Projects rebuilding after the crash

The wedding or the race?

 

Your daughter and her man could run Drag week in the Chevelle, you in the Nitro Coupe. They could get married on the starting line on Day 1, then the rest of the trip would be their honeymoon!

 

Hemi Joel - that is the best solution, & one that would be remembered as an Epic Wedding n honeymoon. The guests can find their way there, at least it's in the States.
Marcus...

 

Damn kids!!!

 

I think in the long run, the wedding will cost you much less and be much more rewarding. Congrats.

 

Issue one Sick the magazine. Got a few pages in there. A good thing after a bad day at the track. A guy on Facebook saw a post that i was looking for this issue. They sell these quarterly at 35 dollars. Its a sold out issue. A guy in California contacted me about sending me his copy. He sent it no charge. Im sending him a t shirt and a signed pic for being so nice. There are alot of good people in this hobby. View attachment 5250907 View attachment 5250908

 

Nice, congrats on the coverage! Of course, your pretty used to that by now....

 

It never gets old. They actually did a very nice job on the story. I dont understand how magazines can be given all of the info on the car and most times they scew it up. These guys got it right.

 

maybe selling them for $35 a pop makes a difference?

 

The guy that interviewed me actually took notes and recorded my story as i told it. He spent about a hour and a half with me.

 

Some writers are very good with the technical stuff. Chris Enders did an article on my F.A.S.T. Hemi GTX for Popular Hot Rodding in 2003 and everything he wrote was dead on.

 

Even when I was a kid going through some magazines that my pals older brother gave me I was noticing "discrepancies" and pointed them out to him and he told me a lot of those rag writers were journalists long before they stumbled onto cars.
Kind of like those stick and ball sport TV announcers covering car races.

 

Joel i would like to see the write up on the gtx.

 

Nice to see they got the facts right in the article. On the couple cars I've had in rags it's been hit or miss as to what was written. Had one that ended up in an Australian magazine and I had to look up all the slang they used, I was clueless. Wonder how this venture will work out for Tom Bailey when all the other print magazines are falling by the wayside.

 

Good so far. The focus is on quality without ads.

 

My unsolicited and uneducated quip would be “At $35 a pop who needs ads!”

 

I got back from the pri show ok. very windy in indy but no tornadoes. I bought some radios so I can communicate with my crew man. I don't plan on having a conversation when the car is running but sometimes things need to be said. if trouble comes up I can be given a order to shut if off. I may not know something is wrong. a extra set of eyes on the car with the ability to tell me whats going on will be a big help. I also bought a really cool engine oil cooler with a built in fan. I purchased several cool tools and a extra set of Nomex under ware. all the manufacturers offer show specials. a lot of money can be saved. If im interested in something on display I check to see if I can buy it on the last day. they don't want to haul it home. a friend I went with also wanted a set of radios. we worked a deal for two sets for a even bigger savings. I think I landed some product through a few manufacturers. the trip certainly paid for itself.

 

Somewere between over time; emergency call; pri; the corvette snd hot rod im finally getting around to finishing off the heat project. I ran anti freeze through the system sunday. Just waiting on the gas company. Heated floors will be nice.

 

Nice!. You *are* going to like that floor. Got to experience it once, still don't have one, but it's not only the holy-grail, but the actual answer!
Marcus...

 

im finally getting around to fixing the block and head. follow along as we repair nitro parts to fight another day. it a interesting process. parts that look like ugly junk are returned to service. having the right tools to do the job is key. it takes a lot of hours to pull it off but its cheaper than buying a new block and head. stay tuned in this weekend. unless you have a unlimited budget to just buy new parts nitro teams all over the country are fixing stuff in similar ways. I find it all very interesting.

 

I’m in to see the repair process! I too find it interesting.

 

You'll like the floor heat. Lippy

 

Will this be done in Iowa ?

 

Yes. I already started. Im cutting valves now. Welding tomorrow.

 

Yes heated floors are nice I am starting my third winter with mine. Works well! Good luck with yours!

 

Very interested to see how the repairs are done. Although at the same time hoping I never need that info on my own gear...

Where I live heated floor is a must, just loving it.

 

A piece was made to fill the hole in the side of the block. Some touch up grinding was done around the sleeve register. The block and heads were then pressure washed with solvent. They were left to dry overnight. I took the heads apart to look at everything and cut the valves and seats. While taking them apart i found a valve ready to drop. Top pic. Look how its pulling through the retainer.
The retainer and locks got thrown away. The valve was measured for stretch. It was tossed out to.
Prior to cutting the valves they are checked for straightness. A few needed to go into the lathe for a few taps. A dial indicator is used to find the high spot. A magic marker placed a spot on the valve. A small block of aluminum is placed on the mark and hit with a hammer. Its checked and hit until its within a thousandth. Then they get ground. Thats it for the few hours i had tonight.

 

Up early getting things done. While this all looks ugly at the moment it will look great later on today. As the head was being welded the heat exposed a few more hair line cracks. A little work with the die grinder made quick work of that. Everything is welding up nicely. Getting the bottom of the bore welded correctly is a big deal it not only registers the sleeve it holds the water in the block.

 

First picture...is that a little crack between the left plug port and exhaust valve opening?

 

Yes. Hemi heads crack like that all the time. Its no big deal and wont be fixed.