removed and give a short descript of what to do that would be great!) Then there's the inside of the cab stuff that I can't figure out how to remove. There's a lot of electrical stuff that's there that doesn't need to be. And I would rather it not be. I got a lot of electrical components going into the car and need as much room behind the dash as possible. To name quickly the things going in there 3 cameras and 3 monitors, 5 amps, 10 cross overs, 10 speakers, 2 15 in subs, and a television in the trunk. And about 6 sets of leds. That's A LOT of cables. Namely what I need to know on the electrical side is what wires do I NEED... So far I got 12v constant, ground, and Accessory, which I can tie into for the headlights, high beams, stereo, and the leds. Aside from those 3 are there any I should be aware of? There's a plug on the steering column that I believe. Connects to the motherboard thing on the gauge cluster but that's removed now. So what do I need from there? I'd greatly appreciate your help and I have tons of pics that I'd like to show you but I'm waiting till the projects done before uploading them all. And hopefully ill be able to show her off at the next meet. Look forward to hearing back from you guys.

@monte70car, the bounce is considering an empty trunk. On an average day I have about 75 lbs worth of tools in my trunk (harbor freight 301 piece socket set, approx 50lbs + all my power tools) and the 2 15in t2 subs and box weigh about 125lbs so that's 200lbs in my trunk. And sand bagging the trunk while drag racing isn't that hard to do. @mcfan, no I haven't considered those, but will seriously consider it. And on average I tow anything between 1000-10000lbs (I towed my grandpas truck, 5000lbs stock, and approx 5-10k worth of avocados) I towed his truck approximately 45 miles back home. Was a bit challenging and I could totally use more torque and horsepower, but that's later. So yea, the option of being able to tow easily would be great. @ripleydale, yea ill definitely take a look at the bushings, and ill add that in. Which is better? Poly or rubber?

So I would like to start a post, about everything regarding my suspension. I will go about editing it to include more information and making any corrections or adjustments. But this post is going to be my suspension project post. I'll take you guys through my full process of rebuilding my whole suspension and all the suspension mods that will be taking place as well as including a parts and price list in this original post so that if anyone else decides they like the look, or feel of my car, they can see exactly what I have, and how I put it in. Essentially this is how I would like my suspension, slight lift in the rear to make it look more aggressive, or for drag racing. And a secondary frame airbag suspension in the rear, in case I ever need to tow anything. So far, here ar the suspension categories I know. Please please please if I'm missing something feel free to write the part that I'm missing so I can do the research. Or if there are any parts you recommmend for this type of set up, go ahead and post it. Chassis Air Bags: $400 http://www.airbagit.com/Chassis-Tech-towing-kits-p/towkit-c4500.htm Sway Bars: Shocks/Springs: I know I've probably missed quite a few categories so feel free to correct me. And thanks for all of your guys's help. I love the idea of every member here taking part in the creation process of my car.

Thanks for the recommendations andreas. Anyone in particular uve dealt with? And btw the site I think is incorrectly linked. I think you meant pro-touring.com

Anyone know of a person who I can call to get some suspension information? Or maybe someone who can recommend a full suspension parts list for me, I literally need EVERYTHING... The sway bar is gone, shocks, springs, everything is just about out the door. My car looks like a low rider (no offense Month :-P) with my 2 15's in the trunk. And that's now the style that I'm shooting for with her. Here is what I was thinking, I want an aggressive, drag style look to her. So whole car lifted, with her [you said a naughty!] in the air about 3-4inches higher than level. I would also like to airbag the rear of the car so when I do decide to tow something, I can lift up the rear, and even out the ride if the tow is too heavy. I have the power to pull, but no support to back it up (springs finally went out a few days ago when I towed my grandfathers produce truck 75 miles, gross weight with its load 10K lbs) So maybe someone can recommend a guy to me, that can give me all the information I need in regards to what kind of set up I have to go with, prices, recommended kits, etc. And a phone number to reach them would be great as well. And I will mention you when I call. I plan on budgeting about 3 grand for the full suspension and modification, my uncle and I can do all the work, and if at all possible I'd like to discuss with him, possibly breaking the full suspension package into 2-3 parts. 3k is a lot to drop at once that I don't have. For example, replacing all the shocks, springs and sway bar for the first 1k, replacing mounts and installing rear airbags and compressors for the second 1k, and finally all the other odds and ends that aren't NECESSARY, but RECCOMMENDED. Thanks guys, I feel blessed to be among the presense of all of you. And as soon as I find a steady job out here in florida. I intend on finally becoming a true (paid dues) member of fgmcc.

