The Hot Rod Power Tour, Supra Powered Maverick

[Rajunz]

Last week we finished the underside of the car, now it's mainly just the wiring that needs to be finished along with the fuel system under the hood.

After talking with the guys at Spectre Performance, it was decided that the Power Tour is approaching too quickly, and everyone would rather take the time to finish the car properly, so the Maverick won't be taken on the Tour until next summer. That way it can be painted and everything else that was planned for it.

The good news is that they still offered to pay for my wife and I to drive our own vehicle on this year's Tour.

I was introduced to this guy on Saturday, he lives 10 minutes from my house. He needs some airbrushing done and wants to trade for his skills in the interior of the Maverick. This should come out really badass.
http://www.bigwigracecars.com/productsmain.htm

 

[jugodegolf]

Car is looking good. I guess that kinda takes some pressure off. I talked to Jeff said he had good time in Austin. You guys gonna do the austin hills anytime soon?

 

[dok33]

That 2j looks right at home in the bay

George-it looks like the spring cruise won't happen, last I heard was gas was too expensive and everyone is busy so we're going to wait until fall when gas will still be expensive :biglaugh:

 

[Tire Shredder]

too bad you're not so time constrained now.....a 7m might have been in the cards then

 

[Rajunz]

Having to do this over, I would definitely go with a 7M-GTE. Everything related to a MKIV or 2JZ-GTE is 3-4 times as expensive. It might not have been my money, but I still tried finding these guys the best deals possible on parts and was shocked at what people want, even for used parts. I could have bought a turbo MKIII donar car for $1,000, pulled the drivetrain and rebuilt it, then had all of the other parts I needed. I've had to source a wiring harness, ECU, R-154, water pump, pulleys, etc. We probably have $8,000 in the drivetrain (engine, trans, harness, ECU, etc.), and that's with me doing most of the work, and working deals.

 

[tlo86]

looking good!

 

[Facime]

Project looks awesome Lance. Im sure alot of people will say upon seeing it..."why?" Of course the obvious answer is..."Why not?" It will definately be a unique vehicle.

Im not sure if I just missed it but what are you going to run for electronics? Juiced or straight turbo? Any idea what the finished car should weigh?

 

[Rajunz]

I'm running a stock ECU for simplicity. The Aristo engine runs a MAP ECU which will be good for 18psi. I have a Greddy BCC to get past fuel cut, and an Apexi Neo SAFC.

If I were to guess, I'd say this car will weigh about 2700 lbs. at the most. There's not much weight on the rear end, so even with the 4 link coilover setup, traction will be the biggest concern.

 

[suprahero]

Awesome work Lance. At 18psi, you can bet traction is going to be a problem, but I'm sure you guys will figure something out. Maybe you can let George ride in the back to put more weight over the rear tires...........:biglaugh:

 

[dok33]

Wow, 2700lbs?? That thing is gonna move, my Escort weight about the same and moved pretty good with 180whp/231ft-lbs. Love the door panels BTW

 

[mdr40z]

WOW!! I don't know how I missed this thread til today. Nice stuff Lance, keep up the good work, I'm glad the heat is off so you can take more time and put an awesome paint job on it. I'm kind of liking a silver type theme on it, maybe with some grayish accenting.

 

[Reign_Maker]

Updates?

 

[Rajunz]

I took these pics just before we left for the Power Tour.

I'll get back working on it soon and post more updates.

The people at Spectre Performance are super cool people. They just said to take our time and finish the car properly. We'll debut the car in October at the Good Guy Nationals in Ft. Worth. That way I have time to do the bodywork, paint, etc. Then they were talking about driving it next year on the Hot Rod Power Tour. I'll just keep the car at my place and keep perfecting it. They still paid for us to go along on the Power Tour, what a hell of a trip. We covered 3,500 miles, 12 nights, 9 states, unbelievable numbers of badass rides. Kenny Wayne Sheppard was super cool and visited with my wife and I for a while, we got to cruise with him on Sunday through the Ozark mountains, that was a blast. AJ from Overhaulin TV show was cool too.

I thought of driving the Supra, but last year it got kind of cramped after a week, plus I didn't want to put that many miles on it. I just bought a new SRT4 as a daily driver, we drove it and broke it in. It's a really nice ride and got alot more attention than I thought it would have.

Here's a link with pictures from the Power Tour!
Power Tour Pics:

 

[Clint]

Ill be watching this its turning out great Lance!

 

[dok33]

I was wondering where you went That Caliber looks pretty nice, talk about a sleeper!

 

[Poodles]

Damn man, nice new car.

I officially hate you now, LOL

Supra better come out to play in the Austin Hills still! I don't mind losing to a Supra, but a Caliber? :3d_frown:

How's it handle compared to the supra? Any plans for the car at all? Gonna have fun and paint it?

 

[Reign_Maker]

Dude, is this the station wagon from Nat'l Lampoon's Vacation?

 

[Rajunz]

The Family Truckster. That car got the most attention throughout the entire tour. It will definitely make Hot Rod Magazine.

He said that he studied the movie and tried to copy it as exact as possible. I asked him how he made all of the body moldings, his answer was "Body Puddy". I just shook my head in disbelief. He spent 2 years perfecting it. The luggage on the roof was as close to the movie as he could find (they were empty). He welded up different bumpers and chromed them. It had a Chevy LS1 in it too!

 

[Rajunz]

Poodles, I bought the SRT to replace my pickup, I was spending $100 a week on gas in that thing. The Caliber gets 31mpg (6 speed), handles like a dream, and the guys that have figured out how to launch them have been running high 13's bone stock. I just wanted a daily driver that got decent mileage and had some balls to it. I did some paint work to it already, but will probably leave the drivetrain stock for a while. I already have one money pit, and this Maverick will need all of my free time. I painted the tops of those big goofy tail lights body color, and tinted the rest of them. The black paint has a silver and green metal flake in it, so I trimmed it with dark purple pistripes and SRT4 lettering on the fenders. The calipers were red so I painted them dark purple too. (yep, it still had paper plates on it) It looks really cool in the sunlight.

 

[Poodles]

NICE!

I do kinda like them for utility though, the back seats fold down nicely and you have a huge back area to haul stuff around in.