Modifications to your current car

reply to post by hypervigilant


You certainly should be able to take a Mustang those things are lead weights and the GTs are over rated. This area is flooded with Mustangs and Camaros.

I think it is a shame that Honda got rid of the CRX and went with something else. I have seen some videos of those things putting down crazy numbers.


I hope your tires are cheap. That sounds like a big expense going through that many sets of tires in such a short amount of time. As for rotation I do that more often than I need to but they still stay worn evenly. That and it is sort of hard to spin all four tires. I need a lot more than what I have now for that to happen, unless of course I am on slick pavement and hit the gas really hard.

I understand the cheapness of insurance as well. I get by easier than more that have cars like mine with $65.20 a month. I have two other cars, a home, and two life insurance policies through the same place though. Plus I am married and over 25, if not for all that I could easily be paying close to $120 or more a month. Still compared to my beater Subaru N/A wagon it is still expensive. The wagon is only around $20 a month (still classed as a sport utility because of the AWD though).

Raist

reply to post by hypervigilant


Not mine, however my beater looks exactly like this. Later I'll either mod this one lightly or trade on a slightly newer one and mod it some. I like the AWD for the year round thing.




I want to get a push/brush bar on the front of mine right now but cannot find one I like. Might have to have one made.

Edit to add: the hood scoop and vents on this car are nonfunctional at this time. Later on they might be given use though.

Raist

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1145e572eff6.jpg[/atsimg]

1962 chevy c10
1961 apache hood
shaved mirrors
frenched power antenna
custom made roll pan
custom front bumper
Flat black tractor paint with scallops
All work done by me.


The truck is just sitting right now, but when I get some shop space cleared out I'm gonna cut it all up and build something that has never been done.

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


Man that thing would look sweet with a set of wheels (throw some wides on the back of that thing) and good tires in a full flat black or a very dark metallic blue.

It might look good if you cut it up, but it looks almost awesome now.

I wish I had the money to have several types of cars to fix up. I would definitely have a truck like that one. Not sure what the engine in it now can do but it is still a sweet looking ride. Hopefully the rust is at a minimum.

Raist

reply to post by Raist




Well I am gonna cut it up, but it will basically still look the same. Lets just say it will be the first 1962 Chevrolet S-10. The same truck, only mini-truck size. Its got a straight six in it, but when I redo it, Ill probably look for something bigger. The concept, is to make it look like what an S-10 would have looked like back in the day, so for the most part, I'd like to use period correct parts(other than the air ride suspension)

But I also want to slam it on the ground. To me a truck doesn't look good unless its sitting like this
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c3afd641817c.jpg[/atsimg]

anybody that has a "scoop" on the hood of their car, and DOES NOT USE IT FOR RACING, remove it...... it looks rediculous, and people that see it just laugh or shake their head at the driver. well, maybe if you live out in the boondocks and are trying to impress the 14 yr old country girls, but that is a whole other type of sickness.
i mean a 4-door subaru sedan with a hood scoop? really??

reply to post by jimmyx


they come stock like that... they way you speak makes you sound like you know a whole lot about nothing just an observation not an attack.

reply to post by jimmyx


I had something else planned as a reply. I instead took the time to rethink my response to you.

Sure my beater has a scoop, it came from the factory like that because the Impreza it is based on (Impreza Outback sport) used the hood. The Impreza used that hood for the intercooler.

As for four door sedans my guess is you do not know a lot about the Japanese car market or the rally sport in general. Go on laugh and talk all you want. Facts are people like you eat their words on the roads daily.

My evo is also a four door sedan. It has a big wing, a hood vent, and big Brembo brake calipers, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel, and Enkei 17" wheels. All this from the factory. You want to talk about one those? Here is a video for you.



See you on the street. From the sound of it though some other four cylinder, four door sedan ate your manhood for lunch. No matter it was bound to happen anyway.

Raist

reply to post by Cheesefacedogbone


Not a fan of the slammed to the ground thing myself or the wheels on that one either. The paint job on that is great looking though. That is a sweet looking truck overall though.

I am not saying a drop would not look good just not that low. I think the height you have it in the first photo is perfect for cruising. Of course I like your hood better too.

I hope one day to see your truck in a show or on the road. I believe it will look amazing.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


They did those Evo's right straight from the factory thats the type of all wheel drive car I would get used mind you so i dont mind beating the hell out of it.

