Building a rally car. Opinions wanted.

[MountainMike]

Teardown pictures from Monday. We spent far too much time separating the engine from the trans so these are just the important "highlight" pictures.

Cylinder #3 had the piston lodged in the top. After a little prying I got it out.

Little bit of debris in the pan and bottom of the block.

Better look at the piston. Wearing the very appropriate "Mighty Car Mods" t-shirt.

We got stuff done!

Made a hell of a mess too...

More to come tomorrow. Prepping the new engine and trans, going to make a shopping list.

 

[thatbluecar]

Gonna beat mike to the punch maybe. Exciting update in a few moments

 

[MountainMike]

Well... where to begin...

How about the fact this "2.8" is actually a 4.3!

VIN and stamping verified, this is legit!

So we decided to strip this thing down a little bit more tonight.

Got ourselves a junk pile...

A good parts pile, including a Ranger skid plate...

And one engine sitting ready for more work.

Things are going on hold for a bit. Doing some work on Ben's (thatbluecar) Colt this weekend.

 

[thatbluecar]

We got my Colt buttoned up today so normal rally car programming will resume tomorrow. Quick glory shot of the colt because I'm pretty stoked on how it turned out.

 

[thatbluecar]

We got the 4.3 taken more apart today, pulled the heads and assorted things off.

This would have been yesterday's update if we had been motivated enough to play with the car, but we weren't so here it is today instead.

 

[MountainMike]

More pictures that Ben didn't have. Pretty well just more tearing down and investigating.

Final glory shot, more wrenching later on.

 

[MountainMike]

We decided tonight we are going to tear the engine right down and get the block acid washed. Toss some new rings at it and slightly rebuild it. So tonight was more wrenching.

First and foremost we did a little walking around, planning out the body mods. Mud flaps and etc.

The reason was are doing this all.

Back to the engine! I undid two plugs on the bottom of the block that I thought were coolant drain plugs and nothing came out. After a quick google search I poked the base of those holes with a screwdriver and coolant came gushing out. Rust and gunk had formed a seal over them. Nasty.

Everything laid out in their temporary location on the hood of the car. Ben's full-size manual has come in handy for engine stuff. Between that and the Acadian manual we are set.

There we go crew, on even more tore down 3/4 small block

 

[MountainMike]

Engine stuff is slowing down for a bit, gonna strip it down all the way and order some parts soon.

Next posts will be mostly body, interior and wiring. Time to make it look like a rally car!

Tune in this week for more!

 

[MountainMike]

Found some info today. Isuzu Impulse brakes may be the ticket.

http://60degreev6.com/forum/showthread.php/40268-Chevette-swap-which-engine-is-best

http://www.cardomain.com/ridepost/4380703/1982-chevrolet-chevette/

http://americanchevette.webs.com/impulsebrkesdrivetrn.htm

 

[doorgunner]

So....this is where you been hiding........

I red the whole thang!

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Do you have anything planned for the windows? Just so if you crashed they wouldn't shatter and spray glass everywhere.

 

[MountainMike]

Nice if you gents to post up, thought I was talking to myself for a bit there!

DG, hope it was a good read for you, much more to come.

Waffles, the windshield and back window are recommended to stay stock (since they are already laminated). But I was reading the 2013 CARS rule book and rather than go lexan, they recommend anti-shatter film on the stock glass for production class. So that's the route I'll go, I'll probably set it up for window nets when the windows are down too, going by the book again.

This car may not fit in any class, but I'd like to build what I can by the book to get an idea of what it all is and what it entails.


Sent from Villa Auditore using a carrier pigeon.

 

[martin]

You're not talking to yourself, we're watching in speechless wonder.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Oh yeah, I saw that stuff, they use it for areas that get hurricanes.

 

[MountainMike]

You're not talking to yourself, we're watching in speechless wonder.

Whew, glad to still there's still an audience.

Oh yeah, I saw that stuff, they use it for areas that get hurricanes.

Pretty much the same stuff, not crazy expensive either. Just need a professional to put it on so there's no bubbles.