armyadarkness
Royal Corn
I'm sure no one ever said that before... my cam is stupid-rowdy... it's way too crazy for a stock 400, but my car loves it, so I leave it.
The Pontiac GTO !
- Thread starter armyadarkness
- Start date
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
i figure it was being a roller. less friction. but yes both are rowdy from what i can hear on videos. im thinking you have more vacuum for brakes.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
i ran the program with the 041 cam and got 490hp. these cams are close to each other but this does not match the edelbrock dyno results. could be the intake. it boils down to math and air movement. i can see these cams moving similar flow. i think its possible to reach the 400hp mark with pontiac parts i have. this is enough for me. should be fun in a 3500 or less car. specs show the car 3600lbs. stock. pretty sure i can shave it to 3300. hell that should run 13s without any trouble.
- Reaction score
- 37,745
- Points
- 113
Funny thing is upgrading the front brakes was one of the earlier projects I did on mine. The car had manual brakes from new and I left it as it was when I installed the front disks.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
this is my plan as well. manual steering too. the cool thing about this 57 is no rubber bushings in the front. grease fittings everywhere. and all is still very good. i did notice drums were lighter though. hows your brakes feel? much effort?
- Reaction score
- 37,745
- Points
- 113
The brake feel is good. Takes more effort than power brakes would but I think you get a better feel than when using a booster. Keep in mind, I’m running Wilwood disks. The biggest tgat would fit under 15 inch rim. These were installed close to 10 years ago. Still look like jewelry.
armyadarkness
Royal Corn
My braking is awesome at times, and scary at others. I need to upgrade, but with the new building, that's not in the cards for a while.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
fair trade. its a nice shop.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
looks like 12 inch rotors. aluminum hats. nice. if i mod the brackets i can have 12 inch rotors but went with the camaro instead. 11 inch. the pads im using are larger and contact more rotor. not as pretty but should have similar braking. i will have to paint the calipers and rotors to keep them from rust.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
got rained out today. so i smoothed the calipers and shot them with red caliper paint. look better i guess. its what i found quick so they're red. mostly just want to preserve them a little while.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
finally the rain has stopped. been listening to the song pos car. while cleaning the frame. it makes things more fun.
got the calipers curing in the sun. the brackets are painted a charcoal metallic, it needed contrast. not that it really matters. but why not.
got the calipers curing in the sun. the brackets are painted a charcoal metallic, it needed contrast. not that it really matters. but why not.
Pilgrim
Corn Star
- Reaction score
- 6,123
- Points
- 93
I am locked in battle with my 280ZX. Alternator went out right as I finished other work. The dam alternator is almost charging - it's in the 13V range while running and may touch 14V when revving up, but at idle is in the high 12V range. It also bounces up and down, so I gotta think it's going out. Charge trouble light flickers constantly on the dash.
I have the replacement but the replacement has to be done underneath, and the front sway bar has to come loose. After prolonged hand-to-alternator combat I haven't found the right twisted position to get it out, and the garage is 90 degrees. That's a bit much for this 74 year old, so I came into the house for iced tea and I'll try again tomorrow AM when it's cooler.
I have the replacement but the replacement has to be done underneath, and the front sway bar has to come loose. After prolonged hand-to-alternator combat I haven't found the right twisted position to get it out, and the garage is 90 degrees. That's a bit much for this 74 year old, so I came into the house for iced tea and I'll try again tomorrow AM when it's cooler.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
same. its why im behind the shop cleaning the frame. its shaded and stays cooler there. i spray the frame with acid and walk away. then later wash it too bare steel. i need to keep cleaning the shop. little steps. your alternator sounds like the regulator is going bad. or maybe a loose wire?
Andyman
Royal Repurposer
When the on in my saab went out, the YouTube videos showed removing it from underneath, I found if I removed the shock brace on that side, I could get it from the top. Still sucked, I don't envy you.
Pilgrim
Corn Star
- Reaction score
- 6,123
- Points
- 93
I wisely declared it too hot to keep messing with it, went into the house, cooled down and watched the Olympic opening.
This AM I went out with a fresh mind and 70 degree temperatures, a much nicer setting. I cleared all the tools out from under the car, slid under there and tried a new turn on the alternator and had it out in less than a minute. I slid the replacement in using the same positioning, and it went right in. I did find that one ear of the alternator was thicker than the OEM unit and the mounting bolt was too short. Luckily I had a replacement, longer bolt in my saved-for-whenever parts bin.
Go figure.
Sometimes when you're tired and hot, it's time to bail and come back later.
I still had to put another couple of hours into it, but it fired right up generating 14.38 volts and all is well. I'm not 100% sure I needed to move the sway bar, but it didn't hurt, although it cost me another 45 minutes to get it back in place while working on ramps under the car.
As I was writing this, I remembered to go out and check the main + connection to the alternator, and sure enough, I left it half-tight. It's good now and I've run through my mental inventory of every bolt I touched to make sure there were no other missed bolts or nuts.
This AM I went out with a fresh mind and 70 degree temperatures, a much nicer setting. I cleared all the tools out from under the car, slid under there and tried a new turn on the alternator and had it out in less than a minute. I slid the replacement in using the same positioning, and it went right in. I did find that one ear of the alternator was thicker than the OEM unit and the mounting bolt was too short. Luckily I had a replacement, longer bolt in my saved-for-whenever parts bin.
Go figure.
Sometimes when you're tired and hot, it's time to bail and come back later.
I still had to put another couple of hours into it, but it fired right up generating 14.38 volts and all is well. I'm not 100% sure I needed to move the sway bar, but it didn't hurt, although it cost me another 45 minutes to get it back in place while working on ramps under the car.
As I was writing this, I remembered to go out and check the main + connection to the alternator, and sure enough, I left it half-tight. It's good now and I've run through my mental inventory of every bolt I touched to make sure there were no other missed bolts or nuts.
Last edited:
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
well while washing the frame in acid. a side effect happened. the firewall has stripped also. looks like im cleaning that too now. it was the original pink paint. now it new metal shine. i think i will paint it black too. if i decide to change colors later it will be easy. i plan to smooth the firewall and mod it to accept many different engines. i think its a good
plan. the inner fenders are cleaning up nicely. the rain is slowing me down.
plan. the inner fenders are cleaning up nicely. the rain is slowing me down.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
i have discovered if i spray with the acetone and transmission fluid mixture first and let that soak.
its easier for the acid to remove the rust. or the rust was just easy to begin with. i will test this further.
i also found some of it was not rust but rubber undercoating covered in a red clay. had to remove that with a wire brush and grinder. i will reassemble the brakes after im done with the cleaning. then take a blurry pic for you guys.
its easier for the acid to remove the rust. or the rust was just easy to begin with. i will test this further.
i also found some of it was not rust but rubber undercoating covered in a red clay. had to remove that with a wire brush and grinder. i will reassemble the brakes after im done with the cleaning. then take a blurry pic for you guys.
You know us too well
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
its mostly boring stuff right now. there will be some metal fab later. but i don't know when. this rain is screwing things up.
ponchonlefty
Royal Corn
i believe the 57 has been to space. i was cleaning the radiator support and i have hit this with stripper,acid,and wire brush grinder. it laughs at me. well a map gas torch gets the attention. it pops at you like angry hornets. but has clean metal underneath. acid will break thru but takes weeks. looks like heat and extreme heat is the only thing that works decent. i need it clean to find the bad steel. i wonder if its ceramic? kinda dumb to use that on a radiator support. i will use the needle scaler tomorrow.