Project Vendetta Update: Things Aren’t Going so Well!

By Elizabeth Puckett

Since I last left off with the Project Vendetta updates, so much has happened, I didn’t even have a good stopping point until now. The project has turned a full 360º if you look at it in basic terms — she left the photoshoot for the splitters unable to turn her own wheels, and now she’s back in the same condition after a world of changes, but for different reasons. This update is probably the most ‘because street car’ thing I could think of, so here’s the rundown!

The day I shot the photos for the front and side splitters from 6LE Designs, was the last time I drove her before the massive overhaul ahead. See, the clutch and transmission were both in shambles, and the brakes weren’t doing so well either.

To back it up a bit, the transmission, a T56, was not the first one in the Formula. This car was originally an automatic with a 4L60E, and had many racing miles on her. To sum up from the ‘full explanation’ article here, the Formula was a bolt-on track queen for a while, digging through a list of other bolt-on car times. After that got old, the bigger modifications started, an aggressive cam, high flow heads, etc. Eventually, the original transmission rolled over and died, so the T56 swap came into play.

I took the T56 straight to a guy I worked with at a performance parts retailer who was supposed to build it up for me to handle the car. Fast forward about 5 years and 5k miles, and the transmission is pretty much junk, and the clutch was too. So it was time to make some major changes.

Centerforce supplied a DYAD clutch kit, which is amazing, I had no idea how poorly my previous clutch was performing, even new. I also had no idea how grabby a clutch could be — it’s really one of my favorite things on the car now.

In addition, the transmission was beefed up, which is when I found all those stock parts that were supposed to be replaced by the original builder, but it’s been so long now and I never kept touch with the guy, no more dwelling over it!

While the car was down, I decided to really invest in the upgrades so it wouldn’t have to go back on jack stands for while. The theme of this new run of modifications was to not cheap out. I wanted a car that felt a lot more modernized and capable than the how it had been acting. That meant coming off the money for higher end parts, there was some sticker shock along the way, but well worth it in the end.

The first thing was to ‘fix’ the shocks and springs. I had previously put lowering springs on the corners, and aftermarket shocks, but rushing and trying to save money in the original run left me very unhappy with the way it rode. After doing some research, Koni shocks just stood out to me, and I decided to pair them with BMR springs to bring it back up very slightly, but to also give it a better handling. To give it some stopping power, the rotors and pads were bumped up considerably in quality.

After some trouble with the tire sizes on my staggered wheels, I opted for the Bf-Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 tires for everyday and performance driving, very grippy.

You might start to notice a theme coming into play now, which had unintended consequences — grip and grab!

And lastly for this round, the headliner was replaced since it was split and frayed around the opening of the t-tops — having a car with a removable roof, it’s essential to at least have a nice headliner.

After some work on the body to cover up scratches that are starting to show through from the repaint, some heavy clay barring, and just really putting some muscle into detailing, she was done…for about a month. I have never felt so accomplished and proud of any project I’ve ever worked on, and considering my record with cars (Vendetta hasn’t always been an only garage child), that’s saying a lot.

So on the road she went, and damn did everything feel so good! I’ve driven a lot of cars, but I think the way she handles and the ride quality is my favorite. She’s also never looked this good, with the new splitters (which had barely seen the light of day still), and the detailing work, everything had come full circle, I finally had the whole package out of my beloved Formula.

Which brings me to the events of this weekend! To make a long story short, the first time the car was launched with the grabby clutch and grippy tires, the poor old GM 10-bolt decided it had enough. The rear end had a good run, many years of racing, 4.10 gears run it for a few years now, and endless miles of abuse, but it still just really sucks that it happened now.

There are few things that match the feelings of disappointment and failure when your car is back on jack stands after you thought you were done, or at least done for a while. I know that street cars are never ‘done’, but I really could have used a nice long pause and time away from the wrenches to enjoy my car for a little bit.

Plans moving forward are a complete toss up. It can’t be down for long, so it’s coming down to budget and time as it sits. There’s every reason to believe that a replacement stock unit will only repeat history and tear up the first time it’s loaded, and where will I be that time? Traveling down the road maybe? Or perhaps in another state? I can’t risk wrecking my car, or being stranded hundreds of miles away from home, so I’ve got some research to do, although I am very fortunate to have plenty of people around who want to help me pick out the right setup.

Hopefully, the next update will be soon and be about how great whatever rear end I picked out goes well with a nice story of resurrection!

Spec Sheet (Changes From Last Update Noted By *):

Owner: Elizabeth Puckett

Hometown: L.A. to Atlanta transplant

Vehicle Year/Make/Model: 1998 Pontiac Firebird Formula

Engine: Stock displacement LS1

Cam: COMP Cams

Heads: Patriot

*Transmission: Freshly Overhauled T56

Shifter: MGW

*Clutch: Centerforce DYAD Drive System

*Master Cylinder: Custom Fabbed Fully Adjustable Tilton

Intake: Fast Toys Performance air lid, MAF, Spartan ported throttle body

Headers: Pacesetter long tubes (painted white because I’m fun like that)

Exhaust: Custom true-dual exhaust, built on the car, feeding into Moroso Spiral Flow mufflers

*Rearend / Ratio: *RADIO EDIT*

*Shocks/Springs: Koni Shocks, BMR Lowering Springs

Rear Suspension: UMI pan hard bar, BMR LCAs, BMR torque arm

Wheels: C6 deep dish 17×9-1/2” front and 18×10” rear

*Tires: Bf-Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2

Hood: VFN Smoothie-Q hood

Paint: Navy Blue Metallic/Front Repainted in 2014

Interior: Slow Restoration Has Begun – Headliner Replaced, Weatherstripping Restored

Stereo: Kenwood