The (In)famous 358 rises from the dead!

Got a tune on the motor, wing should be here in a few days. Track Day!!!!!!

 

3/19/11 buttonwillow speedventure.com.

 

So.......you're not giving out numbers, so the competition won't have a target to shoot for!!???

 

My mere Roush stock motor can't compete with the mega-muscle cars of the comptition. I don't want them to know what a weakling our car is. We'd be laughed off the grid!

 

It makes sense this 358 would be capable of good HP numbers ......... the mere presence of 355 body panels, would give any motor a boost in numbers ............

 

Wait till he gets the wing on it. That should put him in 458 territory.

 

LOL !!! Bruce , you can own the car with the Rosh motor too!!! Although 751 HP @ 7600 /536 ft lbs @ 6000 may not be enough to run with the 358 . does drop off to 725 hp at 8081 rpm .

 

Since Bruce and Vince aren't saying even to the original stooges I think we should have a guessing game.

So here is the game. Each Horsepower guess costs you a buck. The winner or tie split the pot and have to post picture of themselves spending the money at their favorite Italian restaurant.

My guess 326hp at the wheels

 

I only had about an hour to flog the car with that engine installed. I just don't know enough about it to give any feedback, it came to me in a wood crate. It got a new belt and went in the car as delivered to me. It was crisp but was not camed like the Enduro engine that I removed, most of my time with the car was with the Enduro engine installed. I was just starting to get used to new shift points and torque curves with that engine when I had to stop. I had a cheater H Prod car and a F5000 with that needed sorting and set up at the same time to prep for an up coming Road America event and those required too much attention. It ran well with that engine which put it on the bottom of the 'needs' list that day. As it turned out that was the last time I drove it in anger.

By memory alone, I was going to soften it up a little as it had more low end torque than the Enduro engine which was fairly peaky, required a lot of RPM and was a handful on a tight track. An extra 500 RPM in a blueprinted engine should be no issue. Factory Redlines were set for production engines which bore little resemblance to a blueprinted race engine.

 

Good enough for me! Bruce, let's dial the bi.tch up to 8 grand! I like FBB's idea of a power raffle. I'd say his guess isn't too far off, eh? Or maybe it is...

 

Wing from APR Performance. They're once again producing this wing, as many prefer the "vintage" look. Next, we'll replace the exhaust tips with OEM style.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Really really pretty. Nice work on the stantions. I see what you mean about the slope of the rear deck. Looks like you worked around it pretty good.

 

Sweet...very Sweet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Secret test session scheduled. Gotta be ready for first G-FRT event!
Just remember, all parts falling from this car are of the finest Italian quality and workmanship!

 

Bruce,

Watch the decklid closely. The swoopy APR wings are design using CFD. I would guess the straight ones too. APR makes good real wings. The swoopy one, as wide as a 348, puts down 300lbs at 120mph. If the straight one you got is anywhere near as good as the swoopy one that should destroy the decklid. You might need to support the stancions by grinding some underside decklid and tackweld a small metal box to the bumper support so the stancions can put pressure directly on the bumper support so the decklid does not get squished. Also when I ran a big wing in clean air the car was near undriveable without front downforce to compensate. APR has the pattern I gave them to make my 348 splitter. It was a full 4" and I needed it to balance the rear wing. No splitter = huge understeer on T8 and T2 at willow. First time with the wing and no splitter the understeer nearly put me off the track on T8 but it stuck real nice.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Looking great!!

 

+1 ........ !!

 

Oh man! I want one of those splitters. Way cool!

 

There you go chuck

http://www.aprperformance.com/

 

Wow, looking good!
You guys are still at it, and I believe Uncle Jessie is at the beach......AGAIN!
The rest of the GFRT entries need to get on the ball, or you guys win by default.

 

No way! I'm ready with a stock 550 on moton doubles and poor dot race rubber. I'm building the harness bar as we speak! Stay tuned for spy photos!

 

FBB! Leave that F-ing car alone!!! It's a beautiful machine and you've done it well. Let it survive more than the inevitable one race season your conversion will no doubt allow.

A 550 as a track machine, you should be ashamed! Get Ernie's car if you want to track something. That pig deserves to be flogged around the tarmack!

 

PIG?
Between that and Ernies posts, the value of his car is in the gutter......
He'll have a helluva time GIVING it away now.....

 

Went to Buttonwillow yesterday for its' shake-down run at a Speedventures event and things went very well. I'm sure Vince will report on the car's performance, as he took more and better laps than I did. Age has its' disadvantages. The car's a lot faster than I am and attracted a lot of attention. We're looking forward to the inaugural GFRT event.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

What an amazing vehicle! I will post some pix later tonight. Faster than anything I have ever driver, including my 996TT. Stops even faster. Corners like on rails, right up to the time I was a bit fast in Turn 2. Oh well, no damage done. What a beast this thing is! It looked hot too. Interestingly this car was faster than the 360 in our group, but we were slower in corners because of the learning curve. Acceleration is pheonominal. These Penske shocks allowed me to drive over the rumble strips and nearly straighten out the Esses just before the straight-away. Amazing, just like Shooey!