Projects Bad Banana Resurrection - 55 Chevy Gasser

Awesome update. Way to go Austin!

 

So worth the sore ass and back....running thru the "way back time machine" from page 1, post 1. Only took an hour. I of course only listened to you, and your dad.

Nothing to be said here regarding love of family, and testament to fathers and sons. You and him are indeed IT. What a great car, to ride along with. I sympathize with you on every post. Lucky men deserve experiences such as this. Way to go man. Number 1 son, number 1 dad. Forever.

 

It has been a while since I have updated this thread. 2014 did not go as planned. I was hoping to run a lot more than I did. I can’t say I am disappointed with this past year because we did get Austin into the car, he did taste victory one time, and he proved he could handle the car just fine if given the chance. We had to pick and choose where and when we could run mostly choosing to stay close to home since we had a very limited budget last year. It is what it is and things could be worse. No breakage this year to speak of, so it is all good.

Since it is the beginning of a new year, I feel it is time to let everyone in on the plans for 2015. Hopefully, we will have a better racing budget this year but that still is up in the air. However, I did stumble across a used Jerico DR4 for a pretty good price so I grabbed it. I have the trans completely apart and it isn’t exactly what I was hoping for but I think I can make it work. I have an SFI bell, most of the parts for the clutch linkage, and the slip yoke (came with the trans). I also have a flywheel and maybe a line on a clutch package so it looks like it might just come together.

As I said in the very first post in this thread, I left the 3rd pedal in the car because I hoped that someday I could get it back to a stick and I am currently marching in that direction. Once I pull the ‘glide out, I really don’t want to put it back in. In the coming weeks, I hope to post up some pics of the change over once I get enough parts here to begin the mock up. I want to get the bell and case bolted in so I can figure out shifter position.

Stay tuned… we ain’t done yet..

 

Rusty, As a novice 4 speed guy I would like to see the setup (clutch, linkage, shifter, and driving technique). After my last failed attempt at a super T10 I had to go back to a PG.

 

That sounds like fun!

Good luck with the swap...

 

Nothing better than banging gears going down the track but you have to have the right setup too work T10 & Muncie won’t hold up long

 

Sad news to report tonight. I just learned that my dad’s long time friend and racing buddy “Speed” passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday night. He was the guy who owned this old ’55 Chevy before my dad got it and turned it into a race car. His name was on the roof on the passenger side of the car ever since the car was painted yellow back in 1967 and it is still there. Dad and Speed campaigned this car together back in the ‘60s and up into the early ‘70s. I was just thinking about calling him this week since I haven’t talked to him in a while and wanted to tell him about putting a 4 speed back into the car again. Speed was there when we brought the car back to Beaver Springs in 2011. He told me then that he was so glad that I put that old car back together so he could see it run again.

I was just editing some video this past weekend I took of my dad talking about the Bad Banana back in 2010 just when we first began this resurrection project. There were some details that my dad could not remember and he mentioned that we need to ask Speed to get the detail. I always wanted to sit Speed down and get his side of the history and video tape it as well. Sadly, I waited too long and now that information is gone forever.

The 2 year anniversary of my dad passing away is just a couple weeks away. I was going to finish that video and post it then. Maybe I will try to finish it sooner. There is only 3 of the original 5 left now (last picture below). It really sucks when you lose these people that have been part of your life as long as you can remember...

 

Sorry to hear than man. My condolences.

 

February 13, 2015 marks the two year anniversary of my dad’s passing. I still miss him bad. I was smart enough to take some video of him talking about the early days of running this car in August 2010 just after we started this resurrection project. I have saved the raw footage and I watch it from time to time just to hear his voice. I finally took the time to edit about 2 hours of video down to about 15 minutes.

Some things you need to know is that when this video was taken, my dad had suffered several strokes and his voice is slurred and his memory is not what it used to be at times. He stops at times mid-sentence and tries to remember. I edited some of it out but there are times that what he says is more important than how he says it. However, there are times that he “comes back” and the memories and his voice all seem to come flooding back.

Some of the things he says in the beginning about asking “Speed” … well.. I never got around to asking him and now Speed is gone as well. So not all of the history is preserved but I think we captured a lot of it.

He mentions trying a lighter flywheel, better engine, and how he envisioned it would have run if he could have somehow had the parts and/or money to try more stuff, he thinks he could have had more success. At the very end, he talks about where the “Bad Banana” came from and also how he had always hoped that someday I would run the car and maybe he would get a chance to see it run again.

