Project car taking on some form:

[BillyGman]

For those who are interested, here are some pics of my 70 Chevelle as well as some drivetrain parts pics too. The car was just painted. Keep in mind that the wheels and tires that are on the car in these pics aren't the ones that will be used......

[BillyGman]

and some more....

[BillyGman]

and.................

[supa_carrot]

Nice car, and nice big engine it's going to have as well. I like the bicycle tires on the front.

[BillyGman]

Nice car, and nice big engine it's going to have as well. I like the bicycle tires on the front.Thanks. I gotta tell ya though, that I'm not a big fan of skinny's like that on the front. I've only had the car for 6 months, and the guy who I bought it from was the one who chose that wheel and tire combo. So they will be coming off the car, and I'll be installing P235/70/15 tires on the front, and P315/60/15 drag radial tires on the back. ;)

[TooManyFords]

Looking really good Billy! Keep those pictures coming.

Cheers!

John

[Hotrauder]

Billy, looks like you are making good progress. Please keep us posted. Dennis

[Shora]

WOW, that is so sweet!!

Maybe when you get a chance you can post some interior pics?

I can only dream of how sweet that would be for a daily driver. Too hard to make a weekend car IMHO.

[younga1]

Looking very nice Billy!! Going to make driving the MM kind of boring??

[O's Fan Rich]

Love the color scheme!

[martyo]

Looks great Billy!

I can't wait to see it finished up!!

[sweetair]

She sure is perty.

[BillyGman]

Thanks bruthas..... I don't have any interior shots yet. The seats are like new, but the headliner needs to be replaced as well as one of the door panels too. the dashboard isn't too bad, although it isn't perfect either. The interior is black. I guess the reason that I haven't taken any pics of the interior yet is simnply because I really haven't spent any time inside the car yet!

I think that I only sat in it once or twice so far. I bought the car as a roller without an engine or transmission back in December, and I've had it at the bodyshop ever since then, up until today. So I've never had it on the road yet.

I plan on driving it every week back and forth to work (one day out of the week I mean), so this car will by no means be any trailer queen, nor a car that just gets taken to cruise nights and car shows. But I simply will not be able to use it as a daily driver either. If you're wondering why, just take a look at the size of that carburetor. :D I'd have to be a medical Doctor or something like that to be able to afford driving this thing every day.

It is a pump gas engine though, so atleast I won't need to use race gas. But also keep in mind that the designation on those valve covers isn't just for shock value, alone. That is in fact the cubic inch displacement of this engine. So gas mileage will NOT be it's strong point to say the least. That's why it will only be driven once per week. But it will be a driver. I plan on puting about 5,000 miles on it per year. But don't let me get ahead of myself here ...first I have to complete it.

[BillyGman]

oh, BTW, in reference to this car making the Marauder seem "boring" to drive.....I thought of that too, but what I've concluded is that even though my Chevelle will be a whole lot quicker than my S/Ced Marauder is, there's just something to be said about a car as big and smooth riding as the Marauder is, which can also turn a low 12 second quartermile ET, using pump gas alone, and yet can still be driven every day like mine is, and also with things like A/C, fuel injection, power windows, cruise control, and a halfway decent music system to boot.

So the Marauder can be driven every single day while atleast three or four days out of the week, my Chevelle will have to sit in the garage, simply because it eats waaaay too much gasoline to be driven and enjoyed on a daily basis. So because the Marauder can be enjoyed every single day, it can never be replaced by a monster big block engined car.

[Tallboy]

Looks gorgeous, bro! I'm sorry I couldn't hook up with you Monday to go see it [stuck in Oxford helping family, you know how that goes.]

It was good to see you again, my friend...:up:

[TAF]

Well done Billy! I'm impressed with all the progress....

[BillyGman]

Chuck and Todd,

you guys have encouraged me and have helped me out with this project probably more than you know. You guys are the best!! Chuck, I too was sorry that you couldn't go with me to see her in person, but it was great to see ya once again my friend. The next time you come here, hopefully I'll be able to give you a ride in this monster. ;)

Todd, when I fire up the engine, I'm going to make a vid of it, and I'll send you one for you and Bryan to look at. The biggest drawback with this project so far is that I've had to work seven days a week to keep up with it, and I've always turned down overtime at work in the past since I like having my weekends for the things that I want to do. But a car project of this size is worth it to me to have to work on the weekends. I'll keep all of you updated on the progress.

[Joe Walsh]

Your Chevelle looks really sweet Billy!

I love the Charcoal/Black paint scheme.

What wheels are you putting on the car?..widened 'Rallys'?

BTW: You should get a vanity tag that reads: "10.4 LITR"

[BillyGman]

Your Chevelle looks really sweet Billy!

I love the Charcoal/Black paint scheme.

What wheels are you putting on the car?..widened 'Rallys'?

