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Gummi Bear

Gummi Bear

Sporadic Golfer
Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
3,332
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79
Location
D/FW, Texas
Handicap
Bean Dip
I know there's got to be more than just me. I noticed another member mention a *gasp* Jeep (I'm a Bronco guy :D)

I love all things mechanical. Cars, Trucks, Tractors, Motorcycles. I love being in the shop with my tools, some tunes cranked up and elbows deep into an axle rebuild or hammering on body panels, re-wiring a car or anything else.

Currently I've got:
  • 2004 Dodge Ram 2500, Crew Cab, Cummins, 48RE transmission. Basically stock. It's my tow rig and driver (been driving the Wifemobile to save on gas though, why's diesel so expensive anyhow?)
  • 1968 Bronco - 170 cu in inline 6, NP435 transmission, 9" rear, Dana 30 front. I'm adding power steering and a few other little things to it.
  • 1976 Bronco - I bought it in 96, daily drove it for years, then it went to trail duty and got bent to hell, now it's awaiting a complete restoration

I'm thinking really hard of selling the 68 once I get it put together, then I have a very difficult decision to make: buy a hotrod project, a pre-runner project, or build a rock buggy (which could also serve as a pre-runner).

I've worked on cars and trucks since I was a kid, my Grandfather was a tinkerer, and it rubbed off on me. We rebuilt old trucks for work, racecars when my uncle was a dirt track champion, tractors, boats, RV's and more. Over the years I've owned and helped other folks work on hot rods, muscle cars, fast trucks, rock crawlers and more.

I'm a part of a SCORE Class 3 team, and we usually run the Baja 1000 (not this year though, too many modifications to the racer, and it won't be ready in time) We'll hit a race or two in AZ come spring time.

My Friday nights are spent in the garage of one of my buddy's house. It's a group of guys that all wheel: Jeeps mostly, but a couple of EB's, FJ's and tube buggies. We get together and bounce ideas around, give each other hell, and smoke cigars.
 
I'm not much of a gearhead but I do enjoy cars. I've got a 1984 Camaro Z-28 that I need to get to restoring. I've got some major body rust from the wonderful Ohio winters. :snowman: It's been sitting in my Great Grandmothers pole barn for about 4 years now so it's hard telling how bad it is. I had some A-hole steal the rims off of it and I pieced together a set of wheels just to get it from point A to point B to be stored. I want to get it fixed up and running again so I can take the t-tops out of it and go cruising for chicks. It's got the 4-bbl 305 V-8 in it. I want to add true dual exhaust so people hear me coming and going. I don't care much for the split exhaust it has on it now.
 
bogeyme said:
I'm not much of a gearhead but I do enjoy cars. I've got a 1984 Camaro Z-28 that I need to get to restoring. I've got some major body rust from the wonderful Ohio winters. :snowman: It's been sitting in my Great Grandmothers pole barn for about 4 years now so it's hard telling how bad it is. I had some A-hole steal the rims off of it and I pieced together a set of wheels just to get it from point A to point B to be stored. I want to get it fixed up and running again so I can take the t-tops out of it and go cruising for chicks. It's got the 4-bbl 305 V-8 in it. I want to add true dual exhaust so people hear me coming and going. I don't care much for the split exhaust it has on it now.
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Sounds like a good project. You'd love the Camaro that one of the guys has, a 600HP LS1 in his, and he can still drive it to the grocery store. Just looking at it sitting, you can't tell that it's not bone stock. Gotta love a sleeper. :jump:
 
Gummi Bear said:
Sounds like a good project. You'd love the Camaro that one of the guys has, a 600HP LS1 in his, and he can still drive it to the grocery store. Just looking at it sitting, you can't tell that it's not bone stock. Gotta love a sleeper. :jump:
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I'd have to keep a change of clothes in that car if I drove it. I would like to do something like that but my Camaro was given to me by my uncle who bought it new. I wish I would have got the 1979 Berlineta that they had too. There was a mix up with the car I was driving and they sold the Berlineta and told me after the fact that they would have sold it to me.
 
I still try and make it to the track once a week and ride, injuries have gotten the best of me over the years. Ive got a 03 CRF 450, I keep saying im going to buy a new bike every year but I never do.

I got rid of my truck about 2 years ago. The thing was a POS, fun but a headache. It was a old class 7 that I let my buddy go crazy with.
IMG_0189.jpg


After I sold it I bought a Rhino, but it just doesnt do the same as the truck used too. My next project is to do a pre 75 Blazer(for CA smog laws).
 
