Post by nikbristow on Apr 7, 2014 15:42:45 GMT -5
I posted a while back an introduction in the Air and Fuel Delivery section. My name is Nik and I've had a bunch of Chevettes over the years but all beaters. My brother works for ProCharger superchargers out of Kansas City and we decided we wanted to supercharge a Chevette and see what happened.
Well, after lots of digging and research, I happened to find an old SCCA racing Chevette up in Vermont and decided why start from scratch when we can get a head start. So we flew up and bought it and just drove it home to Kansas this weekend.
It's an 1981. I believe it was a Scooter based on the lack of options and 3.36 rear end (3800RPM at 78mph with 13 inch wheels and tires).
A married couple had it built into a ITC (Improved Touring Class) racer in the late 80s and then raced it at Lime Rock, Louden and Willow Springs. Then some other guy decided to make it street legal and added lights and mirrors and wipers and a horn etc. Thing is pretty d**n sweet. Here are some specs:
Weber 32/36 carb
High Energy Ignition
Hooker header
Flowmaster "muffler" and custom side pipe
Ported head
10.5 to 1 compression
Full gauges (tach, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp)
Cage
Racing bucket and 5-point harness
Top speed (mathematical) of 125mph. I've had it above 100 already and there's plenty left
6200RPM redline
Konis in the front
Bilsteins in the back
Brace between rear shock towers
Negative camber bushings in the front
Adjustable sway bar
Locker rear-end (chirps the inside tire turning)
Really cool-looking vented rear drums (almost "ram-air" looking)
Wilwood discs up front
Braided stainless steel oil lines and big honking oil cooler (didn't see the oil get above 150 degrees F driving it hard)
Custom front air dam (I think it's aluminum maybe, haven't inspected it thoroughly yet
Dyno'd at 130 horsepower at the wheels.
Not sure about the cam, valves/valve springs/valve seats/pistons etc. I do know that the engine was blueprinted and balanced. Or at least that's what I was told. There's a bunch of literature that I haven't gone through yet. Unfortunately, there may have been a lot of build documentation that was lost by the previous owner. Sucks. I'm sure that would've been useful to me and maybe to some people here. I told him that if it ever turns up to call me and I'd pay to have it all shipped.
The drive from Vermont was awesome. Engine sounds like a four-cylinder Ferrari when you get on it. Just screams! It's actually a little too loud for regular street use so that's something we'll be looking into quieting down. Below 3000RPM it's like driving a stock Chevette. But around 3500 it wakes up and from 4000 to 6000 it's fast and loud.
The trip was not without its challenges. Our tail shaft bushing wore out in the first 300 miles and dumped a bunch of gear oil and caused a really bad vibration and basically machined down the slipshaft. Had a new one put in at a shop in Portland, ME. The next day the starter went out in Nyack, NY. In the rain. Had to push start it the rest of the trip.
The next day was our longest and so naturally it saw the most stuff break. Our Hooker header had a metal plate stamped "Hooker Super Competition" that was riveted to the pipe, until it fell it off, leaving two 1/4 holes in the pipe, causing it to go lean and started backfiring like the 4th of July. Had some dudes weld it up in Pennsylvania and we were off again. Thing did great until literally three miles from brother's house when we decided to finally drive it really hard and see what it could do. I think I bent a shift fork because the thing got stuck in 4th gear, then I broke the shifter trying to get it unstuck. It's at the shop now and I'm researching the best replacement options.
Long term plan is to civilize it a tad. More comfortable seats (anybody need a racing bucket and a 5-point?). Put the carpet back in it. Repaint it. Nicer wheels etc. And then comes the fun part. As I mentioned above, my brother works for ProCharger and he's got a B-2 supercharger and an intercooler sitting on the shelf waiting for us. There will be some fab work involved, and we need to figure out a crank pulley set-up, but if we can run 8psi without breaking anything we should be able to make somewhere in the ballpark of 190-200 hp at the rear wheels. And then we can really start breaking stuff.
Anyway, I live in Texas and the car is in Kansas so it's being looked at by some local dudes up there. If anyone has any transmission advice or recommendations feel free to post it here and I'll pass it on to my mechanic. I've been looking around on the site and doing research. Am I correct in thinking that the stock 4spd is stout enough for now? I've read a lot of y'all racing them are running 5spds. Is that for the tighter gear ratios? I'm not worried about a little extra weight because the thing is already like 1800 lbs. On the 4spds, how do I know if I have a long or a short tail shaft? Is anyone running a non-stock tranny (T-5 from an S-10, Mustang etc.) and what do you think of it?
