Hello All,
Been watching / reading for a few years and decided to join. I started this project a few years ago to keep myself occupied on the weekends. had a few other projects that involved upgrades only. This one is the most challanging. I initially thought of the S-10 frame route, but I believe this would of added too much weight. Hence no added value. My goal is to keep the car under 2600 lbs (curb). The only body modifications is the addition of some hood louvers to help extract some heat.



I will answer questions to those who are truly interested

Pretty cool. What are you running for a rear end?

What are you running for an engine/trans? Suspension? Intentions with the car? Progress to date?

From the one picture it looks pretty good, would love to see a lot more.

Rear end id a 10 bolt connected using fabricated adjustable lower links using the original axle mounts. Fabricated a crossmember and the upper mounts are adjustable A-arms to prevent laterial movements.
engine is a 383, dyno'd at 510hp 490 tq. The tranmission is an upgraded T5.

Front suspension are spindles and struts from an 02 Impala with the 12" brakes upgraded to Wilwood calipers. The spindles have been reversed to put the rack & pinion up front.

Semi daily driver, with the possible intention to test it at the drag strip.

Phase 1 painting is complete - engine compartment, undercarriage, wheel wells ect. Motor is in, suspension is mounted. Body has been re assembled. Off to paint hopefully soon. I'm expecting to have it running late summer for debugging the brakes and suspension.

Still working at getting all my pics organized and available to be able to post.

Glad to see the interest of others- Thanks

Mike

In for the build update and pics.

Here are some pics from various steps or stages

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EsjoeeKOqVk/UbJgyXA9hDI/AAAAAAAAAD0/INeFuja-zqI/s330/P9300301.jpg







I bought a 2003 shell for $750. When acquiring what was missing I looked for the 97' - 98' body parts as this is my preference.
I budgeted $15,000 for the project and have just exceeded the 11,500 mark. The only thing I've farmed out is the painting.
When off for paint, the body shop will also take care of installing the glass with the exception of the doors. I was given a budget price of $3200. I opted for not having a show stopper glass look. Just a factory type finish. Had one, waaaay too much worries.

In case you haven't picked up on it, my intentions are geared for a sleeper style. Stock exterior body, basically stock interior, no tinted glass. With the exception of the 18" wheels and slightly lowered look, stock looking 97' Z24. There is a 2-1/2" dual exhaust with hi po cats mufflers and resonators. I'm expecting a modest 425 RWHP coupled with a good set of sticky tires, this should be fun.

That sounds awesome. Im excited to see a sleeper style RWD swap. There's been a few RWD drag cars made out of Cavaliers but nothing that looks even remotely stock.

^^ yes. my vote goes to stock z24 wheels on it lol. maybe widen the rears and inch or five.



M45/OS crank/2.4 snout. It's nice to be injected but I love being blown!

When upgrading to the beefier Impala suspension, I went to the larger bolt pattern (5lug x 115mm). the Z rims didn't fit anymore. My sister -in-law had a Nissan Maxima that got stolen during the winter - with the winter rims / tires. She donated her 18" mags and tires to the cause. Tires were too tall for the application. I have a cousin who operates a small repair garage and had 4 tires that are about 40% used. As I'm trying to keep to a budget this will suffice for now. I will be painting them, thinking of a nice gun metal. Not decided on this one yet. I will get the car painted first, take a pic and photo shop different colors to see what I would like. The center logo has been replaced with a 3D chevy logo I will keep a look out for other options. I would like to keep it GM, Impala SS or Monte SS rims are not too bad. Vette rims are too wide and will have interferences.


Below, this is the rear look. You won't see the diff or the fuel tank. just the dual exhaust tail pipes. The rear seems to have a correct ride height. the front will probably need lowering. I will have to wait until it;s fully assembled. This will be part of the tuning later on.




Brian, really liked your "build the car you want on a budget" link - couldn't agree more. I do house renovations for extra cash for my project. will rarely use my salary. It has worked out great so far. Patience and the internet has also helped me out enormously
Thanks Guys

Mike Giampaolo wrote:
In case you haven't picked up on it, my intentions are geared for a sleeper style. Stock exterior body, basically stock interior, no tinted glass. With the exception of the 18" wheels and slightly lowered look, stock looking 97' Z24. There is a 2-1/2" dual exhaust with hi po cats mufflers and resonators. I'm expecting a modest 425 RWHP coupled with a good set of sticky tires, this should be fun.

^ this is badass!

Thanks for sharing the pictures and updates. Hopefully you can get some video once it's up and running - would love to see that.

Very nice work!

Mike Giampaolo wrote:Brian, really liked your "build the car you want on a budget" link - couldn't agree more. I do house renovations for extra cash for my project. will rarely use my salary. It has worked out great so far. Patience and the internet has also helped me out enormously

Thanks a lot. Im glad some people are liking it. Make a post in it if you'd like. I'm trying to keep it near the top. Haha.

I really like the look of the Maxima wheels on there actually.

You seem to have a really good grasp on fabrication and everything looks really well thought out and put together. Thats something you won't really see around here and I can really respect the time and effort.

Tony & Brian, thanks for the compliments.

Maxima wheels are nice, but I would rather keep it GM based. Free is good - for now.

Been a Millwright all my working life. Love it. Love to do things with a bit of flare too. I first considered a 4 cyl for this project, but the money to get a reliable 450 hp from an ecotec was 2x as much as the 383. Becides my friends said "go big or go home. So I comprimised.

I have the fuel lines to install and would like to start it up to verify for problems prior to sending it off to the paint shop. Will do my best to get a video laoded up for you guys.

Cheers

Mike

What is the 10 bolt out of?? and is it narrowed any??




Jason
99 Z24

LG0/LD9 for Life
10 Year Bash Veteren

Can't believe I missed this thread, awesome project.

Thanks guys,
Diff is from a 1986 GMC 1/2 ton. Shortened 1-1/4" each side. Beefed up Eaton posi, Moser axles, 3:42 gears. Made adjustable lower control arms attached to the Cavalier's trailing arm supports. Custom adjustable upper A-arm links. New cross member added for the upper A-arms, Multiple areas reinforced to help distribute the loads. When I purchased the diff it came with complete all new HD brakes. This will do until the budget permits a Wilwood disk upgrade. The custom axles enabled me to chose the same bolt pattern as up at the front.

THIS IS DEFINATELY AWESOME! WOULD LOVE TO SEE A VIDEO...

Hi Phillip, thanks for the compliment.

I moved this build to the performance forum under project V8 Z24- Update