tjZ06 Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Share Posted November 6, 2023 (edited) I thought for sure I had a thread on here about the car, but I guess not. I don't have a ton of pics/vids on this computer, so I'll make this a quick one (well, by TJ standards ;) ). I bought the car at the start of the '20/21 season, and it looked like this (complete with two-story roofline and idler chirp): FWIW I got it with the trailer in the vid which it drives right in on the paddles. This car is an original Funco built/titled G52, and as such is the "narrow" car. Still, both paddles touch the door-seals as you bring it in on a 96-97" door. The car actually first hit the sand sometime in '15, and was only used 'til about '17 when the original owner ran into health issues and it was basically parked. The basic specs are: Funco built/titled G52 (IIRC it's a 2014) 440cui LS7 (true GM LS7 block/heads) with 4.0L Whipple Albins transaxle Updated Funco Billet Beadlocks Small Stereo All the FUN I had a pretty short season with it, but definitely loved ripping the car. I managed to break the left trailing arm. The weld/tube broke where the outer tube is notched/welded to the little section of perpendicular tube that makes the suspension mount: (NOTE: these are NOT my arms, just a pic I was able to find to demonstrate where it broke) This caused the rear tire to kick in, and get into the bypass, bend the shock shaft, slam the shock into the body panel, and destroy the CV. Funco now does a fishplate/strap around that point, and Grant got me a new set of arms double-ASAP. In fact, the very first ride I bent a tie-rod a bit (still totally dune-able) and Grant had replacements out to me *that day* in G. Yes, I go a little hard, but really neither incident was anything I would have expected to hurt parts. When we looked closely at the trailing arm where it broke it showed a little rust, indicating it had been cracked for awhile. As I said, the new design is sturdier there, and we all see how these things get driven in the UAE and how much power people are making with them here... so I'm confident it will be fine in the future. Towards the end of the season I started hearing a little noise in 3rd, and I broke a CV, so I sent the car back to @L.R.S. for all new CVs and a refresh on the Albins. IIRC that was the end of of the season for me, so it didn't come back out. Then the snowball got rolling... Ever since I got the car I wanted to lower the roofline. I sent it to King Adam and we started making plans which initially were just lowering the roof and blending it back into the existing body, maybe a dash change to go with a change to Holley EFI. Well, that all went out the window. Usually when Adam changes the roofline of a car he can hide all of the new joints/welding behind body panels. However, I love the visibility in this car (I always describe it like putting on your favorite sunglasses: you may notice the edge of the frame when you first put them on/get in the car but soon they just disappear and you forget they're there) so I wanted to keep the set-back roof and no windshield. That meant there'd be a highly-visible blend, and I don't think the best painter could perfectly match a red metallic frame with a few seasons of sun-fade and sand blasting so the call was made to go down to a bare frame. That opened up a lot of options to do more with the body, so basically every panel is new now. It went from a flat-side G52 to a full 3D body. One thing I especially love is how Adam raided the "belt line" and blended the door into the dash much more cleanly than you typically see on these cars. Besides the body, the whole dash was reworked and I ended up returning my Holley parts and going full Motec, with a complete front-to-back rewire. Generally you see a big screen right behind the steering wheel on these cars, but if you've ever driven one with that setup, you can only see maybe 40% of the screen. So I decided we'd do a smaller screen (with built-in shift lights in the bezel) directly behind the wheel, but do a big screen in the middle. We also went all Motec PDMs for solid state control (and logging) of all functions of the car (outside of the stereo, which is triggered from the Motec keypads but has traditional dedicated power wiring to the amps). Some other things we did at the same time: Chrome delete New Funco Billet A-Arms (my car had the tube front arms, as you can see in the "before" vids) All new tie rods and spindles (IMHO better than stripping the chrome of the original ones) All new bushings/heims everywhere Rebuilt the Midboards Aforementioned new 300M axles/CVs Aforementioned refresh on the Albins ATI Damper (pinned) 100% new Interior Absolutely stunning @PainterJoe paintjob (he absolutely killed it, I gave him a rough idea what I wanted to do, and he just knocked it out of the park) Full PPF Now, on to the good stuff, pics/vids: @L.R.S. is finishing up a few last things (including lining the front tin so the sub doesn't rattle it, I know y'all will catch that) and I hope to be in the sand with it this Thurs!!! -TJ Edited November 6, 2023 by tjZ06 15 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat-A-Tonic Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 571 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 521 Content Per Day: 0.48 Reputation: 703 Achievement Points: 4,071 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/06/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 37 minutes ago Birthday: 06/28/1963 Device: Windows Share Posted November 6, 2023 That turned out very nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Sponsor J Alper Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 11 Group: Site Sponsor Followers: 2 Topic Count: 60 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 1,603 Content Per Day: 1.46 Reputation: 1,299 Achievement Points: 11,445 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 5 Joined: 04/30/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 1 hour ago Birthday: 04/02/1975 Device: Windows Site Sponsor Share Posted November 6, 2023 It looks 100% better without the wing, super smooth body line, 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 24 minutes ago, J Alper said: It looks 100% better without the wing, super smooth body line, Thanks. I debated it, but my racing background wouldn't let me do a non-functional wing (or, I should see a counter-productive, but functional at speed wing) and I wanted the clean lines. -TJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
