Back in Black! rpu build thread

Awesome Dan awesome!

 

Awesome, what a pleasure it was meeting you Dan.

 

He's a real nice genuine guy too Nads

 

just went through 49 pages of this thread... f'ing awesome RPU.

 

Time for some doughnuts and all around foolery! (You are much more patient than I am... congrats on taking your time and getting it right the first time!)

 

Congrats guys.

 

Thanks for sharing such a great all around experience. I would give up quite a bit to be in your shoes, having my pops by my side building a work of art as the one you guys put together. My hat off to you all. Congrats!

 

Kevin, thanks man! Yeah, I have had the top off for the last weeks to wrap things up. When I put the top back on I really do like it better with. Driving along it really protects you pretty well!

David, thanks man! It was really great to see you & your coupe there, I really enjoyed talking to you. And your car looks killer. Everything is where it should be, you really should be proud of it!

Alan, I cannot thank you enough for everything! It was great meeting & talking with you, I really enjoyed the day. If there is ever anything that I can do to help out please let me know!

Gary, thanks man! I am in Ft Myers. I don't really know of much going on for upcoming shows in Florida that are decent?? Definitely will be @ the Turkey Run in November. If you hear of anything good let me know. I'd love to see your truck too!

Mike, thanks brother. You are one to talk. Me & pops were trying to figure out all day how to hook up a tow-bar to your car to "borrow". I am ready for a little rest. I have felt WHOOPED, but happy!

Bill, thank you bud, I appreciate! Me & pops missed seeing you & the family there. We will definitely be at the Turkey Run, I MIGHT even make it with my rpu finally.................

Bob, I really cannot thank you enough. My & dad were talking, we met a TON of great people there, & it really added to the day. We enjoyed meeting you Bob, & we really want a ride in your car too!
Thank you so much for the nice words Bob, I really appreciate

Paul, thanks man. We would love to see you-maybe the Turkey Run??

Man it was an unreal feeling! The bombers are surprisingly comfy! The pads on the back really helps. Me & dad are really amazed, they are way better than I anticipated. Not Lexus daily driver comfy, but way better than anticipated!

Thank you so much, I really appreciate everything! I really enjoyed talking to you. Keep me in the loop about any upcoming shows that you & the boys will be at. We would love to come by & see everybody!

Thank you for that!

Thank you Drewfus! All the obstacles are forgotten now. I wish I could bottle up this feeling & sell it!

Thank you my friend. Was so great to see you & the Poor Boys again, hopefully we can get together soon!

Chad-thanks man! Hey, I need to catch up on your progress, I've really been outta the loop recently. I can promise you that driving your T will be worth the wait!

Scott, thank you my friend, I am truly amazed by all this!! You REALLY have a ton to look forward to with your car man, you have NO idea. I can't wait to see you driving that, it will blow some minds!!!!! The Tudor anxiously awaits.... A SMALL break is in order though I think. I think it will take the pressure off on that build, now that I will have a done hot-rod to drive! Scott, THANKS for the awesome shout-out on your blog!! I am blow away man! I didn't even know that you had that going-I WILL be a visitor. I cannot wait to check it out.

I have been thinking about your project lots lately. We have both been at it a while, you have NO idea what awaits you

Thank you man!

Piero, thank you brother. You have always inspired me. I though about you lots when I was going thru all the "problems" I came to recently. I know that you fought the fight with Live Wire, but boy it's sweet to finally drive what you created-NO feeling like it. Pain is forgotten

Hey Dave, thanks! I am amazed still, but I ain't complaining! If you are ever in our neck of the woods let me know! Would love to meet you in person, and you HAVE to bring you car!!

Thank you NB! Me & dad really enjoyed meeting so many awesome people. It is hard to catch everything going on with the Hamb, it moves SO fast. Many times I stumble on an older build thread that I never saw before! Thanks again

Thank you!

I was thrilled to meet you to man-your good people!! Thanks man, I hope to see you soon. Keep me posted if any good events come around Florida, I am outta the loop!

Steve, thank you bud! Are you & Sue planning on a return Florida visit?? Me & dad would love to see you again!

Thank you man. I wish I have done the entire build on 1 thread from the start! I used to start a new thread for every update, now I regret. I may go thru & consolidate them all on 1 thread sometime, I just didn't want to tear up the bandwidth

Thank you LT

No problem! You are 100% correct, NOTHING beats doing this side by side with your pops. He was there every second of this thing, & there were LOTS of seconds!! 4 years worth almost!

 

Thanks man! I'm excited! Every time a build hits the road that I've been following for awhile, I get super envious and super motivated!

