1982 Cordoba Stock Car.

Diplomat_Wagon

Diplomat_Wagon

Hiding In The Bushes While
Picked up this beauty up yesterday for $200.

No motor in it but the trans and 7.25 (Uhg..:doubt:) Rear are still there.

Perfect candidate for a Thunder Car, partially stripped and mostly rust free! :giggedy:

Gonna be the twin to ole Myrtle that I built last year for the shop.

Hoping to have both the shop's car and this one ready to run next year.

Won't get to start work on her though till I'm back from school at the end of June. :(

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When you say "mostly rust free", did you check the sides of the front subframe that face the driveshaft in the toeboard area? How about the passenger-side rear rail over the axle? Those are the two real trouble spots on these cars structurally.
 
Dr.Jass said:
When you say "mostly rust free", did you check the sides of the front subframe that face the driveshaft in the toeboard area? How about the passenger-side rear rail over the axle? Those are the two real trouble spots on these cars structurally.
Click to expand...

The rust the car does have is in the body, lower 1/4's and a bit at the dog legs of the driver's fender. The frame is mint on this little car. Those were the first places I checked too, bad place to rust on F/M/J's.

No updates as of yet since I have to finish the garage before I can start work on this one.
 
Picked up this little gem of a parts car for $100. Running driving 318 4bbl car. The last owner bought it just for a drivers mirror and a piece of 1/4 panel behind the passenger door.

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Fishy said:
I would have found a car MUCH worse off for turning into a stock car. :doh:
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No point in building a rust bucket, it's gotta be somewhat solid. :D

That white car has sat in the bush for about 15 years with no motor in it and had been for sale for about 4 years before I bought it. It's in pretty decent shape but the only interior left is the dash.

No 69 she's far from cherry, just takes good photos. :D There is very little left behind the rear wheels and most of the interior is far gone. I want it for the header panel, driveshaft and rear diff

I've got 4 of them now. :D

1980 /6 2bbl
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1982 318 2bbl No Motor/Trans
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1981 318 2bbl No Motor
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1980 318 4bbl
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Well grabbed almost everything I needed for my stock car minus exhaust manifold because........well.............I forgot dammit. :D


I had decided since my beloved old Diplomat Wagon had been wounded by the second clutch disc exploding in it and the fact that the body work a dumbass 16 year old teenage kid had done to it 11 years ago are more then rearing their ugly heads in the form of lifting bondo and lots of rust. it was time to put that under 3000 mile engine to better use, inside the engine bay of my future stock car.

It's a stock bottom end rebuild with bigger valve 302 heads, a street master 318 intake and a huge by large by lumpy cam solid lifter cam with stock 273 adjustable rockers. Ok I was 17-18 when that awesome combo when together. :doh: :D

The empty hole after tearing her heart out, you will always remember your first true love, no?

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Trans stored away.

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Her heart in the box of my Dakota.

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I'm not going to lie, after it was all said and done, I was feeling a little misty eyed as if I was having to say goodbye to a dear old friend for the last time. :(

But the show must go on, she would want me to carry on with a part of her running strong again.

Rest in piece old friend, you were the first building block to something I have made a career and a hobby out of and for that I thank you.

I hope you enjoy your long and well deserved retirement.

You have my word that you will never meet the crusher's jaws.

I will miss you.

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Sorry guys, back on track now.


Scavenged lots of extra parts too.

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A whole set of 15x7 wheels.

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The trans, oh and BTW Jass, I had no lock up 360 727's so I'm going to have to swap the weights from a junk converter I have to the unweighted 318 converter.

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well when/if the time comes you can always put her back together above and beyond her formar glory!!!!!....but i know that feeling after doing the same to my 71 caddy and leaveing the body along side the road one night
 
Why arnt you going to run the stick in the stock car????? Thats always better than a auto for roundy round! Less loss in a clutch than a converter. The engine runs cooler because the rad isnt cooling the trany. and most of the time the stick is lighter. Do the math, match your rpm trany gear, rear gear. and tire size. Stick cars are faster. The stick alowes you to keep the rpm in the sweet spot and helps you slow down for the turns. If you can get a low enough rear gear,you can run the stick in 4th gear you are for the most part a direst link from engine to rear wheels! That equals speed! When I found all the parts to convert my old stock car to a stick I nocked just over 1 sec. from my lap times. I was running it in 2nd gear so I was loosing some H.P. through the trany. If I could have gotten the right rear gear to allow 4th. it would have been more time knocked off. Most of that was in the turns. Less brakeing into the turn = less "push" = more speed out of the turn = more straight away speed!
 
Manual transmissions are not allowed in the Thunder Class.

My tranny cooler is separate from my rad anyways so overheating the engine in not an issue, besides I'm going to run a two 1" core aluminum rad in my stock car since they are allowed now.
 
Just running some numbers.


The shop's car.

360 2bbl
904 running in it's 2.45 first gear.
8.25 with 2.21 gears.
225/75/15 rear tires

Approximately 4000 rpm at the end of the straight. The tach in the car cost a whole $25.


My car.

360 4bbl
904 running in it's 2.45 first gear.
8.25 with 2.45 gears.
215/70/15 rear tires.

Calculated 5300 RPM at the end of the straight using the shops car as a base.


Sounds just about right to me. :dance:
 
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Diplomat_Wagon said:
Manual transmissions are not allowed .......
Click to expand...

When they came out with that rule at the local track some of the guys removed the torque converter and ran a direct link to the trans. With some strategically placed holes drilled in the valve body it bleeds off just enough pressure to allow slippage at idle.

It works out even better than a stick. No more flywheel or torque converter weight to slow down the RPM's or to keep the R's up when you hit the turns.

No clutch pedal....it must be an auto......right.:toot:
 
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