Fastro MK-II (My 1992 Astro Holley Stealth Rammed 383 swap)
- Thread starter Mr_Roboto
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Perches had the get modded for the 9 inch. I never got why no one made 3.25 tube perches that didn't cost a fortune. My last ones were just welded on with the gap there adding yet more height. I have a 4wd already here so I don't want to make it worse. I have a set of lift shackles but they need bushings and would not be enough to get me an axle flip without some mucho lift up front. Even then to be meaningful I would probably be into notch and floorpan work not to mention tubbing for tire and then rear narrowing. Fuck that can of worms.
I also had a super janky shim setup since my pinion angle was about 7 degrees wrong. I intend to fix that this time as well.
I also had a super janky shim setup since my pinion angle was about 7 degrees wrong. I intend to fix that this time as well.
Tonight I did a bit of work on the exhaust. I am waiting on a new muffler since my old one walked off the pipe. Should have had hangers I guess. Some scrapper probably got it off the side of the highway, I guess I could traverse my usual route since it's bright orange and see if it turns up. 
stock-t-bird is gonna dig me up one or two more jugs so I can weld another one up.
This is one of two over axle pipes I'm fabbing, I am going to have both exit on the passenger side rear. It is 2.5" mandrel bent end to end. The picture doesn't really do justice to the 3D nature of this. Nothing is going to get permanently welded up until I get all the fabrication work done. I've got another cut or two to make, a 45 to weld in and then this over axle pipe is done.
stock-t-bird is gonna dig me up one or two more jugs so I can weld another one up.This is one of two over axle pipes I'm fabbing, I am going to have both exit on the passenger side rear. It is 2.5" mandrel bent end to end. The picture doesn't really do justice to the 3D nature of this. Nothing is going to get permanently welded up until I get all the fabrication work done. I've got another cut or two to make, a 45 to weld in and then this over axle pipe is done.
In the Star Trek Universe I could probably have stuck my existing pipe into a replicator, added a few tweaks and been done. That said, no such luck. I dropped a couple hours tonight making the original exhaust pipe a friend. If you notice they are of similar shape but the one closer to the camera in this case is slightly longer both in the "hump" area and the actual exhaust outlet. This is because it's going to be further inwards and it will also exit to the rear of the first pipe I made. I need to get myself a new second muffler made up and after that I should be good to get all this in. I may need another stick of pipe too, I just haven't gotten that yet.
Got an LTD-II brake drum to respline my brake drum with. They're factory 5X5 and HUGE. It's 11X2 which is the same as the trucks but the trucks sure as hell aren't finned like this nor are this massive. What an old school look. I threw some VHT header paint on there and cooked it a few times.
Here's a pic of one of the wheels studs I got for this. The IMCA wheels seem to be 5/8 lugs looking it up and fitting 1/2 studs. I am skittish about what happened to the Lemans (using 7/16 wheel studs on a wheel that had 1/2 lug holes) happening here especially with real tires so I decided it was worth the upgrade. Not horrible about $30-40 of Rock Auto parts. The lug on the end is a hex nut but for some reason the light/camera made it appear somewhat weird. Wheat penny for scale. This bitch has beef.
Got an LTD-II brake drum to respline my brake drum with. They're factory 5X5 and HUGE. It's 11X2 which is the same as the trucks but the trucks sure as hell aren't finned like this nor are this massive. What an old school look. I threw some VHT header paint on there and cooked it a few times.
Here's a pic of one of the wheels studs I got for this. The IMCA wheels seem to be 5/8 lugs looking it up and fitting 1/2 studs. I am skittish about what happened to the Lemans (using 7/16 wheel studs on a wheel that had 1/2 lug holes) happening here especially with real tires so I decided it was worth the upgrade. Not horrible about $30-40 of Rock Auto parts. The lug on the end is a hex nut but for some reason the light/camera made it appear somewhat weird. Wheat penny for scale. This bitch has beef.
