Blue's Barracuda

[Blue]

New 4x15 ET wheels fitted with 7.10 Moroso drag tyres, these are 20lb lighter than my street wheels. Gotta keep chipping away at those 11’s….

[Pete]

Looking sharp!

[Dave81]

Love it John......

[sublimemike]

That's what I need bit I'm looking old skool allys

[Mark B]

Superb. Love the deep dish on the rear and nice stance .

[Blue]

Done racing for this year so back to full street trim for a couple of months until it’s winter upgrade time.

[rocket70]

Whats involved John going from racing trim to full street trim?

[Pete]

Perfect stance

[Blue]

In my case refitting the full exhaust system and changing the wheels and tyres. Takes about 3 hours which is why I’m not keen on doing it between race meetings.

[Stu]

See you’ve formally introduced it to the neighbours, then! Did they take it well, or are you that damned new whippersnapper?

[Blue]

Todays attempt at cutting down on parasitic losses. Moroso smaller diameter crank pulley to slow down the water pump and alternator. I checked voltage at idle and cruise temperature before I started and afterwards. Idle voltage was the same and temp had risen from 180 to 185, longer run needed to be absolutely sure but it looks like it will work fine. Of course nothing bolt on ever is, the Moroso pulley is drilled for the pre ‘72 eccentric bolt pattern and aftermarket Dampers like mine use the later bolt spacing. I left the odd bolt out for testing, it’s hole needs milling into a slot which I’m getting done now.

[Blue]

This weeks project has been a cooling mod. Water enters the block first then out through the heads to the thermostat housing. The heads are not handed so they also have ports at the rear that are not used and are blanked off by the intake manifold. This can lead to hotspots at the rear of the heads due to lack of circulation, trapped air and steam. Having done some research it seems all is needed is a little bit of flow from the rear to bleed off any trapped air. The rear ports are now connected to the thermostat housing, the -4 fittings have been plugged and redrilled to .060 so as not to disturb the engines flow route but to enhance it. The intake will be installed over the winter once I have finished porting it.

[Pete]

Interesting stuff.

Can you "Reverse Flow" a Small Block easily or are there no benefits?

[Blue]

Easy enough with an electric pump, but lots of work with a mechanical pump.

[Blue]

I hate cleaning cars but it was suggested to me recently that my paint would really benefit from a clay bar. Freshly washed my paint has a slightly gritty finish. I can only describe it as washing your car with a piece of chewing gum, it takes no real effort, no mess and the paint feels unbelievably smooth afterwards. A quick polish and the paint looks the best it ever has, it’s worth your time!