URCLEVER Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 201 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 70 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 655 Content Per Day: 0.60 Reputation: 502 Achievement Points: 5,733 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 3 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 22 hours ago Device: Android Share Posted November 6, 2023 I love the car and really like without the wing, but you need a new steering wheel homie! See you in a few days! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 34 minutes ago, URCLEVER said: I love the car and really like without the wing, but you need a new steering wheel homie! See you in a few days! Haha, they all fade after the 1st day anyway... -TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.R.S. Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 30 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,499 Content Per Day: 1.37 Reputation: 2,012 Achievement Points: 10,950 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 36 minutes ago Birthday: 03/31/1972 Device: Android Share Posted November 6, 2023 I have about 1000 pics of this car and everything I did to it over the past few years. I'll make some time to add to the thread. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FENDERFAB Posted November 6, 2023 Member ID: 558 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 83 Content Per Day: 0.08 Reputation: 62 Achievement Points: 580 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/06/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: April 25 Device: Windows Share Posted November 6, 2023 this car is beautiful, really nice job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Moderator SandTrap Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 7 Group: Forum Moderator Followers: 1 Topic Count: 120 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 2,659 Content Per Day: 2.42 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 20,189 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 3 Joined: 04/30/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 3 hours ago Birthday: 05/09/1971 Device: Windows Forum Moderator Share Posted November 7, 2023 Beautiful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wash 10 Crew Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 110 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 8 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,013 Content Per Day: 0.92 Reputation: 724 Achievement Points: 11,757 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: Yesterday at 02:57 AM Birthday: 05/05/1871 Device: Windows Share Posted November 7, 2023 Can we ask, what were the dyno numbers? Certified Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 9 minutes ago, Wash 10 Crew said: Can we ask, what were the dyno numbers? Certified It only put down a bit over 700 RWHP, on what is said to be a stingy dyno. That's plenty for this car (and me) but I know it's nothing by today's standards. ;) -TJ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 176 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 25 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,530 Content Per Day: 1.40 Reputation: 1,682 Achievement Points: 11,247 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 2 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: Friday at 06:06 PM Birthday: 06/06/1967 Device: Windows Share Posted November 7, 2023 Thanks for taking the time to show us, love your posts. Car is amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Cookie said: Thanks for taking the time to show us, love your posts. Car is amazing. Thanks, I'm super happy with how it came out. Huge credit to King Adam, @PainterJoe, @L.R.S., Desert Performance, Twisted Stitch etc. and of course @Grant@Funco and the crew for building it in the first place. -TJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, L.R.S. said: I have about 1000 pics of this car and everything I did to it over the past few years. I'll make some time to add to the thread. Somewhere I have pics of all the AL work at King Adam's too... looking forward to what you have! 4 hours ago, FENDERFAB said: this car is beautiful, really nice job. Thank you, though if I'm honest I can hardly take any credit. The craftsmen involved really deserve all of the props. 4 hours ago, SandTrap said: Beautiful Thanks! -TJ Edited November 7, 2023 by tjZ06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS J Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,083 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 25 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 179 Content Per Day: 0.17 Reputation: 123 Achievement Points: 1,296 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: April 27 Device: Macintosh Share Posted November 7, 2023 My Dude!! So rad see you Thursday! