I know.. I know.. Im nuts!
 

Here we go again...yes I am that crazy to put together a second race car. This was originally going to be the Stock Eliminator car but with all the years of racing and bandaid repairs it was taken out of use and a rotisserie rebuild was started. The chevelle became the money pit only to have this car sit on the back burner for too long. The time has come to finish up the car, it has been a long time bracket car and is a 1965 Acadian Invader 2 door sedan. Before I get crucified....I have all the trim to change it over to a nova/chevy II, and yes eventually this car will be a class car as originally planned. This first post is a bit of history on this car, I was but a mere toddler when my Dad aquired this car back in 1978 and it has been a race car ever since. This car was a basket case when it first came into our hands.....part of why this car needed extensive lovin'. To date I have put in new a floor pan with frame connectors, a right quarter panel and new front fenders , all the body work is complete just needing to be preped and painted (it helps that we own a body shop....labour is cheap :)) I am currently installing the roll bar and doing a whole pile of fabrication to get evreything in and functioning the way a proper race car should. For now the car will get its 350 sbc and turbo 350 trans put back in, but I have been aquiring 283 and 327 parts and have thoughts of a stick:)...maybe..we will see. To this point has been around 6 years so I dont expect to have the car out this year but who knows?

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Dion,
What class are you aiming for?

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Dion;

Although I see they're not in the Guide, weren't some Acadians run in Stock or SS in the past? I know some were run locally but I thought I'd seen pictures of other ones in different Divisions. If it can be done legally I think it would be cooler to keep it as an Acadian (For anyone not familiar with them, Acadians ran the Chevy II engine combos). Either way Best of Luck with the project!

Jeff

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If you go stick I have a jerico for sale. Good luck with your car.

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Glen - with a 283 depending on the horsies it is a natural I or P car, with the 327 a natural F or H car, the F combo is esentially the same combo( save for the cubes and cam) as my H/SA Chevelle so that would possibly be an option....

Jeff - as far as the Acadian option of course that is the way I would prefer to run the car, it has been awhile but I do recall the Acadians/Beaumonts being singled out as not accepted for Stock

Dueces - I will let you know if I do want to row my own :)

I will snap some shots with the car all dusty and dirty once the litlle girlies go to bed....just watching some old Horsepower Heaven videos with them as we speak....these daughters of mine LOVE big Wheelies! :)

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Dion, Randy Issac from Maple Ridge BC used to run a yellow 68 or 69 Acadian in G or H/SA a number of years ago. He ended up selling to a US racer, I beleive it went to the Gaynor family , and I seem to recall that they left all the Acadian trim on the car, which must have been a bit of a head scratcher to some stateside Chevy guys! Since the Acadians used the same Chevy engines as a US Chevy 11, I imagine running the car as an Acadian wouldn`t be a huge issue. Now, if you tried running something like a 64 Pontiac Strato Chief with a 409,or a 66 Grand Parisianne Sport with a 427, or a 68 Beaumont SD396, THEN you might have some trouble!

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Most call us nuts for doing this stuff anyway. Keep up the progress and my vote is for the third pedal in the car.. I hope you dont loose focus as your Hockey is back on....Winter greetings from down south..

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A few years back Norm Hall from Maryland had a yellow one ran G and H/SA he sold it dont know where it went.

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I think it went to someone in Div. 3 or 4.

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A toddler in 1978? Dang! Must be nice!

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Hmmm I guess I better make some phone calls and see if the Acadian trim....which is all it really is would be allowed. It sure would be cool to run the car that way...and easier all around instead of changing alot of expensive stuff. I remember seeing the Acadians and Beaumonts singled out in the rule book, my memory might be fading....haha

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That would be too cool to see an Acadian in stock trim!

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I agree,, especially with the 327- 4 speed combo!
Danny Durham

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Update ....as the Acadian currently sits in the garage.

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Not only is the Acadian stuff all there, it still has the Invader scripts on the quarters too! No doubt in my mind; all that stuff needs to stay! I'd be very surprised if NHRA has a problem with it.

