The Official Hot Rod Thread - Part 4: Burnouts for Distance

[Mounty09]

A friend of mine needed an oil pan made for his race car. Modeled something up on solidworks and then machined it out on a Haas Machine. I'm very pleased with the finished product!

 

[thunderchicken]

Those Malibu's made fun little hot rods. They were cheap back in the early 2000's. I had a Malibu wagon that my wife drove. Had a mild 350 in it. Sleeper.

I have a friend that has one of those Malibu's. It's a pretty healthy street car and him and his son are really just starting to get a handle on the shock settings/chassis. They went a new best over the weekend and went 6.14 at the 1/8th with a 1.37 60' time. The G-body suspension isn't all that much different from a Foxbody Mustang, but man they work pretty well considering the ride height on the Malibu.

 

[gregkl]

I have a friend that has one of those Malibu's. It's a pretty healthy street car and him and his son are really just starting to get a handle on the shock settings/chassis. They went a new best over the weekend and went 6.14 at the 1/8th with a 1.37 60' time. The G-body suspension isn't all that much different from a Foxbody Mustang, but man they work pretty well considering the ride height on the Malibu.

My wagon had pretty decent weight transfer, but alas, it was my wife's grocery getter so I never did really work on it as a performance car.

Basically it was equivalent to a 350/270HP out of a '70 Chevelle with TRW forged 10.25:1 pistons, a mild cam(can't remember the specs, but not a fender rattler), intake, carb. Stock T350 trans, 3:55 gears.

The engine actually came out of a 1970 Chevelle. At the time it was too rough to save. Boy I wish I had that car now. It wasn't rough at all in today's terms!

 

[bobzilla]

And the truck is going to a new home Saturday.

 

[jeffsqartan]

And the truck is going to a new home Saturday.

There's no response emoji. End of an era, man. The Mustang will forever be the champ.

 

[jeffsqartan]

The G-body suspension isn't all that much different from a Foxbody Mustang, but man they work pretty well considering the ride height on the Malibu.

The plan with the Notch is to rebuild the stock suspension with some better parts without spending a fortune. I looked under a few Drag Week Mustangs last year and guys in the 10's just had good bushings and otherwise stock geometry suspension.

If I decide to make that car handle later on, I'll throw the MM catalog at it. Until then, gonna box the rear lower control arms and replace a bunch of bushings. Call it good.

 

[thunderchicken]

The plan with the Notch is to rebuild the stock suspension with some better parts without spending a fortune. I looked under a few Drag Week Mustangs last year and guys in the 10's just had good bushings and otherwise stock geometry suspension.

If I decide to make that car handle later on, I'll throw the MM catalog at it. Until then, gonna box the rear lower control arms and replace a bunch of bushings. Call it good.

Is this the convertible?
I dig where you are coming from and you can go pretty fast like you said without reengineering everything. Your plan is solid. If it has the stamped upper control arms, it might not hurt to box those in too. But, my advice without knowing the cars condition would be take a good look at the rear upper control arm torque boxes. Look at the factory welds and make sure bolt holes aren't elongated. They are known as a weak link when beat on. There are several companies that sell kits that can bolt in or weld in that will handle serious abuse. The lower torque boxes can be stiffened easy enough with a pair of plates.

Not trying to insult your intelligence when I say this. It's a triangulated 4 link design. So it works in its basic design like any other 4 link. When the car is launched or accelerated, the upper control arms are pulled back by the rear end (that's why torque boxes get beat up) and the lower control arms are pushed forward by the rear end which uses the arms to try to lift the car.

 

[jeffsqartan]

Is this the convertible?
I dig where you are coming from and you can go pretty fast like you said without reengineering everything. Your plan is solid. If it has the stamped upper control arms, it might not hurt to box those in too. But, my advice without knowing the cars condition would be take a good look at the rear upper control arm torque boxes. Look at the factory welds and make sure bolt holes aren't elongated. They are known as a weak link when beat on. There are several companies that sell kits that can bolt in or weld in that will handle serious abuse. The lower torque boxes can be stiffened easy enough with a pair of plates.

Not trying to insult your intelligence when I say this. It's a triangulated 4 link design. So it works in its basic design like any other 4 link. When the car is launched or accelerated, the upper control arms are pulled back by the rear end (that's why torque boxes get beat up) and the lower control arms are pushed forward by the rear end which uses the arms to try to lift the car.

No, the convertible already has MM parts under it.
My coupe is a factory 4 Cylinder car. It looks good underneath. Not beat or tore up. Guy was in the process of putting a Merkur turbo 4 Cylinder in it when I bought it. He didn't get too far. I don't want to keep the 4 link in the rear. They're terrible for corner carvers. I also don't know how long I'll keep it, so simple stuff to start with. If I like it enough, it gets a torque arm, panhard bar, adjustable sway bar, tubular lower arms, and potentially even coil overs.

