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Taking the plunge - '95 9C1 Bolt Ons car

8K views 28 replies 14 participants last post by  The Lazy Destroyer 
#1 ·
The goal is simple: See how far up the Class 6 (stock cam NA) ladder I can go. Then eventually down the road try my hand at Class 5 (stock cam + adder) on the spray to mix it up a little.

My last decent timeslip was a 13.1 @ 101, on a setup that still had a lot of room for improvement.

Always been impressed by those running 12's on only bolt ons, so figure I'll see what I can do. I still remember how much fun the SSHS4 HOBO class was but was really amazed at the times some of the cars were pulling off. Pat and Stumpy come to mind, I think both were running pretty solid 12's back then.

But the Caprice has been sitting for a while as I worked on other things like my motorcycle addiction, new house, working on the garage, etc. Sadly other than occasionally running at SSHS events it mostly just collected dust. After seeing the 9C1 sitting for so long in the garage I finally decided to get off my ass and get to work.



The last time she was at the track, @ SSHS10:



 
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#2 ·
I've got a 96 that looks identical to yours. 13.1's give me hope to make a 12'er out of a DD, without opening the motor up. Lets hear what you've got into it, and see some more pics!
 
#3 ·
Here's the setup that ran 13.1:


93 octane tune, 1.6 roller rockers, all the small bolt on stuff (tb bypass, LT4 KM, 160° stat etc), intake/headers/2.5" exhaust, Edge 3000 stall and 3.73's, and ran slicks.
Removed some other items like the front swaybar and the passenger and rear seats.
Weighed exactly 4,000 lbs w/ driver on a full tank of gas.
 
#4 ·
First step I have to work on a few things that have been bugging me, mostly maintenance stuff. I did my Meziere electric water pump install in a parking lot way back when. I was also pretty young and wired it just enough to "get by". So needless to say it was a pretty hack job.



Apparently I could only afford one wire color at the time cwm3 The crimp jobs were also really bad and some were not very secure.



So I'm re-wiring the whole thing. The right side relay is my accessories circuit for my misc items in the cabin (manual TCC switch, line lock, etc), that relay will be relocated to inside the cabin.

There's also some other stuff like the sub amp power wire that I don't need anymore so that stuff will go.

Good time to remove the wiper motor, drive arm, and wipers:




Finished product, much cleaner:



The second relay is a warning circuit for the electric water pump. If the fuse blows or the relay fails to pull in, it will signal a warning light/horn in the cabin.
I left a few spots in the bracket for extra relays when I need them in the future.
I also added a Ground post to the left of the fuse box, which also runs to the battery and a body ground.
 
#5 ·
Have had a Mike Harris front bumper support for a bit so finally got around to install it:

Before:



During:



After:



The weight difference is huge! A really nice piece.
 
#6 ·
Get yourself something around your air filter sorta like the RAISSE setup. You're sucking up "hotter" air in the first 100'.
 
#7 ·
I do have a Raiss unit but I took it off so I can get around the engine bay a little bit. I've gotten into the habit of just leaving it off and only putting it on when I drive the car (I drive it that infrequently yes :)). That's why there's no support for the radiator up top. I do want to look into finding a way to insulate the Raiss a bit better though
 
#8 ·
Last week I pulled the rear bumper support and tank to prepare for the 8-gallon tank that will go in its place:





Support and tank removed:



First time I've pulled the tank just by myself and it wasn't fun! I pumped out as much as I could so there wasn't much in there fortunately.

Pulled the fuel sender/pump so that I can refurbish it using sherlock9c1s' walkthrough and install the Walbro 255. Going with the Racetronix harness for the pump power supply.



My gas gauge has been pretty crappy for a while and I've always suspected it reads a little high, especially because the full reading pegged way past "F" on the gauge.

The internal harness was also showing some signs of wear as the grey wires insulation was looking rough and the plug that goes into the bulkhead shows signs of melting a little.

Did a quick test after refurbishing to see how the gauge responds, turned out pretty well! Ohm readings were 3Ω to ~100Ω. Plugged it into the harness and the empty, middle, and full readings were pretty much spot on the gauge now.

Pulled the TB to clean things up a bit and check the IAC passages:



Though I will probably be going to a 52mm unit if I can find one cheap.

