Hackster's LSA / T56 2 door

Yeah I'm selling all my redblock junk and getting something reliable, I can't find the time or energy anymore. And I'm not even 30.

Someday I'll be back into projects, but for now it feels like the right move.

Good luck and stay safe

Duder said:

Like building a super rad deck?

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haha yes exactly! I kept wondering if regular carpenters use Mitutoyo calipers on their deck as much as I did

slow240 said:

Yeah I'm selling all my redblock junk and getting something reliable, I can't find the time or energy anymore. And I'm not even 30.

Someday I'll be back into projects, but for now it feels like the right move.

Good luck and stay safe

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Time and energy come and go, it's good not to be a slave to your hobby.

After a lifetime of futzing with cars I spent a few years sick of car projects - oddly, I had the least interest in them when I worked for a Large European Carmaker. Over a few years though I shed a couple of albatross projects, and with less unfinished stuff hanging over my head started having more fun. Took some interesting side quests along the way with electronics and house projects, and now @ mid-50s back with an Amazon project that's stretching into stuff I've never done before.

Additional lesson learned - simplify, but not too much. Once the 'cuda sold I gave most of my SAE, carb, and timing tools to a friend of a friend starting a shop in Ghana. That was important, but it turns out I wasn't done with SAE hardware, carbs, and distributors...

Slowly this build thread is moving to the back corner of the Turbobricks vault of information, much like this car and the car hobby for me....

I have been tinkering a little bit here and there on the foxbody, swapping in a nice little built 302 with a trickflow top end kit a Tremec and a Haltech stand alone. Working on it an hour here or there more to fill in my time between work and biking when there is a rest day.

The volvo has not moved, its been about 16 months since the car had any sort of use. I did get a car cover for it though so its seriously tucked away now and out of harms way.

I managed to get all of my fleet cleaned up. Sold my truck camper, the enclosed trailers, the JK8 and a third gen cummins truck that I had around for a few months and did a bunch of work on.

Life is a little more simple, its nice.

On a side note, my health has made a drastic improvement over the past year. Cutting out almost all processed foods and most meat and dairy has been amazing for me. Biking is getting more and more consistent and serious, averaging close to 180 miles and about 10,000 ft of climbing a week now.

I have had serious considerations of selling the Volvo as I don't really have any plans of driving it in the near future.

Just though I would check in here, I am still alive, I havent sold this thing yet.....this may be the longest I have owned a Volvo yet????

Hope all is well out there with my TB crew.

Sean

I've found that a nice balance between working on my 745 and riding bikes is the way to go. At the start of the pandemic I was riding a ton whenever I had a free moment but I have backed that off a bit so I can mess around with the car some as well. It's such a cool car and since you have the space to tuck it away just do that until the mood strikes you to start tinkering with it again. I just followed you on strava, makes me miss riding bikes in Oregon!!

One of the issues in building a vehicle of this magnitude is that, at some point, it no longer belongs to just the owner. At this level, members of the community point to it with pride and say "I know that dude. Someday my car will be half that good. Someday..." So, regrettably, you can't sell it.

Will you autograph all six copies of SuperStreet magazine I have that feature your, I mean our, car sometime?

Been following this thread for quite some time, but this motivated me to actually make an account and post a reply...
Good work on the Fox and it's good to hear that you're taking care of yourself and staying on the bike. Health is always a good priority to have.

I think that simplicity is always good. Making time for new hobbies and stepping away from old ones is a good thing. The whole virus thing has made me see that wrenching on cars and making projects may not always be the end all be all.

Surely is a sweet build though. Would be hard to let go of.

Wishing all the best

Sean!!! Glad to hear the update and that you are finding what works for you. A huge part of the reason I enjoy forums and reading through threads like this one, is simply the opportunity to learn through other people's experiences. From fabrication techniques to spring rates or camber settings, I have learned a lot! Thanks again for sharing. You build all sorts of cool ****, what ever you do, make sure you start another build thread!

