LUVTruck.com

I am fixing to start doing some saftey work on the Luv before I head to the strip this spring. I am hoping for times fast enough to need a rollbar and also going to order a trans./flexplate shield. Most vehicles you could lose a foot in event of a flywhhel/flexplate explosion but in my truck it would be more like a knee! And a good harness for the driver at least.
Are there any other issues that need to be looked into? I hate to spend money on stuff like saftey but it needs to be done and I know most people
overlook it and after one bad experiance I want to be prepared next time and be able to post times.

On the desk top dyno I am around 400 horse and as I have said before it is not a wild big block it is a totaly streetable pump gas motor. After several all motor passes I hope to make a few passes with the bottle giving me another 100-150 horse depending on jets.

I have bought a MSD window switch and will control the nitrous by RPM
in at around 3,000 and off just 200 RPM's before the rev limiter. If I do my part correctly and shift by the shift light (set at a few hundred before I acually want to shift because I am a slow old man)it will not turn off during the 1/8 mile untill I let off the throttle. All conditions must be perfect for the nitrous to activate.

#1 oil pressure switch if oil pressure drops the nitrous shuts off
#2 fuel pressure switch fuel pressure drops nitrous shuts off
#3 Wide open throttle switch Pedal Wide open or no nitrous

If I have overlooked anything let me know. I want a good day in the spring.

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stripped and just a memory!

are you going to put a screen over the carb incase it tries to suck a bird down?
that could really cut the air intake to a minimum.....hehe

looks to me like you have all the necessary items on that nitrous setup.

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03Cobra

ratnluv, I was looking at the pictures of your pickup, and I am sure impressed at all your work. You have some really great ideas, and I think it is going to be great once it is done. Hopefully you will have some more pictures in the future. Did I read somewhere, that you are trying to sell your truck? I know this isnt nice, but I hope you cannot find a buyer until its finished. I would hate to see someone buy it, and then do a poor job finishing it. I'll be waiting for the next big block luv report, thanks.

Wow looks like you have thought of everything. Sounds like you should be able to get it into the 11s!

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

here is some stuff you will need neutral safety switch,2 throttle return springs, 1 pint coolant catch can,drive shaft loop if running slicks or 13.00 and quicker on street tires,helmet snell 90 if quicker than 13.99, roll bar 11.99 to 10.99 roll cage if quicker head protector for both 1/4" thick roll bar padding. no cracks in windows, sfi16.1 driver restraint for 11.99 or quicker,no more than 12" of rubber fuel line,the threaded portion of wheel studs must thread into the hex portion of the nut equal to the width of the stud. my rule book is a 2001 so some of this may have changed. you might be able to get around some of this a time or two if you tell them you don`t know what kinda of times it will run. or tell them its slower than you think say like low 14s have fun. terry

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don`t have the luv no more but I still like em.72 el camino,
00 & 06 silverado one 4x4, turboed vw sandrail,99 banshee, 06 raptor 700, 02 polaris trailblazer.

i got a little question that kinda relates. all this safety is for the better, of coarse. but, has anyone ever known someone that has wrecked in lets say, a 10 second or more car. what is that, about 120 +- mph. how does a driver fare in a 5 point belt, roll bar, etc. are we talking death, or broken bones.

i'm asking this seriously. I've yet to hit the track, and this crosses my mind.

thanx

g

Local track is just a 1/8 so that changes the times for certain requirements. I already have the radiator overflow and drive shaft loop,neutral switch and braided fuel lines.

It was for sale at one time but I have since tubbed it and have so much in it now I have decieded to finally finish a project. It is amazing how people notice this truck and it is in black primer,and I also have not had anybody try to mess with me. Every time I have ever had a vehicle that looked decent or had a set of flow's or wheels on it some fool was wanting to run it. That has not been the case here. I think maybe the big Mickey Thompsons scare them off,and I am sort of glad.

But I do enjoy driving it and have the satisfaction of knowing that I built it the way I wanted it from the ground up,and it is very streetable. I do leave critical welding to a friend but other than that I can't blame anybody but me if something goes wrong.

After this trip to the strip it will be road miles until some engine or performance modification is done that needs to be tested.

I also got a lead on a 454 I will be checking on today it would make a 496 with a .060 bore and a new 4.25 crank and be a bolt in swap. This would be a long term project but you never know.

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stripped and just a memory!

a friend of mine crashed his 64 nova about a year ago totally destroyed the car he`s owned it since he was 16 he`s like 40 now. any way his ladder bars snapped the front mounting loop the rear end twisted down ward the ladder bar dug into the pavement flipping him end over end at 135 mph. he had a sore back sore neck and black eyes. the g forces were high enough when he flipped that his eyes pushing in out of there sockets the stress from that caused them to bruise.as far as harness a 5 point is better you can slide out the bottom of a 4 point pretty easy in a crash. i`ve also seen another guy crash into the wall buy the traps and lossed his left arm leg from the cage but with out it he probably would have been killed. by the way my friend is still racing he built another 64 but it`s nicer and faster.later terry

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don`t have the luv no more but I still like em.72 el camino,
00 & 06 silverado one 4x4, turboed vw sandrail,99 banshee, 06 raptor 700, 02 polaris trailblazer.

454 parts will be home Sunday! For now they will be in the corner of the garage until I get everything else done. I have a fresh engine now and see no need to be in a hurry to change it but big block stuff is getting harder to find so I couldn't pass up a good deal where I can trade and not spend any cash. I have already owned this one once so I knew what I was getting. It was what I used in the first Luv project that I never finished (still have pics and kick myself in the butt over that one getting away).
It will be a long term project (several years)but eventually the RatnLuv will get a bigger but still streetable (pump gas)Big Block at least 468 /.060 454 maybe a 496 /.060 and a 4.250 crank!:wink:

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stripped and just a memory!

sounds to me like youde better adress your traction issue over the next couple of years. You get that tourqe to the pavement and many of us small block guys will offer up the 'due hommage'. 454.

swwwwweeeeeeeeeeetttttttt.

and if you do throw some high performace stuff on(like I could ever afford big block high performance stuff), dang, dude, you will have the "big ride'. congradulations.

I dont know if you CAN solve that, getting all the torque to the street. Ill shut up now, im just a little dumbfounded at the thought of a 454 in a luv. nice.

g

Dummy me went the wrong way on the 4 link when I adjusted it last time so I think I will be able to get it hooked up.It hooked at the strip before until the axle broke. I also read today able using a single plane intake to kill off some of the low end tourqe and help on wheel spin (something I never thought of). I had wanted a single plain and had used them on previous big block projects with good results, but let all the other local guys talk me out of it. I can also pick up some on the top end but will not change until after the strip.

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stripped and just a memory!

I've always used an electrc fuel pump but have it hooked to an electric oil pressure switch/guage.

So, if you have no oil presure = no fuel.

In a rollover the fuel will be automatically cut-off. Saves ya from gettin' crispy.

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When everthing goes wrong....
What's right is what's left.

I have 2 on the oil presure one for the fuel pump and another for the Nitrous. I am also going to add a push button override for the fuel. After carb work or if you run out of gas you can hold the button in and turn the pump on long enough to fill the carb back up. My Fuel cell does not read correctly on the gauge and I have run out of gas.

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stripped and just a memory!

LOL, RATNLUV!

thats EXACTLY what im doing first thing when the foot heals. My fuel pump is hooked to an O/P switch behind the dist. I always jump it with a screwdriver after its been sitting for a while. Primes that baby right up!

the n20 is another good idea.

g

I got my SFI approved Flexplate and Trans shield the other day. Now if I could just get time to put them on.

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stripped and just a memory!