odurandina

thanks a lot guys.... more good news from the shop (stay tuned).

been super busy here in California screwing off mostly,

and enjoying the big waves that slammed in a few days ago.

i'll post new photos (of the car) as soon as I have 'em.


here are a couple of photos from the Wedge, in Newport Beach over this past Sunday and Monday mornings......

the wave is created by a combination of the extreme south facing stretch of beach just south of Newport Point on the north side of the Harbor Inlet jetty,

and the compression of long period swells (generated in the southern hemisphere) along the getty, as the getty is at a less than perpendicular angle....

but, instead at about an 80 degree angle.... as to reduce swell in the inlet as much as possible.


the last shots are mostly the peak of the swell middle of the morning, Monday....

then, in the afternoon, a proper set filled the bay and allowed one lucky warrior to slip in CLEAN (2nd to last photo).


on the video,

start about halfway through...... and don't even think of missing one of the best man made waves in the world......





.

odurandina

and here's how it was down in Southern Mexico.....

Mark Healey's death defying paddle in.... OBLITERATED... (adjust settings to HD).....



2 albums chronicling the past week's Southern Hemi swell in all it's glory...

part 1; http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/fr...ic-swe_127016/

part 2; http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/-s...rt-two_127102/




where was the storm? 7000 miles due south of southern California.


.

odurandina

UPDATE:

I need to be leaving DFW Tejas area by no later than Saturday at 10~11 pm.... cuz I gotta be back in California by 7 am sharp Monday morning... I'm meeting with Eric
to pick up my finished 968, in the afternoon on Friday - and then bring it to the tuner (30 miles away) who's agreed to work into the wee hours to get the engine
running proper (so I can drive her to California).

fingers crossed and pics coming soon.


then, I can get to working on the new instrument panel.


stay thirsty.

.

Jay Wellwood

odurandina

engine fired over flawlessly at about 5:30 Central Time this afternoon.

in the V8 club.

SpeedBump

I like the look of that instrument panel.
Congrats on getting the motor started

odurandina

thanks....

car was finished at the tuner around 9:30 this morning..... now that's service.

overall, I'd say the shake down is going well. there's a few minor issues to sort mostly only secondary to the swap.

drove it about 45 miles and it runs almost perfect....

the exhaust note with the 2 Borla resonators (1 right after the other in the exhaust tunnel) then the Vibrant muffler out the back is really good.

when you get on it a little, the sound is truly MASSIVE but the volume not loud at all....

much less loud than the typical V8 swaps.


the installer is going to sort a couple of things...

I'm flying back to California.... hopefully be driving the car away from Texas in a 3-4 weeks.

touareg

Can't wait to see the pics!

odurandina

with 200k miles on the suspension and bearings.... it was time to swap out a few things.

front wheel bearings, front shocks, A-arms, caster blocks, bushings and steering components were changed out during the engine swap.

now Eric is doing the rear bearings, and installing Koni adjustable shocks, and Weltmeister adjustable sway bars front and back.

the old front struts went to a new home, and the old A-arms were rebuilt in by Eagle Day in Florida - so now I'm blessed with an extra set.

precision alignment will be performed by Speed Gallery in North Hollywood, CA.

thomasmryan

Will you redo your rear spring plates? The rubber replacement ones from chuck @ elephant are delicious.

Paul Waterloo

This is the longest wait for pictures I've ever seen!

At least post some pictures of the woman in your avatar! We need something.....

odurandina

I'll talk to Willow Springs guy.... receive his expert advise - and take it from there.

ok, i'll try to explain a few things that will hopefully shed a bit more light on the current state of affairs with this car...... early in the previous week, Eric had reached the end run and was putting his finishing touches on the swap....

due to my work schedule, it would have been ideal if Eric could have finished with it by about Monday (the 11th). unfortunately, things didn't wring out - and it still wasn't clear when the car would be fully ready..... but we had some business to do, and i also had a few more decisions to make on some additional to-do stuff that would best be done before i drove her away....

my visit should have waited a few more days - but, i was going to be indisposed for the next 3~4 weeks probably without an opportunity to visit Texas - but, an in-person meeting to take care of some things needed to happen sooner..... there also might be a chance (once we got the monster tuned) that the patient would be void of any significant mechanical issues - and I might become confident enough to be able to drive her 1300 miles to California..... but, Eric had just gotten the engine fired over, and not tuned the engine.

i had previously made the call that regional tuner-genius/go-to guy Matt G at 21st Century Muscle Cars would be the best choice to put the first basic tune on this unorthodox engine.... so i grabbed a very late flight out of LAX and arrived in Dallas early, Friday morning.

