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Post Info TOPIC: Winter upgrades for 2021 season
Derek69SS


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Winter upgrades for 2021 season
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Lots planned for this winter. I'll post some progress as I go...

Engine and trans are out right now. I was planning to change cam, but something else is in the works that has changed my mind on that... Rear main seal was leaking, and the trans never shifted well, and I thought it needed shims behind the slave cylinder. Also had some vibrations that I couldn't track down. 

Measuring everything up, shims were not needed, however I checked the runout of the input shaft and discovered .030" total runout!!! (.015" off center) That explains several issues... poor shifting, vibration, and maybe contributed to the rear main seal leak? The trans will be dropped off this week for a rebuild, and beef it up for what will be needed for what's coming later. 

On somewhat of a whim, armed with a tape measure and a level, I decided my rear suspension needed some attention. Upper arms were at way too steep of angle with the car being very low and having a Moser 9" housing. Brake hop was a problem (as discussed in the Waumandee Hill Climb video thread) Also, the earlier addition of a Watts link was inducing some roll-bind that was getting harder to control as each set of tires seems to be stickier than the last.  In these pictures, everything is just tack welded in place. Additonal bracing and gussets will be added.

Dropping my measurements into AutoCAD, it appears the ideal setup will be bottom hole on the housing, and middle hole on the chassis. That will result in the instant-center being 48" forward of the axle, with 99% anti-squat. Upper link will be 11" long. It's as long as it can possibly get without cutting into the back seat. I may end up cutting off the top 2 holes of the axle bracket. I doubt they will ever be used.

The 3-link design has no bind, and the arm being offset to the right counters the torque of the engine and plants the right tire harder, and hopefully more evenly between the 2 tires. (torque applied to the pinion naturally tries to lift the right rear, offset upper link will push it downward)

3link1.jpg

 

3link2.jpg



-- Edited by Derek69SS on Monday 28th of December 2020 11:24:26 AM



-- Edited by Derek69SS on Monday 28th of December 2020 12:09:28 PM

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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Derek69SS


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This will probably end up being a 2022 season upgrade due to budget, but I'll share it now anyway...

I bought these AFR 245cc heads and Jesel shaft mount rockers from TPIS's 416" LS 2011 Engine Masters Challenge engine.
The build will be duplicated, but with an aluminum block and an intake that will fit under my hood. They made 700hp at 6500, and 622ft/lbs at 5200. They are "used" but dyno time only. 

TPIS.jpg



-- Edited by Derek69SS on Monday 28th of December 2020 12:15:34 PM

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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
OscarZ


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Cool and exciting updates!  Now we will need a thread for Cale's car when the current LS makes it into his 55!  stirpot

 



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Michael S. - Cambridge
'71 Malibu
Derek69SS


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As a semi-responsible parent, Cale will get no more than 250hp and an open-differential while in school. laughing

No power steering, manual transmission, and no cupholders. 



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Jon H


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Kind of tough parenting.

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'69 Convertible,  Lemans Blue, 454, 200 4R, 12 Bolt. 

Jon H.  Lino Lakes
Lost in the 60s


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Jon H wrote:

Kind of tough parenting.

 Yeah, that will most likely change by then anyway. Depends on how much hp the "other" kids have...thumbsup



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Mitch D.   River Falls, WI

Lifetime member of the "Cars apart Club"

Some Assembly Required

1966 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1970 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1967 Camaro SS 350 rs
Larry Lucast


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I first learned about engine swaps when my dad said he would not replace my 6 cylinder with a V8. So I did it myself. And it ran, to my complete amazement.

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Larry L.

Coon Rapids
Derek69SS


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I finished up the welding on the frame crossmember tonight, but ran out of welding wire before I got to the axle housing.

Not every weld is pretty, but I am confident they are burned in well, and structurally sound. I will be painting all of this area white so it can be easily inspected for stress cracking on a regular basis.

 

FB_IMG_1609640813703.jpg

 

FB_IMG_1609640825181.jpg



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Derek69SS


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It's May, and I'm still not ready... I moved the battery to the trunk, but will probably not finish the fiberglass stuff until next year.

I shared this on my facebook page, but should add it here too. I bought fiberglass hood, trunk, and bumpers which will take about 120lbs off the car.

I have modified the hood to vent air out into the low-pressure zone at the front of the hood, which will draw out the trapped high-pressure air that would otherwise have to go under the car to escape. This will help cooling, and reduce air pressure under the hood, reducing aero-lift at high speeds. With the stock hood, I have been up to 143mph in this car, and compounded with the 8:1 steering ratio, it's terrifying...