So what was the official length of time from picking up the Fordor until the RPU hit the pavement under it's own power??

 

Been out of the loop for a couple of days. Looks fantastic!!!!! Congrats on the awards, you really deserved them for all of your hard work.

Len

 

Scott, I know exactly what you mean, I do the same thing!

Well, good question. I got the fordor sedan body in......................MARCH 2005! Wow, time kind of flies by my friend.

Len, Thank you very much, I really do appreciate. Still hard to believe that I am about done. I have a couple small projects left. I am going to try to finish up the baffles for the headers tonight. The car is WAY too loud when you drive it @ speed. No way that I can drive it like that on the street-instant ticket

 

So Awesome Dan! I'm stoked for you bud!

 

CONGRATS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! those awards are so well deserved!

 

Congratulations! Getting ready for BP sounds hyper intense. The car is just stunning. When you have recovered a bit it would be great if you could post some more pictures of it completed - so much to admire in your build. And thanks for this thread, it has been a very inspiring read.

 

One cool ride................

 

My hats off to you guys . After all the hurdles you still made it to BP and took the show. It's great that your dad is posting here now also. He is a great wealth of knowledge. He has some real cool posts all the time with really cool updates that I have seen on other sites.

 

What a journey, it's been great to watch this space from the begining to see the triumphant end, with the satisfaction, and the pat on the back from your peers with the trophies. Well done.

Glenn

 

GREAT looking truck

Grommet

 

Dan the truck looks awesome!! So glad you got it together for BP.

It is going to be sad to see this build come to an end as it has been both motivating and informative.

Enjoy the fruits of your labour. You deserve it!!!

 

Must be driving the snot out of it cause I haven't seen you post for a month now... Hahaha... fun stuff aint it?

 

You called it perfectly..........I can't pry Dan out of the drivers seat.
Don

 

I came back hunting for an update - I didn't realize you've already got some miles under it! Congrats Dan! It looks great and you know they don't just give those trophies away. You earned them. I can't say enough about that great ride, it looks even better in the outdoor pics than in the shop. lol

 

DAMN.....just read all the post start to finish! Amazing build quality! Love all the details. This is one of the best build threads I"ve ever read! The way you respond to all the questions is awesome for a beginer like my self! Keep up the good work.

 

So when is your dad gonna start in that modfided with tje old body?

 

So now that the RPU is all done you've decided to go into hiding??

I think we're going to need some on-board video sessions!

 

I think Dan dont love us no more !

 

Dan has had some problems with the 455 and is having to rebuild it.

 

So fill us all in on this issue.

 

What's going on guys? I'm still alive, I haven't been in hamb land much lately, I was surprised to see this thread around haha.

Well, I have gotten lots of drive time in the rpu in the past couple months, but have had some aggravating problems.

The good news: the car drives GREAT. Rides really nice, handles & drives well, so I am happy there.

But, as I have driven it in the past couple months I was having some mechanical issues with the engine. I runs fine, but I have had a problem fouling the plugs (w/oil) in #1 & #3. I was trying to be optimistic, & hope that maybe those 2 rings hadn't yet seated fully, so I would give it a little time & keep an eye on it.

After maybe 500 miles, no improvement, it was getting worse. So me & dad decided to try the easy fix first-MAYBE it was getting oil into there by a leaking intake gasket. Wasn't that. Plus the car was using quite a bit of oil as well, & it is a fresh rebuild

So we pulled the head on the side that the plugs are fouling, thinking maybe oil was getting thru the valve guides in those cylinders. We took the valve springs off to see if there is any wiggle between the valve & the guide. There is some, so there is a problem there, but not enough to cause the problems I am having.

So we decided it wasn't going to fix itself, we pulled the motor, & got it all disassembled. Took the 2 pistons out in the cylinders that are fouling the plugs, & found the problem.

One of the oil control rings had broken where the ring butts together. Here is a normal ring:


And here is the broken ring-you can see the little tab is missing from the end on the left side:


And here is what the little broken piece does to the cylinder wall:


So I was lucky enough to find a good block. Once I save up some $$$ I will get the new block machined. My brother also has a set of "C" heads, which are pretty desirable & flow well. So I will have those heads redone while its apart & put them on.

I was pretty bummed, but I'm over it now. It will financially take a couple/few months to get back to running, but it will be lots better this time around. I swear this car wants to stay in permanent project mode.

Thanks for the interest guys, sorry I haven't been around much!

Dan





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Oh man that sucks! Thanks for filling us in Dan. Sorry for your woes.