BTW: You should get a vanity tag that reads: "10.4 LITR" Thanks for your support Joe. The wheels that I've bought for the car are centerline "Convo ET's". They're 15x10 for the rear, and 15x7 for the front. I also had them custom made in a special backspacing for the rear, so that I can squeeze the P315/60/15 drag radials back there.

I'm not sure if I'm going to stay with those wheels or not though. I'll have to see how they look with the color of the car. If I don't like them, then I might go with Torque Thrust-D wheels if I can get them in a custom backspacing (I'm not sure if I can though).



It's funny that you should mention that vanity plate, because the one I was thinking about would read "10 LITR"(we're only allowed 6 digits on our plates in this state). That would give all the ricer boys something to think about. :D

Until I can show you guys some further progress with this car, below is a link to a website that's owned by a guy that I know named Clint, who has been gracious enough to post all of my progress pics of this car, from start to finish. He's also added some of his own commentary about this project based on what he knows. Just click on each of the pics one at a time when you get there......

http://www.project-quicksilver.com/hotrodder/BillyGman/default.htm

[Leadfoot281]

Great color scheme! Very nice! Are you going to put a roll cage in it? Depending on the ET, you may be required to have one at the track.:burnout:

For a plate, how about XS POWR?

[RoyLPita]

Lookin' good, Billy. :up:

[BillyGman]

Are you going to put a roll cage in it? Depending on the ET, you may be required to have one at the track.:burnout:

I knew that it was only a matter of time before somebody asked me that question, and a good question it is. Here's the deal...... fact is that I hate roll cages. I hate what they do to the interior of a street car, and that's primarily what this car will be. A street car. That is the reason why I chose the pump gas version of this 632 engine instead of the race gas version, which would've given me an additional 100 HP.

Another thing about roll cages is that if a cop pulls me over, as soon as he sees a roll cage, he's gonna throw the book at me, and I don't want that. Furthermore, if someone pulls along side of me at a traffic light, or even in the next lane while cruising at 60 MPH on the highway, and they see a roll cage in the car, they aren't going to mess with me, and that will take some of the fun away. And I don't like window tinting either (sorry, but it's just not my style). As I've previously stated, I want this car to be as stealth looking as possible, and I don't want to advertise how quick it's going to be until I hit the go pedal.

I realize that I'll be well below the ET threshold for a roll cage requirement, but my plan is to only race the car when there's a car club or a motorcylce club renting the entire track, and therefore will be able to call the shots as to what vehicles can run and what ones cannot rather than the tech inspectors.

I've spoken to a guy on the telephone who has just purchased a dragstrip, and he told me that this is the way it works concerning track days when car clubs rent the entire track for themselves. He told me that he allows the club to dictate what the requirements are. So if I can get in with a car club once or twice per year to take this car drag racing who will allow me to run w/out a cage, then I'll be content, because I haven't any intentions of running the car at the dragstrip any more than that anyway.

I've also taken precautions to avoid twisting the frame of the car. One of them being the decision I made to have a fourth side welded on the inside of the frame rails to box them in, as well as purchasing a transmission cross member that's much beefier than the stock ones are, and was designed to support the frame rails and prevent excessive flex during the launch. BTW, thanks for the compliments on the color scheme I chose for this car. It was a factory stock color back in 1970 for these cars, and it was called "Shadow Gray" (code 17). There was also "Cortez Silver" too which was also with the black stripes, but that color is too light for my taste.

[Mike M]

I love that car, great color and great drivetrain! How could you go wrong?

[BillyGman]

I love that car, great color and great drivetrain! How could you go wrong? Thanks Mike. Coming from a guy with a monster big block engined car like you have, that's quite a compliment, as well as an encouragement too.

[GreekGod]

I appreciate what you are doing with your car, Billy but....Martin US 131 used to be an NHRA track and back in the 70's there was a local fella that had a BBC in a Vega. He died in that Vega when he crashed during a test and tune or non competition event of some kind.

His lack of any cage was directly related to his death. After that happened, they got much stricter in passing tech. It is absolutely true that safety rules are written in blood.

Martin hosted the first Popular Hotrodding magazine meet and is now called US 131 Motorsports Park. It is now an IHRA track and has a new owner.

[BillyGman]

I appreciate what you are doing with your car, Billy but....Martin US 131 used to be an NHRA track and back in the 70's there was a local fella that had a BBC in a Vega. He died in that Vega when he crashed during a test and tune or non competition event of some kind.

His lack of any cage was directly related to his death. After that happened, they got much stricter in passing tech. It is absolutely true that safety rules are written in blood.

