Got another slant for free on Craigslist. Everything is standard and looks mint inside. Ya, can't have too many spares, especially if there becomes a HA/GRa-NITRO division.
Wow Bob great score ... and judging from the engine size sticker on the rocker cover it is "the big six" !!!
Scotty, the "512" sticker on the valve cover turned out to be misleading. It's just another 225 cu. in. slant six. I got the crank back. Cleaned up at .010/.010. At first they gave me a '40 Plymouth crank, but I caught that before I left the place. Finished mods to the oiling system. I drilled and tapped two holes into the main oil gallery to gain access to the galleries feeding the center mains. That allowed those galleries to be "ported" for better oil flow. I've taken three engines apart and two had spun rod bearings. The other (this one) had some spalling of the center two cam bearings. So oiling can be an issue with these engines. The block now goes out to be baked and tumbled in stainless steel shot. Then severely decked (over .100") and honed. I wish I had an engine machine shop cuz this is about as much fun as a guy can have.
Well Bobw, I guess that I need to claim the fastest slant six HA/GR in 2009, 12.25 @108 before you get yours together, I am watching your build, and maybe I can learn some of your tricks. Joe
Joe, You will remain King of the Hill for slant sixes. This build will be pretty mild as dictated by my thin wallet and fear of high speeds. If all goes well this engine could find its way into a T bucket or something and a serious slant could follow. I want to take this step by step to make sure I can drive the thing without wearing Pampers.
just read this thread beginning to end......whew! seriously inspirational, especially since i am in the very beginning stages of building my own car. bobw, thank you for your diligence in keeping us posted on your progress and evolution of what is a very cool car. the front end after you laid down the radiotor was just what the car needed in my opinion, gave it a racecar look and lost that t-bucket vibe.
I don't know if that intake is gonna work out. With the carb that high the air density could be lower. LOL
bobw, I have followed your thread and really enjoyed it. I can't offer any specific information on the porting of a slant six. But I can offer to put your head on my Superflo flowbench for some before and after testing. I used to have a cylinder head shop out west, before I moved to Iowa. I live 4 miles across the Minnesota-Iowa state line and just off of I-35. I usually play with Model T and A stuff, but I will move all that aside to make room for your slant 6 head, if you want to do a little road trip.
wayneat, Thankyou for your very generous offer. I'll bet you know Gary Anderson from St. Paul. He works part time at Little Dearborn and is a member of our Wed. old boys lunch. Gary is very involved in modified Model A's & T's. My head had new guides installed at one shop and is now at another establishment getting cut for oversize valves and a little pocket porting. The block is at the aforementioned shop for cleaning/baking/tumbling in SS shot. Then a hone and major cut on the deck. Once I determine the compression ratio, I'll have a cam reground by either Oregon Cams or Delta Cams. Lots of good information and helpful advice on the Slant Six web site regarding cam choices. I might take you up on the offer before ordering the cam, to see where the head flow might need some help. This engine is intentionally pretty mild. I don't want to be trying to tune a high strung engine when I know so little about them. So, we'll sneak up on it little by little. If all goes well this summer and the need for speed remains, then more serious porting, a big bore, radical cam, etc. could be on the menu. Right now, the focus is on displaying the car at the Gopher State Timing Assn. indoor show in April. I got the acceptance call a couple nights ago. A display is required and I don't want to spend much. Dick (old6), I suppose all the Rose Parade flowers are wilted by now. Any clever (and cheap) display ideas would be appreciated.
Hi Bobw, for your display, you could post pictures of some (the more the better) of other cars, and handout sheets of the rules. You never know who is wanting some kind of fun project. If you go to the Austrialia site they have a lot of nice pictures. Joe
Bob.. Be sure and put it up on some jack stands and put a couple of mirrors underneath it. To show the simplicity of these cars..Good selling point...Dick M.
put the front up on stands like a wheelie, and some white stuffing around the rear wheels like tire smoke.
Bobw, Gary Anderson is a good friend. We just had our winter 4 banger gathering at his place. We had about 50 diehard 4 banger guys there. We had a great time.
[. See the 904 automatic residing in my dragster. I also changed from a right side hand brake to a left side foot brake. Much better for launching with an automatic.[/QUOTE] -----------------------------------What about rule #19, No automatics?
I'm cheating! Truth is, I might never run against another HA/GR since I'm the only one in the neighborhood. Locally, I'm stuck running brackets so I might as well make it consistent. You could use an egg timer to time my shifts with the stick! On another subject; Do any of you feel like you've dropped your engine parts into a deep dark abyss when you deliver them to a machine shop? That the engine will have a birthday before you get it back???
"On another subject; Do any of you feel like you've dropped your engine parts into a deep dark abyss when you deliver them to a machine shop? That the engine will have a birthday before you get it back"??? ...........Yup,,I don't feel like the Lone Ranger now.
The Gopher State Timing Assn show is next weekend. I dragged the Hambster from the back garage to the front garage today. Got to clean it up and assemble it enough to be presentable for the show. New flyers are printed. In addidtion to my car the flyer contains Old6's and Toymaker's diggers and Dick Kraft's Bug. I picked up this cardboard "King" with the intent of dressing him up to look like the Lone Ranger. He will have a big sign with the "The Top Ten Reasons To Build A HAMB Dragster", ala Letterman. The reasons should be humorous. I've thought up a few but there's got to be better ones. If there are any suggestions of "Top Ten Reasons" out there in HA/GR-land, please contribute. You'll get credit on the placard if your contribution is used. Whoopee!!!
Here's a reason..."Because you haven't lived until you have driven one". (Actually, because it is just plain fun!)
"You should be first on the block to have one"... "The best low $$$$ fun machine there is"... Last but not least,,"Build one or we will send the guys in the black suits untill you do"....ananomous..(Darn, I can't spell that)
Yeah, the roses are pretty much sachets now, they do that fairly soon after you weld'em on a float. OK, just for giggles ..... An HA/GR was good enough for Garlits, it's good enough for me. It's ten times the fun at a tenth the cost. HA/GR is the real boogity, boogity "shoe"ing. Yes, it's OK to call'em "cute". Did ya know that HA/GR actually means "Honey, ah'm goin' racin'". You really can clean out the garage and use the parts to build it. Dear, I said I want a HAMBster, not a hamster! ... or, Dear, when I say HAMBster I mean HAMBster, not hamster .... understand? (this's all one) Honey we can afford this kind, it's safer than the freeway, I'll mow the yard and do the garbage, it wont make a mess and'll be no trouble, I'll cut down drinking and bowling, all my friends are building'em, it's the latest thing, and besides .... I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT. ....... and still my favorite: If you can't have fun doing this, you should be considered not capable of having fun. (Thank you Tom).
I backed my truck up to my trailer and the truck died. A quick call to a friend and in a short while he showed up with his truck and trailer. We loaded the Hambster and headed to the Minnesota Fair Grounds for the GSTA car show. I was astounded to find they put me on the area with all the shiny show cars. Lots of spectators in the morning and afternoon today. Not many after supper. I handed out about 75 brochures explaining HA/GR drag racing. Lots of favorable comments from those that stopped to talk.
Here's the main visual aid for the spectators. The pic in the upper middle is Dick Kraft's "Bug". Directly below is a poster of Art & Lloyd Chrisman's dragster which came with The Rodder's Journal subscription renewal. How fortunate for me that a friend gave me the poster a few months ago. The pics on the left are U.S. based current HA/GR's, and maybe a SDRA car or two. On the right are Australian-based cars. Lots of people spent several minutes looking at all the photos. It sure would be nice if a few cars would be built in this area as a result of this effort.
The Jalopy Journal