If there's anyone in Illinois or the surrounding area that changes the lug pattern on axles I sure couldn't find em. Back in the day this would have been roughly 100 bucks. I'm too cheap to get a set of axles for 400 bucks if I don't have to so I'm going to give a shot on my own.
I popped the studs out and cleaned the holes of their rust.
I then used an old PC heat sink and a copper block to weld. The foil is to protect my bearings. They're original but in good shape so if I can avoid the labor to replace I'm okay with that. I'm not into replacing stuff that I don't need to from a cost and labor perspective. Just doesn't make sense to replace working bits.
The first set of welds post copper block. Wasn't super satisfied with the penetration so I welded up at the face too.
Here's the face post weld and grind. Not going to say it's pretty but it's pretty darn flat. Should be ready for drilling when I get my jig ready.
Here's a pic of the jig.
daturbosix gave me a brake rotor from his junk pile. I think it was a Jeep if I had to guess. It took a decent bit of work with an angle grinder and some 80 grit on the center bore to make it into this drill setup. If I had to do it again I would cut the rotor face off with more of the "hat" there so I could chuck it up in the lathe and turn the 20 thou or so out in 30 seconds.
You can see how much I'm going to have to modify the holes. I can't just rotate the pattern because there's a hole to unbolt the axle shaft there. I trust plugging the 5 holes way more than I trust making a plug and welding it in.
Drill bit's on the way for the wheel studs. Need to make a jig for the pilot bit, that'll probably be some Atlas action. Also need to see if I have a big enough diameter chunk of stock to do it with. I should be able to figure something out.
I popped the studs out and cleaned the holes of their rust.
I then used an old PC heat sink and a copper block to weld. The foil is to protect my bearings. They're original but in good shape so if I can avoid the labor to replace I'm okay with that. I'm not into replacing stuff that I don't need to from a cost and labor perspective. Just doesn't make sense to replace working bits.
The first set of welds post copper block. Wasn't super satisfied with the penetration so I welded up at the face too.
Here's the face post weld and grind. Not going to say it's pretty but it's pretty darn flat. Should be ready for drilling when I get my jig ready.
Here's a pic of the jig.
daturbosix gave me a brake rotor from his junk pile. I think it was a Jeep if I had to guess. It took a decent bit of work with an angle grinder and some 80 grit on the center bore to make it into this drill setup. If I had to do it again I would cut the rotor face off with more of the "hat" there so I could chuck it up in the lathe and turn the 20 thou or so out in 30 seconds.You can see how much I'm going to have to modify the holes. I can't just rotate the pattern because there's a hole to unbolt the axle shaft there. I trust plugging the 5 holes way more than I trust making a plug and welding it in.
Drill bit's on the way for the wheel studs. Need to make a jig for the pilot bit, that'll probably be some Atlas action. Also need to see if I have a big enough diameter chunk of stock to do it with. I should be able to figure something out.
Just a few pics of what I was up to today. Not a lot ,still in progress.
The jig on the hub of the axle. I can drill 1/4 okay after I went and bought a nice cobalt bit, the 9/16 bit is dull as fuck right now. May end up turning a bushing so I can have a 3/8 intermediate setup.
There is a procedure for getting all the holes correct. You basically use the previous holes for alignment. In this case I'm clamped down and ready to make some holes.
Me turning some of the parts for this. The lathe has been a great help. I'm feeling like it's really set me up for success on this. I don't think it would be impossible to do without it but it would have been a lot harder.
Me parting my chunk of bushing off. I have one more in the lathe right now but I need my new cobalt drill bit to come in. I will probably have as much in bits in this as I would have paid someone to do it but if you can't find anyone to do something you've gotta take matters into your own hand. I'm wanting to hit the U-pull it and get a spare set of axles to modify. They're both the same length but I can bag em up and I'll have em in case I do something like put a spool in this.
The jig on the hub of the axle. I can drill 1/4 okay after I went and bought a nice cobalt bit, the 9/16 bit is dull as fuck right now. May end up turning a bushing so I can have a 3/8 intermediate setup.
