Crew cab hot rod

Another weekend done after long days in the garage...
Got the exhaust all finished up. I had most of it done, screwed together and mounted yesterday but now its all welded together. I Built 3 sets of tailpipes and wasnt happy with any of them, just not enough room to get 3" pipe over the axle, around the shocks, past the hoses and wires, and out the back.
Fine, Axle dumps again...lol

The old radiator setup sucked so I got the new dual pass crossflow mounted, I recessed it into the core support so I had a little more room this time around between the rad and motor. I went with 1 big SPAL extreme duty 16" fan instead of trying to make those 2 10" ones work.
Of course the shroud put the fan motor right in the water pump to that had to get cut up to move the fan lower and of center to clear..lol

Climbed underneath and drained the axle fluid, put on the new alum cover / girdler support, and filled it back up.
At some point weatherstrip adhesive on the gasket seemed like a great idea..lol 20 min of scraping and finally a wire wheel for that mess.. Ugh..

Its together, the hoods back on and I spent a bunch of time today playing with the tuning...
Started the morning with getting the oil changed and the shifter cable has needed adjusting since I put it together.
After all that it took abut an hour to get the IAC and Idle / start enrichment and Idle fueling all perfect so it starts up and idles nicely.
Even before this needed work there but last year I was in a hurry...
This cam has a little chop so it took a little bit to get it all right.

Runs good , stays cool, and is Noticeably faster with this setup. Still doesnt want to stall as hi as I would prefer at a stop but does flash pretty good if youre rolling. Wont know till September exactly how much faster it is though.
For now its just an odd weekend drive or cars and coffee duty...

Almost ready to leave tomorrow morning for Tuscon,AZ and Duct Tape Drags 2024..

I'm about 7' over the AZ length limit this year. Wish me luck..lol

Tons of extra room in the enclosed though, I'm used to having 2 big ass sxs's crammed in there. The little Rambler barely takes up half the floor space...

Had the usual trailer shuffle and rv last min repairs as the water pump, didnt, as of this morning as I headed out to clean... better here than tomorrow on the road I guess...

Just have to add my cordless tool bag and cooler etc...

I'm usually thrashing on the car but it's been ready for a couple months...

NYCEGUY01 said:

Almost ready to leave tomorrow morning for Tuscon,AZ and Duct Tape Drags 2024..

I'm about 7' over the AZ length limit this year. Wish me luck..lol

Tons of extra room in the enclosed though, I'm used to having 2 big ass sxs's crammed in there. The little Rambler barely takes up half the floor space...

Had the usual trailer shuffle and rv last min repairs as the water pump, didnt, as of this morning as I headed out to clean... better here than tomorrow on the road I guess...

Just have to add my cordless tool bag and cooler etc...

I'm usually thrashing on the car but it's been ready for a couple months...


View attachment 176603View attachment 176604

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Have fun! Tell David 'Hi' for me... 😁

Greg said:

Have fun! Tell David 'Hi' for me... 😁

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Dave said you did him a big favor and were a huge help.. so I went ahead and voluneered your garage and help for any future needs he may find..

I also told him not to say that again so you wouldnt get a big head, I mean you did already post up a pic of you and pewe as a profile pic..lol

Friday was a long day. Motorhome had a couple issues on Thursdays drive we think we tracked down to a bad pressure sensor for the heui pump. Only cat dealer that had one was a 40 min drive away.

We took the rambler and then it was so hot it wouldnt start without jump start when trying to leave there. Then the electric fan came unplugged on the freeway so we overheated horribly trying to get back.
I had to walk to an autozone to get a crimper and butt connectors. It was 106 degree heat during all of this and I'm just not used to that at all..lol

The car is also a big oven even when running good with the windows down..ugh.

Got back to the track and spent 2 hours working on the motorhome. Finished that up, charged up the rambler battery while it cooled off, and hit the staging lanes.

It ran a 11.98 and 114mph.

Gonna add a little more timing, launch at more than 1800, and put the shift points back up to 6800 for today.

In theory it will be a little faster today.

The na class guy they keeps winning isnt much faster so unless I red light again I may have a chance this year...

Here's a pic of it leaking all the coolant out in a circle k parking lot 15 miles from the track...

Well, its over... lol
Ran a stack of runs at 11.94at 114mph.

I got put in the "Bogus" class for having too many nice parts on it this year.

Tony Angelo was helping with the judging and he knows his stuff. Spotted everything on my motor and the aluminum block right away..lol

Got put out in round 2 by a 9 second twin turbo LS powered 67 Dart..lol

Good time all around. Gonna gave to build a sneakier vehicle for next year..

Well, It didn't blow up and I do have a bunch of PTO time left to use or lose so....

Looks like the little ugly 4 door got accepted to race at HRG day 2024 ( Hot Rod Garage ).
Its Nov 9th at Fomoso. I've always wanted to go there and I'm actually gonna get to race...

This time its a bracket race at sea level. Guess Ill get to see what the old Rambler will really do.
Its pretty damn consistent so should be good...

I looked over the data logs again as I noticed some oddities in Tuscon and looked into the voltage drops I noticed at the track.
After a little research it appears its a known issue.
LS alternators really don't like 6000-7000 rpm apparently and that accounts for 9.8v at 7200rpm...
After checking 5 or 6 logs it was pretty consistent. Thats also when the ignition, fuel pumps, and fans are drawing the most power all at the same time.

I went ahead and ordered a larger alternator (165 amp) and a 3" alt pulley to keep the Alternator RPM in check at 7000 engine rpm.
The larger alternator should hopefully help keep up with charging at lower rpm's as well..

I think if I get time Im gonna try to weld together a quick rollbar as well before the next outing.
I ordered a main hoop for an S10 as the measurements look like it will be a very close fit.