 

gt1.jpg

gt2.jpg

gt3.jpg

gt4.jpg

gt5.jpg

gt6.jpg

gt7.jpg






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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
BLyke


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Wow, 143 MPH, sounds exciting!
Nice work on the hood.

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Bruce L. - Lakeville MN

1971 Malibu Convert

 
Derek69SS


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I'll put my 12:1 steering box back in it before I try that again. The 8:1 starts getting sketchy above ~110.



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
more ambition than brains


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Impressive!
Karl

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Derek, your fabrication skills continue to amaze me.

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Kevin

Northwestern Ohio
Derek69SS


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This was my first attempt at fiberglass work. I watched 3 youtube videos on how to do it, took a deep breath, and started cutting holes in my brand-new parts. cuckoo

I made plenty of mistakes, and learned a lot in the process, but the nice thing with fiberglass is you can just layer it on and grind it off until it's right. 



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Derek69SS


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I ran out of time and ambition to get the body work done, so I put all the steel parts back on for now. Yesterday was my first autocross for this year, and first impression of the 3-link is that it works very well, but changed the balance of the car quite a bit, which I think I can fix with stiffer rear springs.

We had a pretty stacked CAMT class yesterday.

FB_IMG_1621274095486.jpg



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Lost in the 60s


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Looks really good sitting there in the sun...thumbsup



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Mitch D.   River Falls, WI

Lifetime member of the "Cars apart Club"

Some Assembly Required

1966 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1970 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1967 Camaro SS 350 rs
Derek69SS


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I picked up 6 more CCW Classic wheels for the Chevelle last night.

Backspacing is completely wrong, but with 3pc wheels, I can buy new lips and barrels, and sell the ones off these wheels.

 

FB_IMG_1623345213891.jpg



-- Edited by Derek69SS on Thursday 10th of June 2021 12:27:17 PM

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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Larry Lucast


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Those are nice looking.

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Larry L.

Coon Rapids
Derek69SS


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I ordered all new hoops for them today, so I'll be running 18x11 on all 4 corners with 6-1/2" backspace, and will require 1/4" spacers all around.

Hopefully I get them before the UMI Autocross Challenge. :)

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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Derek69SS


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I sprayed the hood and trunk in black epoxy primer and mounted them up this weekend. I'm going racing in PA in a couple weeks and figured I could use that 68-lb weight reduction. 42lbs off the front, and 16lbs off the rear. I've also added an adjustable pitch 10" high (rule limit) rear spoiler.

I will not have the new wheels ready before the UMI Autocross Challenge, so I mounted up the new 295/35 Yokohamas on my old wheels for this event, and will have to swap back to the 275/35 Federals before Road America in August, then back again for the rest of the season... glad I bought a tire changer!

Paint for the hood and trunk will probably have to wait until winter now. 

215021906_2904711199796907_1657083385922820165_n.jpg

 

216374210_2904711249796902_4025881435759302491_n.jpg

 

215256992_2904711309796896_1996029962427745836_n.jpg



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
ghaasl


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Looks killer, Derek! Good luck in PA.

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In today’s digital world, don’t be afraid to embrace some analog.  My father tells me I was born 30 years late.

 1968 Malibu

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BLyke


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looks great!

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Bruce L. - Lakeville MN

1971 Malibu Convert

 
Lost in the 60s


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Looks more like a dedicated race car all the time.

I'm going racing in KY on the 23rd. Private event at Beech Bend drag strip.

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Mitch D.   River Falls, WI

Lifetime member of the "Cars apart Club"

Some Assembly Required

1966 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1970 Chevelle SS 396 M20

1967 Camaro SS 350 rs
more ambition than brains


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Impressive!
Karl

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If you have more than 5 of anything, best to stop counting!
Derek69SS


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Lost in the 60s wrote:

Looks more like a dedicated race car all the time.

I'm going racing in KY on the 23rd. Private event at Beech Bend drag strip.

It's rapidly approaching that line where I need to decide how much further I want to go with it... there's not much more I can do without seriously sacrificing its street-car status. 

 

Beech Bend is a cool track, I ran there at LS-Fest in 2019. 

 



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Derek69SS


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The lightweight and aero mods were worth the effort, I pulled off winning an invite to UMI's King of the Mountain event next month by a margin of 0.059 second over 2 days best times added together.

I finished 6th in class, but the top 5 already had invites so I was the fastest of those looking to earn the "Golden Ticket"


Friday's best:

Saturday's best:

 

 



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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
Larry Lucast


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What skill! You make it look easy.

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Larry L.

Coon Rapids
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