[Norwood]

That Bird is VERY COOL..

[sixgunsblazing]

I love that car, I'd drive the hell outta that thing on the street.

[bird72]

I've grown to not like any deviations from stock on 70-73's........ Never liked aftermarket seats. Never liked aftermarket rims. I have never seen a "dechromed" car I liked.

You pulled it off. That car is stunning and a truly respectful throwback to a road car of old.... A++++++++

[ErikW]

Very tastefully done. Love the RED! Nice job.

[Wareagle]

Nice -- cool vid .

[FLYNLOW]

Hey, NOTATA have you looked further into the aero testing that you were looking at doing? Think it was mentioned briefly on TAC?

[NOT A TA]

Originally Posted by bird72

I've grown to not like any deviations from stock on 70-73's........ Never liked aftermarket seats. Never liked aftermarket rims. I have never seen a "dechromed" car I liked.

You pulled it off. That car is stunning and a truly respectful throwback to a road car of old.... A++++++++

I'm kinda shocked to get a response like that on this board. I was kind of afraid I'd get flamed for all the mods I've done. Thanks

I've tried to retain the "spirit" and "feel" I think Pontiac wanted these cars to have while at the same time incorporating modern styling techniques. Other than the cage and Kirkey race seats I've tried to blend the modern stuff into the car without having it stick out like a monster tach bolted to the dash. I liked the interior the way I had it and may regret the safety upgrades but I've reached the point at the track events where I needed to make it safer.

Norwood: It's a good thing I don't have your metal working skills otherwise I'd be doing all kinds of stuff I think might look cool. I'd spend even more time working on it and less time driving! If you ever run out of projects, let me know. I've got a couple ideas and you're just the guy to make them happen.

Eric W: In keeping with the idea of keeping the car as something GM could have produced the color is GM Bright Red

FLYNLOW: Yup still planning on wind tunnel testing. I want to try fabbing up a front spoiler extension with splitter for track days as well as some other minor modifications to aid downforce on road tracks. Also want to see what can be done to reduce drag for top speed stuff. I'd hoped that the tunnel could make 200 MPH wind to test spoilers, mouldings etc to make sure they won't rip off but the wind speed isn't anywhere near that. I've had previous problems with windshield moulding having to be taped and the front spoiler center section flexing so much it popped the paint even with the flex additive.

Here's a couple more pics

John

[HWYSTR455]

[QUOTE=NOT A TA;3650157] I've had previous problems with windshield moulding having to be taped and the front spoiler center section flexing so much it popped the paint even with the flex additive.QUOTE]


Ok, have my curiousity going, at what speeds do find these problems? Have you broke the 'brick' (200mph) yet?


.

[Brewster]

[QUOTE=NOT A TA;3650157]I'm kinda shocked to get a response like that on this board. I was kind of afraid I'd get flamed for all the mods I've done. Thanks

Some mods you see on cars are tacky but what mods you have
done are all performance mods, and thats what allot of this forum is about.
Well done, and thanks for posting!
Hope to see the car in person are you going to the POCI ?

[NOT A TA]

HWYSTR455: I noticed the windshield trim on the drivers side starting to pop up at Road Atlanta when I got back to pit area one day. Taped it down for the remainder of the weekend but forgot about doing something about it. On the back straight at R A I hit about 140. Then I was at a speed event in NC and when I returned to pit area after a licensing pass at 135 MPH I noticed the trim again. Again taped it to the windshield. So I'm going to take it apart and check the clips/trim and either replace or possibly add more clips. There's a lot of force as the speeds get higher and higher. I'm not sure at what speed the spoiler flexes but at over 150 the force probably equals almost as hard as you could push it by hand.I've seen dragstrip pics of the flexy nose 2nd and 3rd gens where the whole nose is distorted looking from the pressure. The guys that run the splitters on road cars use the "if you can stand on it" gauge. Thats why they put on those support rods like the new race Vipers use. Otherwise the spoiler will flex down on the straights and scrape the pavement.

Right now my cars only capable of somewhere in the 150's. I'm being cautious working my way up slowly. I was limited to 135 MPH at the ECTA without a roll bar, the tech officials at NASA strongly "recommended" I get a bar before returning, and NHRA guys were giving me a hassle at every track about the Schroth ASM harnesses because they didn't understand the technology involved and wanted to see a harness bar. So I stopped taking the car to tracks for about a year so I could do the upgrades.

As a side note, I have a 160 speedo that I verified accuracy in the 45 - 60 MPH range using police radar while running stock height tire and original rear gears. I then ran it at Maxton and bouncing the speedo at 160- 165 put me at 135-137 through the timing traps. (my limit without a roll bar or face being banned) After discussing this with racers there I found out that most older vehicles are way off at high speeds. So all those times we thought we were doing a "buck +" we weren't going as fast as we thought.