Honestly I have never used one, but logical thinking comes into play when talking about spacers... It doesn't make sense to me, unless your carb has a high cfm, and a high output of fuel pressure (much higher psi than stock) I don't see how a spacer could help you in any way with performance. Your essentially forcing the gas to travel a longer distance and therefore increasing the time between when the carb jets the gas into the engine and the engine actually receives the gas. Now if u have a high performance car, a forced induction hood scoop that your an inch or two short on, and a fuel pump and regulator pushing about twice the amount of pressure into the motor, then I think a spacer is warranted. But if not, I don't really see a point aside from cosmetics.

So as I said before, I do not want any trimming on my car, and this weekend I took my car down to my uncles house near Homestead Fl. To do some welding :-D At first I bought galvanized steel (stupid I know) but luckily my cousin has a blown up hood off his 86 mitsubishi. That I dissected and used to patch up some lower trim spots and to remove some cancer rust. BTW, I've included a single picture for now but will be including more once I've bondo'd the patch job up. Doesn't look too shabby if u ask me... Looks almost stock :-D What are your thoughts?

Idk if the headlights would work directly off the 70 chevelle but I have taken a look at the el camino head lights and they seem to be a more direct fit than the chevelle. But worse case scenario I can always get the headlight fixture, cut out about an inch or two extra, around the lights, and reweld them onto the montes fixtures. I figure that would be an easier said job than attempting to redo the front end just to fixate the headlights.

I seriously think that might be a bit too much power for me lol...

Thanks for the welcome 420. And I have checked out nelsons racing engines. And there prices surely match their quality. 40k for the basic models, the twin turbo chevelle they did cost almost 350k... For her rebuild(5-10 years from now) I intend on dropping a mean 454 sb and pushing her to about 2000 hp, or in other words. A 7 second car. I also intend on getting the front end and hood of a chevelle and extending them to fit our monte bodies. As well as replacing the rear end (minus bumper and trunk of my car with one off yet another 70 chevelle. Not to mention the mandatory convertible top :-P The monte carlo is beautiful in the sense that its the perfect size muscle car. We have the most hood room of any other 70s muscle car, and a strong enough body to back it up. But my personal preference of chevelles makes me want to fabricate the perfect (for me personally) muscle car, which is a 70 monte and 70 chevelle, fused as 1. So all in all, she will undergo two builds, this current one, pushing approximately 800-1000 hp, and mostly fiberglass body work. And a second with double the hp and all metal workings.