LOL I love the little guy that why I dig rice burners. they have come a long way, and anyone who comes from behind say like having 4 less cylinders I give em props where it is due.

likewise all the riceburners type cars I have raced in my firebird or big truck have all gave their respects to my ride. thats what its about appreciation of others tastes.

it shouldn't be a race or competition in the end its all about Appreciation for fine rides...

reply to post by -W1LL


Oh there is no way I could afford one new. So mine is used as well. I got it with 41.5k on it three years ago. For a bit it was my daily driver but I want to keep it for fun and not put a lot of undue wear on it, besides having light arthritis in my knees makes it sort of suck to drive in the city all the time. Since I got it though I have put about 13k miles on it. I do all the modifications myself and all the maintenance (at least up to this point).

There is not a lot I would add to an evo aside from parts to make it a bit faster. Stock they are pretty much ready to put on a track of any type. I was lucky and got mine completely stock so any abuse it has had prior was basically minimum and the 4g63 engine is pretty solid. It is hard to find a stock unmolested evo, I got lucky.

There are some people I work with one drives a Honda (I am trying to get him back into the modifying game), another sold his Cobalt SS so he can save for an STi and another has a pretty modified Chevy 1500 sitting high enough to run over my car

All of them are different and that is what makes it so great. It would suck for everyone to have the same ride. I love cars of all types as long as they go fast. Some I like more than others and some I am just not a fan of the looks. I like performance and practicality. Some say I need to lower my evo, if I did it would be no more than a half inch as it is fun to take out in the winter and back roads (the roads here suck). A low riding car would be impractical and would not perform at all in that.

I like older muscle cars and imports alike. There is a local guy who traded his STi for a Lotus. Again both are nice but I like the STi better, the Lotus seems sort of out of place. i agree though we are here for the love of cars.


Raist

reply to post by Raist

My wife drives a 2009 Forester so since we got it I have been free to run wild and do what I want with the Fit... Your little beater is what I have in mind to get a hold of in the future.. We got the Subie because we live in the woods and there wasn't a road to the place but 100% disabled Vets got a 100% property tax exemption for up to 20 acres and I had 25.53 which is the amount that was used to put in a gravel road with asphalt in the areas that tend to wash out... If I don't get something else there is going to be some drive train changes in the way of '___', lower final drive gear set and close ratio 3rd, 4, and 5th gears.... I have been pretty messed up physically for over 30 years and drawing disability income for 17 years so it takes me a lot longer to get things done but it is something I love to do... I don't use super sticky tires because I'm afraid I'd trash the drive train... Right now i have Cont Pro Contacts on it because they aren't uni directional and can be swaped side to side when I rotate them.. I spent $900 this month on performance parts and will spent about 4 times that by the end of the year, part of it going for a complete engine to beef the internals in, trick port the head and, a longer duration high lift cam.... I seem to always have something I am doing to it and will probably be crawling all over, under, around and through it for the next week or so..

reply to post by hypervigilant


I got lucky and my wife got me the AMS intercooler for our anniversary. Other than that I have not gotten to spend a lot of money on upgrades. I might be getting a few cheaper parts in the coming months because of the overtime I am working but nowhere near the kind of cash your spending

If I was spending as much as you this your I would have all but one or two items I plan on for the car. My final two most expensive things are the evo 9 turbo (a small upgrade) which is $1075 and the tune for $450. I doubt I see either of them this year though. The other stuff I am wanting runs around $200 give or take. Even then I doubt I see much of that either.

I just put together a list of some stuff that costs less than $100 that I would like such as stainless braided brake and clutch lines, shifter brushings, and a few other things. Each under $100 and just some things I want.

Future plans include going flat/matte black for the entire car with the exception of the valve cover which might be gunmetal. Over all I am not looking for more than 300-350 whp, which I should easily fall within that area after the tune.

Parts still to come are ported intake manifold, ported exhaust manifold, O2 housing, evo 9 turbo, and an O2 wideband. The only work I will have to have someone do is weld the O2WB bund into the downpipe, since I do not have a welder and I do not really trust my skills in that area. Other than that I will do all the installations.

The evo 9 turbo will take me from a 9.8 hot side to a 10.5 hot side as well as giving me a slightly larger turbine housing.

At this point I am running 20 psi (stock falls between 17-19 psi) but after the tune should be some place at 24 psi or more.