After I complete the safety upgrades which will allow me to pass tech up to about the 200 MPH classes I'm going to start working on making it faster. I've been told it takes about 650-700 HP to hit 200 in a 2nd gen by land speed racers (mostly chevy powered guys). I'm going to try to find a math guru to help me determine how much torque it will take to push my car to 200 based on the Sq.Ft. of frontal impact and the drag coeffecient #'s obtained at the wind tunnel. Once I figure out how much power it will take I'll need to build/or buy an engine thats capable. I've pretty much decided on the "perfect fit" 5 speed Keisler transmission swap with the .82 overdrive which should put me around 200 MPH with the 2.41 rear I built when running 5200 RPM. Probably need a little more RPM if I try Bonneville because of the slip on the salt compared to asphalt.

Brewster: I'm not exactly sure what the POCI is but I'm guessing a show? Whatever it is I don't have plans to go right now.

John

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, check the clips, sure that's all that is on the moulding. Never actually thought about the air dam distorting at speed until you brought it up, will keep that in mind, but makes sense. I got a chuckle out of the 'if you can stand on it' thing! Heh-heh! As for the older speedos, I have the factory one in the daily driver, and it seems pretty close, after talking to some with other cars that I've paced. Last saturday did 140 with the windows down! Was like a parachute, couldn't go beyond that. The guy that paced me was in a '08 SL55 AMG, think his speedo was right. Didn't need the vacuum the car after that!

You're about right with the required HP figures with breaking 200, 650-700 sounds right. Your final drive calculations are on target too. I chose the .64 OD on the 600, with a 3.10 rear gear, even though I knew the .64 might be a 'drop' going from 4th, and that it's a touch weaker. Hopefully I can overcome the drop with power, and cross my fingers on the weaker part!

In a previous config (T/A), 550HP, 2.56 rear and 4 speed, I once broke 170 going down a hill, which was a pace, not verified. I feel pretty confident it was close to that, burried an aftermarket SW Stage III speedo. 200 is a brick wall though, weird stuff happens over 160, and certainly over 180. The open grill area on the 70-73s is the killer, and inserts would help prevent lift. My goal is to do the speed event in Carolina next year, but last couple years I've had some major road blocks in my project goals. (Time and money!). If you go out there again, let me know, I'll come down for sure, would be the perfect excuse!

Your roll bar looks sweet by the way, and I like the way you tied the front frame rails together (and added the tow hook). I have a similar idea for tieing the front frame rails, though I am driven by mounting intercoolers. I plan on using it mostly on the street, so I refuse to go more than the 4-point I have now, though I know I should. Eh, once I twist a 1/4 panel, I'll probably make the jump!

.

[NOT A TA]

I don't want any of that over 160 "weird" stuff! Thats why I'm trying to be very carefull. Just lifting off the throttle to quickly at those kinds of speeds can throw the car into a spin.

I figured I'll probably have to make fillers for the grill openings. But I'm not up to those speeds yet.

It looks like I'm not going this weekend since I'm waiting on seats and have a couple other things left on my pre track "to do" list. The next event at Maxton is June 27-28 and if things go smoothly at Sebring I'll probably go to the June meet. I'll let you know. Maybe you can be my photographer! I have hardly any pics from tracks because I go by myself. I want to check out video cameras so I can see how I'm doing as a driver on the road courses. Maybe I'll have one by then.

Ya, the decision to put the serious cage etc. in was a big decision. Limits regular street use and racing stuff is expensive! Between cage, seats, fire systems, Fire suit, Helmet, and other related items it will total about 10 grand!

John

[FLYNLOW]

Your lucky you didn't lose the trim. It could put a nasty scratch in the paint.

[Tellyshavilli]

A NY 73 SD all original.

[74 SD455 Formula]

Originally Posted by Tellyshavilli

A NY 73 SD all original.

Nice car Telly,but I thought A/C was for Chick's and whimp's ( ha-ha ).

[Transamric]

TS, got trim rings? How about posting a couple underhood shots too.

[Lloyd-TX]

Nice SD Matt - you always come up with nice cars!

Ric - I just had a set of HM's refinished for my SD. They're GORGEOUS and there's no way I'm gonna stick trim rings on them. I might even go with the earlier red-center center caps!

[Father&Son73T/A]

Originally Posted by bird72

I've grown to not like any deviations from stock on 70-73's........ Never liked aftermarket seats. Never liked aftermarket rims. I have never seen a "dechromed" car I liked.

You pulled it off. That car is stunning and a truly respectful throwback to a road car of old.... A++++++++

BINGO...........X2

[Tellyshavilli]

Originally Posted by Transamric

TS, got trim rings? How about posting a couple underhood shots too.

I have the original tires , rims and trim rings off the car . The tires are still decent tread but I would't drive on them being 36years old . I will have to get out and take some underhood pics , don't have any right now .

[ErikW]

Here is my wife's 71 in progress. Pics are from camera phone, sorry. Had to repaint pass. door after burning through clear coat trying to sand down a foot long sag. She'll be ready for VMP in two weeks. Just have to get the interior and glass back in.