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Ethyl Roars

89K views 554 replies 19 participants last post by  wrp 
#1 · (Edited)
Ethyl is a 2004 GTO I bought her new in November 2004. We put 95,000 miles on her with 80,000 of them being at 450+ rwhp. In May 09 we decided to go completely through it. First off the original LS1 running heads and cam for 85,000 miles only required honing, cam bearings, and rings and is back in another GTO making nearly 500 rwhp with forged internals, heads, and cam. In our build we initially started to put a 91 mm Borg Warner Turbo on but switched to a PD twin Helix Harrop HVT2300 supercharger. After getting it together we decided to go with the 4.0 Liter Whipple to see how far we could take the Texas Speed and Power built 408 LQ9 Engine.



The engine. We started with a LQ9 Iron Block built by Texas Speed. It has Diamond Pistons, Eagle Rods, and an Eagle Forged Crank. The entire rotating assembly is coated and the pistons are a -28cc dish. We put ETP 245 heads on the car and retained the 1 7/8 inch Kooks Headers.



Fabrication. We relocated the ECM to inside the drivers compartment and fabricated a coil pack relocation scheme with some modified GM Performance Valve Covers to clean up the appearance. We fabricated a reservoir with a front mounted heat exchanger. We fabricated the intake for the supercharger and the brace for the snout pulley,





Forced Induction. We started out intending to put a Borg Warner 91 mm Turbo on it but went with a Harrop HVT2300. Our goal was 20 lbs of boost since the engine was built to go to 1500 HP. The Harrop maxed out around 18 lbs so we went with the Whipple Sand Rail 4.0 Liter Supercharger Kit. That Supercharger is a beast. We have seen 19 lbs of boost on the engine on the Serpentine belts with the OEM pulleys. We also replaced the 2004 GTO radiator with a 2005 Radiator to eliminate the large fender mounted catch can.



Cooling Includes an 05 GTO radiator and a Moroso remote mounted electric water pump. We used an aftermarket heat exchanger off a Cobra and a Moroso Heat Exchanger Reservoir which is trunk Mounted. We wired three fans behind the heat exchanger to pull air through them. A Flex-Cool low profile fan completed the setup.



Cog Drive. The Serpentine belts could not hold so we added a custom foabricated cog drive using Procharger and some custom designed and fabricated parts. We had to work through a serise of issues including the snout not holding up to the demands. We designed and fabricated a unique cradle for the snout and top sprocket. Once we were with the cog drive it became apparent the 80 lbs Siemns injectors could not keep up. Also the IAT's were high and the car did not respond well to meth. We installed Bosch/ID 2000 cc injectors and converted the car to E85. We've been able to consistently hold the car at 23 lbs of boost though the Aeromotive A1000 is max'd out. The current setup is a fuill return system using a combination of Aeromotive and custom fabricated parts.



Transmission. We could not get a T56 to stay together so we had RPM transmissions build a T56 Magnum with a GForce 9310 dog cut gear set, micropolished by Liberty Gears. The setup was awesome and scheduled be installed with a Monster Triple Disk clutch. Unfortunately the Transmission took so long to deliver we had already gone to FTI for a Stage 5 TH400 by the time it arrived. Reluctantly we dissassembled the T56 Magnum and sold the parts for scrap. We have the TH400 in now.





Drivetrain. We overpowered the OEM drivetrain so We turned our attention to GForce1320's 9 inch Ford IRS. We are using a Wavetrac 35 spline differential with 200 mm GForce axles. The car has tubs, and a GForce1320 coil over kit, We will be running 14.5 inch slicks on 15 by 10 Holeshot Rims with 15 by 4 inch skinnies on the front. Currently have MT ET DRs, 295 by 55 by 15s on it.



Finishing touches. SNL put a Kook's afterburner 3" exhaust on the car. We added a FireCharger fire suppression system and Prosport AFR/Boost gauges. We've installed an RPM Rollbar and B&M Quicksilver Shifter. We also installed a 100 shot on top of everything as it seems to help IAT's a bit. We have a shop standing by to do the hood when we get everything else finished.