He’s gone now but he did get to see it run again one time. I am in the midst of fulfilling one of the last goals. I have bolted in some of the best driveline stuff I can probably ever afford and we are going to see what it will do. It now has an aluminum flywheel, trick clutch, a very tough 4 speed and a kick ass shifter. Once the snow melts, I hope to see what this old bucket of bolts will do. We kind of already have exceeded the limit by breaking into the 9’s on several occasions and at some point I may get kicked out of a track for not having the proper license and chassis certification. If that happens, I know me and the ol’ man up above will be smiling as we roll out of the track gate knowing together we took a pile of homebuilt junk and made a pretty damn fast race car..

I hope the link to youtube works. Not done this since the big HAMB website upgrade..

 

thats really cool

 

That was good of you to share that conversation with your Dad. And a great idea to record his recollections for memory while he was still around. He seemed to be a down to earth guy who enjoyed the hands-on challenges of getting a car to go quick. And he got that 55 going really quick, for what he had to work with at the time. I really would have enjoyed the opportunity to talk with him.

I particularly enjoyed hearing him describe his times in the junkyards. I can relate; lots of available junkyards and many prowls to find and pull parts were common in the early sixties.

I hope that we'll see you at the Meltdown this year.

 

Fired the car up for the first time this year. We had 5" of snow this past Monday night but this afternoon it was 60°F+ and most of the snow is now gone so I decided it was time to burn some fuel. Got it fired up and warmed up and tried out the new trans/clutch combo a little bit on the road in front of my house. No pics or video since Austin is working tonight and the wife is sick on the couch. Can't tell much yet but seems like it will be fine. Just need the rest of the snow to melt and get the local tracks open so we can really see what we got. My guess is that it will still be a few more weeks until we can do some real testing.

 

Still running the 427? Going to be at TRP-GR?

 

Yes on the 427. Not sure on any Thompson races. My work schedule is still up in the air for the summer. Once that gets determined then I can decide when and where I will be able to go.

I do know I am off the week of July 4th and I have signed up to be in Rockingham, NC that week. Not really a HAMB friendly event but it's heads up stuff and I know I won't be working. Check Rockingham's website if you are curious.

 

what happened to the 406?

 

See post #722 on July 25, 2013 for the full answer. Back 2 or 3 pages.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

oh ok i must of missed that post

 

Finally got the Bad Banana 55 Chevy Gasser down the track today. Was able to capture a couple of the runs on GoPro. The heavy rattle at the end is the yoke just touching the driveshaft loop. Need to fix that yet.

 

that thing just keeps getting better next step nos maybe

 

who was driving this time you or your son?

 

Shifts are really smooth!! 1-2 with wheels in the air?

 

I was driving. Austin has not really been involved in the car since last July. Girls, school, work, other interests have interfered. I think he thought he could just show up and drive without helping working on the car and tow rig. It doesn't work that way. I did the complete conversion to 4 speed by myself. He only slightly understands what it would take to drive it now and how this new set up works. It is what it is. He is pretty much an adult now and makes his own life choices. He also has enlisted in the US Army and reports for basic training on July 14 of this year. He has tons of party plans between now and then so I don't see him driving again for quite a while. Ulitmately, I think the Army will change him and we will see what happens once he is finished.

As for shifting 1-2 in the air... Yep! It's a blast! It also is already faster than it ever was with the automatic and it isn't completely dialed in yet.

 

I really liked the video with your dad. Thanks for sharing that with us! The car looks to be working very well. Will you be bringing the car to BEAVER SPRINGS this season?

 

I just found out I am working the Hot Rod Power Tour so that kills me for the Gasser race. I have some other irons in the fire this summer too so I might not be running as much as I hoped. I have to play it by ear. Any other weekends my car would fit in down there?

 

Not updated in a while. The next week after the video above was taken I went back to the same track and it went much higher in the wheelstand and unloaded the rear tires. The solid mounted wheelie bars turned the car toward the tree and I had to get out of the throttle at the highest point I ever have. It crashed down (missed the tree) and it bent the front shocks and turned the shock mounts into pretzels. I brought it home and parked it.

Racing funds are still pretty tight and have got even tighter in the last month. I put some stuff I had up for sale and was able to come up with enough money to make some serious changes to the car. I have made a ring and pinion change along with a rear wheel and tire change that should tame the wheelstands for good (I hope )

Here are a few pics of how it looks now.

 

Looks great Rusty. Are you planning to be at Milan in a couple weeks? I enjoyed watching you run a couple years ago. It was nice to meet you and Austin also.

 

If you are talking about the Detroit Dragway Reunion the answer is no. Austin's graduation is on that day.

 

Wow. Congratulations to you and Austin, then. Damn, I'm old.

 

The car looks fantastic, hope that austin has a great graduation day. Take care , and be safe.

 

For sure you have to go to the graduation. It only happens once after watching them get bigger and older. and hopefully wiser.