Dyno day photoshoot

Right next door to Speedtech Motorsport was this rad stack of shipping containers, an ideal backdrop for a photo session. I really wanted some shots in an industrial setting and the heavy-duty but colourful containers were perfect. I took a whole bunch of photos but I think this one is my favourite. The car just looks so right to me! I'll post some more soon, they turned out great!

Dyno day

Before I pull the car apart to finish the body I wanted to put it on the dyno to get a baseline of how the motor is running. When driving around it felt a little down on the power I was hoping for, and it went flat after 4500rpm, about 1000rpm sooner than it should with its hydraulic flat tappet cam. So I borrowed a workmates sweet wagon (cheers Max!), rented a trailer, and towed the cuda out to see the rad dudes at Speedtech Motorsport.

It got bolted up to the Dynapack hub dyno...

and put through its paces a few times. Sure enough the power curve fell off at 4500rpm, but it pulled real hard up to that point, so it turns out I'm just greedy! It put out 444lbft to the rear wheels at 4100rpm, so well over 500lbft at the motor and should do similar hp once I find out what's causing the power to drop off 1000rpm too soon.

I unbolted the temporary mufflers and removed the little air filter hoping they might be causing the power drop, but no luck. The motor did put out 30 more hp to the rear wheels without those little 2.25" mufflers though! And holy shit it was loud in the dyno room with open headers! Diagnosing the power drop issue will have to wait till the car is going again in the future, but at least it's good to know it's running great till 4500rpm. That's straight outa the box too, with conservative ignition timing and no carb tuning. So it should be an animal once fully dialed in!

The new diff I built has new gears in it and you have to be gentle on them for a few hundred miles. But I had the old diff just lying around, so.....

Just over a year

Just over a year between these two photos. This image really reminds me of the thoughts and feelings I had when the car was in that minimal state. I can happily say that the rebuilt machine has lived up to expectations! So pumped to get it finished and registered for public roads!

fresh photoshoot

A fun little impromptu photoshoot this evening. It was the first time for me to step back and see the car with the recently painted panels (I had thrown a quick coat of paint on to tidy them up for some photos), along with the rear spoiler mockup and fender gills. The car looked great!

On the right side I painted the fender and door black to go with the black E-coated quarter panel and roof. I think I might paint the car like this once I've done the seams and high build primer work, I love the two sides and their two different feels.

The car is awesome fun to drive, plenty of power and feels like it has very predictable and positive handling. The steering is fast and the car is easy to throw around. It's only going to get better as things get more dialed in too. I can't wait to take it to a track and really lean on it!

Working

Preparing the car for a final photo shoot of it at this stage. Wish I could keep it stripped out like it has been, it's all you really need! Fun to drive and looks fantastic.

Mocking up a rear spoiler with some mild steel sheet. Easy to weld and modify. The final will be out of alloy and be welded and riveted together. Should look rad!

Shakedown II

Some photos from today. The car is going great, the new diff ratio is much nicer, the steering is fast and tight, the brakes have plenty of power, and the body feels rock solid. Feels fantastic!

The folks in the neighbourhood seem to really like the car. Lots of respect from old ladies and kids, and one guy even knew it was a cuda, which is pretty rare around here!

With everything working great, now I have to pull it all apart and put the body back on the rotisserie! Arrggghhhh. It's gonna be tough. Not before I take some proper photos though.