Project Grey Ghost

The Motor Build-Up

Here is the supercharger that will be added in the next couple of weeks. Along with the supercharger we will be adding new 3.73 gears, Strange 31 Spline axles, an Auburn carrier, a new torque converter, and a 130 amp alternator to carry the load. We will also be removing the air conditioner and power steering to free up some space under the hood. Since the car will no longer be considered the "main" source of transportation, the decision to remove the a/c unit wasn't a difficult one!

The car is starting to run a little better, although street driving as of yet is a challenge. It seems to be running a bit rich, but likes the higher rpms and loves the speed. We have swapped out skinnies on the front and put 265's in the rear for some much need traction. Only time will tell what this little lady will do. But the prognosis looks very good!

We have a spare motor waiting to drop in, but will install the supercharger and all the amenities on the stock bottom end. The car does have 126K miles on her, but seems to be showing her age very well. We are planning on keeping the boost somewhere in the 8 lb range, so it shouldn't burden the engine all that much, we hope!

So stay tuned, a tentative schedule has been set for the charger install, the weekend of April 18th, depending on whether all of the supplies make it in by then!

I will have camera in hand and be sure to get everything for you guys to see. We are hoping we can knock most of the project out on a Friday night, and finish all the little stuff during the weekend.

		Well the project was started on Saturday by removing the AC and Power Steering rack and replacing it with a manual rack to free up some space!
		Here is another shot from the front. Notice the amount of space without the AC and power steering stuck in there.
		Later Saturday afternoon. Here is have both the cast bracket and the supercharger support on there. Pretty much calling it a day here due to losing sunlight!
		A side shot of the supercharger bracket. From this angle the motor compartment looks a lot more open!
		Here we have the head unit installed and the oil lines run. We have yet to tap the pan, waiting on the 3/8" tap, should get it early this week!
		I would definately say this takes 2 sets of hands, especially lining up the intake tube to the head unit!
		We have yet to finalize installation on the alternator, trying to decide to buy the smog pump eliminator bracket from summit or fabricate one ourselves.

Project Summary: Well the supercharger is in and the car is running. There are some little things, ie the BTM and 6AL that need to be added, but those will be installed in the next few days.

I will have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the improved performance that the car now shows, and can't wait to get the gears in and get it to the dyno for tuning!

All in all the installation went pretty smooth, however, I think there are some important steps that Paxton/Vortech left out of the instructions manual!! The main thing being the assumption that everyone will be running stock accessories. With this assumption you are forced to order delete kits for the smog pump and the ac. We were able to get creative and skip the ac delete kit but did have to order the smog pump delete kit!

I think it would also be very helpful for them to give certain lengths of belts for the accessories, depending on what you are running, would have saved me a couple of trips to
Autozone!

And now Vortech is basically saying that we can't use the "Novi" name on the forums? Going to be interesting how this plays out over the course of this year!!!