i work odd jobs and such(takes a big toll because there is normally a lot of lifting) but with no on paper education(I had a truck dropped on my back in 9th grade shop class I quite school after that) and no references(only ever worked in my fathers body shop doing body work and painting with nothing on paper) along with sometimes going days without sleep do to pain that I chose not to be addicted to pills to fix its not easy getting a employer that is willing work with all of that let alone finding a job that will be easy on my back. working for myself is the only option and hopefully that will be real within the next year
The combo of a buggered back, no job, no cash and no shed would likely cause some folk to make excuses on why it cant be done, and I would hate to think you were one of those folks. But you need to be realistic too. Given you have a 351 and bugger all resources, you need to plan, plan, plan and then stick to your plan. Doing anything twice costs, well, twice. And focus on adding lightness. That costs nothing but your time, (which quite frankly is free as you say you arent working), and makes your car faster and a bit less likely to break stuff. Good luck with your project dude. Just make it safe.
GasserTodd has a very good point there,and one that I try to use as much as possible when building a car: Make everything you can as light as possible while still keeping it safe. Interior?Negatory,just a quick shot of black spray paint and a seat. Cost: next to nothing. Weight loss: ten pounds +? Given the choice of building a 2500lb 500hp car,or building a 3500lb 600hp car,I would build the lighter car every time.Its gonna break axles,u-joints,driveshafts,transmission and/or clutch parts way less if at all,its going to feel more powerful than it is,because the motor has to get less mass moving from a dead stop,and its just plain cooler to be the "underdog" in my opinion. I would try to tap into some connections through the body shop to locate a rear end and a C4 if I was you....you guys have got to know a bunch of yard owners down there,and have your buddy who ran the Mustang keep his eyes peeled for something too. Networking is where you're going to get all the little shit you need for cheap.Shifter,tach,seat,etc. There's a guy up here who will build you a t-bucket body,so that takes shipping out of the equation,just grab a buddy and come up and pick it up on a Saturday afternoon instead of paying UPS a fortune to send you one out of the states. The materials for the frame should be cheap,and you can see if you can trade some labour for the welding to put it together,and since you have paint and body experience,getting a little colour on it should be a low cost area for you too. If you wanna be REALLY cheap see if you can get some used stock car tires to run on the back....some of the late model guys with too much money will throw away a big sticky set of McCreary's with lots of life left in them.Theyre not wrinkle wall slicks,but they might be free,and its a start Maybe see if anybody is willing to donate to the project or sponsor you,but for that you're going to need to convince them that you can see this through to the end successfully,so have a solid plan in place,show them some digital photos of the frame under construction in a clean,well organized garage,and see what interest you can get drummed up locally. Are you right in Windsor,or out in Belle River or Tecumseh or something?Cause there are a ton of racers out ther that you need to be connecting with.The 5.0 guys will have stuff they're not using anymore that will be cheap or free (cams,gears,etc).You wouldn't believe how some basic porting and an Xcam will wake up an otherwise junk engine.My 150,000 mile stock bottom end 5.0 runs 13.30's on an incredibly weak 1.95 60' time in my 3000lb stick shift car.If I ran it hard enough to 60' in the 1.60's or 1.70's it would be into the high 12's.....imagine what a motor like that would do in your 1500lb t bucket! Scott Posted using two Dixie cups and a medium length piece of string.
yeah I have not talked to the mustang guy in like 8 years I did hear he just got his car back up and running. my father sold his part of the body shop quite a few years back. as for tires I will be running some M/T ET streets. I don't know of anybody building t bucket body's around here I do know I need a door or my sasquatch body will not be getting in.
