85 351 4door Vic **DUW**

[johnunit]

well if I'm gonna build a sleeper It should at least be fast enough to actually beat a few non-sleepers.


That's down the road though, obviously.

[85crownHPP]

The OE lid I found for my homemade dual snorkel deal shined up like a mirror, yours should too.

[johnunit]

Exhaust work is started! fucking finally...

I now have a full-time job at a place that does some nice custom and restoration. In the long term it should mean good things for this car, but in the short term it throws finishing the carb swap in time for STAP into serious question. Regardless of carburetion, it will go.

[87gtVIC]

Yeah. Noise pollution!

[marquisman]

all V8 equiped cars should run muffler-less....well...maybe not. would be cool thats why i do it

[pantera77]

mmmmm loudness.

[87DeuceVic]

I ran the 87 with open cats for mosta my senior year in high school, was awesome I did my share of startling cheerleaders walking to their Honda's in the school lot . But lemme tell ya the drone from it will drive ya up the wall.

[johnunit]

It's louder than it sounds there. If it sounds like that but half or a third the volume with the 2.5 tails and Thrush Weldeds, I'll be happy.

[marquisman]

also, where do you work? maybe i can roll up one day for a premo custom exhaust

[johnunit]

Car Quarters Customs. I've only been there a couple days, but EVERYTHING they've done has been top-notch. even if I were to be shitcanned tomorrow, I'd probably still take the vic to them if I ran into trouble doing the exhaust myself.

[marquisman]

that in toronto or markam? its hard to fins shops with a good work ethic and product.

[johnunit]

Markham, barely above Steeles but 3 minutes off the 404.

I don't know for sure about everything else yet, but for exhaust and bodywork I'd recommend them/us in a second. No ideas on price though.

[marquisman]

ooooo thats nice and close! its hard to find good exhaust shops.

[johnunit]

Progress is painfully slow, but parts collection continues. Literally the most rainy days of any April here ever, and May is on track for the same.

of note, got the header wrap and am partway through applying the ghetto stealth package of that and black header paint
I picked up a PI rear sway bar from Mcninetyone(I think that's the username?) and have underdrive pulleys coming in this afternoon at Paul Silva Racing here in Scarborough.

They're March pulleys, 54 bucks on Summit and $70something Canadian from Paul Silva. I'm not 100% sure they'll work, but they seem to be a carbon copy of the BBK stuff that supposedly works, and magazines have dynoed 15HP gains on a mustang.

The main parts I still need to get (ignoring gaskets and stuff) are ducting for the air cleaner to the fenderwell or wherever I end up sucking air from, plug wires, and figuring out the TV rod arrangement.


Then I just have to put all that stuff on the car. heh...

[johnunit]

Getting the car on the road this week.

I've got the manifolds off (strangely easy, didn't even need to use a 1/2" drive ratchet on any of the bolts) and am most of the way done removing the pulleys for the underdrive setup.

Stupid question:
How the heck do I get the crank pulley off? I need to remove the pulley that drives the alternator, waterpump, and PS pump, but not the inner one that drives the smog pump and A/C. Or are they one piece? The new one doesn't have grooves for the smog/ac belt, so I assume that the outer/front/powersteering pulley bolts inside the ac/smog pump pulley? I have the 4 bolts out, but can't separate them prying in between them on the outer edges, but can't see any other way to go about it. Are they one piece, or am I completely missing something?

I also found out that my passenger outer tierod is fubar. Kind of a relief really. I've had play in the steering since I bought the car, and it wasn't any worse when I parked it so hopefully the tie rod will solve most of the problem. I don't know why I couldn't get it to show play the 3-4 times I've checked before.


After debating with myself endlessly, then searching endlessly, I found a universal O2 sensor, which had a wire long enough to not even need extending to reach the bung in the downtube of the new h-pipe. I was thinking it was a waste of 30 bucks because maybe the 02 sensor would come out of the manifold as easily as all the bolts did, and then the manifold dropped taking out the last bolt and landed sensor-first.


A weird annoyance: whoever did the exhaust thought that the bolt holding the hangers ahead of the rear axle on wasn't enough, so they WELDED them to the frame. Thanks for making a one-bolt job into something that involves a cut-off wheel, air compressor, etc.


The 4-barrel swap will have to wait till after STAP (this friday), but that means I'll have before and after numbers. I'll be going to STAP with the original top end still in place, but with a brand new exhaust system and underdrive pulleys. I'll be happy if I run a 16.5, but it'll still be fun to get back into a car that I don't have to make apologies for.