Great, another V8 FC drift car build thread :/

StephenSheppard · 11-12-2012, 09:30 PM

So got a bit more done today. Ground down the cross tube brackets and got rid of them so I have all the room I want/need to mount the radiator. It took awhile, I'm pretty sure those damn things are forged in the fires of Mordor.

Much better now. And it looks better as well.

Thinking about mounting senarios for the radiator now.

First option like factory but moved forward. Makes ducting the nose of teh car super easy. I am leaning towards this option. It doesn't afford the radiator much protection though.

Option 2 is just inverted compared to the factory mounting. A bit more protection offered since the radiator is only near the front of the car at a very low point where cars usually don't get crushed.

Option 3 although most people would think this wouldn't work. It would indeed work quite well. Offers the most protection again bashing since it's so low but allows other damage to maybe happen from cones, tires, debris, etc. Basically laying flat in the nose of the car. I did have it tilted a bit upward in the picture though.

We shall see. I'm not sure what I like most yet.

StephenSheppard · 11-12-2012, 10:19 PM

Some comparison pics are in order I think. Here's my buddy Josh's car with the "I don't give a shit about how it looks I just want to drift" approach.

If you use a HEI distributor, you can expect to have to bash the firewall in. Perhaps you could bash it a bit better than this though. I won't be using a HEI distributor for this very reason. Also his windsheild wiper linkage is not capable of movement anymore

I'll be using a standard diameter distributor.

What you can expect for clearance on thedriver's side.

Passenger side clearance.

Clearance around the starter area.

This shot gives you an idea of the length of the engine.

Same thing on the other side.

So basically it fits fine, selecting components is important ahead of time. He pulled this whole thing out of a 3rd gen Camaro he had and just pretty much threw it in the car with the Granny's kit and called it a day. Utilizing the factory style mechanical fuel pump and all that sort of stuff. He doen't really have any issues after a couple small things were sorted out. has higher compression, bored over and all that junk. Whatever it makes more power than is necessary all the time.

I'll be mid-mounting the alternator on the passenger side to lower the height and have a better fitting hood and fancy stuff like that. Also cause I'd like to use a factory carbon fiber hood if possible.

I'll be spacing the rear of the hood up for added clearance for the air cleaner. Unless I go ahead and fuel inject it. Still contemplating that, as it will make the project take longer and cost far more.

Decisions, decisions......

StephenSheppard · 11-16-2012, 10:42 AM

And then this happened :/

Got tired of looking at all the rub marks on the underside, and considering I will be using a larger diameter wheel and tire combo in the future, the fender wells simply had to go.

This rubbing action was due to a older set of wheels with less offset and a bad alignment. This wheel just barely clears as you can tell. Thats a 10.5" wheel with a +12 offset btw. So a 9" or 8" with the same offset would have a lot more space obviously. My target is a 9.5" with a 0 or a bit more offset so. No issues whatsoever. Plus the sway bar is going away. I won't need it anymore

Lots of room in front of the wheel. I didn't have to cut that much material out but I'd rather add material then live with the million-holed factory sheet metal.

A bit aggrevating, So there's never a hole where you want it. So I made a new one reluctantly above the factory harness pass through.

For this grommet. Just for the windsheild wiper harness and fan relay harness. Super lame but I don't want to run that stuff from across teh engien bay, as it looks tacky / messy.

Over sized the brake line holes to 1" for these same grommets for the brake lines. The factory ones are long since deteriorated of course. I'll trim the nose as it over shoots the holder just a bit.

Those grommets can be found here:

https://www.vtewarehouse.com/content...SeriesPage.php

Probably supposed to put this in the for sale section but I put it here anyways.

$60 shipped

Front swaybar endlinks (Mazdatrix) and Energy Suspension factory diameter bar bushings and brackets.

Here's the link to the Mazdatrix site for the endlinks I'm selling:

http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=H-M010F

Link for the ES bushings:

http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=H-95128

Also I have the Granny's speed shop swaybar spacers for sale. Brand new never mounted to my car. $30 shipped

Link:

http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/

Or $85 for all of it shipped.

OBO of course. I don't need the parts and a bit of loose change towards the car helps.

My contact info is:

rotaryrelated@live.com
559-633-0376 (Stephen)
also a link to my FB account from my website www.rotaryrelated.com (In the top right corner)

Now it's time to reverse the cutting proccess into the building proccess

It might take awhile for me to decide what I want to do and update this. So many possiblilities.............

StephenSheppard · 11-16-2012, 10:46 AM

Also this

StephenSheppard · 11-16-2012, 11:03 AM

A couple vids of the flimsiness of things at this point, incase anyone had any great ideas about cutting their car up to this extent without bracing anything.

A vid of the brake line grommet to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about with trimming the nose of the grommet.

StephenSheppard · 11-16-2012, 12:16 PM

Going to knock out some of this simple stuff today.

mattallac · 11-16-2012, 09:25 PM

lookin pretty cool , I also have an fc but its a vert and i am also going to sbc or ls1 ( iron block truck) for drifting . how bad is the expense to do this kind of swap ? the drift car i am finishing now is a 79 glc sport with a 12a . good luck with the build , I have been watching this thread since you started , great info .