Also cleaned the PCV line and replaced the valve, which was looking pretty nasty. Installed the BF3412DL breather filter along with a 3299 inline filter on the breather assembly.
 
#10 ·
New Harris 8-gal fuel tank:



Size comparison to the stock tank:





Mocking up the straps to fit:



And... in!



The nice thing is that the tank is 15 lbs lighter than the stock tank before you even factor in the weight savings in the fuel load.

Also got the Racetronix harness install finished up.

Once all this was done I introduced fuel in 1-gallon increments so that I could document where on my gas gauge 1, 2, 3, and 4 gallons measured at. This way I can run it down pretty low and at least know physically how much is in there. Checked fuel pressure after that and the Racetronix/Walbro combo does it's job for sure!
 
#11 ·
I was getting a bit nervous by this point:



Pretty productive weekend:



Dashpad of course is going back in. I was originally just planning on pulling just the two cores out of the HVAC but ended up doing the whole thing. The dash tie bar is staying out too, decided to try an aluminum support for the dash, since the passenger airbag is staying out. I'll need to mock up some block out plates for HVAC firewall holes now.

I also found the source for my exhaust leak I had gotten last time I ran it:



Not sure where that last third piece blew out. Gasket is probably almost 8 years old by now, and surely was a cheap one. It had the consistency of a cracker when it came out.

Mocking up the bracing based on the tie bar:



Turned out pretty solid:







 
#13 ·
damn i bet it takes some balls to take apart the whole dash at first huh it looks great. how much weight do you think its saved?
All in all I removed 50 lbs from the dash assembly. HVAC, dash tie bar (support), passenger airbag and some misc brackets.
 
#20 ·
I wish I had too much time on my hands :)
Then I could at least relax every so often.
But... kids?! :eek:
I can barely take care of my dog :eek:
 
#18 ·
I can personally say that I bought a car with all this out once and in the trunk, had to use a donor car in order to put it all BACK IN! let me tell you I can imagine much like anything its a pain in the A$$ to try to but that system back in.


Great build!
 
#19 ·
Been busy with work but squeezing time here and there, hoping I can get done by the 23rd for a Saturday T&T.

Solo transmission R&R, and it was my first time too. Not bad but I think 2 people would make this a lot easier. Only having the car on jackstands sucked and I didn't want to attempt getting it off my jack by myself so I just did all the work under the car. New tailshaft seal, speed sensor seal, rear main seal. My car's been very leaky lately.



New converter:



And she's back in:



This weekend hopefully I will finish the new header install, along with some misc things here and there. Having some issues getting the Magnecors seated on the Opti side, but hoping it's all in my head.
 
#23 ·
Any updates on this beast? Forgive me as I just found this thread.

You've given me lots of great ideas!
 
#24 ·
Only some minor updates here and there. I travel for work and my April/May was crazy, so didn't spend much time in the garage. May spent most of my time on the tow wagon, it needed some work. Finally catching up on the 9C1 now. I decided for simplicity's sake (and my wallet) to limit my goals so that I don't get overwhelmed for Nationals.

Should be able to post up some more stuff shortly :cool:
 
#27 ·
Subscribed. :)
 
#28 ·
Wow, you're getting serious. Our '96 is also a bolt-on car, and has run a best of 11.06 with DRs. It's running a pretty healthy shot of NOS, so we do cheat, but I also use it for my commute to work, so everything's still in the car (AC is a requirement here).

Looks like fun!
 
#29 ·
These pics are actually from earlier this year, forgot to post up:

Firewall block plates for all the HVAC access holes:



Leak wasn't the VSS o-ring after all... must have a crack in the VSS sensor? :mad: So I'll look for a new one of those eventually.



The tailshaft seal leak didn't turn out to by the tailshaft seal either... I assume a leak in a pressed-in fitting in the front driveshaft yoke. Stock DS so I will just stick with this and keep an eye out on a alum one when funds allow it. Here you can see it leaking despite the seal covered up w/ (dry) paper towels... so the seal is good... the original one probably too cwm1



Rusty weak Afterburners pulled out and Clear Image headers installed. I can't complain about the AB's too much, they were in the car about 10 years so I guess I got my money's worth out of them!

So clean:





Temp mockup for the switch panel. I've since painted them black. The top plate will hold a few gauges. Behind the plate is an audible horn for the water pump fail circuit along with one of the larger red LED to indicate a WP circuit fail condition.

 
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