Suspension. Lovell's suspension components from Kollar Racing will replace every component in the suspension with new bushings, and fittings. We are also going to the Lovell's 90/10 struts as the car will work mostly on the strip once completed. We still need to complete the hood, add the Roll Cage, and completely repaint the body to finish the build.

Here she is putting down 969/1110 on the dyno with a failing clutch



A few more pulls with the serpentine belt



Prolly my favorite pulls



Any constraints on activities posted?
 
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#429 ·
In the 1950's and 1960's in Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday we'd go to the Bootlegger's to make an illegal purchase of the contents of mason jars. You'd drive down this backwoods country road, past souped up cars that were positioned to 1) escape the inevitable raids and 2) to deal with customers trying to pull a fast one. You'd lay down your money at a designated stump, drive around the bend and come back again and viola, a mason jar full of white whiskey would be there with no one to stop you from taking it. This video is a little long but it is a cool drive down a country road, the distant guitar in the background is me. I wonder if in present times, many of the old folks in the hills are repurposing the stills to double the proof and make hand cleaner. Then there are those blockade runners that have to brave through stupid gubenatorial edicts to deliver the hand sanitizer to a greatful public. Nothing has much changed since George Washington sent the Army into Pennsylvania to quell the whiskey rebellion, cept maybe it hasn't really started yet. Enjoy the car and the drive.

 
#438 ·
So we are begining to get the new motor together and have come to some conclusions about direction. We're going to a later model block with a one piece rear main seal. We are going fully forged on the internals and it will displace 383 cubic inches. We are figuring the motor will be about 10.5:1. I'll have a .550/.550 Comp roller cam with Vortec 062 heads. we are going to cap it off with a Holly Sniper EFI. Putting a Ram clutch in it temporarily until the Monster twin is ready. We are shooting for 500-550 rwhp and may put a small shot on it, if we begin to itch. Upgrading the water pump and the cooling fan while we have it apart. Also we will add a Don Ross Fabrication louvered Engine hood panel.

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#440 ·
Nooo for the 33 Ford, much of the previous small block had chinese components. I had chosen to swap the heads for the Vortec, then decided to add a roller cam, then decided to go with EFI. We pulled the old heads and the metal around the seals had crumbled, particles in the chanber had scratched the piston walls. I decided that I did not want to spend that money bolting all that new stuff on the scratched cylinders, even though compression was good. So we decided to do a one piece main block yadda yadda. That Anglia had a built 760+ HP 383 in it. It had the pulleys to jack it up to 1000, at least that was the claim. I did not buy that aAnglia, it was a friends car.
 
#441 ·
We were surprised to learn thatwe got a picture in the Goodguys Magazine. Volume 32, No.7 of the July 2020 issue has a picture on Page 38. Its not really a big deal, they probably needed more photos to fill up the space, but it is a lot of fun to see the car in a magazine. The event was a virtual online car show contest they had.

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#442 ·
We got the new motor build back from the machine shop today. It is a one piece rear main seal late model block clearanced for a 383 stroker rotating assembly. We added a Comp cams 550/550 lift roller camshaft, completely forged internals that are internally balanced and we are going to put a Holley Sniper on top of it. The motor has a set of VORTEC head machined to work with up to 650 lift, new seats, seals, springs, plates and rockers. We went with flat top pistons and expect roughly 10.5:1 compression. The Sniper is FI ready but we have not considered going there yet because of the Vortec heads. Whatever I do, the engine should have enough guts to handle. In the process I have upgraded the cooling fan and put a new clutch on it. We are going to wrap the headers and exhaust pipe to see if the new combination cannot be a little more heat friendly. Motor should have the build completed tomorrow and go in Friday. We expect to be breaking it in by Friday Afternoon.

