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This is my Virtual Garage & Showroom.It is mostly about my car, the mods I've done to it and I also have link's to some other really cool site's.
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First
off, I started this site because in 1998 Mike, my stepfather bought a
brand new '98 z28. He would take me with him to run errands and we would
always end up cruising for a race. That's when the speed bug bit me. I
HAD to have a fast car.
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On
my 17th birthday my stepfather handed me a "certificate" for
1 free automobile! I searched for 7 months before purchasing a '93 Firebird
Formula. I took it to the track almost immediately to find out what it
would run stock. I wasn't to happy with my first runs, but with practice
and a few mods I've got it right about where I want it.
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The fun of Hot Rodding!
Breaking parts and goofing things are all apart of the game. Even John Force pulled a few boners in his early days, probly still does. "The fun of Hot Rodding" will be a sort of list of things ive goofed up in the best ways, hopefully some of you will learn from my mistakes. So now in no particular order...
- Mistake #1 "Lock-tite is your friend"
On the install of my Crane Gold roller rockers i failed to use any sort of thread lock on the set screw. the 6th rocker from the front on the passenger side let go one day on a short trip. Sounded alot like a bolt being tossed around the inside of a coffee can. Ended up trashing the "alignment" washer and since the Gold's arent re-buildable i ended up paying $32 for a new rocker. Since then i barely install any bolt without first putting some sort of lock-tite on it. -
- Mistake #2 "The fuel level gauge LIES!"
I was minding my own business, about to do a nice smokey burnout in front of a crowd of about 60. Mash the brake pedal to the floor and i nail the gas! It turned the tires about twice and died!!!! A few of the non-laughing pedestrians pushed me to a parking lot a few feet away. I try to start the car and it will only turn over, no firing??? Fuel level guage on the dash read right in the middle of empty and 1/4 tank!?!?! After a little thinking i go across the street with a can and bought some gas. fill it up and somehow the car runs long enough for me to get home. I ended up frying my fuel pump because the tank ran dry, the guage was off!!!!! i was a lil mad at that point. Good came out of it in the end because i replaced it with a Grenatelli 255lph pump. Ive NEVER let my car go below a 1/4 tank since then, and i dont think ill ever let any other car i own touch it either. -
- Mistake #3 "Piston VS. Head"
This is what happens when then piston and the head get into a pushing match with a small piece of metal in between the two. The head WINS! The piston completely shattered! My jaw hit the floor when i saw the damage, never thought it could be so bad. As it stands now 1-28-03 i still havent had either the head or the block looked at but my Dad thinks both are shot.
This is what i ended up killing that day. The "mean lil fuck" is the culprit. It used to be a one inch squared piece of alum. that my n2o nozzle would thread into to keep it secured to my air intake. A friend needed to borrow it for a race night and i told him to just go out a remove it (mistake #1). The next morning i had to get a few things done so i jump in my car and head down the road (mistake #2). About a mile from home i here a small pop and the the motor started loping very oddly. lol. I pull over knowing something extremely bad had just happened. I pop the hood and right away i knew what had happened. About 2 weeks later i had a barely used 355 on its way so not all is bad now!
Mistake #1- letting someone else touch your car without you being there. all my fault :(
Mistake #2- not checking to see if he had not noticed the "nut". all my fault :( -
- Mistake #4 "Read your instructions, then read again, and again and again..."
I was just finishing up my rocker install, i rotated the motor over just a little bit when CRACK...something gave. So i find the rocker that is now sitting sideways, remove it only to find a severley bent pushrod! seems i had installed the rocker on the wrong part of the cam lobe and it created a bind the the pushrod took. oops :( didnt cost much to fix because i had a spare set laying around :) -