Sorry for writing so much, I get a bit carried away sometimes

@dbreese, I don't know the logistics of my engine except for a few things. Its bored and stroked (don't know to what size) I have a larger camshaft, 10.5:1 compression, and she's pretty quick right now. I raced a close friend of mines 2010 bmw m3 and beat him by half a bumper. Which isn't much but that car is definitely fast. The reason for my want of speed for the car is I'm a planner. I like to plan things in my life at least the basics of it. Carla is a big big part of my life. I sold my 70 chevelle when I was 15. I have a bad history, gangs, drugs, violence etc. And was stuck in a predicament so I sold her. She was an amazing car. I bought her for 5grand from a billionaire at a race track when he wheelied the car for the 7th time that night and the trans fell out the bottom I asked if hed take 5grand for it, he asked if I had it on me I said yea and he asked where I wanted it towed. The chevelle got about half a mile to the gallon, had a stroked 454 and way too much power for me to realize the potential of at that time. But all in all I needed 10 grand, and sold her to pay for the restamping of a guns vin number. Two stupid things I did that I regretted for the rest of my life. Till I might carla that is. She was like a wild horse that I broke in the wild and now she is mine and no one elses. When my mom and I got into it, and I jumped into carlas seat threw her in reverse, even though the carb was in great need of a cleaning and rebuild she didn't hick up once, she took off, burning the tires and filling my whole block up with smoke. Some don't understand the relationship I have with my car, but when I'm upset she cheers me up. When I cry she cries with me. And when I'm happy we celebrate together. And even with her ugly appearance it reminds me that everyone has potential to reach heights even they didn't think they could reach. But sorry for digressing so much. @mike and davey, is there anyway to build the baby version of my ambitions? Something with 2 small turbos, a small shot of nitrous, and a strong engine? I've read a lot about nelson racing engines, and I think that when I do her frame off restoration, that will be the person I call to do the engine and trans build for me, there are just too many variables that I can but really don't want to, try and calculate. Also has anyone tried a 700.r4 or 4L60/80 swap with our cars? Like I said before which now I assume is correct cause no one corrected me in regards to it. Turbos push out boost during shifts correct? So having 4 or 5 gears seems like it would give me the most amount of boost per 1st to last gear. @502 that may be so, if I knew what an intercooler was *face palm* sorry, I know, still a lot to learn. But at least I have a lot of you great firstgenmc gentlemen (possibly women?) Here to help teach this 21 year old youngster a thing or two. And I'm eager to learn.

Dbreese I think he is a small block hater, and I love those people who doubt sbc's lol. I was just at the race track a few weeks ago and saw a man running a stroked 350 lifting the front end of his stock body chevelle with a little over 700hp. All things are possible now with the technology we have for engines. The race the chevelle was in was vs a bbc camaro. Should have seen the look on his face when his 20,000$ 454 got beat out by a small block 350 :-P When it comes to power there's no questioning a tiny engine with half the weight and the same amount of hp. In all honesty I just want a fast car that can do wheel stands (I know, every teenagers dream :-P) I'm taking carla to the track after I fix the breaks and do an oil change and fuel treatment to see where my starting point is. I think she's around 12 seconds, but only one way to tell. Once I have a good starting number ill more so know where to start with my upgrades and improvements. First and foremost I know a posi rear end will give me at minimum an extra second on the quater mile, 2 wheels spinning = way more grip, way more grip = a lot faster take off, faster take off = overall faster time. She has a column shifter, would u recommend manually shifting her or letting the automatic trans do the work? I've always manually shifted her during races but what do u think would yield better results?

Hey mike, thanks for the input. What would you recommend for a car in the ball park of 8-10 seconds on the 1/4 mile. I don't expect to be running high 7's low 8's like my uncles camaro. But knowing I have a 9secondish car would do the trick. I'm going to see if I can get all the specs on my motor now, she's strong and quick. Made it 3000 miles with only needing an extra quart of oil, some water, and a half of tube of quick steel on the gas tank after hitting a bump :-P (btw I drove her for 60 hrs straight to florida no rest) She's got enough power to lift the front end an inch or two off the ground if done right, I have not raced her at a track or gotten her timed. But I intend on doing so soon. Its only 20$ to run your car at the track down here, and I think she's pulling 12s-14s. Any upgrades that I could do now, to increase hp and tq but still make use for later with the turbos?