There's a guy that builds them about a mile down the road from me.When you're ready to start putting something together pm me and I'll shoot you his number. He's a real solid guy,and his prices are fair. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Are you a social person ? Are you a likeable guy ? Do you have car clubs in you area ? Do you have cruise in in your area? Can you sell your self or your idea to new friends ? I have a clapped out car that I have less than 500.00 bucks of my own money in and have a best run of a 12.98 in a car that is closer to 4000 lbs than 3000. I have basted my ass making friends and helping others that don't have my skill set but have money to put this car together. To say it was easy hell no. And I am not that likeable of a guy. It took hard work dedication and perseverance.(and a lot of sacrifice) And as far as time it took 20 days from the pasture to the race track.
if I had everything it would only be a month or two build. no car clubs and the meets are filled with modern junk and imports im thinking about starting a club though
im trying to visualise the colors and the design of the paint grabber green lime(frame,engine,roll cage,and other small parts) and white(body,grille shell,gas tank) with grabber green lime scallops or grabber green lime and grabber blue with the green scallops. maybe red and white like I said though it most likely will not be painted till winter 2015/2016 this will give me no humidity to work around(painting in a spray booth when its humid is much different then a garage)
well looks like im off to the u pull yard to find me a 8.8 rear with a posi and maybe a trans(a none electric aod would do the job) I also got to get some parts for my daily driver anyway. good news is they have a $60 day once every month $60 admission and you can take all the parts you can carry me a friend and a hood should be able to get a rear end and trans out of there
Them bastard are heavy, take something to rig a wheelie bar and make a cart out of it. When you are hunting 8.8s remember all the parts will swap around from any of the 8.8 out of anything. So if you find a nice housing but wrong gears or non posi, grab the guts out of another one. Id imagine you are chasing the narrow exploder rear, grab a spare short side axle and and you can easily shorten it another 3" roughly. Or 2 short exploder axles and a cherry housing out of a non 4 wheel drive snow and salt machine.
on the $60 days we cant use a cart the total weight should not be too much maybe two trips. they really don't have a lot of useable stuff there but explorers are pretty common and a lot of them have posi units around here. I was surprised when I seen a 80's crown vic in the line up that should get me a useable aod. I will also keep a eye out for any useable 302's even though I will have to come back for that on a different day
I'm not familiar with 60 dollar day, but it sounds like a good concept and I hope they start it here. I was speaking of using the rear end and exploder wheels, hood on the springs and wheelie bar to keep it from teeter tottering.
yeah basically the parts a free you are just paying for admission but the catch is you need to carry the parts. funny you keep calling it a exploder we made a joke about that after my aunts burst into flames. your idea is not a bad one though with a few tie straps we should be able to do it
Don't forget you will need C clip eliminators. And there is not that much bearing on them so maybe axles and tube length wont make any difference.
I think they are only required when running 10.99 and faster in the 1/4 mile we used to have problems with them leaking when used on the street I hear you could use 9" housing ends. I would like the 9 inch but I think he was about half way though a two four when I asked him about it a few weeks ago
Think they are required when running slicks no mater how fast or quick and dont you think the peace of mind would be worth the cost and the safety of others.
I was not planning on doing anything to the rear end till the winter of 2015/2016 by then the 8.8 may be out and a new rear 9 inch housing might be in but for now that's not a option. this is going to be a street/strip car the c clip eliminators do hold up well on the street
well this project will be going nowhere fast my family members 1 car garage(you can barely open the doors of a car when its in there) is full of stuff it will be storage for my parts for now but I will still need to find a garage I can build in but no one has any for a reasonable price
well I got the engine but no rear end or trans yet something else got in the way(someone's chopper project) so this project is on the back burner I figure this way I can save some more money
So 6 years ago I bought 1 4x4 for $500. It had a bad rearend. I have no money. I ran across a NEW 383 for $200 that had a bad piston. Traded labor for parts and labor. Traded labor for a new trans and paint and tires. Today I got a FREE frame and front end for a T bucket and traded labor for a brand new 23t fiberglass body. A guy once told me never say "I cant..."
Swap meets are your friend. Ask around. There are tons of car guys with spare parts collecting dust that will end up in the trash.
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