06/22/2026
**!!Warning lost posting incoming!!**
Started in the driveway, now we're here. Started out a rusty roller in the driveway, now the whole F #$&!N car is here. 2 years ago as I was sitting behind the parts counter I found them gem on marketplace for the 5 time and current points leader for the Drag Champ traveling spectator of the year, TeeeeeJaaaay Jordan. Over the last decade he has been chasing spectator championships but after his dream team appearance in may he has a demanding points lead and is now ready to turn his focus over to the on track side of things. All joking aside life happens and building a racecar from the ground up is very expensive and time consuming. We stacked parts for over a year and still wasn't even close when the time came to actually start on the build. Project started off with a wire wheel and a paint brush. Slapped some Por15 on pretty much every piece chassis and body related other than the outside panels to seal this thing up and protect it for years and years to come. After almost a week of painting it was then time to start making all the pieces fit together to turn this into another slow door weapon.
Starting in the engine bay we dropped in a Boyii Performance 5.3 LS and mated that together with a Vickers Performance Transmissions Battle Axe 1.80 powerglide. Once it was time to start bolting all the parts to the front of the engine we had to phone in team member Mikey Matty at Mikey Mountz to secure our belt drive pump to the block. After 3 different attempts with different brackets/alternators we snagged a reverse mount setup from ICT Billet to wrap up all the front accessories. Since the LS gave us tons of room we slapped on some long tube headers from jegs and then took the car down to WR Automotive for a full exhaust. Mufflers might slow you down a bit but they are a necessity over here in this camp. Last piece was to convert the car over to a rod setup and bolt on the old trusty APD 750 carb that I got with my nova 11 years ago. Its not to newest technology but this carb has won lots of money over the years and still isnt skipping a beat!
The biggest transformation on this thing in my opinion is the interior of the car. At one point in its life the 79er was stripped down to a bare bones racecar and if anyone knows me thats not my style. Top to bottom the entire inside was sanded down and painted. Factory carpet was put back in along with carpet on the rear seat and cowl panel area. End result came out pretty mint but dang carpet is a pain in the butt to deal with in the places it wasnt meant to be. After the carpet was laid down it was time to focus on the dash area. Stripped the dash of the components and self tappers then went to work on moving all the gauges into the cluster area since none of the factory gauges were there anymore. K&R is the choice of wiring here at NBJF and thats exactly what this beauty got. Just as I've done many other cars it was time to mount everything electrical up on a panel in the passenger floor for easy accessibility if any were to need to be worked on in the future. The LS ignition system makes life alittle easier with them having a pre made harness for the engine and everything being plug and play. Wired for every option possible and ready for a Nos kit and dial board in the future when the time comes. All of the factory marker lights, headlights and tail lights are back in working order along with a super bright LED dome light, engine bay lights and trunk light to keep this thing lit up during late round night time racing. Last part of the interior was to remount the seat and install a slider for the ability to have anyone jump behind the wheel of this thing and be comfortable.
Ill keep this last part short since im on page 16 of this post already. In the trunk area there wasnt a whole lot of change but a whole lot of cleaning up. More black paint, moved the battery, new charging lugs, a remote inside switch and a correct 4 post master shut off switch to keep every tech legal. On the underside of the car it got new shocks, crossmember, driveshaft, rear gear, axle bearings, pinion angle fixed, traction bars reset and fresh set of Hooiser DBR's to have this thing ready for the track.
TJ took the car to its first big race this weekend with a wrong converter setup and still managed to make a bunch of laps over the weekend. The car performed very well and showed us it has the potential to hang on the big stage. After a converter swap in the morning I think this thing is going to be set and running 6.80-90's with ease. Not bad at all for a 3000+ pound with a baby 5.3 under the hood. TJ gave me the opportunity to build him a hotrod just as if I were building for myself(other than the LS idea)and never questioned any of my decisions. I thought I could build a car from nothing to racing in 1 month and boy was i was wrong but taking the extra time really paid off and I am proud of how it turned out. I learned alot on my first ever LS project and now have more knowledge for future projects. No doubt in my mind this thing will have stack of big checks thrown in the back along with some busted up slider sandles and empty Rockstar cans in no time. Project driveway decor is FINALLY completed so to end this post im going to quote Trace Adkins by saying, "you hate to see her go but love to watch her leave."
