Look what followed me home......

[Chuck Moreland]

I've been looking for an early coupe for a long time. Trying to find a rust-free chassis with the right raw-material at a decent price is not easy. I finally found it:



It started life as a '73.5 T with CIS. Now it's got a mostly S spec motor. 2.4 liter, S Cam, S P&Cs, S heads, 40 IDAs instead of MFI. Also SSIs.



It's also got real H1s.



And Real RS flares. Not SC flares, RS flares. Steel butt welded.



Other goodies:

Adjustable sway bars front and rear
21/26 torsion bars
SC Brakes all around
Bilsteins on the rear
15x8,6 fuchs
Racaro seats
Extra set of wheels

All wrapped in a rust-free non-sunroof California chassis.

My goal is to build a serious track car for POC/PCA events but still registered and entirely streetable. Short of all-out racer, I plan to make some concession to comfort, styling and resale protection.

I'm planning to run POC HP or V4 class.

Now the real work begins. As if I didn't have enough projects to keep me busy.

[RJ Gilliam]

***APPLAUSE****


sweeet.

[LeeH]

Can you give us a hint as to what you consider "a decent price?"

[Early_S_Man]

Chuck,

Is that shade '328' ... Gulf Blue? It is truly gorgeous!!!

[Chuck Moreland]

It is a repaint. I don't think it was matched to a factory color. I think the Gulf blue was just a bit paler.

The original color was green, not sure what the proper name was.

The paint is in good shape but it wasn't a great repaint, the camera is kind. I plan to paint and may keep the same or similar blue, I like it.

Lee, how about $8500.

[Jack Olsen]

Nice. And a great price.

You should bring it to the Tracquest event at Thunderhill in July.

[speeder]

Very fair price for that, looks great. Not so easy to find an early car that's been modified by someone who's not an idiot. Nice going!

[CamB]

Hehe - another joins the early car domination plot.

It looks like a good base for a track car - nice buying.

Cam

[Adam]

Chuck,

Congrats, great looking car! While it's still in street-trim, I'd be keen to know what your immediate impressions were after/during your first drive of it. I too, have a 3.2 & 2.7, and I agree with your bull/stallion analogy, but I'm very interested to see where the early car fits in. How much different to the 2.7 is it? I have never driven an early car...

[Doug E]

Congrats - sure looks like a lotta car for that price.

This might be a basic question but based on your statement, I am assuming that "butt" welding is better than another type of weld but how could you tell by looking at the car? Thanks.

[Targa77]

And upgraded Chain Tensioners as well? What a find!

[cary]

Wow .........have fun.

Chuck,

You done good. Where did you find it?
Mark

[jabb]

So are you now searching for a 3.6 ???

[makaio]

Sweet!

Where the heck do you park all your cars Chuck?

Which one you bringing to ThunderHill this week?

[Planter91C2]

nice robin's egg you got there!

[carnut169]

Very nice indeed. You are doing exactly what I would like to do one day. Keep us posted!

[Don Plumley]

I'm jealous and plan to follow suit one day as well.

Don

[GIBSON]

Chuck, great car and a great buy. Looks like a great project.
I always wondered what the exact differences were between RS and Carrera flares. Pelican sells some RS flares, does anyone know if they are really RS?

[Chuck Moreland]

Thanks guy's. I'm pretty pumped about this car.

Adam, I haven't pushed it very hard yet but initial driving impressions: I have driven quite a few early cars. Some of them felt a little sloppy, exhibiting steering play and just generally imprecise. This one feels very tight and in control.

The light weight shows itself in the steering wheel feel. It just responds more rapidly to any input, just a bit quicker than my '77. The steering difference between my '86 and '77 is even greater than the '73 and '77.

Brakes are non-boosted and require a heavier foot. But it's not bad and the brakes do feel solid. A set of Porterfields will lighten them a bit and I think they will be great.

The engine is the real difference. The 3.2 starts to make power around 4300 rpm. It makes a lot of power but it sorta rolls on. The 2.7 CIS kicks in around 4000 rpm, and with early exchangers it does okay. They both have a reasonbly flat power curve that is forgiving, especially the 3.2.

Hit the gas on the 2.4 at 4000 and it bahaves alot like the 2.7, quick but nothing too exciting. Then 5000 comes up on the tach and this little mill gets on the pipe and rips your head off. It screams up to 7500 rpm or so.

It's like a race car with a peaky curve. If you keep it in the power band you are rewarded. You could drive around all day at lower rpm and be none the wiser.

Overall this is the real sportscar of the three. No nonsensical power windows, headlight washers, heated mirrors. This is a pure lightweight peaky rocket.

Visceral experience, yes. Smelly, noisy and totally in touch.

Sorry for that long shpeal.

Doug, that alternative to butt (edge to edge) welding is lap welding (top to bottom). If you lap the joint you have to do a lot of fill to make up for the thickness of the metal. You can usually tell by looking underneath. Butt welds have no ridge.

Targa, I forgot to mention the upgraded tensionsers. It also has a camber truss.

Mark, I found it in the newspaper classifieds. I think that is a good place to find reasonable deals since you only compete with local buyers. Plus the cars are local. Of course I'm spoiled living in California so there are a lot of local cars.

Matt, Jack, I don't think it will be track-ready by July. I will continue to be tracking my '77 for now.

I'm at Thunderhill this week with SpeedVentures, July 12-4 with POC, and maybe July 21-22 with PCA. TrackQuest seems very spendy compared with other clubs.

Jabb, I've thought through the 3.6 or 3.2 upgrade. I've decided I like the raw responsiveness of a peaky smaller engine. I will use this one as-is for awhile. I am thinking I may build it out to 2.7 MFI Twin plug in year or so. I am going to focus on the getting the chassis and suspension in order first.