Ryan,my coupe was chopped 2-3/4", basically removed the flat panel above windshield,and moved the 30 visor to it,eliminating the work of chopping the windsheild,and gaining some visibility. Not trying to tell you guys what to do,mr Tardel is the master!
Since i'm bench racing with Ryan and Kieth's car, I'd rather see it with a stock 2 barrel 283 than a crate 350. I realize I am probably also not the norm. carry on. don't mind me.
Cripes You know what, I'm a card carry'n small block Chivalay guy, and I'm positive that whatever you and Keith screw together will be a homerun, that's been established here many times. But..........how the hell are you gonna disguise those accessory bolt heads to look like they came from "the" (or any) period. I have never bought a crate motor but I have been in, on, and around sbc's since before Mr. Goodwrench visited his Hecho in Mehico plant for the first time. Intake/carb(s)/air cleaners.....easy Valve covers, ram horns, dual point....easy But making those heads look like power packs or fuelers.....not so easy, can't even lie about them. Hmmm......you never did say it was gonna come from Chevy though did ya boss! What do you think @3wLarry? T-10 behind it maybe.
How do you disguise the heads? You close the hood and drive the damn thing, if knit pickers are gaining on you ya put those extra 23 CID to work and drive faster.
Now this is one of those therapy treatments. Why is a crate motor a sin? Why do builders have to feel like they got caught riding a pink girls bike to the football game just because they exercise fiscal responsibility? How dreadful is peer pressure? I'll go you one better, suppose you shop for that crate motor that never got used and might be offered for hundreds less. Or, I find it hard to believe that you guys can't get a better price than the MSRP for a new one. Why all the fuss over an engine that maintained its genuine dimensions since its inception? Are the accessory bolt holes on the heads such a pariah that you'd be ashamed in any way? Now were it my decision it would be the right and painless choice. Time and money are often equal commodities, especially at this point in the plan. Don't mean to be a dick nor to disrespect tradition. Clearly Chevrolet/GM respects theirs enough to keep offering the OG small block.
58 SBC's with air pumps,(i.e. truck motors and I assume air ride cars) had holes on the end of the heads so get over this crate motor BS and let these guy's get to work.
Omg a crate motor? Hot Rodding is dead! It's not a hot rod if it has a crate motor! I would be willing to bet that when they are done building it, 95% of the hambers out there would love to own it.
I am not a Chevy guy but if you are worried about the bolt holes in the heads thred some short chunks of threaded rod into them and smooth them with a small amount of filler before you paint the block. Problem solved. Like with most things ten minutes of "sculpture" will fool 99% of the people 99% of the time.
look at that, he works so fast he's a blur. you need to setup a web cam. well maybe not, then i'd get nothing done at work. seriously yes a webcam so we can watch the flash at work.
Picken' em up and puttem' down fellas... This just felt right... Three inches... a good odd number...
ok seriously jealous up here. working on cool cars all day. skills blessed from the hot rod gods and to boot you have the door open showing off green leaves beautiful weather and wearing shorts.
Upon further review, needs more chop... Today I learned that 28/29 coupes are actually taller than their 30/31 brothers.
Another real time update before our lunch break... We took another inch or so out of her... As it stands, we are just over a 4" chop now and it's starting to feel a little sinister. The trick here, of course, is to reach the point of "sinistation" without going over and achieving "stupidation." There's a small margin to play with. I'm thinking we are in it now.
You're using model A parts. That doesn't count I was gonna say 3 inches on a 28-29 equals 2 on a 30-31. take another inch out. but you guys already got that covered.
Gotta say that's the first time I've seen both sides of the chop cut with the top still floating over it! Any particular reason you guys did that? With the bracing and the tubes front and back I assume you could slide the top down after cutting it for a quick preview to see if it look right or not. Seems like all the time messing with the sliding front and back braces and cutting around a top floating there would end up being more than just picking the top back up and taking a look however.
The extra 1" looks better. Although I am afraid my 6'-2" frame would never be comfy. Great work. Did you gain weight and lose your hair at 40????
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