Looking forward to working on this thing and sharing what I learn. Open to any and all suggestions and advice. Thanks, in advance.
Nik
PS. I'm not sure how to post pics yet here.
Well, after lots of digging and research, I happened to find an old SCCA racing Chevette up in Vermont and decided why start from scratch when we can get a head start. So we flew up and bought it and just drove it home to Kansas this weekend.
It's an 1981. I believe it was a Scooter based on the lack of options and 3.36 rear end (3800RPM at 78mph with 13 inch wheels and tires).
A married couple had it built into a ITC (Improved Touring Class) racer in the late 80s and then raced it at Lime Rock, Louden and Willow Springs. Then some other guy decided to make it street legal and added lights and mirrors and wipers and a horn etc. Thing is pretty d**n sweet. Here are some specs:
Weber 32/36 carb
High Energy Ignition
Hooker header
Flowmaster "muffler" and custom side pipe
Ported head
10.5 to 1 compression
Full gauges (tach, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp)
Cage
Racing bucket and 5-point harness
Top speed (mathematical) of 125mph. I've had it above 100 already and there's plenty left
6200RPM redline
Konis in the front
Bilsteins in the back
Brace between rear shock towers
Negative camber bushings in the front
Adjustable sway bar
Locker rear-end (chirps the inside tire turning)
Really cool-looking vented rear drums (almost "ram-air" looking)
Wilwood discs up front
Braided stainless steel oil lines and big honking oil cooler (didn't see the oil get above 150 degrees F driving it hard)
Custom front air dam (I think it's aluminum maybe, haven't inspected it thoroughly yet
Dyno'd at 130 horsepower at the wheels.
Not sure about the cam, valves/valve springs/valve seats/pistons etc. I do know that the engine was blueprinted and balanced. Or at least that's what I was told. There's a bunch of literature that I haven't gone through yet. Unfortunately, there may have been a lot of build documentation that was lost by the previous owner. Sucks. I'm sure that would've been useful to me and maybe to some people here. I told him that if it ever turns up to call me and I'd pay to have it all shipped.
The drive from Vermont was awesome. Engine sounds like a four-cylinder Ferrari when you get on it. Just screams! It's actually a little too loud for regular street use so that's something we'll be looking into quieting down. Below 3000RPM it's like driving a stock Chevette. But around 3500 it wakes up and from 4000 to 6000 it's fast and loud.
The trip was not without its challenges. Our tail shaft bushing wore out in the first 300 miles and dumped a bunch of gear oil and caused a really bad vibration and basically machined down the slipshaft. Had a new one put in at a shop in Portland, ME. The next day the starter went out in Nyack, NY. In the rain. Had to push start it the rest of the trip.
The next day was our longest and so naturally it saw the most stuff break. Our Hooker header had a metal plate stamped "Hooker Super Competition" that was riveted to the pipe, until it fell it off, leaving two 1/4 holes in the pipe, causing it to go lean and started backfiring like the 4th of July. Had some dudes weld it up in Pennsylvania and we were off again. Thing did great until literally three miles from brother's house when we decided to finally drive it really hard and see what it could do. I think I bent a shift fork because the thing got stuck in 4th gear, then I broke the shifter trying to get it unstuck. It's at the shop now and I'm researching the best replacement options.
Long term plan is to civilize it a tad. More comfortable seats (anybody need a racing bucket and a 5-point?). Put the carpet back in it. Repaint it. Nicer wheels etc. And then comes the fun part. As I mentioned above, my brother works for ProCharger and he's got a B-2 supercharger and an intercooler sitting on the shelf waiting for us. There will be some fab work involved, and we need to figure out a crank pulley set-up, but if we can run 8psi without breaking anything we should be able to make somewhere in the ballpark of 190-200 hp at the rear wheels. And then we can really start breaking stuff.
Anyway, I live in Texas and the car is in Kansas so it's being looked at by some local dudes up there. If anyone has any transmission advice or recommendations feel free to post it here and I'll pass it on to my mechanic. I've been looking around on the site and doing research. Am I correct in thinking that the stock 4spd is stout enough for now? I've read a lot of y'all racing them are running 5spds. Is that for the tighter gear ratios? I'm not worried about a little extra weight because the thing is already like 1800 lbs. On the 4spds, how do I know if I have a long or a short tail shaft? Is anyone running a non-stock tranny (T-5 from an S-10, Mustang etc.) and what do you think of it?
Looking forward to working on this thing and sharing what I learn. Open to any and all suggestions and advice. Thanks, in advance.
Nik
PS. I'm not sure how to post pics yet here.
