Targa Truck '71 GMC build - The first truck in Targa Newfoundland

[bovey]

Welcome to my build thread. I will be outlining the upgrades that will be made to my 1971 GMC to compete in the Targa Newfoundland in September 2014. For those of you unfamiliar, the Targa Newfoundland is a 1400 mile race across rural Newfoundland, way up north in Canada.

http://www.targanewfoundland.com/index.php/en/

A little history.



I have owned this truck for over 25 years. My dad gave it to me as a father-son project when I was 14, it was a 100 dollar pile of green... rust. It took 8 years to complete the original build and over the years I have kept upgrading it, mostly for road trips and occasional trips to the drag strip and I land speed raced it a few years ago. You may have seen a small blurb about it in Aug. 2011’s Hot Rod.



I have been trying to find a form of racing that I could compete in, that I enjoyed and fit into my busy life. I started auto crossing the truck with a local Subaru club last year, just for kicks. It is outrageously fun. One thing led to another and I’m now a volunteer to organize events and I fell off the deep-end in February when I signed up to be the first truck to ever compete in the Targa Newfoundland.


Meet the Targa Truck

Most of the work is done by myself, with exception to the 'cage. This garage is at my parents' house - this is where I originally built it many moons ago.



The interior is very simple. A couple of seats out of a Benz, a custom stick to get around the baby seat. Done. This will all be changing as I have to fully cage the truck.



And the crown jewel. My LSX race block based 427, AFR heads, Callies rotating, Big stuff 3, etc, etc. It’s backed by a t56 Magnum and a Spec 3+ clutch. It’s crazy, crazy fun. This I did not build, it’s capable of 8000 rpm, but the current cam is built for torque and runs out of steam in the 7000 rpm area. It pulls like a freight train at any rpm.



Due to timing I have to do this build it two phases.

Phase 1 for September 2014
- upgrade the brakes
- brake cooling
- upgrade the shocks
- new wheels and tires
- 6 or 8 point cage
- fire system
- new seats
- 5 or 6 point racing harnesses.


Phase 2 will be a complete chassis for spring/summer 2015
This has been in development for a couple months. My plan was to complete it for this year, but that will just not work from either timing or financial standpoint. More to come.

Throughout the build, feel free to ask questions. Some of what I’m doing will be great for your trucks, some of the stuff will be purely race safety kinda stuff.

The truck will remain a street vehicle, one that goes like hell, stops and turns. And yes, the baby seat stays too.

I can also share other upgrades I’ve already made, like:
- engine choice
- transmission
- quick ratio steering set-up - AGR 14:1 race box, pump, cooler, etc.
- brakes - simple Wilwood set-up
- my suspension is crazy simple - just a 4-6 drop like everyone runs.

I plan on making it fun, ideally informative. Cool?

bovey