Coupid said:

I've found that a nice balance between working on my 745 and riding bikes is the way to go. At the start of the pandemic I was riding a ton whenever I had a free moment but I have backed that off a bit so I can mess around with the car some as well. It's such a cool car and since you have the space to tuck it away just do that until the mood strikes you to start tinkering with it again. I just followed you on strava, makes me miss riding bikes in Oregon!!

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Yeah, I dont really have the space for a car that sits around for no reason. I just dont work that way. Its nice to have a balance, I usually live in a world of compulsion where I immerse myself into what I do.

LC4CARL said:

One of the issues in building a vehicle of this magnitude is that, at some point, it no longer belongs to just the owner. At this level, members of the community point to it with pride and say "I know that dude. Someday my car will be half that good. Someday..." So, regrettably, you can't sell it.

Will you autograph all six copies of SuperStreet magazine I have that feature your, I mean our, car sometime?

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Haha, if the community wants to maintain it and store it and pay for it they are more than welcome to it =) I love your logic and really appreciate the kind words. Ill sign anything you want anytime my friend.

swedespeedd said:

Been following this thread for quite some time, but this motivated me to actually make an account and post a reply...
Good work on the Fox and it's good to hear that you're taking care of yourself and staying on the bike. Health is always a good priority to have.

I think that simplicity is always good. Making time for new hobbies and stepping away from old ones is a good thing. The whole virus thing has made me see that wrenching on cars and making projects may not always be the end all be all.

Surely is a sweet build though. Would be hard to let go of.

Wishing all the best

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Thank you and I agree finding some kind of balance is key here. Simplicity has been so good for me the last few months.

Jerd said:

Sean!!! Glad to hear the update and that you are finding what works for you. A huge part of the reason I enjoy forums and reading through threads like this one, is simply the opportunity to learn through other people's experiences. From fabrication techniques to spring rates or camber settings, I have learned a lot! Thanks again for sharing. You build all sorts of cool ****, what ever you do, make sure you start another build thread!

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Thanks man. I really appreciate the kind words. I agree, the forums are just filled with amazing information, something that you dont find anywhere else on the internet. Facebook and Instagram are great but its not the deep info that is contained in a proper build thread.

I have learned so much building cars, this one, the F100's, the crew cab cummins truck all of the other volvo's, the M swapped wagon, the list goes on and on. I love learning, I love building stuff.

I was asked to bring out the Volvo to a really cool invite only car event last weekend. Car was totally dead so I put the charger on it overnight and the battery came all the way back to life. Its really no surprise after it sitting for about a year. Fired up and ran just like it should have.

I will say that it is one bad ass car. It gets amazing looks from people and a ton of props.





Had a great time at the small meet but it really hit me last weekend that this car is right on the bubble. Is it a bad ass street car/ cruiser or is it a full on race car? I spent a few days thinking about it and came to the conclusion that its days of racing are over and I need to restore it back to a really nice, high powered street car and part ways with it.

So its getting a few minor tweaks over the next few months and I am 90% sure it will be up for sale.

All springs swapped out to a softer normal spring rate and the ride height raised up to a more civilized height. Right now the tires in the rear rub especially on off camber driveways and such, its a huge tire and a really low aggressive ride height.

Lower control arms will be swapped out for the stock length stock arms and stock length tie rod ends and the car will get a full street alignment.

Ill be removing the 102 mm throttle body, CNC Ported snout and reverting back to the stock pulley to get this thing more streetable. I am not sure if I am going back to the stock injectors and cam yet, need to talk with the tuner.

I will be removing the Bit Ten head unit and installing a normal head unit that is 100 times easier to operate and will install bluetooth in the car for pandora and such. I love the idea of the BitTen but in practical applications its a pain in the ass and I hate it.

Should only take me a few weeks to make all these changes and get it back to a street car and then figure out the best way to find it a new home.

On a side note, been killing it on the bike still. Last week was my first 200+ mile week with over 10,000 feet of climbing.

I sold a bunch of stuff and managed to fill my empty garage spot with a new toy. I managed to find a set of used 763M wheels for it with Pilot Sport Cup 2's. Car is an absolute riot.