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Dion I agree with the others posting you should follow up on making it a stocker if you can manipulate the system into viewing it as a Chevy ll. However there may be a small disadvantage weight wise. The Beaumont and Acadian were quite portly in that grilles and headlight doors and other trim are cast items not like the flimsy lightweight stamped tin stuff the Chevy ll and Chevelles used. Having said that I'm sure you can find places to remove weight to get it to minimum. That cast tail bezel is actually weight in the right place. These cars sure have a unique trim package that identifies Canada. Go for it!!!

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Actually the Acadian grille is close to the same weight as a complete Chevy Nova grille. When time allows I will start making some phone calls to see if I can get this car accepted for what it is haha.

An interesting point is the Acadian Invader and Canso's are not Pontiacs, although they were sold through Pontiac dealers. The misconception has been they are Pontiac Acadian Invader and Canso's which is incorrect

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Update - begining of the roll bar install
-shifter and switch panel brackets
-front spring eye modification
-custom made frame connectors

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Dion... If your grille inserts unbolt like a 62-64 Acadian grille, you can lay them on a milling machine table and remove @ .250 and remove half the weight. I did that on a car I was involved with out here in B.C. (64 Invader). I have a 1968 Acadian Super Stock car but it sports Chevy II trunk emblem but has the Maple Leaf on the hood trim. I found it NOS at a swap meet in Washington State? If you need any parts there is some good sources out here. Good Luck on the build...Maurice.

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Maurice,,, just a heads up,, our first big high performance swap meet is coming up soon.
The Corvette & High Performance swap meet will be once again at the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup, next month on the 9th & 10th. Theres always plenty of guys from your side of the border here,, so you might as well come on down.
Hope to see you there.
Danny Durham

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Danny... I will be there, it has always been my favorite. Are you selling there? Maurice.

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Yeah,, we'll have a booth,, outside. I'm sharing a trailer with some buddies. I'll send you a PM the week before.
Danny Durham

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Update- So the progress has been a little slow lately ,a number of things are happening in my circus. First off we are expecting another little drag racer this summer.......actually Triplets.....yep three new additions eeekkk!! Also a quick spruce up of my "Mummy Wagon" (suburban) has turned into pandoras box. In the meantime I have been collecting and aquiring parts, and I was a bit suprised to see what I have gathered. In light of the recent events this car will probably slow down on the progress, and I may have a good buddy of mine pilot my Chevelle at a few select races this summer.

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Congratulation on your new tri-power addition. Your diaper budget could surpass my racing budget. Keep up the good work.

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I think the diapers will pale in comparision to what the Hildebrandt race operation will look like when all 5 kids would like some stockers of thier own hehe.

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Dion,
All that comes to my mind is, God bless you, and I wish you all the best with all of your "projects"! LOL!

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Also God bless your wife with two kids and three on the way Lol.

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Thanx guys...you know having Triplets is scary enough, but this is the number that is causing a "little" bit of stress at our home.......wait for it....5 children under the age of 3.....

All in all it is the little victories that cause me to smile.....I got the starter in tonight, only took pulling the transmission out, changing to a smaller flexplate, removing the bolts holding the header in....but I paraphrase.

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Little bit of progress or small victories.. which ever
-electric water pump mounted (sounds minor but hurdles none the less)
-working on the alternator ( would you believe I have a machinist buddy helping on this)
-mounted the master cylinder and proportioning valve and line lock, of course the brake lines need some custom reworking
-Driveshaft loop is tacked together
-transmission shifter mount and switch panel mount welded up
-still trying to figure out how the roll bar and door arm rests are going to cohabitate...this can wait

as is life other projects are eating up time (1997 suburban aka Pandora's Box)

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Got any advice on putting 06 LS in a 94 Burb? The friggin 454 is killing me.

