Ethyl is a 2004 GTO. I bought her new in November 2004. We put 95,000 miles on her with 80,000 of them being at 450+ rwhp. In May 09 we decided to go completely through it.
The engine. We started with a LQ9 Iron Block built by Texas Speed. It has Diamond Pistons, Eagle Rods, and an Eagle Forged Crank. The entire rotating assembly is coated and the pistons are a -28cc dish. We put ETP 245 heads on the car and retained the 1 7/8 inch Kooks Headers.
Cooling. Pulled the trigger on a Moroso Remote Electric Water Pump with all the fittings to eliminate the LS1 style water pump.The guys at Moroso have been fantastic.
We have the remote electric water pump installed and the -12AN Swivel 90 degree fittings in place. Just waiting to get the hose linked up. While we were at it we removed the coolant reservoir from the driver's side front fender and relocated it to the trunk.
The reservoir works with the Supercharger heat exchanger and the front mount exchanger to cool the air fed into the engine. We went with a Moroso Tank made for Mustangs. Since most of them are mounted in the engine bay on battery trays, we used an XS Power billet tray to mount the box in the back.
Electric.We added a Moroso rear mounted battery cable kit with a Flaming River push to cutoff switch. This made room for the remote water pump up front. Studying the options we decided to mount a Ford Truck Solenoid in the trunk so the line forward to the starter would not remain hot all the time, only when engaging the starter motor. We breakered the electrical system in the back and the front. I chose to go with the push on/off switches vice a large fuse. Would much rather push a button than try to change an in-line fuse at the track.
Fabrication. We relocated the ECM to inside the drivers compartment and fabricated a coil pack relocation scheme with some modified GM Performance Valve Covers to clean up the appearance. We fabricated tall valve covers to work with the GTO Vacum Pump on the driver's side.
Forced Induction. We started out intending to put a Borg Warner 91 mm Turbo on it but went with a Harrop HVT2300. Our goal was 20 lbs of boost since the engine was built to go to 1500 HP. The Harrop maxed out around 18 lbs so we went with the Whipple Sand Rail 4.0 Liter Supercharger. That Supercharger is a beast. We have seen 19 lbs of boost on the engine thus far with the OEM pulleys. We also replaced the 2004 GTO radiator with a 2005 Radiator to eliminate the large fender mounted catch can.
Fueling. For fuel we went with 83 lb Accutron Injectors fed by an Aeromotive A1000 pump through a -10 an line. The -10 splits into 2 -8 an lines into the rails with an Aeromotive Regulator sitting on the other side maintaining constant pressure. We used the OEM fuel system to complete the return.
Clutch/Tranny. One of the reasons we built the car was to stress prototype Monster Clutches. Monster Clutch and SNL Performance have done all of the fabrication on the car. The T56 was built to go to 1000 ft lbs of torque using carbon fiber synchros, brass shift fork pads, steel shifting forks and face plated components. The current clutch is a Monster 11" Ceramic that went straight from the rack to a WOT pull on the dyno. That clutch has held for over 3,000 miles now. See a couple of Dyno pulls below.
Drivetrain.We turned our attention to the drivetrain with a complete drivetrain by GForce1320 including the 3.5 inch carbon fiber driveshaft, 8 inch tubs, coil over kit, 33 spline stubs and hubs, 300 mm CVS shafts, and a 33 spline spool using 3.46 gears. We will be running 14.5 inch slicks on 15 by 10 Holeshot Rims with 15 by 4 inch skinnies on the front. Currently have MT ET DRs, 295 by 55 by 15s on it. Third shot below also shows the Kook's 3" afterburner catback.
Finishing touches. SNL put a Kook's afterburner 3" exhaust on the car. We added a FireCharger fire suppression system and Prosport AFR/Boost gauges. We've modified the GTO Shifter by adding a GMM Race Unit with an SNL developed Hurst shift lever adapter. Currently we are still trying to figure out how to get a hood on the car.
Suspension. Lovell's suspension components from Kollar Racing will replace every component in the suspension with new bushings, and fittings. We are also going to the Lovell's 90/10 struts as the car will work mostly on the strip once completed. We still need to complete the hood, add the Roll Cage, and completely repaint the body to finish the build.
