Rick's 1960 HT

[Restifier52]

There is still much to do but I was long overdue to post pictures of the car. Currently:
408 Windsor stroker
Edelbrock 650 Thunder AVS carb
Built up AOD with high stall converter
Front discs, 2 circuit master w/prop valve
Hurst Line Lock
Cal Trac traction bars
N2O system (almost done)


I am very apprehensive about doing the AOD shuffle but I did finally take it up to 5000 RPM in 1st at WOT. That was fun. Hoping to get it tuned up and down the strip at Lapeer Dragway a few times before the season ends. Thanks to everyone at Squarebirds. I am honored to be part of this first rate online community.

[simplyconnected]

This is my idea of a perfect Squarebird. You have a modern yet inexpensive engine and all the modern amenities necessary for safely driving among modern traffic on today's roads with plenty of confidence.

Every other combination actually costs more money because not only are parts scarce but so are good mechanics. Windsors and AODs are very available. You can also do EFI if you're so inclined.

What a beautiful ride... - Dave

[FINSRIN]

WOW - what a ride.
Didn't think a shaved Squarebird would look so fine.
Shaved with that color and those wheels is sweet.
You have a good eye to foresee the result.
Bill

[WC145]

Very nice, love the clean look and tidy installation of everything. Very well thought out and executed. Wish my '66 had a full frame, it would be nice to have that kind of room to work!

[Fireball]

Looks like a sleeper to me, very nice job!

[Dakota Boy]

those rear tires dont stand a chance...

[Guest]

Hey Rick,
What can I say but "WOW"
If you take her to the track, please have someone video it and post it for us to see. SHE IS AWESOME!
Richard D. Hord

[Dakota Boy]

Is that an electric fuel pump under the rear bumper?

Looks like you have a return line running back to the sump on your tank too.

Where did you run the fuel lines? There are so few choices on these cars.... I ran my one 3/8" hard supply line in the factory location.

What radiator and electric fan did you use?

[Restifier52]

I hope this will work. The drivers side line out of the fuel tank is braided hose ending at the mechanical pump. After the mechanical pump I have a filter and a non-return pressure regulator and gauge. When sitting in the drivers seat with the hood open I can watch the gauge tell me 6psi. The passenger side which is the fuel supply for the nitrous plate has the filter right after the electric pump leading to a return regulator and another fuel pressure gauge. For the return line I used some braided hose to go across the crossmember and clamped it on to the original fuel line to get back to the tank. I am wiring it so that the "ARM N2O" switch will turn on the electric pump too. I will be using a throttle position switch on the carb and a delay switch to experiment with.

I ran the lines on both sides of the car tucked in behind the drip channel. Got to be careful when lifting the car. The radiator is a griffin that I chose based on its similar dimensions to the original rad. The fan I forget - just got the strongest one I could find (and it is running a bit warm- stays at 180 for awhile then creeps up to 200-205)

[Restifier52]

And thank you everyone for the comments. You can be sure I will be getting video soon.

[Dakota Boy]

I'm going to need that 600HP crate 460 from carsbycarl.com before we ever decide to race each other.

[Restifier52]

Dyno Day Tomorrow!!

I had asked two different guys in town to help me finish the nitrous install but their actions contradicted their words. I was not confident about wiring it up but after a few weeks it became apparent that I was going to have to figure it out. I think I have everything done right and my tests so far have been successful. Tonight I installed a purge solenoid with the 1/4" tube poking up where the drivers side windshield washer used to be. Seeing that work was quite gratifying. I'm charging my video camera now. I'll have numbers tomorrow. My camera is old (not youtube ready) so it will be a while before the video gets posted but it will get posted. Thanks again to (in no particular order) Greg, Dave, Jopizz, Carl, Ray and everyone who has helped me get to this point.

Rick

[Restifier52]

Dyno Day Is A Bust

I got a hole cut in my H-pipe for an air/fuel mixture sensor to go in during the testing and tuning. They strapped the car down and started it up. He pulled it up to 5200 rpm (which I missed recording) and got a pretty flat torque curve just below 300ft/lb. Rear wheel HP was 275 and still climbing. We were talking about the nitrous and decided not to use it till I got smaller jets(I realized I had a 100HP shot installed and I want to start out more like 50) and possibly a controller to take timing out during nitrous use. We never got to tuning though because on the next pull the rollers started loading up before they were supposed to indicating failure of one or more of the coils (it's a mustang brand dyno) that provide the electromagnetic resistance. He said "I'm sorry, we're done. I'll call you when I get the dyno back online." He did say that the air/fuel mix looked pretty good as it was.
No charge. Meanwhile, I still have plenty of interior work to do.

[Dakota Boy]

Yeah, but what does your own internal "dyno" tell you?

Does the car feel and sound fast?

[Restifier52]

It sounds great. I put about twenty feet of rubber in front of my house (my son Kevin got that on video) and that was cool. The line lock doesn't hold the car as much as I thought it would. I was pressing the pedal pretty hard when I engaged it. That has me thinking about upgrades to the rotors/calipers/pads but I have no braking issues with normal driving-just always thinking bigger better you know the routine.
I certainly believe that it can use the nitrous. Don't know if my expectations are too high but it doesn't really push me into the seat like I'm looking for on the motor alone. I bought a set of 50HP jets and I'll put them in soon as I get 'em. Also I learned that lower bottle pressure equals less HP so I can ease that off, too. I still have to learn more about timing and air/fuel ratio. I have read that running lean is suicide but I don't yet know how to control that. I'll keep you posted.