'73 Vega GT All Aluminum Wildcat 355 Project

Contents:
Page 1: Engine Block prep
Page 2: Head mods
Page 3: Induction
Page 4: Engine Assembly
Page 5: Front Suspension Mods
Page 6: Rear Suspension/Weight Transfer Mods
Page 7: Rust Repair and Undercarriage prep
Page 8: Frame Rail fabrication/Unibody support
Page 9: Body Mods
Page 10: Transmission Mods
Page 11: BMW Radiator Swap

Rear suspension: For the rear I wanted to upgrade the stock, VERY TINY, 6.5" housing to a later Monza 7.5" posi with the 3-link suspension (torque arm). I found an Old Starfire at a distant yard and picked it up. It was really bent! I think that happened when we were pulling the car out of the mud. ANYWAY I took it to a little local shop that makes refabbed semi tracker spindle sets and asked if they could straighten the housing. They did it! They also added in a tiny amount of toe in for stability for me!

I bought a 7.625" posi from a '93 Camaro: 3.42:1. Nice unit. Came with gears and everything. I went to work setting up the gears. Plan on a crap load of time for this... I'll post more pix of the final setup when I can...
Update! I've upgraded to a Torsen diff from a WS6 TransAm! Here's a pic of the differential:

This means that I will have to set up the rear again. Shoot. I think it will go faster this time. I will add a page to show what the procedure is for rearend set up if I get the chance.
Here's a pic of the panard bar bracket I needed to install to use the 3-link suspension. I bought out of a '75 Vega. It took some custom fabrication on my part. My welding skills are getting better. I'm going to need them when I get to fabricating the frame rails.

I got the Torsen today! Here's a picture of me touching it all day at work. Here's a picture posting about it to my favorite forum! Hbody.org

Differential Setup

I pulled the Gov-Loc from the axle I had setup last year. I think I can get away with just installing the Torsen and check for lash. I hope. Setting up the gears was a real bitch.

Here's a couple pix if the diff as I was pressing the bearings on. You can use an old bearing to act as a collar to press the bearing down far enough. I've just put a spare bearing in the pic to act as a placeholder. You get the idea.

____________________________________________________________

Weight transfer mods

Thanks for weighing in guys. I got exactly what I wanted. Some opposing points of view. I'll look at the Trans crossmember. I think it's stock with no modification so the new engine should be about the right location. It is a bit longer. I've got some calculating to do:

Front:
I'm going no front bumper. -8lbs.
Battery to the back. Behind the right rear. -40lbs.??
Switching to Appleton Rack. -4lbs.
1 1/4" swaybar +10lbs.
Rover Stroker. +55lbs.
Tubular crossmember. +6lbs.
Chassis brace. +6lbs.

Unsprung:
S10 spindle swap (S10 BJs) +11lbs.
15" torque thrust Ds. Actually lost weight! -2lbs.

Rear:
Battery. (Optima Red Top) +33lbs.
Boxed steel trailing arms. (Unsprung?) +2lbs.
Panard Bar braketing and support. +2lbs.

Unsprung:
Swapped 7.5" for 6.5". I have no idea what the difference in weight is here. It definately feels a great deal heavier. +30lbs??
1" sway bar. +10lbs.

If I remember right the balance on the stock Vega GT was pretty close to 50/50. Anybody know for certain? So that comes out to a grand total of: +25lbs. on the front. +35lbs. (or a couple more) on the rear. A 15lb. difference...

HOLY CRAP! You could be right, Clyde. I could come out ahead. I guess the battery relocation makes a big difference. Based on my calculations for total added weight on the vehicle including unsprung is:

Frame rails: 60lbs.
Chassis foam: 5-8lbs.
Tubular crossmember: 6lbs.
Tubular front chassis brace: 6lbs.
S10 front spindle/brake: 9lbs.
Engine swap: 55lbs.
Optima battery: -5lbs.
Front bumper: -8lbs.
1 1/4" swaybar: 10lbs.
Appleton Rack swap: -4lbs.
No rear seat/ interior removal: 10lbs.???
7.5" swap: 35lbs.
Torque arm: 7lbs.
Panard bar/brakets/braces: 7lbs.
Boxed steel trailing arms: 2lbs.

Total: 178lbs.

Driver Girth: 185lbs.
Grand Total: 363lbs. I DOUBLED IT!! LOL.