HELP New G-Body owner with questions.

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Ugly1

Royal Smart Person
Oct 26, 2021
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Lost in the woods of NH
There’s a couple ways to go with the battery but you also have to think of the not so nice people out there.
There is in the smugglers box (hole behind the seat in a battery box and cables through the floor. In the bed and a locked sealed/locked box( unless you plan on a bed cover). Or make a in-set in the bed to keep the weight low and hidden. Just protect it well from accidents and a drain for water.
And if you want to save weight but stay with steel parts, holes lots of hole. There is a guy on YouTube: Uncle Tony. Ex-drag racer and drag car builder. One video talks about weight loss on a drag car.
Floor shifter: like Mikester said what you pick has to work around what you want. You can always modify the shifter( extended handle?) or aftermarket one for a truck?
G body control arm mounts on the rearend has modifications you can buy for almost the same as ladder bars unless you want the weight transfer further forward. They drop the control arms down changing the rearend roll point.
You have the center C channel that adding support to (areas of support) or enclosed completely. If you have never owned a full frame car study up of how they flex and twist. Both body and frame. Understand your power to body transfer. Go to the track. Hook up with guys here that race. Most of all think ahead and plan accordingly. It’s easy to spend the money the first time, but gets expensive the second, third, and forth! Do it right once.
 
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SIC

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Oct 3, 2022
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Murder City
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and tell you the cons of some of the ideas.

Ladder bars suck, why, they do not allow for articulation. Think of a door of your house. Move the top, the bottom moves the same amount. On a car the rear axle housing is doing the same thing. Now you will understand why the heims and mounts take a beating with this set up.

If you are going to drive to the track. Consider a 4L60E or 4L80E. A TH400 is one of the best transmissions for the track, absolutely the best GM option 20 years ago but with no overdrive. High rpm cruising gets old fast.

Lightweight front end parts. This is for rainbow chasers. A car that is already fast, now you throw $5000 to save 80lbs. Big trade off for a street car. You make it super fragile just to save a few pounds. Same with drag racing brakes.

Manual steering, sure it saves weight and you do not have to drive a pump but the ratio is brutal for a car that might need some steering as the rear is swing between the cement walls.
NEW LIST:
  • Upgrade Rear Suspension. Coilovers. W/Ford 9".
  • 4L80E Trans built for kill, With a Brake. AND OVERDRIVE. (Holley Tuned)
  • Front Suspension Upgrade with All lightweight parts. Uppers, Lower, Coil overs.
  • All Wheel Discs
  • X275's Tires on ????? Wheels.
  • Correct looking wheels and tires to match rear.
  • Fuel Cell In place of Stock Tank (Tactfully done)
  • Battery Box in Rear. (Maybe Underneath)
  • Add Manual Steering Gearbox( Smaller Steering Wheel )
  • Figure out that big *ss HVAC system . AC is GONE. Heater core Delete plate. Or just a blower motor mount?
  • Interior is MINT. New Bench seat stays, with Harnesses.
  • Arrange instrument cluster with all new goodies..
  • Mount Floor Shifter.
  • I have a Bad A$$ Bed Cover now.

Again.. Thank you.
 
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565bbchevy

Geezer
Aug 8, 2011
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From what I heard, Batteries will fit in the bed? JK

I have plans... lets say.
Since you don't want to tell us your plans for the engine do you have a projected power level?
 
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565bbchevy

Geezer
Aug 8, 2011
9,591
12,612
113
Michigan
Figure out that big *ss HVAC system . AC is GONE. Heater core Delete plate. Or just a blower motor mount?
Here is an option for a heat only case, I am not a fan of block off plates.
Interior is MINT. New Bench seat stays, with Harnesses
This might work to get the shifter in a comfortable position.
 
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Rt Jam

G-Body Guru
Mar 30, 2020
579
558
93
Ontario Canada
NEW LIST:
  • Upgrade Rear Suspension. Coilovers. W/Ford 9".
  • 4L80E Trans built for kill, With a Brake. AND OVERDRIVE. (Holley Tuned)
  • Front Suspension Upgrade with All lightweight parts. Uppers, Lower, Coil overs.
  • All Wheel Discs
  • X275's Tires on ????? Wheels.
  • Correct looking wheels and tires to match rear.
  • Fuel Cell In place of Stock Tank (Tactfully done)
  • Battery Box in Rear. (Maybe Underneath)
  • Add Manual Steering Gearbox( Smaller Steering Wheel )
  • Figure out that big *ss HVAC system . AC is GONE. Heater core Delete plate. Or just a blower motor mount?
  • Interior is MINT. New Bench seat stays, with Harnesses.
  • Arrange instrument cluster with all new goodies..
  • Mount Floor Shifter.
  • I have a Bad A$$ Bed Cover now.

Again.. Thank you.

Coil overs is not really an upgrade. It just moves the coil spring from axle to around the shock. The real benefit is easy to change coil (spring rate), coil position ( ride height) and usually comes with tunable shocks.

What front suspension do you have in mind. Not many set ups that truly save weight. Most are just for easy adjustment and some are a minor geometry change.

Use caution on the disc choices, there are many.

Battery in box is more than just moving the battery to the truck. There will be voltage lost in the long wire and to be NHRA legal, there needs to be a kill switch at the back of the car.

Smaller steering wheel does not change the ratio.
 
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Ugly1

Royal Smart Person
Oct 26, 2021
1,604
1,331
113
Lost in the woods of NH
Coil overs is not really an upgrade. It just moves the coil spring from axle to around the shock. The real benefit is easy to change coil (spring rate), coil position ( ride height) and usually comes with tunable shocks.

What front suspension do you have in mind. Not many set ups that truly save weight. Most are just for easy adjustment and some are a minor geometry change.

Use caution on the disc choices, there are many.

Battery in box is more than just moving the battery to the truck. There will be voltage lost in the long wire and to be NHRA legal, there needs to be a kill switch at the back of the car.

Smaller steering wheel does not change the ratio.
Smaller wheel is harder turning if I remember correctly? 50’s-60’s wasn’t it a larger wheel for manual boxes?
 
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Ugly1

Royal Smart Person
Oct 26, 2021
1,604
1,331
113
Lost in the woods of NH
 
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