*NOT SUBARU* T56 Trackday Caprice @CanaanMotorClub

[WhiteZombie]

I drove my oddball track rat 6 hours north to Canaan Motor Club in Canaan NH last Sunday and made a little Youtube video on my phone the other night.

I'm gonna be working on making a little more involving and engaging track time Youtube vids in the future, with a little more build/maintenance/driving detail, so check it out if you're so inclined, give it a like, and subscribe for future content.

Don't be shy about hitting me up if you wanna get involved with tracking your car in the northeast either. It's not cheap, but it can be a LOT cheaper than most make it out to be, and IS THE MOST FUN you'll have in your car with your clothes on

Also, I am planning on running my '05 WRX wagon at a bunch of the winter trackcross events at Summit Point this winter, so let me know if you plan on going to any of those as well or want some more info/links. Cheers!

T56 Caprice At Canaan Motor Club - YouTube

T56 Caprice At Canaan Motor Club - YouTube

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

[Zak6182]

Never seen a B body with a T56..cool. Guessing its a swap from a Camaro?

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

Never seen a B body with a T56..cool. Guessing its a swap from a Camaro?

Yup! Same engine/bellhousing. Just had to adapt the Fbody brake/clutch pedal assembly and cut holes in the firewall/trans tunnel. Trans cross member gets modded or replaced with a tubular setup. Even the driveshaft can be carried over. I drive the car to all the tracks, and 6th gear turns 1800rpm @75-80 mph with a 3.73 final drive.

[Zak6182]

Sounds easy..lol. So I'm guessing you're running the iron LT1? Anything done to it?

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

Sounds easy..lol. So I'm guessing you're running the iron LT1? Anything done to it?

Easy enough for somebody who had never even swapped a clutch before to tackle with a little guidance. Measure twice, cut three times, get some patches welded in... haha.

Stock 200k mile iron LT1, just cold air intake, long tube headers, 2.5" exhaust. Feels really fast and torquey, until all the other bullies in the advanced run groups fly by with 350-400+ HP

"Stockish" brakes are upgraded and work really well considering the platform, but still kinda the weak link when it comes to driver confidence as the pedal gets lower and softer throughout the day. Eventually we'll get an AL heads/cam setup going, but probably not until the brakes are addressed first. Unlessssss the motor pops. Fingers crossed it isn't anytime soon!

[pazzoduc]

Originally Posted by WhiteZombie

I drove my oddball track rat 6 hours north to Canaan Motor Club

Do you remove the front splitter/bumper when street driving?
My subi isn't that low and it drags on everything seems like.

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by pazzoduc

Do you remove the front splitter/bumper when street driving?
My subi isn't that low and it drags on everything seems like.

I only remove it if I'm gonna be street driving it a A LOT around the house and I gotta work on it in the frontal area anyway.

That first still photo in the Canaan youtube video is kind of misleading, as my wheels are in the grass but the splitter lip is over the pavement that is an inch or two higher, making the splitter look much closer to the ground than it actually is. I also street drive on a TALL tire to the track, then swap to the low pro track tires that lower the whole car maybe 2" or so. And I do still have to drive carefully, avoid steep driveways, etc. when the splitter is installed and car is on tall street tires.

Street mode:


Track mode:

[Zak6182]

Back when I was messing with LT1's guys had a saying...LT1 owners, The few, the proud, the crazy.

I liked the LT1's reverse flow cooling, it lets you get a little more compression on pump gas but once I went LS I never looked back.

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

Back when I was messing with LT1's guys had a saying...LT1 owners, The few, the proud, the crazy.

I liked the LT1's reverse flow cooling, it lets you get a little more compression on pump gas but once I went LS I never looked back.

Hey! I resemble that remark! Haha. They're cheap, tough and make plenty of torque in stock trim. Came with the car, so it was the easy choice!

I honestly don't think I'd bother with an LS swap if/when this LT pops. I'd probably just buy a $500 used LT1, do a cam and some head work, and be done with it. The LS swap snowballs quick, and I'm honestly just a cheapskate that would rather drive than work on the car.

[Zak6182]

Originally Posted by WhiteZombie

Hey! I resemble that remark! Haha. They're cheap, tough and make plenty of torque in stock trim. Came with the car, so it was the easy choice!

