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Starting a AI build - advice?


knapp302

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Marty,

 

I understand completely how you feel about wanting to build your own car vs buying one already built. Its that sence of accompleshment, knowing that you yourself built your own car. Though I do understand the other side of the spectrum about spending way less on an already built car thats been tried and true.

 

I too have walked down the path that you are about to take but at the same time I took the advice of the other guys. What I did was I found an ex AI car that needed put back together and when putting it back together I built the car the way I wanted it as if I was building it from the ground up. See, my car is not a mustang or an F body but rather a MN12 Thunderbird SC. Some on here may recognize the car from its former owner but I can asure you its completely different now.

 

When I bought the car it had the good ol' 3.8L supercharged V6 in it. The engine would run good but needed put back together, none of the wiring was inside of the car or engine bay. To me it looked like a nightmare but I knew from before the moment I bought the car that it was destined to have a 5.0L stuffed into it.

 

From what I can see you can build a decent AI car on a much cheaper budget. For example, my engine is a 306ci, stock crank, stock rods, .30 hyper pistons, fully balanced and blue printed, TFS heads, TFS stage 1 cam, edelbrock Performer intake manifold, and 650cfm Mighty Demon carb. My long block cost me $1,900 plus whatever the Performer costs new from Jegs and $300 shipped for the Demon. I have probably $2,500 in my engine as it sits and it makes 300rwhp and 315rwtq. My car should weigh just a shade over 3000lbs (weighed 2920 with idk how much fuel in it)

 

I purchased the car for $8k, sold the V6 for $750, put my engine in, I am using the stock fuel tank and 255lph efi fuel pump (all came with the car), the car already had a full cage, upgraded polly bushings in the suspension, Koni shocks, '00 Cobra R Brembo front brakes, CCW wheels, lots of weight removed. I made a front lexan windshield for it, made my own rear spoiler for the car with stuff you can find at Home Depot($100). The Dr. Gas doom tubes I found on ebay for I think $150 shipped(hehe $500 new) and I used flexy bendy tubes to connect the boom tubes to my long tube headers (got them FREE). There is a lot more done to the car then I have listed here.

 

I probably have close to $20k in the car so far but what justified me spending $8k on a non running car vs building from scratch out of the '90 35th Anniversary Tbird SC that I already had was I started pricing out a roll cage for the '90. I would have spent $4-5k alone to have someone build and install a completely custom cage. The add in the cost of the Brembos new, $1200, the CCWs, ?, Konis,$550, all the labor and man hours spent taking weight out of the car, $$$. It all adds up fast.

 

I spent all of last year sorting out the car doing SCCA Solo II. Here are some pictures of the car.

 

SDC10069.jpg

 

SDC10082.jpg

 

SDC10087.jpg

 

Shane

Glynn Motorsports

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I should add that my car is still not 100% AI legal yet. I still need to get a couple safety items, some coolers, accusump and a few other odds and ends. Its all just little things from here.

 

Shane

Glynn Motorsports

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Wow, I haven't seen that car for about 4-5 years. It's nice to see it out of hibernation.

 

When is Chris going to add a picture from this years driving experience? Last year he entertained us with his attempt at snow plowing snow up to the windshield in Sue's M3. Waiting.......

 

Here is another one that I pulled over to take this morning Mark. http://www.cgracing.com/images/PIC-0026.jpg Sorry about the quality, it was a camera phone. The temp actually hit -29, but I was drivng and decided to let it go.

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Wow, I haven't seen that car for about 4-5 years. It's nice to see it out of hibernation.

 

When is Chris going to add a picture from this years driving experience? Last year he entertained us with his attempt at snow plowing snow up to the windshield in Sue's M3. Waiting.......

 

Here is another one that I pulled over to take this morning Mark. http://www.cgracing.com/images/PIC-0026.jpg Sorry about the quality, it was a camera phone. The temp actually hit -29, but I was drivng and decided to let it go.

Holy crap! My diesel truck gelled up on me as I was on my way to replace the laptop the died during a presentation yesterday morning. Not a good day. It was "only" -18 at the time. Seems like a heat wave compared "you folks up dere in Wiscanson"

 

Yeah. The laptop that had the banquet video stored on it.........

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Very nice job!

How is it on the track without P/S?..........or is it electric or I'm just not seeing it.

 

No power steering, its not very hard to turn sitting still and is a piece of cake once its rolling. I like the no power steering feel, it gives me perfect feed back.

 

Wow, I haven't seen that car for about 4-5 years. It's nice to see it out of hibernation.

 

It was active all of last season. I won the Ohio Valley Region Solo II C Prepared championship with it along with taking the win in the V8 class in the Triple Crown Tuner Challenge at Mid-Ohio beating out a guy in a C6 Z06 by close to 2 seconds. Its very fun to drive.

 

Shane

Glynn Motorsports

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Holy crap! My diesel truck gelled up on me as I was on my way to replace the laptop the died during a presentation yesterday morning. Not a good day. It was "only" -18 at the time. Seems like a heat wave compared "you folks up dere in Wiscanson" .

Me too. I just spent all morning under my truck with a heat gun thawing a frozen fuel line. 30 below last night and it froze up on me. F--- winter and Wisconsin.

 

BTW, rumor has it the banquet is cancelled.

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Both. I don't think we can blame this one on the economy though, just a bunch of slackers like me who didn't sign up early enough for Dave to commit.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that while trying to crank my truck to life this morning I grenaded the starter, so I got to replace that laying on my back in the snow at minus 20 F. Fun!

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Both. I don't think we can blame this one on the economy though, just a bunch of slackers like me who didn't sign up early enough for Dave to commit.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that while trying to crank my truck to life this morning I grenaded the starter, so I got to replace that laying on my back in the snow at minus 20 F. Fun!

 

Thanks for that, I appreciate it!!!

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Sorry to hear you had problems too. I was worried that I hurt an injector but it seems to have pulled out of it. You know it was cold when I can walk outside on a 22 degree day without a coat on....

 

So no banquet?

 

Hijack off.

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Marty,

 

Good for you!!! Nothing like the "pride of authorship" you get from doing it yourself.

 

Like the old Chinese proverb: "The Journey is the reward!"

 

I did a similar project earlier this year, converting my '09 Z06 from a coupe to a "targa". Most of by brethren on the corvette forum were naysayers, and continuously gave me reasons why it either could not or should not be done. Despite their doubt, I just kept plowing forward, determined to get it done. I paid full price, but now I have one of very few in the country.

 

Good luck with your project!

 

Z06002.jpg

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