There is a procedure for getting all the holes correct. You basically use the previous holes for alignment. In this case I'm clamped down and ready to make some holes.
Me turning some of the parts for this. The lathe has been a great help. I'm feeling like it's really set me up for success on this. I don't think it would be impossible to do without it but it would have been a lot harder.
Me parting my chunk of bushing off. I have one more in the lathe right now but I need my new cobalt drill bit to come in. I will probably have as much in bits in this as I would have paid someone to do it but if you can't find anyone to do something you've gotta take matters into your own hand. I'm wanting to hit the U-pull it and get a spare set of axles to modify. They're both the same length but I can bag em up and I'll have em in case I do something like put a spool in this.
Video of me explaining how this jig works. Hopefully my good bit will be here in a couple days. I ordered another couple of 9/16 bits in Cobalt this time. Those showing up is pretty well critical to the work continuing on this axle. I can probably start working on my other axle shaft in the interim and getting it ready to drill as well.
Swapped this out today. Lucky it didn't kill me. Other one looks serviceable but would be replaced if the 9 inch wasn't coming soon.
Also got the welding on the exhaust done. It looks like shit but should hold gas and hopefully not scatter across the highway. I do need to make hangers as well and get new collector bolts.
Over the half way point.
Although I won't be able to speak for it absolutely until it goes on the vehicle the fact that the axle dropped right into the lug holes on the wheel says that at least the 5X5 pattern is accurate even if it's not centered around the hub correctly. Definitely a good omen.
My solution to the bit. Yeah I welded it in. NFG. If I ever need to replace it I'll just grind the welds off and weld a new one in. I was like "how do I solve this, no way I'm cutting the shank down on a cobalt drill bit without some serious cutting material and/or rigidity I flat out don't have. I turned a chunk of 1" grade 8 bolt down in the lathe to ~1/2", stuck it in the chuck on the tail stock then proceeded to use bits in the lathe chuck to drill the hole I needed. It took me a while to regrind the bit to a good point but it's there now. I think it's gonna take my drill out before this endeavor is over.
Although I won't be able to speak for it absolutely until it goes on the vehicle the fact that the axle dropped right into the lug holes on the wheel says that at least the 5X5 pattern is accurate even if it's not centered around the hub correctly.
Definitely a good omen.My solution to the bit. Yeah I welded it in. NFG. If I ever need to replace it I'll just grind the welds off and weld a new one in. I was like "how do I solve this, no way I'm cutting the shank down on a cobalt drill bit without some serious cutting material and/or rigidity I flat out don't have. I turned a chunk of 1" grade 8 bolt down in the lathe to ~1/2", stuck it in the chuck on the tail stock then proceeded to use bits in the lathe chuck to drill the hole I needed. It took me a while to regrind the bit to a good point but it's there now. I think it's gonna take my drill out before this endeavor is over.
I've been into baking small parts in the toaster oven for a while when I enamel them. Seems to really add to the durability of the paint. This was a bit big. I'd love to do my axle housing when I get perches rewelded but that's a bit big even if I were to steal the wifey's oven.
Was nothing but rain until the evening so I kept working on the 9 inch. More drilling and I cut the old perches off then started grinding the leftovers down.
This was how I shimmed stuff originally I was 7 degrees off if I remember correctly. I got over 12k from this janky setup but it is time for it to go. I am going to reweld where the original perches were cut too deep as well.
This was how I shimmed stuff originally I was 7 degrees off if I remember correctly. I got over 12k from this janky setup but it is time for it to go. I am going to reweld where the original perches were cut too deep as well.
Finally started on the exhaust hangers. Just did the first one tonight.
First I started with some 1/2" cold rolled steel and some rough measurements.
A little (blurry) action with the O/A torch. My god this thing rocks. Tool of the year no doubt.
I got it red hot and added a few compound bends to it. This is the rear most hanger, I figure that if I use that to set the height I can bend up the next one. I think I've got 3 hangers to put up in all. This is the second one I made, the first one was a bit short in all.
