Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Mark, the W-body cars have commonality as regards to suspension and chassis components whether the engine.

When I had my Supercharged Bonneville SSEi, I installed Monroe high performance struts (no longer available), and they made a big difference in the launch.

I also installed the Mookeh MK1 universal adjustable camber plates. They are available in all mounting shapes and you just have to drill the holes to match the chassis mount holes. The camber plates are available in Ebay. I kept the OEM spring mount and believe added a spacer.

Use the stiffest shocks in the rear to prevent squatting of the rear; the car will hit the front tires harder. I had air bags in the rear of my Bonneville too.

There are differences in the racks of the W-body cars depending if they had the standard or high performance suspension package. You could also look in to adapting a Fiero or J-body manual steering rack.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Moog makes a Problem Solver bushing for the lower control arm. Part no.
k200787. As seen here:

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threa...nd-feel-for-50

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Summer fun :

We got some of the suspension issues worked out .
KYB adjustable struts up front. A few spacers in the rear springs.
We gutted the seals out of the power rack and serviced the bearings on top of the coils spring mounts in an attempt to make it steer easier.It seems a little easier but not enough.
We are going to have to change the steering ratio eventually.
Some of these cars supposedly are 2.6 turns, lock to lock, but this one is only 2.3.
If anybody happens to have a W car around handy ,and could tell me what they have, I'd appreciate it.

I still have to mess around with the camber and toe in before Friday night.

We had the side mount, oil pan, and valve body out to work on the pressure regulator.
I felt it needed a bit more pressure with this heavy of a car and bigger V6 than the trans was designed for. We were able to find a spring that upped the pressure right about to where I wanted it, on the first shot. Got lucky on that one.
We picked up a spare governor with a lighter weight on it and put it in .
I would think 5600 shift points were a bit too low, so we'll see how that works out too.

While I had the rubber side mount out (or is it the rear?), I figured I'd replace it with a solid one. (see pic)

So, Friday night temps are supposed to be down to double digits by 9 pm.
Oh boy. Rocket ship conditions!

Will report






http://s14.postimg.org/h7act7w8x/CAM00654.jpg

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Mark,

My 98 Grand Prix GTP is at least 2.6 turns lock to lock, if not a bit more. From what I can find it seems the newer ones, like yours, are 2.3.

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Thanks, Rick. We'll hit the U Pull It yards as soon as the weather cools off here.

We won't have a report from this weekend now.
The trans shifts better from 1st to 2nd ,but much worse on the 2-3 .I don't know what caused it yet but it's gotta come out again. That means the engine first, then the trans.
That's what happens with these things when you're working without a blueprint.

We're not going to SLC with this thing unless it's right.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Bit of a report here.

We got to go out to Wild Horse tonight, after a brief shower back at home.

Some of you guys are gonna laugh, but the humidity was an exceptionally high 37 to 43 % .
It was only in the high 80's ,but the ODA was still around 4000'.

We tried three different staging rpm's but it did run the best ever 60' , leaving at 2500. Anything over that and it wants to wring the tires off it.
I think the adjustable struts did help a bit.

The raised line pressure did make the trans shift like it should now, so we're happy with that .
All three runs were between 1.18 and 1.28 under, and I think this may be the last ET report for this project. We'll be seeing some of you guys in Combo Class before long, I'm sure.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Finally got around to changing the break in oil.
In the dime rocket theme, we put some Mobil 1 in it, from Walmart.
Yes, it did go faster.
Anyone interested can PM me.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

3rd Qualifier in first round at Vegas Divisional. -1.113 Only .024 off top qualifier.
Not bad for a front driver.

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Not sure what the ratio would be but the early 2000's Buick granny cars always seemed really easy steering. Like the park avenue, not exactly the performance model.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Mark,

PM sent.

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Mark congrats to you and Alex on the record

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Thanks, George

We had a fun 3 weeks .
Record in the 13's and #. 2 Q at Tucson

No. 2 Q at Nats...and more instant HP (gulp)

No. 1 Q at div. race, and 3rd round loss to that Pro Stock driver guy (double gulp)

A bit of an update here:
Phil Mandella of PMRC brought us over a brand new manual steering rack that he had removed from a late model GM car, and gave it to us ..Yes, GAVE it to us.
We are going to try to make it work soon.
Thank you to our friend Phil.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Let us know the details of the rack swap. "Inquiring minds want to know"

And Congrats on the record and qualifying spots.

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Yes keep us updated Mark

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

I just realized I haven't updated this thread on ol' Monte Haul in about a year.

We really didn't do much with it last year, between work commitments, and yours truly doing some traveling.

Brian Smith (Ryan Smith's dad ) installed the manual rack while I was gone, and it did help a bit.

We went to the first AZSSA race in Tucson in January We did qualify no.1 @ 1.44 under in CF/S but only managed a 1st round runner -up.
At the Phoenix Divisional, again the no.1 spot, and a loss in the 3rd round. The original radiator expired ,right before the first hit. Not a big problem ,with Autozone only a few miles away. That's a good point for building one of the more modern and popular cars out here.

Race #2 of the association turned out considerably better last week end
We decided to turn the wick down a bit and run it that way, thinking it might be easier on the tires off the line. That seemed to a better plan.
1st round , dead on, 9
2nd round , 1 over.
3rd rd. win
Bye in the semi's
Final round ..Alex had the light working ,but came up short on the dial in and finish line by .013. Always a crap shoot at Tucson in the afternoon.
There is a video out there on Facebook. Look for Matt Hawk, Arizona

Race #3 , second round runner-up,..but we might be about 3rd in the season points.

Anyway, I just wanted to point this out.
You can win some money and have some fun with these Dime Rockets. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
We built this car originally, in 4 mos. time, with two of us working part-time on it .
Get these cars built and out there to support your local racing associations.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Amen.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Thanks for the update Mark.

Rick Thomason
GTOMayhem

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Way to go that thing flys

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

I wondered about one of those cars, a few times. Nice work, and good luck with it !

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

No doubt, it's a great little motor.
Right now, you'd be better off with a 2000 Grand Am. Six less horsepower on it.
No reason why one wouldn't run a couple of tenths under with a bit of tweaking.
Ours has got a lot of stuff in it that you can't buy through Summit or Jegs.
That would rule it out for some, ..I understand.

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Damn!

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Overdue Update

We haven't had the car out much, with both of us moving our operations within the last year.
We did freshen up the engine last year, with Cometic gaskets and ARP head studs.
We found a low mileage transmission core, so we decided to build a new unit. It took a while to get it dialed in, with us now living 100 miles apart.
It seemed okay now, so we headed out to the track last night,
I hadn't driven the car since the first runs, almost 5 years ago. We decided that I would road test the new trans this time though.
It spun a bit on the cold Friday night track (excuses , excuses) but I guess it's okay now on the 15.15 CF/S index.
https://i.postimg.cc/L6jP3nqC/20200207-185149-5.jpg
Sadly though, with our situation, Alex decided to put the car up for sale, so watch for our ad soon, and possibly a new project later this year ;-)

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

1320/95.25 = 13.85 Ok......its spinning a little

Re: Dime Rocket- DNQ
 

Then theres the 28.7 baro.