SAmadei

The problem is that with really long words, you can decode them by the length... there may be, say, 100,000 words with 12 letters, but only 500 with 24 letters... of which only 4 are "well known" outside, say, chemists. ;-)

I think you are referring to me... Yep, more interested everyday. Just to let everyone know, my name is actually Stephen.

The subtle differences in Italian are why one shouldn't use slang or foul language Italian language around real Italians... you come off sounding like an idiot... or Borat... same thing.

I think its the computer/ipod culture as applied to cars. I want the opposite... I want to start my computer by turning an ignition key!

Aside from normal ring/bearing/valve wear, I'm not aware of anything that would doom a 231. Definitely they are non-interference. Lots of these well north of 200K. IMHO, it was the last good clean-sheet or majorly recast engine design GM had until the LT/LS series V8 came around. I'm going to miss the 3.8, and I doubt the "other" V6 will ever win me over... between the total lack of power in the 2.8 and 3.1 and the 3.4 intake manifolds dropping hot coolant into the crankcase. 15 years after the Series II 3.8 L36, the 3.9 still only has 20ish hp more. As for the Series II, I'm feel they are a good upgrade over the Series I... the plastic intake is not that much of a problem... the REAL problem is intake gaskets that did not play nice with Dexcool. If you are having the intake gaskets replaced, you can block the coolant passages to the intake, which solves the intake coolant leaking problem near the EGR stovepipe and keeps hot coolant from circulating in the throttle body. Cooler throttle body means better performance. This is all a non-issue on the supercharged engines.

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Very well put Balthy... I wish you were running for office, you'd have my vote in a heartbeat. As far as "green littering", I am even more restrictive... the only thing I chuck out the car window is water and ice. I'm still annoyed at myself because in the mid-'90s I was a passenger and went to toss some ice out of a cup and the condensation caused the cup to slip out of my hands... and the driver refused to go back. Of course, I do this with the car stopped... I'd hate to be charged with a deadly burrito.

In this case, the car doesn't have to pass emissions testing, so a CEL isn't a problem. While the ECM is not going to be happy without the transmission input, it would likely only try to put the transmission in 'limp home mode'... and not effect engine performance.

You didn't have a SPID sticker? Usually Posi diff has a G80 RPO on the SPID. Also you should have a little tag on the diff that specifies that it needs limited slip additive. Failing that, there is the age-old diff check where you jack up the rear and rotate a tire... with a Posi, both tires will rotate the same direction (unless its worn out to the point of uselessness), a standard one legger will have the tires rotate in different directions. I can see a V6 car getting TA steering gear, but I doubt Posi would have helped it much.

That's true... I suppose cardboard and ducktape is as good as anything. Its no secret... 6'4" and about 400lbs... but I tend to be torso tall, not leggy. If my legs were in better proportion to my torso, I would've been closer to 6'8". Since weight is the enemy of speed, I am using this project as a motivation to lose some weight. No problem here. Females tend to take better care of the car. ;-)

It was mentioned that the Firebird didn't have a doghouse... was the hood and pass fender trashed or sold? Obviously for the LeMons, the hood could be hammered out it its stilll around. Plastic fenders are more of a PITA. IIRC, this is a '98, so it has a 3.8L... The more known, I could peruse the local pick-a-parts. There were a couple 4th gens in there, but they were real rough... it might be easier (and cheaper) to install a pre-97 doghouse on the bird. For races east of the Mississippi, I would be willing to carpool anyone from the northeast.

Actually, gasoline was a byproduct without a use for decades... considered waste, it was dumped into rivers for years before a use for it was found. I'd rather we burn it as energy, then use it to poison rivers.

Considering I think I know where this is going, I'd say its pretty easy. The clutch is likely hydraulic, so the clutch pedal can be mounted anywhere... but pedals sets are generally around. IMHO, the worst would be matching up the driveshaft. Million dollar question... 5 speed or T56?

But, from my experience, it doesn't translate into headroom... I fit in the '99 Bonne, but the '04 Grand Prix (1.5 inches taller) and G8 (2.5 inches taller), I have to recline the seat to fit... plus I have to do a limbo to get in and out without removing the top of my head. Its hurting my neck just thinking about it. Granted, my height is all in the torso, though. And sunroofs are right out for me, as well... I need that space.

Probably. For the life of me, I can't find the original thread on the story of the Firebird. I vaguely remember the situation, but are there some updated pictures to see the extent of the work it would need?