First I started with some 1/2" cold rolled steel and some rough measurements.
A little (blurry) action with the O/A torch. My god this thing rocks. Tool of the year no doubt.
I got it red hot and added a few compound bends to it. This is the rear most hanger, I figure that if I use that to set the height I can bend up the next one. I think I've got 3 hangers to put up in all. This is the second one I made, the first one was a bit short in all.
Here's the second hanger I made. There are spots for 3 in all but it seems really solid. I may make the third one and overkill this thing like crazy but I feel comfortable with two at the moment; It's probably the most secure exhaust I've ever had save the one that came with the van.
How it exits is kind of janky but at this point NFG. Immensely quieter in the cabin. It certainly sticks out a bit, I'm thinking about trimming it up with a sawzall to get it in a bit tighter.
How it exits is kind of janky but at this point NFG. Immensely quieter in the cabin. It certainly sticks out a bit, I'm thinking about trimming it up with a sawzall to get it in a bit tighter.
Inside with a couple quick revs.
Outside walk around.
It's damp here and that kind of scares me on the 205s plus I need some time to tune. Even light cruise right now is 10:1 which means I need a crapton of leaning and I have a ton of head room. She felt good just going out which I haven't done in a while.
Not a lot to report been busy with other stuff. pulled some jank out of it this week electrically. I had a no start condition and ultimately found this relay on my megasquirt adapter board had 2 wires that had broken loose. The relays that were actually supposed to be used were out of stock so I improvised. They may even be radio shack wonders I can't remember. I finally swapped in the correct relays, problem solved hopefully for good.
Also tested a spare ignition module, they're handy to have with these. It's one of the "good" ones that doesn't mess with your dwell.
Also tested a spare ignition module, they're handy to have with these. It's one of the "good" ones that doesn't mess with your dwell.
Found a trove of pics that I hadn't posted here for some reason. Time to fix that.
Test fit of AC. I need to do some stuff with the air intake but yeah it fits if I get so inclined to hook it up and charge it.
Initial heater hose setup. I had to change this as I didn't get heat. Both hoses were on the same "side" of the radiator. My bad.
I have a few of the dual blade TBs for various applications (LT-1, TPI, even a Typhoon TB) Something REALLY noteworthy here is the IAC passages. Notice how the top TB is designed for a hole in the plenum and the bottom one isn't. On my first TPI engine I troubleshooted a long time before I figured that out. Destroyed a starter and a bunch of other headaches. Bringing it up in case someone pieces together a TPI or similar intake.
I installed a trans cooler from a 1 ton truck or similar. I think these changed but mine was 3/8 NPT. I thought my last setup sucked so I wanted something nicer this time.
I found out the quickest way to convert 25 foot of line to 12ish feet of usable line is to let me bend it. That said I did make a full set of hard lines connecting in series with the radiator cooler to the external trans cooler. NO rubber here.
Test fit of AC. I need to do some stuff with the air intake but yeah it fits if I get so inclined to hook it up and charge it.
Initial heater hose setup. I had to change this as I didn't get heat. Both hoses were on the same "side" of the radiator. My bad.
I have a few of the dual blade TBs for various applications (LT-1, TPI, even a Typhoon TB) Something REALLY noteworthy here is the IAC passages. Notice how the top TB is designed for a hole in the plenum and the bottom one isn't. On my first TPI engine I troubleshooted a long time before I figured that out. Destroyed a starter and a bunch of other headaches. Bringing it up in case someone pieces together a TPI or similar intake.
I installed a trans cooler from a 1 ton truck or similar. I think these changed but mine was 3/8 NPT. I thought my last setup sucked so I wanted something nicer this time.
I found out the quickest way to convert 25 foot of line to 12ish feet of usable line is to let me bend it.
That said I did make a full set of hard lines connecting in series with the radiator cooler to the external trans cooler. NO rubber here.