DId you race VORRA / SCORE / BITD / etc. with that, or was it just a toy?

I so wish I lived out west, I really want to build a fast desert car, but there's just no place around here to run it (minimum 12 hour drive) I did learn that I can make it from Ensenada to Dallas in 22 hours if you don't stop for anything.
 
It was just a toy when I had it, but I believe the guy before me ran it in some MDR races. All It needed to race was a loop around the drive shaft and some nets and it was ready to go. It saw most of its action in Red Rock and Pismo and the hills around my old house, my neighbors hated that thing. Ive got a ton of ideas for when I do my Blazer. Im just waiting for the right time.
 
I think the main problem I see with the Blazer is the wheelbase. I had a 2 door 4 runner in high school and that thing was a bucker, it was also bone stock but I never told her that. The nissan had 62 inch national leafs with a wishbone upper link type of deal, and it did pretty good. I havent looked at a score rulebook for years, but isnt class 3 pretty restricted when it comes to travel and mointing points? Also what year is your Bronco?
 
Yup, short wheelbase sucks a big huge one. Our racer is based on a 76 EB.

http://www.endeavorbaja.com/index.htm

Yeah, in Class 3, you can only extend the wheelbase 2" over stock, max of 108". Look at the Moss brothers, they've been the dominating force for years in Class 3. They've really got it figured out.

http://mossbrothersracing.com/ <--- look them up on RDZ as well, they're active there.

If you want something longer, there's loads of stuff to look into. For a fantasy, I'd love to build up a F150 crewcab with extended beams and a 4 link rear (I really hate leaf springs) and a nice 408 stroker to power it. Nothing too radical, just 500hp or so and 125-130" wheelbase with air conditioning and a cush ride for play and pre-running. Money no object: a Stewart Race Works prerunner, or for a tube car a Penhall or similar would just be amazing.

Bang for the buck, there's some super cool spec class racers now; for less than you can build up a beater sometimes. $30k for a turn key buggy (Class 1 Lite), $50-65K for a BITD 7200 (ProRunner, Trophy Lite which also has it's own series and payouts) Any of those would be a freakin blast, several are powered by Chevy EcoTec engine, which can put out up to 250HP.
 
Ya I talked to the guy from Trophylite last year at the Offroad Expo. To be honest, I have been out of the loop for a while. Its just so dang expensive.
I used to try and make it to at least Primm and Laughlin every year, but to be honest the crowds started to get to rowdy for me and they really cut down on the places to watch from. I have been going to the CORR races but they are just not the same.

Funny about the F150, my brother totaled his supercrew and we keep talking about building it. If im going to race whatever I build next, it will just be a Sportsman or pre runner class.
 
I'll call myself an aspiring gearhead! Last year I purchased a 1989 Toyota Supra Turbo. My mechanic friend is in the middle of swapping the tired 7MGTE 3.0 liter block for a freshly rebuilt version. Of course, we're replacing the turbo with a Lipp Boss Jr, upgrading the entire fuel system, putting a 6-puck clutch in, upgrading the cooling system with a Fluidyne radiator, adding a front-mount intercooler, etc. Hopefully he'll be done with the build by mid-May, and we should be putting down 450hp to the rear wheels. I'll post a dyno sheet once it's tuned.

Here's a pic of her pre-op!

IMG_2539.JPG


I'll keep you updated.

Ben
 
Good choice on a build car!

You can get silly amounts of power out of those Toy engines. I had a 99 Taco with the 3.4, and I was putting down ~300rwhp, and it was still my daily driver. The guy I had do the tuning work, had a 600hp Supra, it was one of the most exciting cars I've ever ridden in.
 
Don't know if you guys read Hot Rod but last month they had this article

1967 Chevrolet Camaro - Sacrilege!
Conventional wisdom says any 1,000hp, turbocharged, six-speed RS/SS Camaro must be cool, but is that still the case if powered by Toyota?
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, with a proper bottom end (forged internals), fuel upgrades, and tuning, you can get crazy power out of a Supra turbo and still keep it driveable on a daily basis. Same goes for most forced induction engines. Build the bottom, slap on a big turbo, and feed it enough fuel. Unfortunately most that go that route forget about upgrading the suspension and brakes.

