Freitag, 19. Oktober 2012

Stopping power

I have already adressed the braking trouble I had on the track so I'm happy to say that I will be able to solve that problem over the coming winter months. I shot a set of ap Racing calipers from a nascar truck team on ebay. 12.19 inch wilwood discs are the biggest I will be able to squeeze in the 15 inch wheels, that should take care of the front. I might upgrade the rear brakes to discs as well for easier adjustability and more consistent brake performance.

Donnerstag, 11. Oktober 2012

Eye candy

My friend Martin did some magic with his camera a couple of weeks ago. Carmen dressed to the occasion and these stunning pics are the rusult. Enjoy....




For more of Martins work : www.datzinger.net

Dienstag, 9. Oktober 2012

More pics

Some more random pics from the Red Bull Circuit. A beautifully prepared '68 Camaro. This car repllicates the cars Roger Penske entered in the popular Trans Am series  in the late sixties and early seventies.

Doc Stinger took to the track in his plum crazy 1970 Dodge Coronet. A fivespeed manual backs a healty 440 and allows him to plow through a field of Porsches.



This Roadrunner is based in Vienna and is campaigned regularly in the Austiran historic road racing championship Histocup.

Trackday

After a little pause here at the blog, I'm back with more news of the 'Cuda. Restoration is virtually finished, although I have a long list of plans for future technical improvements. Since most of those will consume loads of money, I will seek to have fun with the car as it is between the upgrades. The last opportunity approached me last weekend.  I had a great saturday at the Red Bull Circuit in Styria.



Many 911s at the starting grid...


 The 'Cuda is running fine by virtue of a new demon carb and took on the field of vintage Porsches and an assortement of quick historic cars.
 Brakes are the major limitation at the track for the heavy car.The front pads needed replacing after two stints, here Doc Stinger himself is checking the driverside pads. Even with new pads, brake performance stayed mediocre - An upgrade is in store over the winter....

 A bout with a '68 Barracuda with a stoked smallblock and a Tremec fivespeed left me in front after about five laps...

The 'Cuda handles exeptionally well, has good stance and power and is loads of fun on the track.

Montag, 24. September 2012

Donnerstag, 5. April 2012

Project Hemi

As I have been drooling over the possibilities of a more potent powerplant for the 'Cuda, this piece is the kickoff for "Project Hemi". I'm thinking in the direction of an all aluminum engine, around 500 cubic inches, fed by electronic fuel injection. For that purpose I will convert this hilborn manifold from mechanical injection to efi, utilizing bosch injectors and equipement.

The tall chrome stacks will have to go or be considerably shortend in order for everything to fit under the hood.




The mechanical injectors will be replaced by modern injectors, achieving a sequential fuel injection setup.




Rollbar

Finishing touches on the Rollbar.The Rollbar itself was already finished ofcourse, but getting all of the inside panels mouted around it proved to be somewhat of a challenge.

Package tray with speakers from the outside




I love the look of the bars in the red surroundings.












Montag, 27. Februar 2012

Interior

Although it may seem as if I've been lazy, there has in fact been some progress on the 'Cuda. I've been busy adapting the interior to the new rollbar, the most complicated items being the rear panels beside the rear bench. The loose end of the carpet on the bottom of the picture will later be covered by the bench seat.
The other part that had to be cut up was the package tray, as it can not extend under the hard points of the rollbar in the rear.

Freitag, 3. Februar 2012

Studyhall



In my quest to further enhance the performance of the 'Cuda I borrowed some literature about chassis improvements. Information about springs, shocks and swaybars, caster and camber will accompany me in the next weeks.

Montag, 23. Januar 2012

Side panels

As they say, anyone can restore a classic but it takes a real man to cut one up! So I attacked the original rear side panels with a saw to make room for the main loop of the roll bar.


The old plastic really emits a bad odor when cut or grinded.


Looks like a big hole but actually I tried to make it as small as possible, keeping in mind that the panel and the roll bar have to be installed as well. Of course this hole cannot be left like it is, even though the rear bench will not leave many angles to look at it once everything is installed back in the car.










So i formed a piece of plastic board to cover the hole. The plastic is easy to work with, you can form it under a heat gun, once cooled off, it retains its shape.








Almost there, now all i have to do is repaint the panel, but as it has already undergone a colorchange from brown to red I'm sure that will not be a problem.










Mittwoch, 18. Januar 2012

Winter

Winter has finally tightend its grip on my neighbourhood. Sub zero temperatures and snowfall are prohibitive to getting the 'Cuda out, so there's plenty of time to work in the garage! More to come in the next weeks...

Mittwoch, 11. Januar 2012

Finished rollbar

I just got fresh pics of the finished rollbar from Marcus of Prototech! I am delighted with the level of workmanship and the overall results. It was a great experience working with Marcus.




I will adapt the rear side panels around the rollbar and reinstall them.





Samstag, 7. Januar 2012

More cool

As the 'Cuda is currently out of the house, I've spent some time to tie some loose ends together. Parts of the airconditioning have been laying around forever so I cleaned them up. I am far from certain that I will ever install the aircondition - since I don't think it blends well with the racing attitude that the car currently leaning to - but I surely won't pack the parts away dirty and rusty as they were.

Cleaned up and freshly painted where the original finish was too bad to be left alone.



The whole systen including a new dryer. What's missing is s the compressor which is in the car right now and the radiator which seems to be beyond repair, at least with my skills and capabilities.





More bars

The rollbar is taking shape and of course it doesn't end on the package tray. Bracing goes vertically down to the shock crossmember and to the rear, onto the trunk floor, right where the framerails are. The primered patches will be painted in body color, the bars will become semigloss black.

An additional brace is led from the top of the passenger side to the bottom of the driver side just behind the rear seat, creating more stiffness.



Montag, 2. Januar 2012

Let's roll

The 'Cuda is currently recieving a roll bar to beef up the stiffness of the unibody. *I do hope I'll never be in need of its virtues in case of a rollover* Marcus Lipp of "Prototech" is performing the work. Marcus graduated in automotive engineering, does a lot of work on vintage racecars and refuses to seek solutions that are "just for show" and will not be functional. We decided on a bolt in version for the rollbar that can be taken out and ties in with all the interior panels and the stock back seat.



The mounts on the speaker panel are raised, to clear the seatback of the rear bench. The crossmember is also bolted and can be removed for better vision through the rear window. There is also additional bracing in the trunk, connecting the bar to the upper shock mounting points and the rear frame rails.


Before completion the rollbar will be powdercoated in semigloss black finish.