Martin hosted the first Popular Hotrodding magazine meet and is now called US 131 Motorsports Park. It is now an IHRA track and has a new owner.I know you're looking out for my well being, and that's all good. Let's look at 2 things here:

First, the frequency of the racing I'll be doing with this car. I don't intend to be racing it every week, nor even every month. A couple times per year is all. Yes, I know that it only takes one bad pass to die or get injured, but it isn't like I'm going to be hammering the throttle to the floor on the first couple passes either. Not until I get used to what the car is going to do.

Second,

incase I'm overlooking something, let's look at the possible reasons which might make it so important for a 10 second car to have a cage when it allegedly isn't needed with a 12 second car. Obviously with the 10 second car, you're dealing with more power, and therefore greater acceleration. But the biggest factor that would increase the risk of either hitting the wall or flipping the car over with the 10 second car is the likelyhood of a wheelstand, or breaking an axle, and having one of the rear wheels flying off. As far as breaking an axle, that's why I've chosen both the 35 spline axles (which are more than adequate to take this power level w/out breaking) and the Big Ford housing ends which eliminate the need for c-clips. So I don't need to worry about losing a wheel because of axle breakage nor any flimsy c-clip failure.

As far as wheelstands, if I can get this car to hook good, I'm sure that the front tires will be seeing some air time. However, I don't intend to set-up the suspension to a point where dragging the back bumper is a possibility. If I were to drive the car, and I find that it begins to get the wheels off the ground more than a foot or so, or that it isn't launching straight, then it would be time to either correct that with suspension changes, or get the car caged (or both).

One other thing that can increase the likelihood of hitting the wall with cars faster than 11.5 seconds, is the use of slicks. Particularly with cars that are heavy (say over 3,500 LBS) which this car will be. The sidewalls of the slicks are so thin that some guy's cars have become unstable towards the end of the 1320.

To avoid that, I have two options that I know of. The first is to use the slicks that are available from Mickey Thompson which have heavier sidewalls, and are intended for heavier cars. The second option is to use drag radials instead, which are more stable. The DR's won't offer as much traction off the line, but I have three different suspension items that I'm going to experiment with first gingerly and carefully, to see if any one of them will hit the tires hard enough on the launch to allow me to obtain enough traction off the line with the drag radials.

There are guys who have acheived 1.3 second 60' times with drag radials on 4,000 LB cars. But it's all a matter of exactly what, and how much is done to both the front and rear suspension. There are also things that I've already found out about for the GM A-body cars suspension to make them launch straight, and that will be one of my utmost concerns.

I appreciate the heads-up my friend, and I'll keep your words in mind. If I cannot get the car to hook well, and to launch straight, then I will decide not to take it on the track any more. Although there are some rules that are important and are needed, I think that it's really getting rediculous as to how strict it's becoming. it's overboard to say the least. Look at some of the 2006 rule updates. Like having to wear a flame jacket even if you have a 13 second car, simply because you're using a supercharger. Yeah, I know, the jacket isn't any major expense, and it isn't that much of a hassle to put one on before you go to the staging lanes, but it's become pretty obvious that some of the rules are merely the influence of insurance company premiums being jacked up to the sky. It's begiining to ruin drag racing for the amatuer in certain classes.

Besides the cage, another thing that I'm not crazy about is having to use those ugly seats that are for 5 point harnesses. That's another thing that you aren't likely going to see in my car. I can appreciate the need for them in 8 second 1,110 HP cars that can easily drag the rear bumpers down the track on any given day if wheelie bars aren't used, and can get into some trouble down the other end of the track with trap speeds of 170-180 MPH, but for 10 second cars I think it's overkill.

The guy I know who just purchased a dragstrip talked with me about how demanding the insurance companies are with their premiums. He has to pay them $300 per day every day that he opens the gates regardless of how many racers show up, or whether it's an amatuer event only, or not, and that's just for an 1/8th mile track! The insurance copanies will eventually ruin this sport just as they have ruined other things. It's all about greed in our system of capitolism. It isn't always about safety. Some of it is, yes, but safety is in no way the only factor in all of this.

Sorry for the rant, but you brought it up, and I wanted to address your comments, because I believe that they were thoughtful ones. The bottom line is, that I have already previouisly fully considered what you've stated.

[GreekGod]

It sounds like your plan is reasonable for the risks involved, Billy. You have figured out many pitfalls. I hope you haven't missed any! Your chassis is much better than a Vega, also. Any hidden chassis reinforcements will help too.

[BillyGman]

It sounds like your plan is reasonable for the risks involved, Billy. You have figured out many pitfalls. I hope you haven't missed any! Your chassis is much better than a Vega, also. Any hidden chassis reinforcements will help too.Your posts in this thread, and your warnings are not taken lightly my friend. I admire you for that. Yes, there are chassis reinforcements that I've already had done to the car, and I have a couple more to do yet as soon as my buddy comes over with his welding equipment on the first day that I get the car on my brother's lift. ;)