Ben
 
Right now all Ive got is a snowmobile: an '01 Polaris Indy 600 XC SP EDGE X
Ive done some mods to it that make it better for the kind of riding that I do (stand-up riding on bumpy trails).
4" articulating handlebar risers
seat off of a Polaris Pro-X (the seat is about 2" taller than the stock seat was, which makes it easier to transition from sitting to standing)
clutch kit, studs, etc...

In the past Ive owned ATVs and dirtbikes and used to race MX, but now all Ive got is the snowmobile. With getting serious about golf, I dont really have time for any other summer hobbies.
 
Have built & raced cars for Drag racing at the 1/4 mile track in Union Grove, have also raced my bikes there.

Currently just have my 2 vehicles, 3 motorcycles & my boat. Sold the snowmobiles last summer as I wasn't using them. Have built my own motors & transmissions over the years, hate paying shops to do anything.
 
benk777 said:
I'll call myself an aspiring gearhead! Last year I purchased a 1989 Toyota Supra Turbo. My mechanic friend is in the middle of swapping the tired 7MGTE 3.0 liter block for a freshly rebuilt version. Of course, we're replacing the turbo with a Lipp Boss Jr, upgrading the entire fuel system, putting a 6-puck clutch in, upgrading the cooling system with a Fluidyne radiator, adding a front-mount intercooler, etc. Hopefully he'll be done with the build by mid-May, and we should be putting down 450hp to the rear wheels. I'll post a dyno sheet once it's tuned.

Here's a pic of her pre-op!

IMG_2539.JPG


I'll keep you updated.

Ben
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you should drop a 2JZGTE in there! haha...that supra looks clean as hell. those cars are becoming increasingly more difficult to find in good condition. Im searching for that perfect MR2 Turbo but am starting to get discouraged.
 
China Cat>Rider said:
you should drop a 2JZGTE in there! haha...that supra looks clean as hell. those cars are becoming increasingly more difficult to find in good condition. Im searching for that perfect MR2 Turbo but am starting to get discouraged.
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Supras were notorious for blowing headgaskets, especially the turbos. I like Toyotas, but Id take a Mustang over a Supra any day.
Boost is great, but there is nothing like having a V8 under the hood.
 
Bakemono said:
Supras were notorious for blowing headgaskets, especially the turbos. I like Toyotas, but Id take a Mustang over a Supra any day.
Boost is great, but there is nothing like having a V8 under the hood.
Click to expand...

yeah you're right...there is no replacement for displacement...except if it has a turbo!
 
China Cat>Rider said:
yeah you're right...there is no replacement for displacement...except if it has a turbo!
Click to expand...
but then you have the dreaded turbo lag. :D When it comes to maximum horsepower, there is still nothing that rivals a pushrod V8.
Dragsters, NASCAR, monster trucks; they are run on pushrod V8s that put out anywhere from 900-2,000 hp.
You are right though, turbos allow you to get big power from a little engine.
 
I'm in love with small block strokers.

Our racer, is a 408 (351W stroker) and is putting down 630 to the rear wheels (after going through a C6, Atlas transfer case and a 9")

Besides a bus, or large truck, I just can't figure the need for a big block engine anymore (OK, that's not true. I'd love an old Challenger with a 440 & 6 pack)
 
You may not need it, but bigblocks are still fun. There is nothing like the rumble of a bigblock.
We used to have a '78 Ford F-150 plow truck with a 351W and that engine was amazing.
 
Bakemono said:
You may not need it, but bigblocks are still fun. There is nothing like the rumble of a bigblock.
We used to have a '78 Ford F-150 plow truck with a 351W and that engine was amazing.
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The 351W is still a small block (so are the 351C, 351M and 400M). The 360 is a big block. Weird, huh?

There are quite a few parts that will swap right over from a 302 (5.0) and a 351, they are both in the "Windsor" family. Pretty any place that you can shove in a 302, a 351W will fit.

That got me to thinking about all those Miata's out there with 302's in them, I wonder what a 408 stroker would do to them? :evillaugh:
 
Gummi Bear said:
The 351W is still a small block (so are the 351C, 351M and 400M). The 360 is a big block. Weird, huh?

There are quite a few parts that will swap right over from a 302 (5.0) and a 351, they are both in the "Windsor" family. Pretty any place that you can shove in a 302, a 351W will fit.

That got me to thinking about all those Miata's out there with 302's in them, I wonder what a 408 stroker would do to them? :evillaugh:
Click to expand...

Monster Miatas! I love the sleepers more than anything. and some of them have vortechs on their 302's...talk about power to weight ratio...heheh
 
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