Whats up guys been browsing through the site figured I would post and see what ya'll think. BTW awesome site very informative. Anyways i just bought a 78 GP only paid 200 for it w/ clean title, body has no rust but a dent in RR quarter. It has a TH350 w/ shift kit not sure what all done inside trans. I believe it has A 7.5 w/ 3.73 posi. It came w/ no engine but did have a sbc in it. First off I am wanting to build something I can take for a cruise every once in a while and drive to the track and show up some rustangs. I'm looking at building a 383 stroker from a 4 bolt block w/ all forged internals. I'm looking to build it to hopefully have around 500 bhp and end up spraying it w/ around a 200 shot. Looking at running around 10:1 compression. I've been looking at the pro comp aluminum heads 64cc w/ 210 runners. Still kinda looking at cams, intake, and carb, but want it to be somewhat streetable. Also I have been looking all over and cannot find a quarter skin for it anywhere. I have found skins for the monte and the regal but no luck for the GP. If anybody could guide me in the right direction there that would be great. Anyways I know I will probably have to upgrade the rear end but any other input would be highly appreciated.
New Gbody owner wanting to pick your brains
- Thread starter Lumpy
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Welcome!
Sheet metal for G-bodies is hard to find, and new panels are just starting to be produced.
Is the 1/4 panel damaged badly enough to where it needs to be replaced?
If it's not too bad it should be able to be straightened without replacing it, otherwise your only option would be cutting one off a donor car. Post a pic.
Sheet metal for G-bodies is hard to find, and new panels are just starting to be produced.
Is the 1/4 panel damaged badly enough to where it needs to be replaced?
If it's not too bad it should be able to be straightened without replacing it, otherwise your only option would be cutting one off a donor car. Post a pic.
your engine should be pretty sick, but it might not have the best street manners. do lots of research! you can build a 500hp 383 with street manners but you generally have to get everything right.
"Reproduction" quarters suck.
Buddy just put one on his 66 Nova, then realized that the raised body line was bigger than the OE panel on the other side. Now he's shopping for a used OE panel...cause he's too cheap to spend another $800 for an NOS panel on a car he's into for over 15K already.
In my experience, repros (read:aftermarket) for sheetmetal leave a lot to be desired. Thickness, crispness, feature lines, and coverage are all less then the OE part.
Like was said, post a pic. There's not a lot of damage that can't be repaired successfully if you get somebody that knows what they're doing.
Cutting an integral part of the body like a quarter off is a last resort, IMO.
Buddy just put one on his 66 Nova, then realized that the raised body line was bigger than the OE panel on the other side. Now he's shopping for a used OE panel...cause he's too cheap to spend another $800 for an NOS panel on a car he's into for over 15K already.
In my experience, repros (read:aftermarket) for sheetmetal leave a lot to be desired. Thickness, crispness, feature lines, and coverage are all less then the OE part.
Like was said, post a pic. There's not a lot of damage that can't be repaired successfully if you get somebody that knows what they're doing.
Cutting an integral part of the body like a quarter off is a last resort, IMO.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lr-SJquGfog/SyX_1 ... .00.38.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lr-SJquGfog/SyYAG ... .00.50.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lr-SJquGfog/SyYAV ... .01.05.jpg
not sure how to upload pics yet but heres the links i imagine it can be fixed but body work has never been my strong spot. megladon what do you mean by everything gots to be right for it to be streetable? I see you have a 383 what kind of power are you making.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lr-SJquGfog/SyYAG ... .00.50.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lr-SJquGfog/SyYAV ... .01.05.jpg
not sure how to upload pics yet but heres the links i imagine it can be fixed but body work has never been my strong spot. megladon what do you mean by everything gots to be right for it to be streetable? I see you have a 383 what kind of power are you making.
Hello Lumpy and welcome to the board. In looking at those three pictures, albeit small, I can tell you that if your car was mine I would replace the quarter panels. Imho, there is just too much work involved to get these straightened back out again. If you need help sourcing replacement body panels or parts, pm me or email me and I would be more than happy to steer you to the correct site or company. I can find damn near anything sir, just ask some of the other guys on the board, theyll vouch for me. Glad to have you aboard and hope to hear from you soon.
if you have too large a head, cam, or intake you will lose flow velocity at lower rpms, this results in poor cylinder filling and poor power. this gives the engine a nice lope, but lousy driveability. if too small, you don't have enough flow capacity to fill the cylinders at high rpm. but it's not just one part, it's the relative size of one to the other to the engine. also, if you go with too high a compression ratio you'll have problems. these are generalities, and just a couple of the things you need to look out for. IIRC you want to pick a cam (talk to some cam manufacturers with your goals) then the heads, then the intake.