I honestly don't think I'd bother with an LS swap if/when this LT pops. I'd probably just buy a $500 used LT1, do a cam and some head work, and be done with it. The LS swap snowballs quick, and I'm honestly just a cheapskate that would rather drive than work on the car.

I picked up a LT4 hot cam and some PP heads when my LT1 went. I never got around to finishing it though. I bought a short block that was just "rebuilt". I was in the garage one day with the block on the stand and spun it over to see 1 piston pop out of the cylinder about .015. Turns out whoever built it used a longer rod and with the way those motors are balanced it would have cost me more then what I paid for the motor. I cut my loses and parted the car out

They do have good bottom end torque and I agree that going LS wouldn't end well for your wallet . I'm hoping the new Caprice's start hitting the used market soon and can be picked up cheap. They come with LS2's IIRC. My last LS was a 09 G8 (L76). A four door is a must for me so when I bought my STi I looked into a Chevy SS (never version of the G8) but they were just too much $$. In the end I'm pretty happy with my STi. I do miss the V8 sounds sometimes though.

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

I picked up a LT4 hot cam and some PP heads when my LT1 went. I never got around to finishing it though. I bought a short block that was just "rebuilt". I was in the garage one day with the block on the stand and spun it over to see 1 piston pop out of the cylinder about .015. Turns out whoever built it used a longer rod and with the way those motors are balanced it would have cost me more then what I paid for the motor. I cut my loses and parted the car out

They do have good bottom end torque and I agree that going LS wouldn't end well for your wallet . I'm hoping the new Caprice's start hitting the used market soon and can be picked up cheap. They come with LS2's IIRC. My last LS was a 09 G8 (L76). A four door is a must for me so when I bought my STi I looked into a Chevy SS (never version of the G8) but they were just too much $$. In the end I'm pretty happy with my STi. I do miss the V8 sounds sometimes though.

Man that stinks!

Are you talking the Caprice PPV's? I have 2 buddies that own them and love them. Picked them up used at least a few years ago.

A modern LS Caprice PPV with a 6 speed swap would be wicked! Poor man's Chevy SS! Can't beat the instant throttle repsonse and torque of a Chevy V8

[Zak6182]

Yeah the PPV's. I didn't realize its been so long since they came out. Time flies when you get old!

I just looked up prices on them and it gets me excited for a new SBC build. Maybe one day. I'm still recovering for the $10k I just dropped on the STi.

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

Yeah the PPV's. I didn't realize its been so long since they came out. Time flies when you get old!

I just looked up prices on them and it gets me excited for a new SBC build. Maybe one day. I'm still recovering for the $10k I just dropped on the STi.

NO KIDDING!

I bought my '95 in like 2004, so it's nearing the same 9 year time frame for a "new" PPV, but looks like they're holding their value a bit more than the 90's version. Likely because they're way more rare? AND LSx?

Maybe I'll convince my girlfriend to buy one instead of a Forester Xt......

[Zak6182]

Originally Posted by WhiteZombie

NO KIDDING!

I bought my '95 in like 2004, so it's nearing the same 9 year time frame for a "new" PPV, but looks like they're holding their value a bit more than the 90's version. Likely because they're way more rare? AND LSx?

Maybe I'll convince my girlfriend to buy one instead of a Forester Xt......

If you figure that secret out let us all know!!!

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by Zak6182

If you figure that secret out let us all know!!!

Haha. She loves her current run of the mill '03 Forester, but wants something a little less boring and certainly quicker for her next car. The main caveat is that she REFUSES to drive a manual trans car......
She learned to drive in a manual civic 20 whatever years ago, but is totally freaked by steep hills and snow with her anxiety these days.
She also has a soft spot for big, American junkers, especially El Caminos and G bodies, neither of which would be a good year-round northeast Pennsylvania daily commuter. So logically it's either a Fozzy XT or Caprice PPV!
The XT would be cheaper buy in I think, and we already have a set of 5x100 snows, but who knows what she'll pick

[Zak6182]

You NEVER know what a woman will pick.

She sounds like mine (lucky you ). She'd have no problem getting a 80-90's Silverado for a yard truck/project but I catch heat for doing anything to the STi.

I'll probably go the truck route one day to replace my 96 Cherokee on 35's. I love how simple the Cherokee is and with lockers it will go pretty much anywhere but its just not practical for doing home improvement type stuff. Hopefully I can pick one up that's already LS swapped but I don't see many 4x4's swapped already. No shortage of 2x4's though.