Current stable



Got the ****fox mostly buttoned up, still need to finish up the tune, probably needs to go on the rollers at this point though so that wont happen until April sometime.







Ill try and take some pics and keep this thread updated, its been super fun to build this thing and share with everyone and even all of the feedback I have gotten!!

Thanks all!!

Sean

I had considered the bit ten for a hidden audio setup in one of my cars, would be curious to hear a little more about what made it a pain to live with in the real world.

Stiggy Pop said:

I had considered the bit ten for a hidden audio setup in one of my cars, would be curious to hear a little more about what made it a pain to live with in the real world.

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Not having normal controls, being bluetooth only the audio quality sucks. Sometimes I just want to turn on the radio and not futs with my phone, connecting it etc.

I like the idea of it, just not the real world of it.

I can easily think of not having a basic on/off or volume knob readily available would probably be pretty annoying...

hackster said:

Its been well over a year since this car has seen any use and its just holding down my gararge floor at this point. I started it up probably 3 months ago but it hasnt even moved in at least 6 months. I havent been in the garage in 7 months so it doesnt even get dirty in there.

I have been into cars my entire adult life with an occasional break for like a month or 2 here or there where I am burned out.

This is different, maybe its me getting older but I just dont have the passion for this that I used to. People have changed, the car world has changed. There are very few people around me that are still building stuff. Things just arent the same as they used to be and that isnt just due to Covid.

I am not really ready to sell it yet for some reason but I am getting close. I would rather have someone enjoy it than for it to sit around for another year as I dont see myself using it anytime soon.

On a good note I have been back on the bike for a good solid 6 months now. Cross Country on the 29er, commuting just about everyday on a REN and doing lots of gravel rides on a Bianchi Allroad. Been getting right around 650 miles a month and just passed 100,000 ft of climbing so pretty solid numbers.

I hope that all my Turbobrick friends are doing well through this insane year and have a good holiday.

Sean

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You should come out to the track some time with the General Leif some time. I think you would enjoy it.

Seems to me Sean that your real joy in this hobby is the building. Having watched you thru a few of these, the ownership and long term seem of less importance. These threads tend to end with you seeming like your trying to psych yourself up that it's ok to sell it, or at least it comes off that way.

It's ok. For most of us, the building is the fun part. Once it's done, have some fun and if you can afford to sell and build another then you shouldn't feel guilty or need to convince yourself about it.

At least thats what it looks like from the outside looking in. I always enjoy what you're building and these threads. I look forward to the next one I hope.

itb-volvo said:

You should come out to the track some time with the General Leif some time. I think you would enjoy it.

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Chatted with Tony a bit this weekend....Ill hit you up might be good for me.

Hank Scorpio said:

Seems to me Sean that your real joy in this hobby is the building. Having watched you thru a few of these, the ownership and long term seem of less importance. These threads tend to end with you seeming like your trying to psych yourself up that it's ok to sell it, or at least it comes off that way.

It's ok. For most of us, the building is the fun part. Once it's done, have some fun and if you can afford to sell and build another then you shouldn't feel guilty or need to convince yourself about it.

At least thats what it looks like from the outside looking in. I always enjoy what you're building and these threads. I look forward to the next one I hope.

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It used to be the building that I enjoyed the most, I think at this point its using the stuff for its intended purpose that I enjoy the most. But you are 100% correct owning something for the long term has never been in my wheelhouse.

I didnt realize it came across that needy but totally understand where you are coming from.

I like to flush things out in my head, the forum is usually a good place to do that and get some feedback ( Good of Bad )

Still pretty set on my plan but havent done a thing to actually put the wheels in motion yet.

Got some potential spring rate revisions ironed out, somewhere in the middle of daily driver and track car is where I plan on landing.

Happy Monday

Sean

BTW Sean- I hope I didn't call you needy.. just saying it's totally ok to sell these things at the end. I know the forums tend to take collective ownership in a way but it's your car. If you want to sell and move on to doing something else, we can't wait to see what that is.

If you want to respring it and beat the piss out of it at the track when those eventually open up more, well we can't wait to see that too!