So if I opted for a smaller boost of spray do you think I could get away with not having a dedicated fuel system? Maybe running a 250 shot instead of a 500? I assumed that since I have to rebuild the carb (change floats etc) for the pressure of the turbos, I would also have to rebuild the motor with stronger, forged internals. How strong is the actual question thay I'm trying to determine. Thank you for your response

Thanks for the input dbreese. Most of the fuel system fabrication can be done by me if the jobs aren't too difficult. I know that its going to be a challenge getting the car the way I want it, but would a dedicated fuel system be necessary? And also, I don't plan on running her on race fuel. By 1250 horsepower I don't mean 1250 at base. From my understanding each lb of boost equates to approximately 10% of hp increase. Meaning running a 500 hp base block at 30lbs (x2 15lbs) would increase the horsepower at shifting points to approx 1500hp. Now I could be wrong, as I have been before, but that is my understanding of turbos. The basic idea behind the drag/street combo is essentially a car that when she needs to go fast, she can go fast, but aside from that she's just a looker. I know forged internals is a requiste, and will be talking to my uncle (el loco) who drives a small block camaro out here in florida about the parts ill be needing specifically. I know right now I need to drop the compression on my motor because its sitting at 10.5 to 1 and for turbo applications its supposed to be around 9 to 1. The turbo starter kit I intend on getting is something just to start with. I want to build the engine to where I need it to be and over the next few years begin upgrading the turbo system, intercooler, and etc I also want to change the transmission to a 5 speed. Because, again, from my understanding... Boost is applied after you shift the engine. So it seems like having more gears would equal more overall lbs of boost from 1st gear to final. Please correct me if any of my information is misconstruded or incorrect

Thanks for the recommendations dan. Ill definitely give him a call. And sorry for the long post. I don't know how to keep things short and simple :-P

So I made it :-D turned out the rattle was actually the transmission crossmember, the rubber brackets that hold it in place were worn out on the passenger side. Quick fix? Nuts and bolts, no bracket lol. Not the best of ways but temp fix to get our butt 3K+ miles over to FL... So the journey was great, took her nice and slow(for the most part ;-) ) across the i-10 all the way with bon jovi and aerosmiths discography blaring through my sound system. And now that we're here and I'm starting work. There will be LOTS and LOTS of updates for her. I'm including a list of mods and upgrades as well as the problems I have with her now that needs addressing. If you guys could give me you input or opinions on parts or mods that would be good. I'd love to hear them (note I refuse to take her to a shop, this is MY car and refuse to leave her beautiful body in anyone else's hands. And being that I'm not entirely strapped for cash does not mean I want to go broke :-P so mid range pricing is what I'm looking at) So that being said here are her problems at the moment. Suspension nearly shot all around. Sway bar bushings, shocks, struts springs etc, if it holds her up its basically gone. All of its original so no suspension mods have been done. Brakes are going out up front, and the emergency brakes are non-existent. Gearbox on my car is going out for the steering. I have about 4inchs of play even after adjustments. Rear end is non posi and driving her in the rain is a very very scary thing. Interior is essentially gone, from the trim panels, to the head liner. Most is falling apart, some is salvageable but would rather replace. Roof needs SERIOUS tlc, and resupport, sitting on the roof in the center will leave you on my bench seats. My plans are primarily aesthetics, but some are functional. The car is meant to be original outside aside from the spare tire system, and front quater panel side mirrors and paint. Trimming, gone, body, smooth. No handles locks, etc. Trunk, hood, and doors will all be opened electronically. Pulling the spare tire idea from a lincoln with a twist. The cars theme is scary, and dark. Perfect candidate? Freddy Krueger. Car will be painted flat black with blood red gloss finished racing stripes. Within the stripes (smoked) airbrushed images of freddy krueger and his blades will be painted. And on the back end right above the bumper the words "Don't Sleep On Me." Will be painted on in a gruesome, bloody, cursive font. The front grille will be modified, as well as the spare tire spot, that I will be designing. Windows tinted 20% fronts 5% backs, a LED light mechanism will be installed on the auxilary section of my remote to electronically activate lights that will glare out the windows (for referance of what I mean watch the green hornet, the part where kato turns on the green lights in the black beauty windshield. The goal for the car is a mix between street (donk minus the ridiculous 26inch rims) and strip (torq thrust 16's with big fat bf goodrich white letters) Under the hood: The same bored and stroked 350, with slight modifications. Twin turbo set up, 1000 cfm carb, 2 stage nitrous, activated by a switch under the throttle pedal, full press = 500 hp shot. I intend on putting new forged pistons, internals cam, and etc. My dreams and epectations for this car may be high, but u got to dream big when it comes to your dream car. I will post mock ups of my car and my intentions as soon as my artist is finished resketching my initial drawings. But when I set my mind to something, I follow through with it. Other misc upgrades/mods, Side view and back up cameras, 4 sets of of T1 fosgate component speakers, 2 15inch fosgate T1 subwoofers, 40inch flatscreen tv on the trunk, with 1 set of fosgate components, replace front grille and headlights with 70 chevelle SS headlights and grille. As well as 70 chevelle interior all black. I know some of you will not see or understand my vision for the car, and some of you will. But I want my car to be recognized and respected by drag racers and modders alike. With the twin turbo system and etc I'm expecting the car to be pushing close to 1250 hp w/o nos. If you guys can link me to any interior sites, or sites that I could find the headlights (the whole headlight fixture mount, trims, and etc) and grille, that would be greatly appreciated. As well as any recommendations on suspension, to increase my handling and reduce body roll which honestly right now, sucks. All of your input is greatly appreciate and I look forward to hearing back from you guys. -Carla's King