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmpirE231 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,364 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 34 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 479 Content Per Day: 0.48 Reputation: 390 Achievement Points: 3,677 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 1 Joined: 08/12/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: Thursday at 08:44 PM Device: Windows Share Posted November 7, 2023 Well done! Car looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjZ06 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 1,109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 938 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 1,095 Achievement Points: 6,711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/09/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Device: Windows Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 10 hours ago, CHRIS J said: My Dude!! So rad see you Thursday! Hell yeah, see you then! 1 hour ago, EmpirE231 said: Well done! Car looks great! Thanks! -TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esco Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 73 Group: Members Followers: 2 Topic Count: 136 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 9,143 Content Per Day: 8.34 Reputation: 5,174 Achievement Points: 56,763 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 56 Joined: 05/04/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 1 hour ago Device: Windows Share Posted November 7, 2023 Looks rad, always dug Painter Joes work also, Have fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 318 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.07 Content Count: 4,431 Content Per Day: 4.05 Reputation: 5,621 Achievement Points: 36,527 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 24 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 16 hours ago Device: iPhone Share Posted November 7, 2023 19 hours ago, tjZ06 said: It only put down a bit over 700 RWHP, on what is said to be a stingy dyno. That's plenty for this car (and me) but I know it's nothing by today's standards. ;) -TJ LOL, we all know this isn't true. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funco4lizzle Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 286 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 167 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 228 Achievement Points: 1,429 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: April 24 Device: Windows Share Posted November 7, 2023 very nice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coryz71 Posted November 7, 2023 Member ID: 629 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 63 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 95 Achievement Points: 1,265 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/07/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 18 hours ago Device: Macintosh Share Posted November 7, 2023 Awesome update on a great car, for a great Duner! I hope you get to enjoy it this season! 🇺🇸 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.R.S. Posted November 8, 2023 Member ID: 109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 30 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,499 Content Per Day: 1.37 Reputation: 2,012 Achievement Points: 10,950 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 36 minutes ago Birthday: 03/31/1972 Device: Android Share Posted November 8, 2023 Me and this car go back to the day @tjZ06bought it. I was there and took the car straight back to my shop for some immediate upgrades. and a once over to check fluids and general safety check. TJ also bought the enclosed trailer becuase the car could drive right in with the paddles on. Really nice trailer fully set up with a Onan 4500 generator, compressor, air hose on a reel, tool box, 120v and 12v lights, fold out couches, 50 gal fresh water and dual 65 gallon fuel tanks plumbed together via T valve and a fuel station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.R.S. Posted November 8, 2023 Member ID: 109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 30 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,499 Content Per Day: 1.37 Reputation: 2,012 Achievement Points: 10,950 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 36 minutes ago Birthday: 03/31/1972 Device: Android Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) First upgrade on the list was installing Funco's air system and AirLift controller. This was the first system I had installed on a Funco so it was a earning expierence. Since then I've done 5 or 6. If you decide to upgrade your Funco just buy the AirLift kit from @Grant@Funco. If you piece it together to save a few $ you'll be pissed. Two of my clkients went this routw and it made my job take that much longer. Edited November 8, 2023 by L.R.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.R.S. Posted November 8, 2023 Member ID: 109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 30 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,499 Content Per Day: 1.37 Reputation: 2,012 Achievement Points: 10,950 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 36 minutes ago Birthday: 03/31/1972 Device: Android Share Posted November 8, 2023 @tjZ06made a trip or to that season and broke the car. Not his fault, chit just wears out and breaks. THe driver's side trailing arm inner pivot with the uniball snapped off the arm. THe shocks bent an pushed into the body, sway bar rubbed the axle, axle eventually pulled out the CV. Car was sent back to my shop for repairs. But TJ being TJ repairs aren't enough. TIme for all new stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.R.S. Posted November 8, 2023 Member ID: 109 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 30 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,499 Content Per Day: 1.37 Reputation: 2,012 Achievement Points: 10,950 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 05/05/2021 Status: Offline Last Seen: 36 minutes ago Birthday: 03/31/1972 Device: Android Share Posted November 8, 2023 Because I was there when @tjZ06bought this car I got to hear about the maintenance and the origina; build. The seller, or sellers mechanic, I forget, said the car was 100% Glamis ready. He had built the car, wired the car, maintained the car, blah blah blah... Then it broke and I saw some stuff I don't like to see when I took it apart. NO EFFING LOCKTIGHT, NO EFFING ANTI-SEIZE ON ANY OF THE HARDWARE AT ALL. Dude is dumb as sh!t or just a liar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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