The Prodigy continues....

The time has come for the marvelous 73 to be passed down to the next generation.

well maybe not but I am incharge of the full restoration.

My uncles has own, built, and loved his truck for nearly 40 years.

One last request is to drive the 800hp beast one more time.

Micky Thompson street/strips tires, deep dish wheels, for 9" w/510 gears, and the huge 400 block punched is quite the beast.

Truck has had many glory days on the streets and it is time to make it happen agian!

I'll try to update the restoration/build as much as possible but this will be a long one. Much body, paint, and clean up is needed.

Here she is...

Heart transplant

Finally decided to put the infamous sr to use so to prep the s13 sr I decided a few upgrades should be ordered;

ARP head studs
APEXI metal head gasket
S14 water pump
pilot bushing

Finally found some time to clean exterior of sr, reassemble oil pans w/new sealant, attach brackets and accessories, install head gasket, have Efrain set timing, add clutch kit, and tranny.

KA, SR, LS1....

It's not that the ka-t was not fun, not the case at all. The process/cost of building a ka-t is not worth the investment of value or time you put into the 2.4 truck motor when compared to similar markets in my opinion.

No matter how you look at it the SR20DET is the new B-series as well the Ls1 swap is the new K-series.

You have your loyalist to a certain motor or style but in all reality technology continues to advance and there are so many ways to make the power you desire with the power band you want by spending a little more on a motor designed to perform the way you want it to factory.

Where does the ka sit?..... Somewhere around the d-series motor.....

It's not that it can't be done, it's not something new either, it's that most people realize they will have to put more time, money, and heartache compare to purchasing a better designed motorset.

Granted you can boost a ka24de or d-series motor for cheap, using cheap eBay kits, which last in some cases and pop on the first run in others.

For those people just remember you get what you pay for.....

SR20's comparable to B series as the enthusiast market is flooded with parts as well as tech write-ups and downloadable DIY information. Not to mention both motors can willingly rev higher rpm's then their rivals. One huge plus for those seeking higher horse power or different powerbands compared to stock.

Upgrading to the Ls1 or K-series will cost money, similar to when B-series swaps were first introduced into the US market. At the same time more enthusiast are realizing the power, potential, and simplicity of reaching their goals when upgrading to either motor.

The issue is 100% opinion based!

You may want a stock SR swap and AC for your daily.
You may want a B-series turbo and AC for your daily.
You may desire twice the horse power of either stock swap, if so you may end up paying close to $7500 in aftermarket parts to reach your goal and that does not include building the motor internally.

Some who have been "in the game" sort a-speak and have spent time, effort, and their annual income building and maintain their cars have realize the cost effectiveness of purchasing a well-built/better performing stock motor from start.

If you plan on adding highly esteemed upgrades to your B-series or SR swap you will more than likely end up paying nearly the same amount for a stock K-series or Ls1 into your import.

It's all about preference and availability of funds.

TO EACH HIS OWN... whatever you so desire I wish you the best.

Remember

If its Cheap and fast it's not reliable
If its Fast and reliable it's not cheap
If its Reliable and cheap it's not fast


- D.P.

WHAT Happened?!?!?!?!.......

Every builder is excited about the build process and nothing ever goes as planned, understandable. However that does not mean a build process that should only take 1-2months should actually take 8-10 months. Time can definitely kill your interest in a project. I wanted to try something new and I did. Each step in the process that was to be completed by someone other than myself took a significant amount of time.

In fact my car would sit around for months at a time without being worked on. Anyway as the process began to fall closer to the end a little excitement came back.

Fast forward.

Car is complete, running but working out issues.

I removed the car from the tuner's shop after only one dyno pull to fix the voltage issue which limited efficiency.

Once the voltage issue was fixed the car drove fine! Full boost of 7psi at 3500 rpm 300hp on super duper base tune. Plenty room to grow.

Ka-T, 3076, ARP head studs, Felpro head gasket, Precision 1000cc injectors, Map senor, Wideband, and stand alone management.

Car had plenty room to grow.

Driving around Saturday at full boost any chance I got was the funniest part of the build.

Until it blew.....

Tial 44mm waist gate- a vacuum line backed out therefore boosting the psi to 20lbs.

Fixed the waist gate and two runs later car died and would not start.

At that point I became upset with the total downtime of the build; I was not 100% happy with the build assuming the custom fabrication I purchased should have been better quality for the amount I paid. Mixed emotions

That night I posted the motor set up for sale, the next day I disassembled the motor and pulled it from the car.

As much money spent on the simple setup I figured I could have built the car in the direction I originally intended to.

Parts sold, cash in hand, new build begins....

Car will be running in less than 4 weeks guaranteed.

To be continued……