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#447 ·
They are true 062 castings. I went completely through them, replaced the seats, guides, retainers, spring seats, springs, retainers, guide plates, lappe the valves lowered the guides to handle the higher lift.
Went through all that (except lowering the guides) on my 487x heads. I wanted to avoid the Vortec heads because I'm not a fan of centerbolt valve cover looks. I had the old 70's heads done up with hardened seats, SS valves, new springs, iron guides, new rockers, and screw in studs. The 487x heads are the cast iron equivalent of LT1 heads, and have extremely good flow characteristics. Supposed to flow with many aftermarket aluminum heads, and have slightly better flow numbers than Vortec heads. They also have open 76cc chambers, which lowers compression, but helps flow. I was tired of all the gas quality issues I have with my SBC in my Austin, so wanted an engine that could run easily on premium, and maybe even run well on regular in a pinch.

With big lift, I hope you also pulled the press in studs and switched to screw in studs?
 
#448 ·
Looks like the screw in studs were installed in the pic. What I’m more worried about is the ploy lock nut in the lifter valley.
I hope it was removed before the intake went on.
 
#449 ·
Hopefully it was when they installed the lifter girdle again! I sure like the newer blocks that have the lifter girdles vs. retrofit roller lifters that don't use them. If thing come loose, at least the girdle will keep the lifters in place even with no pushrod or rocker.
 
#450 ·
Kind of tough to sort through. There was no lifter girdle. I bought the cam kit when it was a two piece main old school block that I intended originally to put a flat tappet cam in. Once I got the cam and pulled the old heads on the two piece main block it appeared I would have been better off going back through the whole motor. That was the point I decided to go with a newer block with the more desirable one piece main that was a factory roller block with the bolt holes for the girdle. Since I had the roller conversion cam kit, I decided to just go ahead and install it with the upgraded roller lifters. The intake is not on the motor yet, fact is the poly lock nuts are all in the right place. Those photos were snuck in at the machine shop. Unlke the heads which I was involved with at great detail, I got pulled to other things and could not be there at the assembly of the long block. Trusting their warranty and having Ready Motorsports in Mannford Ok do the final assembly and sit the motor in. Ready Motorsports is also setting up the return fuel system and the Sniper EFI. They will probably get started on that tomorrow. We went with a Melling high capacity oil pump and a marine oil pan that was clearanced for the stroker. As we get it back together I intend to wrap the entire exhaust to keep the heat down. I am also going with a FAST Dual Synch Distributor, hoping to let the computer control the timing. Your points are well taken and I will take a facetime look at the valley and do an inventory of the lock nuts before we button it up. My original plan had been to be there through the machining and assembly of the long block and then on to the installation of the motor with the final setup of the EFI. about two weeks ago I had a hot water heater erupt in the attic of the house and do a great deal of damage. It has taken a week to have it professionally dried out then another to replace the insulation and drywall. This week I am sitting in a house still turned upside down waiting for the carpet guys to come tomorrow to replace the pad in two rooms. It has just been a huge shit sandwich to take a bite out of. I was very much looking forward to the machining of the block, assembly, and the EFI assembly. Charles Ready was 100% behind me and had to step in when life took a shit on me. The good news is we should have the motor cranked by Friday afternoon. I am going to have Charles break it in while I try to find our lives to get back. The biggest outstanding issue I have is the T45RS transmission which is not built to handle the torque and power. Since the car is lighter I am hoping it will last long enough to break in the engine and tune it. Next big stop will be a TK600 which should fairly well bolt right in, but who knows.
 
#452 ·
So, there comes a point in life where you meet a milestone. Always dreamed of having something good enough to be in Hot Rod Magazine. This digital version is cool enough for me and I hope you all enjoy it too. Shout out to Bill and Karen Ondo, Steve Addison and Loyd Mead, Kory Ritter, Abel, Aaron and Jonathan. Gary Gutierrez, Roy at Leo's upholstry, Dan Howard, Travis, Charles Ready at Ready Motorsports. My wife and best friend. My children and grandchildren that helped.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/factory-five-1933-ford-coupe-kit-car-with-383-stroker/
 
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