elky drag car build

[tusk]

first off i am building this car for my dad,he is supplying the money and i am doing the labor and some horsetrading for parts ,he wants to get back into drag racing,it will be a street legal class,hence the drag radials and i'll be bending some rules as i go,i am anticipating a mid 11 second timeslip,he doesnt care he just wants to go racing again,heres a few specs

360 ci sbc
victor jr intake,vortec heads,comp xtreme energy 294 cam,11.5 compression,edelbrock perfromer rpm nitrous with 100 hp jets

powerglide with brake,4500 stall

8.8 rear 4.30 gear

28" tall drag radial
15x10 rear rim

8 point cage

this motor was in a 78 nova street car and with a 100 shot,thru a loose 10" converter and a th-350 it made 434 rwhp
this is the first car i have installed a glide in so it will be a learning experience

the body looks worse than it actualy is,we got it from a bodyman in training that was a little filler happy,plans are to get the body fairly straight and go with a flat metallic silver paint and have the wheels powder coated black,heres a few pics,as of now,just got the truck about 2 weeks ago and parts are starting to trickle in,i will be updating the thread on a regular basis

 

[86CLCruiser]

looks like some work but a good starting base. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[schoust]

Hey Tusk I am interested in what you are doing with the 8.8 rear? Are you just grabbing a bone yard deal and swapping the stuff off of the stocker or are you buying something done? I also am interested to see what you are going to do to make this thing hook...

 

[tusk]

Hey Tusk I am interested in what you are doing with the 8.8 rear? Are you just grabbing a bone yard deal and swapping the stuff off of the stocker or are you buying something done? I also am interested to see what you are going to do to make this thing hook...

well as you can see in one of the pics,i'm a fox mustang guy and from everything i have read on the intraweb,was to use a fox 8.8 axle,well the one under the fox in the pics is the one i will be using,it has 4.30 gears,five lug converted,31 spline axle and a cobra 31 spline differential,i'm switching out the aod for a c-4 and have another rear with 3.73's for the mustang,as far as the spring buckets i may cut the ones of the 7.5 or i may use the ones speedway motors sell and weld them to the 8.8,for the upper arms i will be using baseline performance 8.8 swap uppers and for the lowers i will be making my own from 1.5 dom and 3/4 heims,still havent decided on installing a roll bar or just using air bags in the springs,plus i havent decided on m/t drag radials or a set of the m&h,but it will probably be the m/t's

i had a 82 wagon with a strong little 350 ,i got it to hook somewhat using southside machine lowers,boxing the factory uppers and using a air bag in the right spring,the 7.5 lived for awhile but i was not using a very sticky tire

 

[bustedknuckles]

I would suggest using a ARB over drag bags. Drag bags are old news and you cant go wrong with how straight you will leave with the ARB.

My 2 cents

 

[tusk]

I would suggest using a ARB over drag bags. Drag bags are old news and you cant go wrong with how straight you will leave with the ARB.

My 2 cents

i agree,but i was trying to do it on a budget,but i have seen some that look pretty decent for a couple hundred dollars,now if only i get some blue prints of one for a g-body and i could fab my own

 

[schoust]

Well I don't see myself going with the 8.8 that seems a whole lot more than what I want to do. I am going to try a lock right diff and some stronger aftermarket axles and just see what happens with a bfg Drag radial. I will be using this tire with my 69 462 powered Pontiac Firebird with a stick trans. I have heard that they will give a bit at launch and help with parts breakage....

 

[tusk]

Well I don't see myself going with the 8.8 that seems a whole lot more than what I want to do. I am going to try a lock right diff and some stronger aftermarket axles and just see what happens with a bfg Drag radial. I will be using this tire with my 69 462 powered Pontiac Firebird with a stick trans. I have heard that they will give a bit at launch and help with parts breakage....

that car should have a 10 bolt 8.2" ring gear,not that bad and definitely a whole lot stronger than the 7.5,be nice to find a 8.5 10 bolt,the correct width,ive seen them built correctly and hold a bunch of horsepower,in my opinion a 8.8 wouldnt be a option for your car period ,when there are easier options for a rear for your car

 

[tusk]

well got some parts in today,the solid engine and frame mounts came in,so maybe i can at least start getting the motor ready to set in,but i kinda wanna wait till i decide about the steering,either convert it to rack and pinion or just put a manual box on it

 

[schoust]

Yea my Poncho did come with the 8.2 10 bolt and some say they are decent as far as a ten bolt's goes? I have heard people say that as long as you do not put anything sticky on it as far as tires go you won't have any issues? I was not about to find out though so I went to a nine inch. Now what I really want to do is talk with someone with real experience with this toy of a rear? I read that if you are not using a slick and the engine does not make sick torque then the 7.5/8 Posi unit that came in the Mid eighties F-body car's with a good set of aftermarket axles will hold up for a while? This small block and an auto trans should limit the carnage some? Honestly Tusk if I had the dough I would simply have a nine inch built for it and not even bother to think again about this problem Lol...........