Even worse is the Challenger... parked new to old, the old one looks so graceful and svelte... the other a stubby, slabsided, overweight lump. (Yeah, yeah, I LIKE the new Challenger!) Tip to new Challenger owners... don't park near old Challengers.

The trick with reel-type lawnmowers is keeping them insanely sharp, otherwise they don't work well at all. Its all about the bold. It's not nearly so offensive in the normal typeface.

Even less! The '77-'80 boxes were as low as 3326... for the Buick! They put quite a few aluminum parts on these early cars. Race prepped, I think these would be around 3050~3100.

Damn... 3 inches taller than my '99 Bonne. Wish the new stuff wasn't so tall.

This thread might be getting unwieldy... perhaps a project subforum could be added?

I thought about the B-bods, but the rules seem to preclude anything with an original weight over 4200 pounds. The late Caprices and Crown Vics get real close... but obviously people are running them. Someone had a full size Chevy van in the last race... they are about 5000~5500, IIRC. I would prefer to try to run a '77~80 Caprice, as they are MUCH lighter, yet parts are plentiful. I would think Crown Vics are hard to keep under the $500 limit. It would be, but in this case, erring on the side of caution, I would think they considered this a $500 car with a free cage. Actually, $250, as there is a second car in the deal. However, it would be nice to try to get a bill of sale for $50 for the car, leaving $450 or so for the upgrades. A race ready car is likely to have little stuff that can be sold off, fuel cell notwithstanding.

+1 Holy Smokes, I'm in total agreement with Croc?!? ;-)

1987, actually. I actually have an '83 Celebrity coupe in the backyard, but it has a wrist pin knock and hasn't run in years. I was saving it to try to put a 350 in it. Of course, at this point its a $50 car. ;-) Especially since the title seems to be missing. Honestly, though, the FWD A-bods are real anti-racecars. I'm not sure how a ready made cage Cavalier would be accounted for. Is that a $1 car with a $499 cage or a $499 car with a $1 cage? Someone would have to closely examine that cage to ensure it fits the LeMons rules. It says "race ready", but what engine is that? It would be nice to get any Cavalier up to LNF specs, if possible. ;-) I like the RWD... but you guys already knew that, right? I wonder how much of WhiteKnight's Firebird could be eBay'd for upgrade/repair parts. Was it a V6 or V8?

Well, I'm no Lingenfelter, but I can spin a wrench and come up with creative fixes... always a plus. Of course, I foresee the biggest logistic is building the car, as we are so far apart... _unless_ this was a get together a week before, built the car in a rush, and run the wheels off of it.

I've only seen them on the drag strip in fast form, so I wasn't sure about their prowness on the racetrack. Of course, they can be lowered and/or have ballast added to the rear... F-bodys also can be a light in the rear and a handful if you bite off more than you can chew. I wouldn't sell the potential crew short just because they haven't been on a track... most of us understand the basics of driving dynamics and have probably tested the limits on the streets many times. Which saves brakes... of course, brakes being "safety items" we can hope up the brakes on some cars pretty good. I'm all for the benefits of stick, but that dude in the MR2 was shifting a lot to keep it in the powerband. I imagine that is pretty rough on the clutch over the course of 24 hours... especially a clutch that may have 100K on it... at least an automatic can have a big cooler put on it. The Aurora was a pretty interesting read... since then, I think the LeMons rules have changed enough to limit bumping and rubbing, which was the major reason the Aurora didn't do too well... it got run into a few barriers and never really recovered. The Aurora is why I like the idea of a supercharged Riv. Easy ingress/egress and speed. I fear that most smaller FWD cars are going to suffer in the engine department, unless we can swing a crazy transplant... like a supercharged 3.8 into an old Cavalier or Baretta. I like the Chevette idea... I was thinking Vega or early Sunbird/Monza/Skyhawk... but these are just too hard to get parts for... and the Chevette's suspension is just not going to hold up. Very flimsy. Its the reason I don't like the idea of going with a Fiero... with the exception of the Lotus tuned late Fieros, they just have sorry Chevette front suspension parts. The "safety" items are pretty simple... Tires, Brakes, Cage and Exhaust beyond the exhaust manifold. I saw nothing in the rules about suspension being considered a safety item, so those would need to be somewhat homebrew. Not only that, but there is the BS Factor. The 924 entered into the last race was not favored by the judges... they felt it was too clean and didn't really fit the $500 limit, so it got crushed as part of the People's Curse, from my understanding. A 4th gen F-body might have the same problem... even some V8 3rd gen F-body cars might be a stretch... which tells me we need to document, document, document.