TY Dr., actually just got all my pics together and in order pretty much to start a nice long thread in the "Show Your Projects" section, and was going to recap the January 1, 2022 to Present on the current Street Car/NHRA Stocker to Full Blown Racecar-FINALLY project...And a long story much shorter on the History behind the project started in 1993, and a paragraph beyond back to the day in early 1984 when I drove my Mother to Cerritos Dodge in Cerritos, CA (SoCal) to buy it as her daily driver, (Was a Silver on Silver/Charcoal car when she worked for the AAA of Southern California at Corp HQ.
Ok, you may ask why that is so important...She worked her entire career working life for that Auto Insurance Corporation, she buys this car brand new in early 1984, and the CA DMV issues her in the normal series ''the next in line", not a pay more requested personalized one mind you, Lic. Plate # WNLWE502 (see, in CA the Vehicle code violation for drunken driving or Driving Under The Influence actually, to be more precise is called ...Getting a 502! So, not only was she stopped often to ask if she had been drinking (though she never was charged), she was always chided at work by her Colleagues and Management. When 'll We 502? Many officers in Blue thought it was a personalized plate...like tempting fate or something. She was stopped like 13 times in the first year (always asked if she had been drinking, no matter the time of day or night, and did not have a clue why. (I finally explained it to her).
Yup, that thread alone will run up the post count, a few purists may take offense, some may be interested, some may even dig through parts for me if I ask nicely maybe, some may be happy for me, some jealous, most will think I am crazy as crap for putting any money into that slow sled fishbowl of a race car, some may buy something from my "Current Class Legal Car Diet Pile" if they need something that I may just have that is original, and it works (everything in my diet pile does...well did when I recently took it out), and sure enough like I said, some purists may get upset at the items I had to take out, but the NHRA Stock Eliminator rules are very specific on what may be removed, and ironclad on what MUST STAY OEM STOCK.
No exceptions either if you try to cheat, by violating on the must haves...even in the slightest bit. (The specific items you may change, delete or modify, are very limited, and specified with words like "is allowed" and "IS PROHIBITED," or "is acceptable" and "not prohibited"). Read, read, and read it again......and for the lord's sake do me a favor, if you personally ever read the NHRA Rule Book, and you run across the words/phrases "Non-OEM Shifter" or "Aftermarket Shifter" anywhere in either "General Regulations" or in "Section 11-Stock Eliminator", please tell me immediately exactly where, and I mean specifically, Section, Page, Item, Paragraph, Line, etc....As, I have looked, it flat is not there (though I agree it may be somewhat implied, some could read into it a little, and some even do install them....If you own and race a Daytona/Laser (which of course in an automatic car has a junk-errrr, ok..poorly operating, cabled shifter installed in a console), and you are trying to run as consistently as possible (It is really a bracket race mainly on or under index, and a heads up race when vehicles of the same class are run together), then you know why already, but I so need to find those words bad, so I can modify/install something I can slap a bit harder and be a wee bit less careful with, and be more accurate and much faster with!
Pssst, if you have a mid 80's Daytona or Laser (there are other vehicles I know that some of my diet pile will also fit, but I can guarantee all items worked as of January 10th, 2022 during my last car fire up (a 3 min. start and run on, hey I could not actually believe it either- 13 year old Sunoco purple 110 Race Gas , pay attention, and are in need of anything I talk about here in the next few paragraphs
The entire Interior (no gutting allowed)-Heat and A/C and under dash ducting may be completely removed, the sun visors may be removed (Those still remain so far)-But the climate or A/C-Heat controls and the Vent openings must stay firmly mounted in the dash in the original location, they-the controls are still there, and they even light up (The entire combo HVAC/Blower Box/Blend doors and actuators, all lower and some upper venting recently were removed, along with most of the attached hoses, wiring and related hardware), so you cannot really tell by even sitting in it, except there is quite a bit more leg room up front, and, among a few minor other things that may be removed, added, and changed, but not many.
Exterior of the vehicle customizations is firmly limited to (Paint, Tires, Wheels). No Windshield Wiper related items are necessary and may be removed (it all was), Drivers side mirror must remain, passenger side mirror is not required (Both still remain on the car as of yet).
The OEM Gas Tank must be in the OEM MFG installed place, unless you install the allowed fuel cell, at which point you are REQUIRED TO REMOVE THE OEM TANK (you cannot have your cake and eat it too), so I chose to do the latter-add a 5 gal. fuel cell w/bulkhead separating it from the drivers compartment-and everything that entails, remove a large tank that I used to have to race with at least twice as much (very expensive now) race gas in, and help with the diet and weight bias (so that very clean, not rusty inside, Gas Tank, tank filler neck, straps, High Volume MPI/Turbo Pump, an accurate gas gauge in-tank sending unit, and hanger straps are all in my "Car Diet Pile".
What else, The A/C compressor unit and under hood hardware (minus the combo Alternator/Compressor mount, as in that mount sits - mind you up high, but underhood, and in front of the R.H. front spindle, tire and wheel-counterbalancing the driver weight... resides my custom combo Ballast Box / Engine Torque Strap), was removed long ago, still in a boxes on my shelf (though not in the recent diet pile, along with some other things, exhaust manifold related EGR stuff, a set of equal length half shafts someone gave me, a couple of tail lights that are slightly less than cosmetically perfect but fully street legal, a lot of unnecessary under hood plastic shields a number of 84' TBI only ECU's, an 84' TBI only Power Module, The Cat Converter.
Also in the Diet Pile is everything A/C or heater related (hoses, pipes, hardware), the entire exhaust system piping and hangers/rubber isolators, from driver position to rear bumper is out in the Diet Pile (but was cut into 3 pcs), could be easily welded back together.
To be continued elsewhere in the "My Project" threads if interested on the progress w/ lotsa pics added... Thanx though Doc. I was finally able to login and start posting on threads again a few days ago, and then I asked a kind moderator (the 1 that sent me the fine welcome message way back in 2012, that was still in my convo box), a couple of days ago if they would / could kindly get my permissions fixed for me to post in the buy/sell area...and they did get it fixed. Yesterday was my first day actually with it all squared around.
There is no doubt I will contribute in the way of posts, I promise (some will get tired of me fast)---I was locked out and forced to lurk and just learn too long. So, lots to say, debatable s to whether any of it is to be found interesting though...
I guess we shall see. (I know...I should have broken that up into 12 postings, I just couldn't. I am good, really I am, and Thank You for all the assistance brother.
MOPAR OR NO CAR!