Raist

reply to post by Raist

As usual I am moving very slow right now an little has been accomplished... I think getting older is the reason I have the patience to let things go for awhile when aches and pains hold me back but I have a mess of low tech creative fabrication to do so I can install the water/methanol injection and intercooler duct work to mount a 7" fan to pull air through a cowl mounted air scoop with 2" hose through the intercooler to exit just above and to the rear of the left front axle... The duct is going to be made of 1/4" birch plywood covered with aluminum foil backed adhesive foam insulation... It will prevent air coming through the radiator from going through the bottom of the I/C and out the intake scoop... I might also have a problem with hot air from hood louvers entering the scoop so I may need to use a second fan and some more of my low tech insulation panels or shell out for a 2nd hand stock or carbon fiber hood... Of course a front mount I/C would fix the problems I have but there would be a loss of boost pressure.... A set of chassis bars should be clearing customs about now so I need to get busy... I've only driven this car 37000 miles since I got it in August 2006. It seems like I almost always have something new or different to experience about every other time I go anywhere in it.

I'll be keeping my newer-ishi truck and everyday driver stock for a while longer, but here is one of my favorites @ time I had a hardship license in the mid 80s- has punched louvers hood and tailgate, metallic blue, tru spokes.. all time was the '69 GMC SW black/wht top, dropped, electric corvette buckets, don't think I ever got a pic of it though.


just for grins, I think this is the '32 truck me dad was working on


and this is the bike from previous post and last "modification", surprised I had'nt put up not many bikes i would rather have for any price, well balanced overall and b b ba ba baad



also hope to find a pic of the '57 2dr HT I raced at Super Chevy Sunday when it had a tilt fiberglass front end before taking back to stock, possibly the fastest street legal I've ever experienced and that's out of quite a few, it had 4.11, M22, double humps etc.

reply to post by hypervigilant


I have come to the point that I only need a few more things on the engine to be finished before a tune. Of course I also have a few other things I would like to add cosmetic wise and non-engine related performance mods. At this point I also would like to do a paint job on the car. As much as I like the silver I think it would look especially hot in another color.

Sadly I am at the point that I want to get it all finished right now. Sadly though money does not permit me to finish it all and now there are some other things that need the money more than my car. Most likely I will end up with only a few small items within the next year for it as I spend the money on the other stuff

I wish I had more money


Raist

reply to post by Rustami


Seems like you have had quite a few projects over time.


I am on my first (seemingly never ending) and possibly only project.


Raist

Little update on mine since last post.

reply to post by enjoies05


I love the tires and wheels. They look aggressive and in my opinion make the jeep look even better.

I think it would look nice with darker tint, bigger flare on the fenders and either a dark metallic blue or grey. Of course add a black brush guard to the front as well.

Again though the wheels and tires are a sweet looking addition to it they really give it a off road look.

Raist

Fellow car nut here.From way back.

Originating from the midwest, not far from Detroit, and though a youngster, I got to witness the 60's muscle car era first hand. Corvettes, GTO's, Chevelles, Rivieras, Buick GS 455's ....even my GrandPa's 63 Impala with a 327 V8 and POSI* that pushed you back into the seats !

I was hooked after riding in an uncle's new 1962 327 Fuelie Corvette....on a 2 lane black top road....@115mph.



As for my stable....depending on my mood, I've a car a truck and a bike. All manual transmissions fun to drive.

1975 Honda CB 550F Supersport - 4 Cylinders, 4 Carbs, Racing header and cam ....need I say more ?

1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport - Ordered with a 5 speed and POSI*, great in the NH snow, my winter escape vehicle.

2004 Acura TSX - Fun, Fast and Comfortable even on date night with the Wife.


Modifications:

Haven't done much to the bike outside of a performance free flow foam air cleaner....it's faster than necessary anyway. The carbs do have a thrilling sound....bygone in the era of fuel injection. It's reminiscent of the sound we heard in KKurious's video on the Lotus Ford Powered Race Car.

The Jeep has a 3.5" suspension lift which I am installing myself. I've a Racing style K&N filter and Flowmaster cat back exhaust which makes it sounds more like a V8 and improves performance and mileage.
31" All Terrain tires are on the way to complement the lifted stance.

The TSX, doesn't need much. very fun and well balanced. Made my own cold air intake by removing the intake resonator and installed a Drop in K&N so it breathes and sounds much better on WOT. I can see why the TSX made Car & Drivers 10 Best 4 years in a row.







*POSI = POSI-TRACTION, a limited slip rear differential permitting both rear wheels to power the car vs only one drive wheel.

Providing Better acceleration and handling due to equal distribution of power to the wheels as well as to both sides of the car.