11-12-2012, 09:30 PM	#1
StephenSheppard Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 58 Rep Power: 13	So got a bit more done today. Ground down the cross tube brackets and got rid of them so I have all the room I want/need to mount the radiator. It took awhile, I'm pretty sure those damn things are forged in the fires of Mordor. Much better now. And it looks better as well. Thinking about mounting senarios for the radiator now. First option like factory but moved forward. Makes ducting the nose of teh car super easy. I am leaning towards this option. It doesn't afford the radiator much protection though. Option 2 is just inverted compared to the factory mounting. A bit more protection offered since the radiator is only near the front of the car at a very low point where cars usually don't get crushed. Option 3 although most people would think this wouldn't work. It would indeed work quite well. Offers the most protection again bashing since it's so low but allows other damage to maybe happen from cones, tires, debris, etc. Basically laying flat in the nose of the car. I did have it tilted a bit upward in the picture though. We shall see. I'm not sure what I like most yet.

11-12-2012, 10:19 PM	#2
StephenSheppard Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 58 Rep Power: 13	Some comparison pics are in order I think. Here's my buddy Josh's car with the "I don't give a shit about how it looks I just want to drift" approach. If you use a HEI distributor, you can expect to have to bash the firewall in. Perhaps you could bash it a bit better than this though. I won't be using a HEI distributor for this very reason. Also his windsheild wiper linkage is not capable of movement anymore I'll be using a standard diameter distributor. What you can expect for clearance on thedriver's side. Passenger side clearance. Clearance around the starter area. This shot gives you an idea of the length of the engine. Same thing on the other side. So basically it fits fine, selecting components is important ahead of time. He pulled this whole thing out of a 3rd gen Camaro he had and just pretty much threw it in the car with the Granny's kit and called it a day. Utilizing the factory style mechanical fuel pump and all that sort of stuff. He doen't really have any issues after a couple small things were sorted out. has higher compression, bored over and all that junk. Whatever it makes more power than is necessary all the time. I'll be mid-mounting the alternator on the passenger side to lower the height and have a better fitting hood and fancy stuff like that. Also cause I'd like to use a factory carbon fiber hood if possible. I'll be spacing the rear of the hood up for added clearance for the air cleaner. Unless I go ahead and fuel inject it. Still contemplating that, as it will make the project take longer and cost far more. Decisions, decisions......

11-16-2012, 10:42 AM	#3
StephenSheppard Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 58 Rep Power: 13	And then this happened :/ Got tired of looking at all the rub marks on the underside, and considering I will be using a larger diameter wheel and tire combo in the future, the fender wells simply had to go. This rubbing action was due to a older set of wheels with less offset and a bad alignment. This wheel just barely clears as you can tell. Thats a 10.5" wheel with a +12 offset btw. So a 9" or 8" with the same offset would have a lot more space obviously. My target is a 9.5" with a 0 or a bit more offset so. No issues whatsoever. Plus the sway bar is going away. I won't need it anymore Lots of room in front of the wheel. I didn't have to cut that much material out but I'd rather add material then live with the million-holed factory sheet metal. A bit aggrevating, So there's never a hole where you want it. So I made a new one reluctantly above the factory harness pass through. For this grommet. Just for the windsheild wiper harness and fan relay harness. Super lame but I don't want to run that stuff from across teh engien bay, as it looks tacky / messy. Over sized the brake line holes to 1" for these same grommets for the brake lines. The factory ones are long since deteriorated of course. I'll trim the nose as it over shoots the holder just a bit. Those grommets can be found here: https://www.vtewarehouse.com/content...SeriesPage.php Probably supposed to put this in the for sale section but I put it here anyways. $60 shipped Front swaybar endlinks (Mazdatrix) and Energy Suspension factory diameter bar bushings and brackets. Here's the link to the Mazdatrix site for the endlinks I'm selling: http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=H-M010F Link for the ES bushings: http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=H-95128 Also I have the Granny's speed shop swaybar spacers for sale. Brand new never mounted to my car. $30 shipped Link: http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/ Or $85 for all of it shipped. OBO of course. I don't need the parts and a bit of loose change towards the car helps. My contact info is: rotaryrelated@live.com 559-633-0376 (Stephen) also a link to my FB account from my website www.rotaryrelated.com (In the top right corner) Now it's time to reverse the cutting proccess into the building proccess It might take awhile for me to decide what I want to do and update this. So many possiblilities.............

11-16-2012, 10:46 AM	#4
StephenSheppard Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 58 Rep Power: 13	Also this

11-16-2012, 11:03 AM	#5
StephenSheppard Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 58 Rep Power: 13	A couple vids of the flimsiness of things at this point, incase anyone had any great ideas about cutting their car up to this extent without bracing anything. A vid of the brake line grommet to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about with trimming the nose of the grommet.

11-16-2012, 09:25 PM	#7
mattallac Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: crockett ca. Posts: 176 Rep Power: 0	lookin pretty cool , I also have an fc but its a vert and i am also going to sbc or ls1 ( iron block truck) for drifting . how bad is the expense to do this kind of swap ? the drift car i am finishing now is a 79 glc sport with a 12a . good luck with the build , I have been watching this thread since you started , great info .