Projects Southeast Gassers 65 Comet Super Stock Wagon

Got the motor out today.
I made a deal with my wife .
I would go play golf with her if she would help me get the motor out and in the shed and on the engine stand.
So she was a big help running the cherry picker
Then helping to take the scatter shield off.
Now I can pull the heads and get them to Pro Maxx for a spring change.
I am going to pull the pan and check the bearings. After I leak check the cylinders.

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OK, Mike! Who won the golf match?

 

She did. I am a pretty good golf instructor.
Now I am teaching her about race cars.
I leaked the motor down and it all came in around 6 percent.
Not bad for a cold motor that has only a total of about an hour total run time.

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The inside of your engine is beautiful! I’m looking forward to following your racing program!


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Pretty soon you’ll just be the Driver!

 

I would rather just be the crew chief and find a driver. I am the owner , builder, tuner and least of all the driver because I can't find anybody who is dependable enough to help with the car and show up at all of the races.
So I am the driver by default. Amazing you hear you build and they will come. Not in this case.

 

Mike, your Wife seems to be willing to learn. Keep it in the Family, hope ya’ll have a Merry Christmas!

 

WOW!!!......you would think there would be 'plenty' of young guns like Josh Pruitt or Colby Welch who would love to campaign/drive a bad-ass Comet wagon in the SEGA series.
Reckon they are all too busy playing with their cell phones to experience an adventure like driving s drag car??!!
Plenty of 'old-guyz' on here would PAY you for the chance to stretch-it-out a few times.
You just want someone dependable to drive a rocket with wheels.......and there's none to be found!!
When you freshen up the engine be sure.....and put it back into the engine bay in the 'proper place'.......not back a-little-further....."by-accident" of course!!
6sally6

 

I really haven't approached any of the regular SEGA drivers about wheeling the wagon.
It would be very difficult for a C/Gas driver to drive as they back to back with the Super stocks.
B/Gas wouldn't be too difficult.
I would really like to find someone in my area so they could come over and help with the prep and so they would get to know the car.

 

At one time I would have loved to been a part of it and drive something like that, but I've pretty much gotten too old now. Can't see as good as I could 25 years ago, reflexes aren't as quick either. I got to enjoy crewing on a car one summer, even got in a little seat time in it, but the owner wouldn't listen to anybody that could have helped him {including myself}, so it ended pretty quickly.

Surely there's a young guy or gal around that part of TN that is just itching to get in a SEGA car, you just have to find them.

 

Okay okay i get the hint Mike! I'll drive your car, but we're gonna have to cut weight, I'm a big guy lmao! What's the plan on painting the short bus?? Are you gonna leave it with me a week or two?

 

Plenty of time in the off season, maybe you can put out the word at the SEGA banquet. Just a thought. Just saw some footage of the Paradise Christmas run, The Bus made the video!

 

I have to add weight to make the weight for the class. The only thing is your weight would put my ballast too far forward. Looking for a jockey size guy. I am 200 lbs. and still have to add 210 lbs. to make weight. Of course traction right now is not an issue. Your Chevy blood might boil driving a Mercury.
Yes I can leave it for a couple of weeks. Just let me know when you are ready for it. Waiting on our stimulus checks to get the heads done. The motor and trans are out and I am looking for some scab wheels and tires so I can take my slicks and mags off before I bring it up. I have 2 , need 2 more.

 

That's why Chevy had to put the distributor in the rear, helps with traction anytime in January should work brother. Are we still gonna checkerboard the top but in black and yellow now?

 

Mike, I sure wished I lived closer. I wasn’t much of a driver when I bracket raced, but I’m a heckava good mechanic with a crew cab diesel pickup. I would be with you every race weekend and whenever the wrenches were out! I’ve got some old Ranger wheels but no tires if you need them.


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Maybe you can get a couple of space saver spares that will fit from a pick and pull for a good price.

 

No.................I meant somebody LIKE Josh or Kolby!!
Some young gun wanting to drive the $hit outuva hot rod station wagon!!
I mean........who wouldn't.......right!?!
6sally6

 

Most kids have automatics, the Mustang GT kids might be able to trained, or rice burners.

 

I have a son that would love to help me and drive the car, but he lives too far away to come and help.
He is also an EMT who works a lot of weekends when we race.
I would really like to have him drive . He started going to the races when he was about 4 years old and couldn't get into the pits at our local stock car track. He would crew chief through the fence.
He spent many nights at the drag strip and many days traveling with me in our motor home going to the races and helping getting the car ready between rounds. I would pick him up from school on Friday afternoon with the motor home and trailer and leave from there to go racing.

 

When I started Autocrossing my Mini in 1975, my son (Kenny) was 4 years old. I would loosen the sparkplugs and he would take them out and put new ones in, then I would snug them down. He would tell me colors of wires since I am color blind. And when bleeding brakes, he would pump the pedal for me, he would say it's getting hard to push down. My 2 year old (Michael) would take off the valve caps when I was checking tire pressures. I had my own pit crew. Once when pushing the Mini to the starting line with Kenny steering, he looked up at me and said, "Can I drive it this time?"
At a big Mini Meet/Show in England in '84, Kenny told me he was helping one of the dealers move their Minis around. I asked him if they knew he was only 13 years old.
When he did turn sixteen, I let him drive my Race Mini in Autocrosses. He didn't do too bad, in fact, he was beating my times one day until I changed tires and won. He wasn't too happy about that.
Sorry about the hi-jack, good luck finding a driver. It would be good if your son was able to drive for you. Ron

 

Picked up my new rings last night. Was supposed to work at the golf course today, but it is poring down rain. Looks like a good day to put my short block back together.
I think I am going back Ford Blue this time.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it will probably run much better dressed in Ford blue.

 

Years ago the head mechanic at the dairy I worked for always painted rebuilt engines blue. Called it Dairy Blue.
Started doing this after a new engine was painted a factory color by the machine shop and it failed in less than a thousand miles. Ever since then it was Dairy Blue. Fords, Internationals, Continental flatheads, Thermo Kings always Dairy Blue. Only exception was the new Chevy big block for the shop wrecker. The machinist who built the short block (different one from the original non blue failure years before) refused to paint a Chevy blue. Period. The big block came back Chevy Orange. Luckily it was still running strong years later when the dairy sold to a land developer and the wrecker went who knows where.

 

I hope it runs better no matter what color it is. Well our stimulus checks are supposed to hit the bank on Monday night.
Tuesday morning we will be on our way to Alabama to go get the heads done. Too bad it wasn't the 2 grand that we were hoping for, but it is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

 

Oh yeah here's the ford blue short block.

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Had a very bad day today. One of my coworkers at the golf course died from this horrible deadly Covid virus this afternoon.
If you feel any signs of it get your self to the doctor. Do not try and be macho. My neighbor did and died, now my friend.
We are going to be tested in the morning. My wife was around him the day before he got sick. That was 12 days ago. We have no symptoms, but taking no chances.

 

S

Sorry to hear it. You might be alright at 12 days. My kid got it 3-4 days after exposure, then we got it 3-4 days after him. It was rough and started with sinus congestion, headache and slight fever. I still can't smell after 12 days.

 

Sorry for the loss of your coworker. Stay safe everyone.

 

My wife and I got rapid tested this morning and we are negative. So all is good and the health dept will be administering the virus injections to our age group in about 2 weeks.

 

That is great news