81 Nascar Project
 

Well, seeing how the 71 is now complete (mostly) its time for another project.

I just picked up an 81 Nascar today from the original owner. Its been sitting around since 1989 which oddly enough is the year he had the engine and trans rebuilt. The car runs good, but has trouble staying running. The Recaro interior is all there and in great shape which is the most important part!

He replaced the original hood with a nos GM hood because his buddy who said he could airbrush painted some god awful bird on it. He lost the original turbo wheels along the way, but I should be able to find some.

The car is actually very solid. The only trouble area is the rear window channel.

It came with tons of extra parts including nos decals. I plan on restoring it to drive quality, and while its under the knife the Recaro seats will be going in my 71 :cool:

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You are lucky to find that car,im envious.:)

Cool!

That's a bit of work - looking forward to this build.

I think I need a floor. :D Oddly enough the trunk, rockers, fenders, lower quarters, frame rails and tail panel are rock solid. So a "quick" floor job is all it needs.

Heres some pics from today. I gutted the interior to store it for the winter. They're are tons of nos parts, and I found some nifty magazines with some sharp looking cars on the cover! I also took pics of the nos hood bird.

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Winter is coming here in New England, so big updates will be few and far between. Im currently tracking down parts, and body work will start next spring. I did manage to get some pics with the rest of the cars.

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So I pulled the tank today to drain 8+ gallons of pure varnish, quickly blasted out the carb with some cleaner and it runs beautiful! Get this, even the A/C works I was sitting in the car listing to the radio with the A/C on because the holes in the floor make it get hot in there with the exhaust.

Has anyone seen a rear sway bar like this before? It has some tag on it about never running just one sway bar. Also the front one has these nifty adjustable end links and the bar is also red.

I took some pics of my findings. The decal pictured is the nos GM decal on the hood. The rear rails, trunk, and even the drop offs are rock solid.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps637da9e5.jpg

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subscribed. i had a 81 p/c parts car that came with those same sway bars, must have been a popular option back in the day. but after searching i could not find any info on them or the brand. maybe they were a rancho product or some company that isnt around anymore. curious to know what they are. they are definantly beefy sway bars & the end links are nice. good luck on the project, these are a rare car. i did a resto on mine & plasyed with teh boost & a few other tricks & got it into the mid 14's which is pretty good considering they were a mid 16 second car from the factory.

You know what, now that you mention it I believe the owner said something about Rancho parts. I didn't think much of it because I associate Rancho with trucks.

Im toying with the idea of an LS1 4L60E combo and putting the original 301 on a stand. I've also been tossing around the idea of an 86-87 GN drivetrain.

i know rancho used to make stuff for cars, but havent been able to find anything on sway bars that look like these, maybe someone can shed some lite on what they are.

up to you on what mods you do, but IMO you should leave this pace car original, you can do an ls1 swap to any car out there, but these pace cars are getting very rare & once you do all the changes required for an ls1 or other custom driveline swap, chances are it will never go back to original, then all you have is a 301T engine sitting on a stand.

my vote is to keep it original & find another car if you need an lsi... or just buy a 4th gen with the lsi already in it by design. oops: looks like you already have a 4th gen....

if you havent already, check out 301garage for all the info or help you will need with a 301t car.

Yeah, but the 301 cant move out of its own way. I do like the engine though, and it runs great as the previous owner had it rebuilt. I do think I'll have to rebuild the turbo, but the engine seems to run real strong.

I don't have to chop the car up to fit an ls1 in, so there's nothing an ls swap would do that would affect the cars value down the road. I could even bolt the old TH350 to it and do adjustable engine mounts that way I retain the stock driveshaft. But whatever I decide it'll be a while before I get to it.

I've been working on cleaning up the Recaros the past few days. I cant believe how nice they are. There's a few small cigarette burns, but everything including the headrests are real nice :D

oh, they can run very strong with a little effort. i got mine into the mid 14's with only 1-2 psi over stock boost. the 301t got a bad rap due to low boost settings from the factory, some were sold with 5-6 psi, the engine was designed for 9psi & can handle up to 14-15 if youre carefull.

there is a member at 301g doing almost flat 12's in a nhra class that limits any major mods or head porting etc. thats pretty darn fast for a little 301. a stock 4th gen ls1 is only a low 13 sec car. the 301t can get out of its own way, if you want it to.

not argueing at all, sounds like it will be nice whatever you do. just pointing out the car is kind of rare & holds more value if original. but i guess i am biased being a fan of these cars & all.

We'll see.

I just picked up a compressor last night that'll run my tools better then my old one, so I should have an easier time with body work.

Would you suggest getting new repo steel for the floors, or cut them out of a rust free parts car?

yeah i noticed the floors... you are lucky the rest of the frame & wheel wells are solid with the floors being that bad. if you have or can find a parts car with good floors i think original is always best, but as cheap as the repros are these days they are a good option & fit pretty good from what ive seen.

good luck

Is that your car? It looks real nice!

Im still amazed that there is no rust other then the floors.

Your floor rust is probably from t-top leakage. Typical problem, even with the Fisher T-tops.

yes thats mine, thanks. took a couple pics the only time it was out this year, was busy with the 72 this summer so it only saw about 100 miles this year. i have the door decals but havent decided if i want them on or not.

Real nice! We're in basically the same situation, except the 71 is on the back burner now. :D

I hear ya on the door decals. I go back and fourth on them. I think the extra cost of them will be the deciding factor unless I get a good deal on them.

I just picked up a set of 79 Mustang pace car Recaro seats to repair my rotted passenger seat frame. That's been my mini project for now as its been cold as hell out.

yep cold here too, 60 one day & literally single digits 24 hours later. ridiculous.

well you got the original bird so that will offset the price of the door decals.... i like the cars both ways & will probably end up using them, but for now i just hang the decal sheet on my wall like a poster.

i've had a few sets of the t/a recaros & just sold 2 pair of the mustang ones you have, they are the same basic seat with a few small differences like the vinyl headrest & different hinges & recline dials, but the frames & foams looked identical. & be carefull when you get into the t/a seats, that fabric is not available anywhere.

funny thing is im actually considering selling the 81 next year & buying a nice 4th gen. i just dont drive it enough & im tight for space so i have to sell one to get another.

also if the car runs now, hook up a boost gauge & go drive it, (when it warms up) if its building any boost chances are the turbo is ok, these cars wont build boost reving the engine in park. or just remove the down pipe & spin & inspect the impeller, if it spins & isnt too loose it should be good. few tricks to adjust the boost & get it up to 9 or 10 & you might be surprised how good it runs. especially if it was rebuilt recently. worth a shot. ;)

Sounds good! I just bought the Stang seats for the frames anyways. I will say that if you do end up getting a 4th gen you'll have a hard time getting out of it!

Where are people tapping in for boost gauges on these turbo cars?

Also, the car starts and runs great but when its first started it wants to shoot up to around 2500rpm and stay there until it warms up. When I drop it in gear it goes right back down to 1000rpm. Its strange. Any ideas on where to start looking? I'll for sure be going through the whole car next spring, but I'd like to figure out the surge issue before the winter.