Tsa`ah.......

[Snowman]

heh, now that I got your attention, bet ya thought it was another rant, well, hopefully it evolves into that.....heh.

We yapped briefly about a year ago, maybe more? You were contemplating doing up a slick mini-van for the 1/4 mile.

I was curious if you ever embarked on that project and what your results were?

~Snowman

[Tsa`ah]

My first thought was WTF?!!!

Well I've run into several problems, most of those are with the suspension and framing of the mini-van.

With my welding guru in Iraq working for the man, I can't fabricate a good roll cage or even frame supports that will work without getting some big panel folds.

There's just too much body sway for me to figure out a way to do this while leaving the vehicle useful for daily driving. I could make weld together a cage or series of braces, but that will pretty much nix all of the seating except the two front seats.

Now if I had the intent on only racing on the strip, I wouldn't have to worry about the left and right sway and could just run a stiffening "sway" bar from nose to tail for a stiffer launch.

Outside of that, APC has been zero help on the body-kit. The picture I posted was of the Caravan they had mocked up. They don't respond to e-mails and when I call someone ... they act stupid. Two months ago I did speak with a guy in R&D and he indicated that the panel molds had been scrapped. So I'm stuck with fab work for the skirts and dams. This just furthers my belief that APC is one R away from crap.

The drive line I can handle. I've got both of my engines torn apart and prepped. A 3.3 and a 3.8 ... same block, different bore. I'm going with the 3.3 simply because there's a bit more meat left in the cylinder walls ... I'll take it to 3.5 and order the internals through a custom shop. I've already got the SC, Whipple charger, and will be working mocking up the mounting and plumbing in a few weeks. The trans is going to take mega work as the only trans that mounts to these blocks is meant for smooth shifting and isn't built to handle much more power than a stock 3.8 can shell out.

The suspension, as I said is another problem. Luckily most Dodge/Chrysler products are built with similar specs, so it won't be too hard to find some after market after I butcher a few Shadows or Seabrings in the junk yard.

I bit off more than I could chew alone, so this mini-van will probably be ready to go about the same time as HJ is. Things will go smoother when J gets back from Iraq.

Until then, the mini-van goes on the back wall with the convertible project and I dick around with a pair of Metros that should be done by March.

If J sticks around Iraq longer than that, I'm moving on to a 73 cuda and I'm totally ripping off the Foose designed "Sick Fish".

[Snowman]

heh, good stuff, if it was easy, then everyone would have one, no?

Eh, as a side note, you might remember this conversation better with my old forum handle...Ansherak, seein how I don't do the GS thing anymore I switched out.

If ya dig back into that conversation, you'll remember I argued about no replacement for displacement and we went around and around for a few posts....
So here we sit, you went with cubes.....and I just purchased a high powered four banger, go figure...

Suppose we can both argue from both sides of the fence now, heh.

Well, good luck on that project, sounds like a fun one to me.....

~Snowman

[Tsa`ah]

I'm just too skittish with two things, wiring and cutting/welding into frame work. I've fried one to many gauge clusters and PCMs to be confident in my wiring ability and I've maimed my share of hard to find cars by trying to make room for roll cages and connectors.

Regarding displacement, I go for the biggest option that fits without fuss. I'm not a big fan of the 4 banger unless it's the only option. A 3-4 liter 6 has more potential with forced induction than a 1-2 liter 4. I'll take potential anyway.

Let's face it, a 400+ HP 6 is sweet, but it's at the wall of its potential. I'm not arrogant enough to believe my Lumina can take anything on the road simply because the 3.8 under the hood is at the peak of what it's capable of for daily use. I can take most stock V8 sports cars, but as soon as I run into one with a SC or really good head work for compression ... I'm toast. Low 10's high 9's is about all I'm going to see out of a transverse 6.

Now if I start on a cuda ... A 6 is not what I have in mind.


[Edited on 12-2-2004 by Tsa`ah]

[Sean of the Thread]

Originally posted by Tsa`ah


If J sticks around Iraq longer than that, I'm moving on to a 73 cuda and I'm totally ripping off the Foose designed "Sick Fish".

MOPAR or NO CAR.

Since your buddy is in Iraq you may find this site to be helpful. http://www.moparts.com/

In the course of building up my 73 swinger I've found plenty of local people thru that board that came over and helped with various things I had problems with or was to afraid to fuck with. (like cutting/welding)



[Edited on 12-2-2004 by Xyelin]

[Wezas]

See, Falgrin - there's hope for you yet.

Also, Turbovan! (http://www.turbovan.net/)