Upper hose part number. I spliced this in with a stock Astro hose. This is important because it's 1.5->1.25" reduction. That was a requirement for getting everything to work with the water outlet that fit. I may do something custom and stainless steel in the future but not right now.
Initially I had planned on welding tabs to the subframe directly for the new crossmember. That didn't work out worth a darn (The metal on the subframe kind of just melted away, I think it's very high carbon) so I ended up making adapters. There was a lot of trimming etc. to make this work. It's 1/4" angle. I also upped the bolt size and drilled the holes out in the subframe as I was paranoid about changing the configuration of the crossmember's mounting without doing such.
All painted up and ready to go. 9" at the bottom left waiting for its work to start.
Here you can really see the crossmember tacked up and ready to go. This is a Chris Alston's Chassisworks kit. Notice the long tube collector poking out as well. This was the motivation for the new crossmember.
The kit is great, I'd recommend it. They make a few different depths of the hump dips as well so you can fit to different chassis. If I ever 4L80E swap this van I'll end up just grabbing the longer one and welding it up as needed.
One update I missed on this was I did a bunch of repairs then went to move it forward and found out I had no PS or brakes. Thought I was out of fluid, topped it off even though I didn't get any pump noise. After that didn't work I went to check the belt as I thought it had broken. Turns out I was wrong.
I'm not sure how the hell it happened but it was hanging on the accessory belt! If I had to guess there was a flaw in it (notice the oily part of the crack) and it kind of wobbled off. I subsequently put a Summit SFI Balancer on this. Much to my chagrin it's not an 8" like the original one so the timing pointer probably needs to get redone as well.Also thinking the spacing is slightly different as I have a lovely belt squeal now. It seems seated fully so maybe I'll throw a bit of a shim behind my accessory bracketry or something at a point.
One update I missed on this was I did a bunch of repairs then went to move it forward and found out I had no PS or brakes. Thought I was out of fluid, topped it off even though I didn't get any pump noise. After that didn't work I went to check the belt as I thought it had broken. Turns out I was wrong.
I'm not sure how the hell it happened but it was hanging on the accessory belt! If I had to guess there was a flaw in it (notice the oily part of the crack) and it kind of wobbled off. I subsequently put a Summit SFI Balancer on this. Much to my chagrin it's not an 8" like the original one so the timing pointer probably needs to get redone as well.Also thinking the spacing is slightly different as I have a lovely belt squeal now. It seems seated fully so maybe I'll throw a bit of a shim behind my accessory bracketry or something at a point.
Just did 65 miles, can't complain too much. About time to get the dog house back on that was hot AF. Got a slight oil leak from the PS valve cover. The trans still mid shifts wrong, so I need to put the second spring back in the governor. No WOT data yet so I'll probably wait until that comes along so I can tweak both at once as needed. Goal is to shift at about 6K if possible.
I also have a few weird spots in tuning. I haven't put the new map in yet but there were a few spots where the VE at say 20KPA and 1500-3500RPM were 10% below the rest. I think this was causing some stalling.
I also think that my WOT at low RPM is way way fat and that I'm going to end up having to adjust my AFR table some. It dips to 10:1 under the right circumstances which is no bueno.
Lastly I'm at 13.5:1 at cruise which leads me to think the default table is set up for a smaller cam overall and that needs to be compensated for. I guess I could check the data logs I have and establish that though. Betting that's some not insignificant mileage and a better running engine to boot.
I also have a few weird spots in tuning. I haven't put the new map in yet but there were a few spots where the VE at say 20KPA and 1500-3500RPM were 10% below the rest. I think this was causing some stalling.
I also think that my WOT at low RPM is way way fat and that I'm going to end up having to adjust my AFR table some. It dips to 10:1 under the right circumstances which is no bueno.
Lastly I'm at 13.5:1 at cruise which leads me to think the default table is set up for a smaller cam overall and that needs to be compensated for. I guess I could check the data logs I have and establish that though. Betting that's some not insignificant mileage and a better running engine to boot.
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