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On another project, I got some ls motor mount adapters from "Dirty Dingo" and aside from the appropriate exhaust it should just slide in. The adapters I got were a neutral placement and you can get ones that move the engine forward or rearward on the mounts. As I am typing I recall the oilpan can be an issue depending on application, but I understand this swap is much like a traditional SBC swap outside of the electronics. I am about to put a 5.3/4l60E combo in an S-10 for a friend...fingers crossed it goes well.

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Burbs are good candidates for the cummins 4or6BTs. More towing power and better fuel mileage and theres the rattle-rattle-rattle.

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I hear that, There is a dually on the Seattle craigslist with a cummins in it, 2 wheel drive though. I want to keep the 4x4 for Kelly though as her bad weather work vehicle. I feel better if she is driving a tank in the snow and ice. The ls swap should at least double the fuel economy in the burb and make it a little funner to drive. I'm still waiting for the guy to get his stuff off the totaled 06 so I can rip the engine and harness out of it. Hopefully in the next week or two I can get started on the swap, I have a guy lined up to deal with the wiring part so it should be pretty easy. Or maybe I should put the LS in the motorhome,lol.

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Small update
-got the driveshaft loop welded and painted and installed
-transmission crossmember painted and installed
-have a PPP shifter ordered up so I can complete the shifter mount
-Fuel cell has arrived
-tackled the roll bar issue and it seems I have a solution to my problem
-getting closer to solving the alternator misalignment
I will take some pictures soon, and I guess I should find out if I can run the car dressed as an Acadian...that would be cool

-If anyone can help with examples of Acadians or Beaumonts that actually raced as stockers that would probably help my plight...I know a few got mentioned already.

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5 kids under 3 and 3 of them new and youre going racing. Best of luck with that in your spare time !

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:) I grew up around racing and have been racing cars since 1990. I have promised the wife that "I" would sit out the season ,but the stocker may very well be driven by a good friend of mine at a few races. Whats life with out some challenges?

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Another update
-Got the alternator sorted out
-I am using a Denso unit, it starts charging at 1200 RPM's it is smaller than a stock unit and weighs a little bit less also. I went with this unit as I wanted an alternator that would help maintain a battery charge deep into eliminations
-the crank pulley has a spacer to line up the configuration
-the Moroso pulley has a bushing pressed in for the shaft differences
-I had to modify the housing to fit into the Summit brand aluminum bracket kit
Now I will have to sort out an alternator belt...that is always fun

The chevelle is also getting some love, I am fabricating some O2 sensor housings for the 8 exhaust tubes. I am needing to zero in on the fine changes that has been done over the winter

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Small item but pretty important (to me at least) Up here in Canada we can call up General Motors Vintage Vehicle services and get the full run down of a particular GM vehicle based off the VIn. So in the mail today I have received this package and the cover letter is what I found most interesting, it stated that the mechanical specifications are the same for my Acadian as they are for the same year model Chevrolet....maybe this letter will help me run this car in the Acadian trim.....fingers crossed. I am trying to gather as much paper work as possible to see if the authorities will allow this

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Good luck, Dion. I hope you get to run the car like you want.
Danny Durham

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I've got triplet girls that just turned 11. Their brother is 13. While all four were in diapers my monthly bill at Costco for diapers was around $400!
And I hate to tell you, but that was nothing compared to todays expenses. Wait until they get into sports, dance, music, whatever. Just went to their first concert the other night as I bought tickets to Taylor Swift for all 6 of us for the girls birthday present. $625! And no, that won't be an annual event!
And people wonder why I'm not racing. But truly, racing pares in comparison to being with the family and nurturing them into adults. If you can go racing in the immediate future, great. But if you have to put it off due to time or money, don't stress out. With work and family, I just don't have the time (and rarely the money) to do this. But the new 390 AMX engine is scheduled for the dyno June 10th and I'm getting excited again. The minor chassis work will be done soon thereafter and I will make some test-n-tunes this Fall and at least one NHRA race.
I wouldn't worry about the Canadian GM parts. NHRA doesn't seem to have issue with it as far as I know. A few documents should suffice.