Basic upgrade towards a slot car (79 malibu)

[tommi3520]

Hi guys, i recently bought a 1979 chevy malibu. 350 engine th-250 and a 10 bolt rear.

Last few weeks ive been rust repairing the floor and trunk.

Future plans are new carpet, bucket seats, steering wheel, 700r4 trans and somewhere along the way get rid of the 10 bolt baby for a 9" ford. The engine will also be upgrated for more POWER.

This car is/was pretty beat up from rust, this is not a car that i will own ,,for years" and when i get rid of it, sell or junk it i will take out the good stuff, and leave the rest. But it has some years left in it!

SO

What do i want??
its pretty simple
I dont want the feel like im driving a lazy *ss cadillac, that i can out run on foot. I want a car that you can drive fast and corners well in high speeds and maybe play with it (drift).

I want a track car.

But in order to get a track car i have to spend alot of money in the drivetrain and replace most of it. i´ve seen those plug and play kits and all that, but i dont want to spend so much money on that, because when i get rid of the car i can not take it out and sell it, i live in iceland, no market for it, plus i dont have the money. So i am looking at the small things and i need ideas and some experience from you.

What i have on the list so far is:

#Quick ratio seering box
#New springs - that make the car stiff and maybe lower it a bit

What else?

I want to erase all body roll, make the car stiff and just put parts in it that helps the performance, not be all over the place and going where im not going.

I know ill never get a race car out of it unless to put more money and parts, but everything helps,

What do you guys suggest?

Tomas

 

[1980PontiacWagon]

http://maliburacing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=78206

read this and get all of those braces that you can.

 

[UMI Sales]

Hey tommi.

Check this stuff out: http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_265

The cool thing about these kits is we have everything in individual and can work with you to put the pieces on in the correct order (i.e. build a kit over a two year timeframe).

Then you have a slot car...

ramey

 

[tommi3520]

Yes i knew about this. I like the stage one kit, might be a good choice for me.

ramey, do you guys sell weatherstrips also for my malibu or just suspenison parts?

 

[UMI Sales]

Hey tommi.

The Stage 1 kit is a great upgrade and makes a really nice, stable car. We have many customers who install the Stage 1 and are perfectly thrilled. You can even hit the local autocross or dragstrip and have a fun time.

We don't offer any weatherstripping, unfortunately. Unrelated to UMI, I've used YearOne for that kind of parts. http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/fbshopmain2.asp?input=weatherstrip&SM=1&SC=B

Thanks for considering UMI and have a great day.

ramey

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I don't mean to be disrespectful towards Drifters, but having a car that "handles well & can corner at high speed" & having ine for Drifting needs two almost completely different suspension setups. Drift cars generally make poor cars for road racing or high speed driving as they're set up to oversteer heavily, not a trait you need racing or at high speeds. I would suggest leaning towards the handling end of things, get adjustable rear shocks that you can set REALLY stiff & put throw awy tires on the back for when you want to drift. Trying to get a car to excell at both is an excersize in futility as the two are so different.

Tommy

 

[tommi3520]

Good point Tommy

 

[UMI Sales]

I just had a brainstorm. We are coming out with a drag bar for your car. That baby will really help your car rotate. We can also test our upcoming Pro-Tour bar on the first hole to see if our test car pivots enough. The best thing will be doing the testing!

Ramey

 

[tommi3520]

How much would the stage one kit cost with everything without rear shocks?

Tommi

 

[UMI Sales]

Hey Tommi. Rear shock delete makes that kit $720. Do you have rear shocks already?

Thanks for considering UMI!

ramey