The engine. We started with a LQ9 Iron Block built by Texas Speed. It has Diamond Pistons, Eagle Rods, and an Eagle Forged Crank. The entire rotating assembly is coated and the pistons are a -28cc dish. We put ETP 245 heads on the car and retained the 1 7/8 inch Kooks Headers.
Cooling. Pulled the trigger on a Moroso Remote Electric Water Pump with all the fittings to eliminate the LS1 style water pump.The guys at Moroso have been fantastic.
We have the remote electric water pump installed and the -12AN Swivel 90 degree fittings in place. Just waiting to get the hose linked up. While we were at it we removed the coolant reservoir from the driver's side front fender and relocated it to the trunk.
The reservoir works with the Supercharger heat exchanger and the front mount exchanger to cool the air fed into the engine. We went with a Moroso Tank made for Mustangs. Since most of them are mounted in the engine bay on battery trays, we used an XS Power billet tray to mount the box in the back.
Electric.We added a Moroso rear mounted battery cable kit with a Flaming River push to cutoff switch. This made room for the remote water pump up front. Studying the options we decided to mount a Ford Truck Solenoid in the trunk so the line forward to the starter would not remain hot all the time, only when engaging the starter motor. We breakered the electrical system in the back and the front. I chose to go with the push on/off switches vice a large fuse. Would much rather push a button than try to change an in-line fuse at the track.
Fabrication. We relocated the ECM to inside the drivers compartment and fabricated a coil pack relocation scheme with some modified GM Performance Valve Covers to clean up the appearance. We fabricated tall valve covers to work with the GTO Vacum Pump on the driver's side.
Forced Induction. We started out intending to put a Borg Warner 91 mm Turbo on it but went with a Harrop HVT2300. Our goal was 20 lbs of boost since the engine was built to go to 1500 HP. The Harrop maxed out around 18 lbs so we went with the Whipple Sand Rail 4.0 Liter Supercharger. That Supercharger is a beast. We have seen 19 lbs of boost on the engine thus far with the OEM pulleys. We also replaced the 2004 GTO radiator with a 2005 Radiator to eliminate the large fender mounted catch can.
Fueling. For fuel we went with 83 lb Accutron Injectors fed by an Aeromotive A1000 pump through a -10 an line. The -10 splits into 2 -8 an lines into the rails with an Aeromotive Regulator sitting on the other side maintaining constant pressure. We used the OEM fuel system to complete the return.
Clutch/Tranny. One of the reasons we built the car was to stress prototype Monster Clutches. Monster Clutch and SNL Performance have done all of the fabrication on the car. The T56 was built to go to 1000 ft lbs of torque using carbon fiber synchros, brass shift fork pads, steel shifting forks and face plated components. The current clutch is a Monster 11" Ceramic that went straight from the rack to a WOT pull on the dyno. That clutch has held for over 3,000 miles now. See a couple of Dyno pulls below.
Drivetrain.We turned our attention to the drivetrain with a complete drivetrain by GForce1320 including the 3.5 inch carbon fiber driveshaft, 8 inch tubs, coil over kit, 33 spline stubs and hubs, 300 mm CVS shafts, and a 33 spline spool using 3.46 gears. We will be running 14.5 inch slicks on 15 by 10 Holeshot Rims with 15 by 4 inch skinnies on the front. Currently have MT ET DRs, 295 by 55 by 15s on it. Third shot below also shows the Kook's 3" afterburner catback.
Finishing touches. SNL put a Kook's afterburner 3" exhaust on the car. We added a FireCharger fire suppression system and Prosport AFR/Boost gauges. We've modified the GTO Shifter by adding a GMM Race Unit with an SNL developed Hurst shift lever adapter. Currently we are still trying to figure out how to get a hood on the car.
Suspension. Lovell's suspension components from Kollar Racing will replace every component in the suspension with new bushings, and fittings. We are also going to the Lovell's 90/10 struts as the car will work mostly on the strip once completed. We still need to complete the hood, add the Roll Cage, and completely repaint the body to finish the build.
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