Eric was still working on her into to the early afternoon... but as soon as he finished, we took some time to square up the swindle sheets and $$$.... then we put the car on the flatbed and i hurried off to the tuner about 48 miles north of Eric's shop. my car joined about 35 Vettes and other GM/LS cars where she spent the night....

by 10:00 am Saturday, another 15 Vettes had shown up... but, Matt had tuned her bright and early - and i was off - returning to Eric's shop....

on the long ride over, i chose to stay off the interstate and take the avenues from north of DFW to parts south.... and along the drive, i had the first opportunity to see how she ran, and do sort of an informal shakedown of the swap work.... I'm excited to report that things went considerably well on the drive. but there were a few issues that would need to be addressed before it would be proper to drive her across the desert.

since the car wouldn't be yet coming to the west coast, i worked out a complete list of extra to-do stuff........

as i remarked in my above post, Eric built an insane exhaust....

i expected it would be. but, (short of a 180 degree exhaust on a rear engine) it's probably the most awesome sounding pushrod V8 I've ever heard. obviously, that's saying a lot.... 30 minutes down the road - and things were going well, ...i took her up to 4000 rpm in 2nd gear a few times.... it was probably a bit too early for this, but i couldn't help it. i know i'm repeating myself; but, the sound is incredible.... and almost equally nice - is that it's not too loud.

the sound is like 'oem/special-edition,' like you might get through the dealer - only straight from Carol Shelby's shop before the manufacturer put the DOT crap on so they can sell it to the public! it's that good!!

obviously, the long header/open pipe design creates a big, clean sound (if only all can be properly muffled).... but I'd heard a very nice exhaust utilizing a resonator and Magnaflow with an LS3 and i felt this setup was still too loud to enjoy on long distance drives with my sound system.

so i decided on attempting 2 resonators + a full-sized muffler in back on 3 1/2" pipe.

the largest muffler i could find that would still fit was a 15X9X5" 'Vibrant.' it appeared to be something of a challenge - but Eric nailed it. 3 mufflers!! ..... i had been hoping that with the short/standard LS stroke, and quiet exhaust, the engine wouldn't sound like a street rod.

well, i forgot that open pipe makes engines sound bigger than they are - and this thing sounds considerably larger than you'd expect a 388 c.i. engine to sound.... well, it's a 427 block, and guess what: it sounds like a 427 .... however; it's over-square setup and aluminum flywheel allows it to rev up quickly... when it's broken in, it'll be interesting to see how fast this engine will be able to spool to the 6800rpm limiter.

so: i owe you all a bunch of photos and video for the sound.


coming soon.




.

odurandina

the car is coming to California in a few days....

i'll be at fellow Rennlister; Doug Bray's Inland Empire house detailing the car and doing a few other things.... and post photos. then, I'll get the car on the lift at the alignment shop and post photos of Eric's under-the-car work.



fyi,

i have a Sachs clutch and pressure plate available for $250.

something like this would have been perfect for me since I only needed a clutch for a few months leading up to my V8 project.

it's barely used. yes; this is a seriously great deal for anyone looking for a solid, long-life part/low $$$.

since I plan on driving the car everywhere, there's a good chance I can hand deliver.

anyone interested. just pm.

LS swap sale update;


still available:

my spare 968 radiator with 42 k miles - $80 (shipping incl). i'd been saving it if my car's 2nd radiator had failed.
(i'm now running a much huge-er radiator on my LS7 968).

slightly used Sachs 968 clutch/pp kit w/16 k miles - $250 (shipping incl.).
*(babied, 97% highway miles/insane/bargain price HURRY)!!


gone:

968 short block - SOLD

968 head, camshafts, etc - SOLD

968 torque tube - $125 + shipping. SOLD

968 manual bellhousing - $120 (shipping incl.) SOLD

new oem Porsche 968 high pressure ps hose [B]$80 (shipping incl.) SOLD

classic XSChop aluminum heavy duty transmission mount, never used, discount price; $175...SOLD
(Rob M. made and sold these sweet aluminum/polyurethane transmisson mounts only every once in a blue moon
for your high output 944T, V8 swaps and track cars for $195). i'll knock off $20 and incl. free shipping.
*(i decided on a modified 968 transmission instead of using a 944 box on my V8 swap, so i require a different size mount).

XSChop 944 V8 ps serpentine bracket - $100 (shipping incl.) SOLD....
(rare unobtanium bracket allows you to retain 944 ps pump for your V8 swap for perfect match with oem rack). this is a $75 discount.

XSChop 944/968 V8 motor mounts - $175 (shipping incl.) *this item normally sells for $235 SOLD

968 oem headers SOLD

968 catless exhaust w/ test pipe, SLP hollow resonator, and 3" S-pipe back to the muffler (no muffler) - SOLD.

968 oil cooler - SOLD

968 - ps pump SOLD

968 radiator **(my car's 2nd radiator was installed at 76 k miles) - SOLD

radiator fans - SOLD



coming soon;

928/944/968 updated instrument cluster;



thanks everyone for checking out my sale and to the kind folks who got the motor and parts!!

Robstevens

I understand you are getting most of your work done, but do you have anything like a build thread or details?

touareg

What advantages does the sachs clutch provide of OE?