Hey Sean!

Great to hear back from you. Great to see that beast once again!!

Why not just sell it as is? More value for a street car vs something closer to a racecar? How do you even put a price tag on a build like this?

Also, how?s that BMW compared to the Volvo? Big power difference and in a different ballpark, but which is better to drive? Which is more fun?

Happy Wednesday!

hackster said:

The car seemed to be a hit. People loved that it was something different and well built. Each time we were at the car for something or another people would stop and take pics or ask lots of questions.

I think my goal of subtle from the outside and great content on the inside was a success.

We headed out from SEMA Friday even on the Ignited Exit Parade. It was awesome, tons of people but we were exhausted by then.

OUSCI was pretty rad, lots of cars and spectators on day one for the Auto Cross, which was half autocross and half road course. Run times were just under 60 seconds and the course itself was awesome, first half was a little loose, second half had lots of grip so it took some adjusting to that.

Road Course and Speed stop were Sunday. I did well on speed stop at 18th out of 32. I had a tough time on the Right side and would have done better if I could get that time down more.

Saturday Night was Road Rally out to Shelby.

Sunday LSX Magazine grabbed the car with Kristi and went out to take some pics of it for an upcoming feature.

And just some random cool shots over the weekend.

So that's a wrap.

Lessons learned, the car needs lots more radiator. My fixes worked great in traffic and around town even on the auto cross and speed stop the car stayed cool in sunny 80 degree weather but got hot again on the road course. Temps about 230.

I developed some vibration in the car in Fontana and thought it was tires, but we noticed it all the way over to Shelby and Back and it never improved. Sunday on the Road Course, the vibration got worse on hard right hand turns. I got the car up in the air and looked everything over, possibly a little bit too much pinion backlash but everything else seemed ok. I tightened a couple of loose jamb nuts but no improvement. I only did orientation and 1 road course session so I could get a lap time, but they were not hard or fast laps.

I need lots more camber and lots more front sway bar, as I have gotten better and faster, I have been able to push the car harder and harder and getting more induced chassis roll. This is letting the front roll over onto the edge of the outside front tire on mid sweeping turns and I am getting some shudder and push, also have to scrub a lot more corner speed than necessary.

Ill be upgrading the front struts, bigger sway bar and more camber in the off season.

The car needs more power. Will be doing the BTR cam, valve springs, 1000cc injectors, 2.4 pulley, cnc ported snout and a retune on it in the coming weeks. I would love to do an aluminum 6.2 but its not in the cards right now.

A few other odds and ends, hood vents, front brake cooling ducts, tripple adjustable rear shocks and a rearend checkup will be in order as well.

Overall for a car I built in my garage with mostly junkyard parts I have been pretty impressed with it, not only how it handles, but the beating the car took all summer long. The list of things we have done with this car since it was finished up in April is pretty awesome. Not to mention the people we have met along the way have been awesome. Looking forward to more adventures in 2019.

This is all built around a 200k mile 6.0 and a used 2002 Camaro T56.

Time for more chop chop this winter to get ready for March.

Sean

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Spent a few minutes today reading back through this thread. This was the last real time that this car was driven especially driven hard at all.

I did a little bit of work, ditched the **** headunit and installed a normal head unit. So much better. Swapped in a new battery, raised up the ride height a little bit up front. Drove it like 10 miles or so with not issues.

I have held onto this mostly because its likely the last car Ill do a full build from the ground up.

Its a great car, needs to be appreciated by someone that wants to cruise it, a little autocross, some track days, some car shows or even just a cool driver, but its time to move on.

Ill update this with wherever I decide to post it up for sale. Its time.

Been keeping busy with a little car stuff here and there but mostly just biking these days. Running a little over 300 miles a week. Last week was 315 miles and 15,000 Ft of climbing. I managed just a little under 10,000 miles in my first year back on the bike.

Gonna keep trucking and try to lose another 25 lbs by the end of the year.

Hope all my TBer buddies are doing well.

Sean

Hope the next owner takes care of it and continues to make improvements! Awesome build, something to be proud of for sure.