Tucson was 6000+ Density altitude all weekend and it was running 11.94's over and over.

After checking Fomoso's Altitude and last Novembers DA its gonna most likely actually be sea level or near it for the event.
Id hate to accidentally make a pass at 11.49 and get tossed for not having one.
A 5 point roll bar should keep me safely within the rule book down to 10.99 where I would then need a full cage.
(stupid modified floor and firewall..lol)

NYCEGUY01 said:

I looked over the data logs again as I noticed some oddities in Tuscon and looked into the voltage drops I noticed at the track.
After a little research it appears its a known issue.
LS alternators really don't like 6000-7000 rpm apparently and that accounts for 9.8v at 7200rpm...
After checking 5 or 6 logs it was pretty consistent. Thats also when the ignition, fuel pumps, and fans are drawing the most power all at the same time.

I went ahead and ordered a larger alternator (165 amp) and a 3" alt pulley to keep the Alternator RPM in check at 7000 engine rpm.
The larger alternator should hopefully help keep up with charging at lower rpm's as well..

I think if I get time Im gonna try to weld together a quick rollbar as well before the next outing.
I ordered a main hoop for an S10 as the measurements look like it will be a very close fit.

Tucson was 6000+ Density altitude all weekend and it was running 11.94's over and over.

After checking Fomoso's Altitude and last Novembers DA its gonna most likely actually be sea level or near it for the event.
Id hate to accidentally make a pass at 11.49 and get tossed for not having one.
A 5 point roll bar should keep me safely within the rule book down to 10.99 where I would then need a full cage.
(stupid modified floor and firewall..lol)View attachment 176937

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Nice find and change. 😎

Greg said:

Nice find and change. 😎

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The Holley stuff is very good , I really like the data logging and tuning capabilities.
At first I was really just looking at AFR, and knock etc.. Once I spent a little time with it I find myself really digging in a little more and its really making the cars run better and better.
I never would have caught stuff like this with any other setup in the past for sure. The interface is just way to user friendly.

Well, on the road to Formoso for hot rod garage day. Back in Primm for the night and then to Bakersfield this morning.
It’s been pre-Covid since I’ve been at the Tree bar after the race..

Today this is literally killing me, I forgot about California and towing..lol

NYCEGUY01 said:

Well, on the road to Formoso for hot rod garage day. Back in Primm for the night and then to Bakersfield this morning.
It’s been pre-Covid since I’ve been at the Tree bar after the race..

Today this is literally killing me, I forgot about California and towing..lol

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Time for a ramp truck! And nobody follows that rule anyway. 😉

Good Luck!

Greg said:

Time for a ramp truck! And nobody follows that rule anyway. 😉

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I'm trying to keep it reasonable.
I learned yesterday at 75-80 my big block dually gets a pretty consistent 7.5mpg pulling the loaded enclosed. 60mph may save me some $$$ lol

NYCEGUY01 said:

I'm trying to keep it reasonable.
I learned yesterday at 75-80 my big block dually gets a pretty consistent 7.5mpg pulling the loaded enclosed. 60mph may save me some $$$ lol

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I'm curious if you'd get above 9 mpg towing a big enclosed like that?


(well, there's always the Cummins swap)

Been there, done that. You can buy a lot of gas for what a diesel swap or even maintaining a diesel truck costs.. I can deal with it. It pulls good when I need it...

NYCEGUY01 said:

Been there, done that. You can buy a lot of gas for what a diesel swap or even maintaining a diesel truck costs.. I can deal with it. It pulls good when I need it...

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Same opinion as you. If the gasser will do the job, the gasser is a solid choice for an occasional tow rig


(but you'd get 34 mpg with the Cummins)

Long day.....

I dropped my trailer at the track because the parking at my hotel was sketchy and I wanted to be in the parking lot under the lights.

Turns out it didnt help. During the night someone popped the door lock out and tried to steal the dually. Tore the column to hell trying but apparently the truck started and died after seeing the camera footage so they gave up and took off.
I guess the 2001 security actually worked ??? No idea but the truck was still there.

Instead of getting to the track at 7 I got there at 9 after I found a locksmith to come and pop in a new cylinder. All my damn tools and stuff were in the trailer 20 miles away... locksmith said he had been to that same hotel 4 times this month for ignitions and doors on Silverados. Apparently they are in hi demand these days in the shithole of CA.

The hotel manager said besides the attempts 5 or 6 had been stolen. They didnt mention that when I checked in...lol

He also said the cops wont even come out for a stolen truck. Just give you a report # over the phone for your insurance. Seems like they done even look for them unless ss they are used later in a crime etc...
That state needs to break off and float away..lol

NYCEGUY01 said:

Long day.....

I dropped my trailer at the track because the parking at my hotel was sketchy and I wanted to be in the parking lot under the lights.

Turns out it didnt help. During the night someone popped the door lock out and tried to steal the dually. Tore the column to hell trying but apparently the truck started and died after seei g the camera footage so they gave up and took off.
I guess the 2001 security actually worked ??? No idea but the truck was still there.

Instead of getting to the track at 7 I got there at 9 after I found a locksmith to come and pop in a new cylinder. All my damn tools and stuff were in the trailer 20 miles away... locksmith said he had been to that same hotel 4 times this month for ignitions and doors on Silverados. Apparently they are in hi demand these days in the shithole of CA.

The hotel manager said besides the attempts 5 or 6 had been stolen. They didnt mention that when I checked in...lol

He also said the cops wont even come out for a stolen truck. Just give e tou a report # over the phone for your insurance. Seems like they done even look for them 7 less they are used later in a crime etc...
That state needs to break off and float away..lol

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Where was that?