I thought I would share my project car here. I hope you guys like it!

I bought the car about 2 years ago in good but non running condition, and planned to just get it running and clean it up a bit.



Then I found a V8, my friend had one for sale. It's an LT1 from a caprice cop car. It was really cluttered but I cleaned it up a bit, modified the oil pan, and put it in with a Granny's mount kit.







Right now the project is kinda stalled. after I graduated I got married, had a kid, and got a job with Robby Gordon Motorsports working crazy hours.

We are moving soon though to a place with a garage so hopefully progress will pick up again. Currently I am swapping the front hubs for the FC Turbo II, this gives me 4 piston calipers and much larger brake discs.

Thanks for checking at my project!

 

Nice work. When I was in college I was working with a group of guys to swap in a Ford 302 into an FB.
Surprisingly, it didn't alter the weight much over the 12A.

I moved before the project was finished, never found out if they got it done.

 

<p>Awesome... keep us updated. &nbsp;Don't forget to check out the regional section as well as the Charlotte thread in the Southeast is pretty active </p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

Thanks, the LT1 will add minimal weight, the 12A that was in it was hooked to an auto too. The few times I drove it were terrible. I have slowly learned how to make stuff nicer, by the time this project is done it will be super clean

 

I will, one day it will make it to cars and coffee

 

Very cool! I would love to see this thing in person sometime

 

Thanks! Once I'm all moved in you'll have to come check it out

 

<p>In for progress....</p>

 

Heres another picture of it with my friends S13

 

Small update here. I finished moving to my new house and we are now all settled in. RX7 fits nice in the garage. It really is nice having a spot to work on the car now, I feel progress will come faster. I got the transmission out and have put on the shifter and adapter plate for the bellhousing. I also bought some new wheels and tires for the front after I finished my hub swap.

 

^ that is awesome. I wish I had some skills like that, or at least tools so i can learn.

 

^Same here. Super jealous!

My buddy had a gray RX7 almost identical to that in high school. Not a V8 conversion of course but I always loved that car. Can't wait to see more progress on your project!

 

Good luck with the build

 

Thanks guys, I am an engineer for an offroad racing team so I have access to all the fun toys I drew the adapter up on solidworks and then cut it out on the CNC waterjet machine at work. I also cut caliper brackets for my upgraded front brakes and had adapters machined for the hub bearings. I will take some pictures of those too.

 

I am an engineer as well, but structural right now. I did mechanical in school tho and I used solidworks before but mostly Inventor 10. Now I have a job where I don't design anything cool

 

Hey just means you have more time to work on your own car right? Any racing job you work crazy hours and travel a lot. Once I spend time with my wife and kid leaves little wrenching time for me.

 

I'm product designer in the auto industry, but mostly appearance and rendering, not so much industrial design, but I have played around in Solidworks. Such a cool program.

 

That sounds like an awesome job. I've always been intrigued with car design and rendering, at one point I was looking to try and go to art school. I hate when engineers have no eye for designing something that looks good

 

It's not as glamorous as it sounds lol. I'm in the aftermarket auto parts industry, i.e. stuff you see in Wal-Mart, AutoZone, PepBoys, etc. So as much as I'd love to say I'm a car designer, well, only when I was like 8 years old coloring with crayons ha ha.

 

I hope you get lots of samples lol

 

Awesome project, thanks for the updates!

I'm Solidworks certified.. it's cool to see that you used it to produce those adapters and brackets. I wish we had access to a waterjet, we cut all our designs out of balsa wood on a laser cutter at school

Keep up the good work!

 

Group buy for stick on chrome vents and curb feelers?

 

I do. On or in my car right now is a license plate frame, emergency roadside kit, tire gauge, tire inflator and sun shade.
Thankfully we don't make either of those products, but I can hook you up with some fuzzy dice!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys, this is the brake caliper bracket I made with the 5 lug fc hub

 

Have one some more work, finished the brakes, and put it back on the ground temporarily. Mocking up the radiator as well.

 

looking good

 

It's coming along nicely.

 

Thanks guys, list is getting shorter! This is what's left before a test drive

Mount Radiator
Plumb Radiator
Plumb Powersteering Lines
Rear Engine Mounts

 

Made some more progress, welded my transmission and radiator mounts. I'm gonna install tonight and work a bit on the stance before I fabricate the exhaust

I also moved the motor back an inch or so to help clear the front sway bar

 

 

started swapping my suspension bushings, rubber bushings suck!!

Also getting my driveshaft shortened and a new slip yoke, ordered exhaust parts today from summit

It's getting closer...

 

3 months later and everything runs!!

Big picture dump coming, I am hopefully welding my exhaust this week.

Let me know what you think

 

Also here is a short video of it running

https://vimeo.com/154451129

 

nice man. Good job. Add a video so we can see it in action

oops guess you added one as I was typing that haha

 

I need a better video, once I get the exhaust finished I will make a good one

 

Congrats on getting her running!!! And cute !

 

Thanks man, my daughter already gets excited when she hears my cars...hoping she gets just a little of my gearheadedness

 

👍

 

 

lol any updates OP