1979 Lesabre Sport, for NHRA Stock Eliminator?

[charlief1]

Can you polish the throws on the crank or does it have to stay stock?

 

[iraceitall]

I can, and will.

 

[charlief1]

It's a bit pricey but you might look into having the crank cryo treated. It stabilizes the molecules and makes it tougher so it shouldn't flex as much.

 

[iraceitall]

No one in Montana does it, I will pass for now. I blew my original $1400 budget, its now $2013, with a little bartering and sponsor help...

 

[iraceitall]

OK, I got a little lost on turbo upgrades, so Ill revisit that since I have time. I have a .63 hosuing now, what other upgrades can "I" do to it for little money? As long as I keep that housing and the wheel stays at 1.835 and the compressor housing at 1.863, is there anything else can I do myself inexpensively? I never heard back from Reed...

 

[b4black]

Take a small hand grinder and cleanup the inside of the wastegate elbow. There's a lot of extra metal and sharp edges in there.

 

[mikemcvaney]

Well, another small setback, which is actually a blessing in disguise. I got a full set of pistons to use with 2dot rods, but, they are .040 over. I decided, might as well do it right, I was gonna bore it out eventually anyways! While we are at it, going to deck it, balance it, and offset the rod journals .013 to increase stroke a little. I wont race the car until August now, but it will be done right the first time and wont have to worry about it (I was going to just use the stock bottom end with a simple re-ring for now). Pics as I go along, timeslips by August!

How much does off set grinding the crank increase displacemant ?

 

[iraceitall]

In this case, .013 gives me about 2 cubes, plus gets me closer to correct deck height. With the .040 overbore I will be at 237ci. Not much, but in this class of racing every bit helps.

 

[iraceitall]

I am at the home stretch, I did find I will no need a MSD 6BTM, since this car won't be streetable, but I do need a 6AL if anyone wants to trade. I also would love to find some adjustable pushrods.

I have 2 carbs, 2 PEVRs, a carb kit, and a pair of cast exhaust manifolds left over for sale as well...trade or make offers so I can finish this pig!

 

[charlief1]

The 6BTM will help keep it from detonating unless you're planning on going with the J&S unit. The only diff between the 6AL an the 6BTM is the BTM has the ability to cut timing as boost builds.

 

[iraceitall]

Yeah, I hate to have it there but not be using it. I'd rather help a guy out who has a 6AL but needs a BTM. I have a plan and reason why I dont need it, but more on that later :-x

 

[iraceitall]

Update: I have made some carb and ignition changes, they probaly would suck on the street but perfect for on track. Basically I now have a non-turbo HEI with all advance locked out, initially set at 20 degrees. I used an MSD #8739 soft touch rev control so I could keep my 2 step, which is a MUST for building boost and consistency. The whole MSD setup costs under $200 new; thanks to Ebay I am in it $110. (Note: I bought the 6BTM with a 2 step for 160 from CL, then sold the BTM on ebay, bought the 8739 and 2 rpm chips off ebay for the 110) The carb is an 800cfm unit off a 75 455, with a slew of upgrades, but I have only about $50 in it total.

The converter is another story, in this case you need to look up Mark Yacavone with Blue Streak Converters, he has been a HUGE help with my converter and setting up my Metric 200, which is not as exotic as one would think. Mark truly knows his stuff, he's a top-notch builder and racer (see Bracket Racing and High Performance Pontiac for a couple examples), and ask Neil Smedley for another testimonial on his work!!! He ran a Stock Eliminator 78 turbo Regal that would break rearend and suspension parts!

I will eventually be using a 29" tall slick, for now I have 26's, but to be ahead of the game we're going to use 3.73 gears off the bat. The Lunati cam goes 1400-5400, but this is a heavy car (dropping it to R/SA, at 3680lbs) so I think this will be a good choice. I will be leaving around 3200 or so off the 1st chip. I made a decent profit off the aluminum wheels on the car, which really weren't that light, plus 15x7's. I instead got 2 15x8 white spokes and 2 15x6 steelies, and with some spray paint I ended up putting $150 BACK into my budget, which I used for rear airbags and some small misc. items I needed.

All that's left is to finish bolting it all together; it will debut August 23-25th at my home track in Lewistown Montana at the national open. I will post more updates as I go, the budget is still safe (at about $1600 after selling some things I changed) but the goal is much loftier now: 13.50's.

When it's all done I will post timeslips and a complete cost rundown, whether I run the number or not. You should be able to learn something for your B4B either way! Wish me luck!!!