off the top of my head you'll want about 10:1cr (i prefer d-dish pistons due to the better air/fuel mixing and quench area), 250 cam duration at .050 lift, 500 lift, about a 195 head with 2.0/1.6 valves, and something like the rpm air gap manifold. BUT i am no expert by any means and there are many other things to consider like the cam's LSA. and there's the carb. this is a huge arguement which can be read in the sticky under the "how to's/knowledge base forum" personally i like the q-jet.
and i have no idea what compromises you need to make to use nitrous.
mine's a mild build at about (guesstimating based on similar builds) 400hp and 450tq. if i went to the bowtie vortec heads instead of the stockers i'd probably gain at least 50hp, but i think i'd get a nasty lope.
off the top of my head you'll want about 10:1cr (i prefer d-dish pistons due to the better air/fuel mixing and quench area), 250 cam duration at .050 lift, 500 lift, about a 195 head with 2.0/1.6 valves, and something like the rpm air gap manifold. BUT i am no expert by any means and there are many other things to consider like the cam's LSA. and there's the carb. this is a huge arguement which can be read in the sticky under the "how to's/knowledge base forum" personally i like the q-jet.
and i have no idea what compromises you need to make to use nitrous.
mine's a mild build at about (guesstimating based on similar builds) 400hp and 450tq. if i went to the bowtie vortec heads instead of the stockers i'd probably gain at least 50hp, but i think i'd get a nasty lope.
I have now done 5 rear quarters,(3 Cutlass & 2 Monte's), and speaking from experience, I'd say it looks like it should ideally be replaced. The pics are small, but its pretty banged up.
On a realistic side, if I were you, I'd try to work it out with a torch and a hand dolly for a while, you'll never get it perfect...but the sheetmetal experience gained will be worth the improved outcome. you should be able to get it close enough to be presentable. This route would not only save considerable time and money as opposed to replacement, but is easier to do than find a replacement that is clean enough(and then heartlessly cutting the donor apart for it). Furthermore if you plan on rippin' down the track frequently with it, replacement is kinda overkill, considering the heighten probability of it being damaged again.
Would you like to rebuild you engine every winter? Most people don't! Get on that spray all summer, and it will be rings and bearings for you in the winter. Now I know a bunch of people will argue that they have X amount of passes with their NOS and haven't needed to rebuild yet...but there are reasons that Top-Fuel drag blocks are re-built after a designated number of passes, because it takes a hard toll on your internals...and it's more economically feasible to do than to take that chance that they may still have a few passes on them, and be wrong and throw a rod, costing big money.
Dare I say it...
Free Power=Turbo ,yes more bang for your buck. V8=Twin Turbo, even sweeter!
Unfortunately, I believe that would put you in different class at the track.
On a realistic side, if I were you, I'd try to work it out with a torch and a hand dolly for a while, you'll never get it perfect...but the sheetmetal experience gained will be worth the improved outcome. you should be able to get it close enough to be presentable. This route would not only save considerable time and money as opposed to replacement, but is easier to do than find a replacement that is clean enough(and then heartlessly cutting the donor apart for it). Furthermore if you plan on rippin' down the track frequently with it, replacement is kinda overkill, considering the heighten probability of it being damaged again.
Would you like to rebuild you engine every winter? Most people don't! Get on that spray all summer, and it will be rings and bearings for you in the winter. Now I know a bunch of people will argue that they have X amount of passes with their NOS and haven't needed to rebuild yet...but there are reasons that Top-Fuel drag blocks are re-built after a designated number of passes, because it takes a hard toll on your internals...and it's more economically feasible to do than to take that chance that they may still have a few passes on them, and be wrong and throw a rod, costing big money.
Dare I say it...
Free Power=Turbo ,yes more bang for your buck. V8=Twin Turbo, even sweeter!
Unfortunately, I believe that would put you in different class at the track.
not an expert but i think that engine/dyno graph partially illustrates my point. you can see the nice flat torque curve until about 4500? then it jumps. a "perfect"graph would have a relatively shallow, flat torque curve all the way across. i think the heads are a little too big for the bottom end. (btw have i ever mentioned that i can be a perfectionist?) this is not to say the engine isn't a great build and probably a monster at the track! but it'd be interesting to see what would happen with a 205 or 210cc head.
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