 

[thunderchicken]

No, the convertible already has MM parts under it.
My coupe is a factory 4 Cylinder car. It looks good underneath. Not beat or tore up. Guy was in the process of putting a Merkur turbo 4 Cylinder in it when I bought it. He didn't get too far. I don't want to keep the 4 link in the rear. They're terrible for corner carvers. I also don't know how long I'll keep it, so simple stuff to start with. If I like it enough, it gets a torque arm, panhard bar, adjustable sway bar, tubular lower arms, and potentially even coil overs.

Kinda surprised to here the 4 link is so terrible for carving corners, given how much is out there to upgrade them. I could definitely see a need to go with some coil overs though.
Years ago when I worked for Kenny B. it seemed popular to have the 4 link with a panhard bar set up. I was always surprised back then more people didn't want coil overs but mostly wanted Koni shocks with softer springs.
I've never really understood setting up a convertible for track use when they are heavier and known to have more flex than the notch. But, I admit I also say that as someone who has just never been a fan of convertibles (or T- tops).
I'm not very well versed with the torque arm set up so I have no idea what is involved in putting one in a Mustang. Sounds interesting though

 

[jeffsqartan]

Kinda surprised to here the 4 link is so terrible for carving corners, given how much is out there to upgrade them. I could definitely see a need to go with some coil overs though.
Years ago when I worked for Kenny B. it seemed popular to have the 4 link with a panhard bar set up. I was always surprised back then more people didn't want coil overs but mostly wanted Koni shocks with softer springs.
I've never really understood setting up a convertible for track use when they are heavier and known to have more flex than the notch. But, I admit I also say that as someone who has just never been a fan of convertibles (or T- tops).
I'm not very well versed with the torque arm set up so I have no idea what is involved in putting one in a Mustang. Sounds interesting though

The factory Ford 4 link binds. It's what causes the snap oversteer. I was told you can run the panhard bar with the 4 link, but that it doesn't improve much. It's best to remove the upper control arms and install the phb and TA. Doing so gets rid of the bind from the UCAs.

Somewhere there are comparison pictures that show before and after installation of the car under hard cornering. After the TA install, the car is much more flat in the corners. Naturally, I can't find those now.

This tech article from MM goes into a lot of the detail:

The Torque Arm: The best improvement for your solid axle Mustang

 

[thunderchicken]

The factory Ford 4 link binds. It's what causes the snap oversteer. I was told you can run the panhard bar with the 4 link, but that it doesn't improve much. It's best to remove the upper control arms and install the phb and TA. Doing so gets rid of the bind from the UCAs.

Somewhere there are comparison pictures that show before and after installation of the car under hard cornering. After the TA install, the car is much more flat in the corners. Naturally, I can't find those now.

This tech article from MM goes into a lot of the detail:

The Torque Arm: The best improvement for your solid axle Mustang

Interesting. Would be cool to see some videos of the upper arms binding. I would also be curious if the double adjustable arms with heim joints bind the same way solid arms with bushings do.
I get that the TA allows for a longer instant center much like a true 4 link vs a ladder bar as an example.

 

[Bigtanker]

My dad has some tires on casters that would fit the go-kart and he gave them to my son. He got them put on the original wheels. Fit like a charm.


Now he just needs a new back tire.



We need to find a few 5/8 11 castle nuts. These wheels are wider and we can't double nut them. I can drill a hole in the axle so the nut doesn't come loose.

 

[Bigtanker]

This is next level to me. @ the 19:00 min mark.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

New 2024 Mustang design is out. Looks like an S550 with different bumpers to me. And giant iPads for the dash. Not complaining, just an observation.

 

[jeffsqartan]

New 2024 Mustang design is out. Looks like an S550 with different bumpers to me. And giant iPads for the dash. Not complaining, just an observation.

View attachment 224347

I think they just sold me lol

 

[jeffsqartan]

Although, I just realized that the speedometer is working... They need to add a "jiggle" feature to it when you're below 20mph.

 

[jd4320t]

Too much new Camaro in that new Mustang.

 

[Brad69]

Me and the wife are at the Moparty in beech bend. The wife has been running consistent 10.80’s at 127-128. She is in the street king class and the 10.75 index.
Final eliminations tomorrow wish her luck!

BTW Her M/T are way better than the factory Nittos

 

[thunderchicken]

Me and the wife are at the Moparty in beech bend. The wife has been running consistent 10.80’s at 127-128. She is in the street king class and the 10.75 index.
Final eliminations tomorrow wish her luck!

BTW Her M/T are way better than the factory Nittos

The M/T radials are hard to beat especially the Pro radials. On most surfaces they are just about as good as a slick

 

[Mounty09]

Me and the wife are at the Moparty in beech bend. The wife has been running consistent 10.80’s at 127-128. She is in the street king class and the 10.75 index.
Final eliminations tomorrow wish her luck!

BTW Her M/T are way better than the factory Nittos

What Nittos were they? I have been considering the NT555R2s because they are $50-$100 cheaper a tire compared to the M/T and Hoosiers.