I don't think its the latter, I can feel the rattling in the car. Are there any specific things that u listed that are in the general area of middle/passenger side, that could be causing the rattling? And what specificly should I look for? I know that cable wire thing that goes under the trans and mount is not hooked up properly. And honestly, what I was going to do was goto the hardware store and buy the high heat exhaust wrap stuff and just try to wrap up any of the possible problem ares so I can see if the noise stops. (For instance basically tie the exhaust pipes to one of the mounts. )

So if you review the post below this, you know I blew my th350, and I was given a perfectly functioning th400 from out of his stingray. Did not have the time to do the swap myself, so I left it in the hands of my mechanic. Who note is a great mechanic and guy, that is when he isn't drinking. But recently he's begun drinking again and I refuse to let him work on carla again in that condition. So here's my issue. The trans is perfect, she runs great. But I noticed a rattling noise coming from the undercarrige of my car. It sounds like its coming from underneath the passanger side and only seems to happen when there's a lot of pressure in the engine. I.e. I'm driving on the freeway, getting ready to go downhill so I shift into nuetral, and once in nuetral I can hear the rattling. Even if I rev the engine, the noise still persists. It honestly sounds like its either a loose bolt, or nut. Or my exhaust isn't mounted correctly and that's causing it to bounce or shake. I wish there was more I could offer in terms of information atm. But that's the best that I can do, and honestly, I'm taking her on a 3000 mile road trip back to florida for work that ill be doing for the next 6 months and want to make sure I don't lose my trans on the way there. Please help in any way that you can.

Sounds like a plan man, n I'll definitely do that. I need all the help I can get. I'd really like to approach this project solo since ill be movin to florida and won't have a mechanic to help me when I run into problems, itd be nice to know my way around the tranny as well since I know every square inch of my 350.

Thanks for all of your serious replies, I kinda initially felt like I was being lectured by my mom about the race when I first made the topic. I know street racing is bad and all that, but like the previous replier said, under optimal conditions I think racing isn't that big of a deal, still stupid, but at least done safely. Anyways, I have a $500 budget, since that is what the new transmission would cost, but I would rather spend it rebuilding this tranny and doing some other things. For instance... $250 for the rebuild kit, $100 for the torque converter, $100 for new calipers cause mine are stiff, And $50 for tranny fluid, and an oil change. So much more I can do with that $500 then just replace the trans I'll be ordering the rebuild kit by monday, and removing the transmission and covering all the holes tonite and tomorrow. Gotta find my Chevy/GM Chilton Big Book first. Any suggestions as to what else to look for? I'm goin to go awakwardly smell my cars juices when I get home.